Events/Performances

It was clear that the 2019 El Sistema USA National Symposium was going to be special when, in the midst of a historic cold spell, over 200 attendees representing 80 different El Sistema-inspired organizations braved sub-zero temperatures to attend. Attendees arrived early for the welcome and filled the ballroom with the type of vibrant energy surrounding a convening of friends for their annual trip. Christine Taylor Conda, the ESUSA board chair, chose to forgo the typical welcome and, instead, immediately had the entire room singing a three-part song to meet and welcome one another, setting a tone of collaboration and camaraderie for the symposium.

Ghetto Classics in Kenya held a special concert on 18th November at St. John’s Community Centre in Korogocho. Students had the opportunity to showcase all of the work they had done this year. In lieu of ticket sales, attendees were encouraged to bring school supplies and clothes.

On November 13, a combined orchestra and choir composed of students from three Balkan countries performed a concert at the Vatroslav Lisinski Councert Hall in Zagreb, Croatia. Over 300 students from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Serbia came together for this performance; it was the first joint performance of these three Balkan El Sistema programs. The Bosnian program “House of Good Tones Srebrenica” was the organizer of the event.

Our first two concerts of the second school term were at retirement homes. The first concert was on 29 June at Susanne Grau Heim and the next one was on 18 July at the Katutura Old Age Home. Because 18 July was the birthday of the late Nelson Mandela, we chose to celebrate his centenary by giving our music, time and small gifts to the elderly residents.

The Philippines-based Orchestra of the Filipino Youth (OFY) made its Middle East debut last month.

On Saturday, 27 October, Sistema in Norwich, England teamed up with a circus!

Xiquitsi is celebrating its fifth anniversary, and is using the marker to share its work with a wider audience and public, in its home of Mozambique and in other countries.  They have had a five concert series in this celebratory year—an ambitious expansion of their previous concert offerings.  This anniversary year has been one of new accomplishments.  

The 12th annual Festival of Books and Culture  was recently held in Medellín, Colombia.

Each Saturday, nearly one hundred young people from all corners of the Philippines come together for a day of music-making with the Orchestra for Filipino Youth (OFY) at the Rockwell Business Center in Metro Manila. Even though some students have to catch early morning boats in order to get there—as early as 5 o’clock sometimes—the musicians are prepared and attentive come the downbeat at 10.

The NEOJIBA Youth Orchestra of Bahia, Brazil will embark on its seventh international tour this coming month. Students will perform nine concerts in Italy, Switzerland and France, beginning on 2 September in Torino, and finishing with an already sold-out concert at the Philharmonie de Paris.