Join us for a conversation as Jessica Zweig, Executive Director of Play On Philly shares insights from a nationwide conversation with fellow El Sistema organizations on the complexities of Teaching Artist compensation. This session will delve into the findings of their comprehensive survey, revealing how programs across the country are balancing organizational needs with the aspirations of their invaluable Teaching Artists. We’ll explore job structures, compensation scales, and the critical factors that influence both organizational culture and financial sustainability. This discussion is essential for anyone seeking to understand the evolving landscape of Teaching Artist salaries within the El Sistema context in the US.

Facilitated by Gabrielle Molina

Executive Director, Project Music

Gabrielle Molina (she, ella, siya) is currently the Executive Director of Project Music, a youth development and El Sistema-inspired music nonprofit located in Stamford, CT. In addition to her work at Project Music, Gabrielle is on the coaching faculty of AIM, the Academy for Impact through Music, where she coaches and mentors teachers from around the world working in ‘music for social action’ organizations. From 2019-2023, she was a faculty member and career coach at the Longy School of Music of Bard College. Prior to joining the leadership team at Project Music, Gabrielle founded Teaching Artists International, a music nonprofit that creates teaching artist exchanges spanning 4 continents. She is the winner of the 2020 Sphinx Tank, awarded to the “Next Great Cultural Entrepreneur.” In 2022, she was named one of Yamaha’s “40 Under 40” — Celebrating Excellence in Music Education. Gabrielle has held fellowships with the National Arts Strategies, the Global Leaders Program, Mass Challenge, and the Harvard Innovation Labs. Gabrielle holds K-12 teaching credentials in CA and CT and began her career at YOLA (Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles) and at iCAN (The Incredible Children’s Art Network), two El Sistema-inspired programs in Southern California. Gabrielle holds a Master’s in International Education Policy from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education.

Facilitated by Jessica Zweig

Executive Director, Play on Philly

Clarinetist and educator Jessica Zweig believes that all children deserve the opportunity to benefit from the highest quality music education. Prior to being selected as Executive Director in July of 2023, she served as POP’s Director of Education Programming where she oversaw all aspects of the music education experience for close to 400 young people in West Philadelphia. An educator and community builder at heart, Jessica has crafted engaging curriculum, led professional development for talented teaching artists, and cultivates partnerships with local, national and international artists to ensure young musicians learn from the best of the best. Jessica is equally committed to teacher training within POP and across the country and served as the founding Director of Programming for the Teaching Artist Training Institute, created to prepare a new generation of El Sistema-inspired educators.

Jessica formerly served a multitude of roles at POP since joining in 2016, including running our Music Center at St. Francis de Sales School. Prior to POP, Jessica served as Program Manager at Harmony Program in New York City. As a Board Member of El Sistema USA, Jessica served as the chair of the 2018 Symposium focused on collective impact and racial equity and currently chairs the Membership and Engagement committee.

As a trained, professional clarinetist, Jessica has performed extensively throughout the Washington, DC area as well as in Perigord, France and Vienna, Austria. As the Founder and Artistic Director of All Points West chamber music collective, she collaborated with notable institutions such as the Woodrow Wilson House, the Sackler Gallery, the Atlas Performing Arts Center and the National Trust for Historic Preservation to create innovative classical music programming in unusual spaces. As an educator, Jessica taught elementary school music at the Sheridan School (Washington, DC) and served as clarinet faculty at Suitland High School for the Performing Arts. Jessica received her B.M. and M.M in Clarinet Performance from the University of Maryland, School of Music.