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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.

From the Editor

Tricia Tunstall

02-01-2018

Every gathering of music educators gets amped up when, at long last, the kids play. The ESUSA symposium last weekend was no exception. After two days of talks and workshops, we gathered in a concert hall to hear actual students – from Durham’s Kidznotes, Baltimore’s OrchKids, and Chicago’s CHIMOP – actually make music.

The First Annual Symposium of El Sistema in the USA

Hermes Camacho

02-01-2018

The symposiums I’ve attended in my professional career have run the gamut from too much academicism to too much mutual reinforcement among like-minded individuals. But neither was the case at the 2018 El Sistema USA (ESUSA) National Symposium, held during a surprisingly snowy January weekend on the campus of Duke University. There was certainly a prevalence of head-nodding among the nearly 200 attendees, but it was the kind of agreement that symbolized an eagerness to challenge and to improve.

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.

From the Editor

Tricia Tunstall

01-01-2018

“Good job!”

As teachers – especially as teachers with a central goal of helping students develop self-esteem – how many times a day do we say that to kids? In my private teaching practice, I too say it often. When a child works hard, plays well, and looks expectantly at me, it’s almost reflexive.

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.

From the Editor

Tricia Tunstall

12-01-2017

A U.S. El Sistema program made some national headlines this month: YOLA, the youth orchestra program of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, will be getting a new music center designed by Frank Gehry. Gehry is the celebrity architect responsible for Walt Disney Hall, the L.A. Phil’s famously fantastical concert hall. The YOLA center, at 17,000 square feet, will allow the program to double its participants within the next five years.

Developing Student Leaders

Alvaro Rodas, Founder/Director, Corona Youth Music Project

12-01-2017

When I began the Corona Youth Music Project in 2010, I was already aware of two feelings: a fear of “founder’s syndrome” and a conviction that young people can accomplish more than they get credit for. In addition to CYMP’s musical and social goals, therefore, a third goal has always been to create an organization whose community can step in and move it forward.

In Alliance: More than the Sum of Their Parts

Karen Deschere, Executive Director, Wharton Institute for the Performing Arts

12-01-2017

“Hey, did you hear that other group playing our song? I wonder how they knew it?” said one incredulous young cellist to another, after hearing another El Sistema group play “Go Tell Aunt Rhody” at the Fiddle and FaLaLa Fest.

With that one simple question, a child’s world opened up. If he had never heard “Go Tell Aunt Rhody” before he learned it as part of his journey with the Paterson Music Project, how could he guess that anyone else could play it?

The Sistema Wisdom from Texas Marching Bands

Jennifer Hay, Executive Director, B Sharp Youth Music, Fort Worth, TX

12-01-2017

Deep in the heart of Texas, football and band are king. The size of our high school stadiums alone could make most colleges across the nation a little jealous. Two-a-days (and sometimes three-a-days) apply to the football team and the marching band alike.

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