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Improvising with Visionary Young People

Jeff Lederer, co-founder/director of the Visionary Youth Orchestra in NYC and Director of Jazz Studies at LIU Post

02-01-2019

I co-founded the Visionary Youth Orchestra (VYO) along with Jessica Jones in New York in 2010. The idea of our project was to provide a workshop/ensemble of young musicians to explore structured free improvisation in a large ensemble setting. The results have been remarkable – this innovative group has garnered great praise in its eight years, and recently had the honor of performing at the Cecil Taylor memorial in NYC.

Collective Composition

Cecille Elliott, Director of Creative Play, BRAVO Youth Orchestras, Portland, OR

02-01-2019

At BRAVO Youth Orchestras, there are ongoing conversations about the impact of introducing collective composition–composing together as a group–often focusing on how it impacts the staff, our students, and our community, and on what it means to facilitate and support a collective musical voice. There’s an active effort to establish equitable practices that reinforce a supportive environment for BRAVO students during creative projects. BRAVO’s central goal is student empowerment to discover what it is they want to say through their music.

The Greater Sistema Vision

Rodrigo Guerrero, Program Manager, SerHacer; Mass Cultural Council

01-01-2019

In 2015, the Mass Cultural Council created the SerHacer program, a granting opportunity focused on intensive, ensemble-based music programs that use music as a vehicle for youth development and social change. Inspired by the work of El Sistema, the program supports a wide variety of in-school and community organizations, to expand access to social and artistic music-making opportunities.

From the Editor, January 2019

Tricia Tunstall

01-01-2019

In the time-honored tradition of pausing on the cusp of a new year to look both forward and back, I’ve been reflecting this week on two questions. How has our Sistema-inspired movement made progress, and what areas are most in need of improvement? Here are my thoughts.

Teaching the Future

Michael Raiber, Director of Teacher Support, El Sistema Oklahoma; Busey Chair of Music Education, Oklahoma City University

01-01-2019

The majority of the American music teaching workforce is white. This would not be an issue if it matched U.S. school demographics. However, in city schools where the general population is majority students of color, the music student population is considerably more white. While there are multiple factors contributing to this, it may be best understood as a lack of access to quality music education that provides opportunities for students of color to choose careers in music teaching. The fact that students of color do not see music teachers who look like them is a form of social injustice.

FEATURE: Introducing The World Ensemble Ambassadors

Graciela Briceno, Managing Editor, The World Ensemble

12-31-2018

Are young musicians in El Sistema programs aware of the global Sistema movement? Some have met through joint performances, but what about students in countries that are farther away? Do students in Brazil, for example, know of their music peers in New Zealand or Kenya?

Sistema Updates from the United States

12-31-2018

Here are a few new Sistema ideas in the United States, and an invitation to the join the El Sistema USA National Symposium at the end of January:

La Red Brings Its Original Music to the U.S.A.

Claudia García, International Management Coordinator for La Red 2018 Tour

12-15-2018

La Red de Escuelas de Música de Medellín (The Music School Network of Medellín) toured the East Coast of the United States in November. Eighty students from La Red’s 27 music schools across Medellín, Colombia were selected through auditions to be part of this creative journey. These students had the opportunity to analyze and reflect on the city they live in, and to produce a 60-minute musical suite called “Medellín Canción Viva” [Medellín, A Living Song].

Supporting the Young Artist’s Initiative

Michael Pechter, Director of Play On Philly’s POP Emerging Artist Collective (PEAC)

12-01-2018

This fall marks the second year of an exciting new talent development program at Play On Philly! Our Emerging Artist Collective (PEAC) is a cohort of nearly twenty students who have demonstrated the utmost dedication and whose families have demonstrated the devotion needed for success. Unlike all other Play On Philly students, those in PEAC receive private lessons and advocacy as they navigate Philadelphia’s musical landscape. As director of this program, I work to show them that a life playing music and immersed in music is a true possibility for them.

What It Really Takes

Osi Atikpoh, Freelance Musician

12-01-2018

Tuned In is a music program based in Baltimore City that provides free, top-notch musical training for young musicians. As a Tuned In graduate, I’ve had the opportunity to meet a lot of people from a lot of non-profit art programs. Most of all, I really enjoy meeting people who are in the beginning stages of launching their own program.

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