Perspectives & Collective Action

 
The Ensemble seeks to connect and inform all people who are committed to ensemble music education for youth empowerment and social change.
 
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Yo-Yo Ma’s Bach Project Meets The Network of Music Schools of Medellin

Claudia García, former La Red Teaching Artist and Coordinator of La Red activities at the Day of Action (Bach Project)

09-02-2019

It is not a secret to anyone that Medellin, Colombia had a number of violent years that left a trail of pain, death, and corruption. In the early ’90s, Medellin was named the most violent city in the world. More than 25 years later, Medellin´s face has changed; now it is a global example of innovation and development, and culture has played an important role in this social change. 

Principles of Scale for Growing a Sistema System

Dalouge Smith, CEO of The Lewis Prize for Music

09-01-2019

In the early days of the U.S. El Sistema movement, Maestro Abreu regularly spoke at national conferences. Often during these events, he would state, “El Sistema is not a system.” Yet we all marvelled at the interconnected structure of neighborhood núcleos, regional seminarios, state youth orchestras, and the multiple levels of youth orchestras based at Caracas’s national conservatory.

Music Education and Sustainable Development Goals—An Inquiry

Ulrike Gelbmann, Senior Post-Doc, Global Studies Master’s Program, University of Graz, Austria

06-02-2019

Sustainable development is development that takes into account the world‘s present and future needs from a mostly social and environmental, but also economic, point of view. Recently, scientific as well as economic and political institutions have been using the so-called UN sustainable development goals  (SDGs) to plan, implement, and evaluate sustainability-related  action. The formulation of 17 goals and 169 ojectives is the first comprehensive international attempt to tackle poverty, health and educational issues, peace, and environmental problems.

Sistema Parenting

Yubelly Erika Vasquez

05-01-2019

Since kindergarden, my daughters Geanelly and Haley have attended the Paterson Music Project (PMP). Geanelly plays the viola and Haley plays violin. At first, it was hard for both of my girls to get comfortable with their instruments. For me, the hardest thing to get used to was the extra time I needed to support my daughters in the program—taking them, picking them up, coming to concerts, etc.

The Global Challenge

Aristedes Rivas, Cellist and Strings Specialist

06-01-2018

When I was 12 years old, I was invited to join the Los Llanos Symphony Orchestra in Guanare, Venezuela. I was the youngest of a group of children who joined the orchestra that year. The first rehearsal was of Tchaikovsky’s 4th Symphony. I have never in my life felt more lost than I did in that rehearsal. Three years later, I became co-principal cellist of this orchestra, along with my former teacher.

Get Comfortable……Being Uncomfortable

Calida N. Jones, Co-Founder & Artistic Director, Bravo Waterbury!

02-01-2018

What a great opportunity it was to be together with over 100 leaders, teachers, students, and curious individuals this past weekend at the El Sistema USA first-ever symposium. You could feel the excitement, energy, and buzz around Duke University as we took over the Nelson Music Room with live performances, slideshows, and plenary presentations. I believe some of our plenaries really gave space for people to think, reflect, and then hopefully plan a course of action.

Arranging to Play Bernstein’s “Somewhere”

Jamie Bernstein, writer and narrator

01-01-2018

How I wish that my father, Leonard Bernstein, had lived long enough to witness El Sistema. If he had, he would surely have been its most fervent champion. He’d have loved the way this multinational movement combines two of his strongest lifelong commitments: sharing the joy of music with young people, and striving to make the world a more just and peaceful place.

In Response to Disaster

Anna Pietraszko, Executive Director, Miami Music Project

01-01-2018

Hurricane Irma will go down as one of the most intense hurricanes in history. Causing widespread devastation and flooding, this 650-mile-wide storm left millions without power and destroyed one out of every four homes throughout our home state of Florida. The panic before the storm was clear, but it was its humbling aftermath that inspired me to think about different ways to help those most affected.

Aligning for Impact

Adam Johnston, COO, The National Guild for Community Arts Education

11-01-2017

There are rooms in which arts education programs fight for airspace. In state assembly rooms, legislators apportion tax revenue to parklands, regulatory agencies, and (if we’re lucky) arts councils. In school principals’ offices, budget committees decide what is core and extracurricular, compulsory and optional. And in kitchens or living rooms, family decision-makers make similar hard decisions for their children.

Professional Orchestras & Us

Jesse Rosen, President and CEO, League of American Orchestras

06-01-2017

In 1992 I travelled to Caracas with my colleague Tania Leone, the wonderful Cuban-American composer, to begin plans for an American Composers Orchestra festival of Venezuelan music at Carnegie Hall. Tania knew all about El Sistema and José Antonio Abreu, and of course we paid him a visit. It was inconceivable to me then that the principles of El Sistema could ever take hold in America. But since the movement has in fact arrived, its impact on American orchestras has been profound. El Sistema has been an amazing spark, awakening orchestras to their enormous potential for playing an active role in creating a just society.

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