Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) is a virtual exchange approach that enables students to engage in online collaborative projects with partners from diverse cultural contexts, integrated into their university coursework (Rubin, 2023). As professors based in similar programs in Rome (Italy) and New York (USA), we developed and implemented a six-week curricular project embedded within our respective courses. Focusing on the theme of peace, we invited students to reflect on how the music curriculum in primary school (5-10-year-old) may relate to contemporary realities of distress, conflict and violence. The project aimed to connect diverse perspectives on music education, including approaches to repertoire selection, pedagogical strategies, and considerations of repertoire adaptability and suitability for different children’s learning contexts. Our goal was to foster a cross-cultural debate on the role of music education in promoting social change and awareness in the music class, turning students’ physical distance, cultural differences and learning attitudes into learning opportunities. To address this goal we engaged pre-service music teachers in cross-continental musical collaborations, exploring the many ways music can promote peace and contribute to conflict resolution, empathy and social inclusion (e.g. Howell, 2023; Kallio, 2020; Marsh, 2019). Students engaged in a collaborative composition activity, co-creating musical pieces for elementary-age children on the theme of peace across continents. While the integration of an international dimension into the regular coursework opened meaningful and creative opportunities for global musical exchanges (Charles, 2023), students also encountered the challenges of negotiating different cultural perspectives, belief systems, musical preferences and practices.Consequently, they experienced the challenges of practicing a constructive and peaceful approach in a real context. In this presentation, we trace the phases of program implementation and offer a critical reflection on the ways music education can contribute to translating the ideal of peace—one that recognizes and honors the dignity of all people—into everyday actions rooted in mutuality, empathy, and the acceptance of diverse mindsets, cultural habits, and worldviews.