Collaborations

There are seasons in any movement. The beginning, that electric moment when a new idea catches fire, is unforgettable. So is the end, when a movement gains a permanent foothold in society. But the middle—the developing stage—is different. The middle is where the path is no longer clear, where the just cause and the strategies for seeing it through are both tested. It’s my impression that, in many places of the world, El Sistema-inspired programs find themselves in that adolescent stage.

These growing years are critical to our future as a movement—just as the adolescent years are critical to our students’ growth. Here are a few discoveries being made by U.S. programs I’m familiar with, shared with the hope that they resonate with programs around the world.

The contemporary classical music organization Donemus has a leading role in the Forbidden Music Regained project, which is “dedicated to rediscovering and reviving the musical works of composers whose voices were silenced during the Nazi regime.”

The Creative Economy Pathways Virtual Town Hall Series explores how Creative Youth Development is expanding career pathways for young people through arts-based experiences and youth leadership.

Like many organizations across Europe, El Sistema Greece draws part of its support from European Union programs. While our work has always focused on music and social change, we’ve recently partnered with organizations beyond the music sector to explore something broader: “artivism” across different art forms. This collaboration led to the launch of a new project, co-funded with the EU and dedicated to empowering young people, especially those with fewer opportunities.

Impact Arts has launched Home of Hope, an international WhatsApp community with thematic-interest groups that connects artists, cultural workers, researchers, community leaders, and peacebuilders who work in situations of conflict and complex societal challenges.

The student-teacher relationship in classical music conservatories is unlike almost any other.

The Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) Foundation’s Global Grants Program funds a diverse range of charitable projects benefiting underserved communities, and especially young people, worldwide.

In the winter of 2013, Project: Music Heals Us Founder Molly Carr shattered a glass bowl into her left hand on the eve of her concert tour, halting her performing career. In the months that followed, she enrolled in a nursing aide course through the American Red Cross and was assigned to work with Ruth, a late-stage Alzheimer’s patient who, staff warned her, hadn’t spoken in years. The advice she received was practical: get in, get the job done, harden yourself to the screams, and get out.

She knew that the care and attention all people need required something more. So she sat down, held Ruth’s hand in silence, and Ruth, the woman who had not spoken in years, turned and began speaking in complete sentences.

Molly came back every day of that residency. On the last day, she promised Ruth that she would return, and bring her viola next time.

What does visual art have to do with listening?

It’s an unusual question—but one that’s well worth exploring, as I discovered recently when I attended Sguardi Paralleli (Parallel Glances) – Art Therapy and Autism: Art as Language, an exhibition held in Alassio, Italy and curated by art therapist Carla Paura.

The New England Conservatory has produced a free new music game application, NADIA.