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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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Creating Musical Communities in Romania

Elana Andrews, Coordinator/Choir Director, Superar Romania

03-31-2019

This month, 150 children in the community of Zizin, near Brasov in Romania, are celebrating six years of choral singing. Since April 2013, when I held the first rehearsal as part of Superar Romania, the choir program, involving mostly Roma children, has grown to become a stable and sought after part of village life. The program promotes the integration of marginalized people in the larger community, using music to develop the social skills necessary for the children to positively represent their village, which assists in contradicting stereotypes and prejudices.

Social Change from Within: Learning Human Values Through Music

Thomas Madeja, Co-Founder and Artistic Director of The Chicago Metamorphosis Orchestra Project

03-30-2019

Social change, the primary objective of most El Sistema programs, is usually thought of as an external challenge. Addressing such challenges as poverty, violence, racism, inequitably funded schools, language barriers, and other familiar obstacles to success often involves outside foundations bringing in programs to the communities of need. This work is critical and important, and needs to continue and grow. However, because true change also must come from within a community, looking within ourselves to more reflective practices can help provide context, clarity, and purpose.

The Ambassadors’ Exchange, March 2019

03-01-2019

On 9 February, the Orchestra of the Filipino Youth (OFY), led by their conductor Joshua Dos Santos, performed a pre-Valentine’s Day concert titled “Musika at Misyon” (Music and Mission) at the Sun Life Amphitheater in the BGC Arts Center in Taguig, Metro Manila. They played an eclectic mix of pieces, from classical works such as Dvorak’s Slavonic Dance No. 8 and Wagner’s Rienzi Overture, to fun pieces such as the “Mission Impossible” theme and “Mambos” by Toussaint and Perez Prado, as well as classic Filipino favorites. What made this concert special was that for a few pieces, the Orchestra of the Filipino Youth and the Ang Misyon Children’s Orchestra performed as one ensemble for the first time.

New Developments at Ang Misyon, the Philippines

03-01-2019

The Sistema-inspired program Ang Misyon, in the Philippines, has announced new leadership as of January 2019.  Maestro Joshua Dos Santos is the Music Director, Marianne Quebral is Director for Partnerships and Networking, and Shirley Cruz is now the Executive Director.

OrKidstra Sings at Canada’s National Hockey Game

03-01-2019

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Updates from El Sistema Kenya

03-01-2019

El Sistema Kenya (ESK) has programs in two underprivileged areas of Nairobi, Kawangware and Waithaka.  ESK reports two recent changes they are working on.  First, they get many requests from people wanting to visit and/or teach, but often, the visits provide no funding, no help, and basically no benefits accrue to the program from making arrangements for these short visits. 

El Sistema USA Leads 2019 National Symposium

Tricia Tunstall, Editor, The World Ensemble

03-01-2019

Over two hundred program leaders, teaching artists, supporters and advocates of the El Sistema movement in the United States came together in Detroit, Michigan in January, to reflect upon current practice and explore promising new directions in the field.  The gathering was designed and led by El Sistema USA, a national organization whose membership includes many Sistema-inspired programs.

Updates from Passeurs d’Arts in France

03-01-2019

On 16 March 2019, Passeurs d’Arts will celebrate the approach of spring with an entire day dedicated to orchestras of children and youth.

Led by Performance:  Sistema in Norwich

Marcus Patteson, Executive Director, Sistema in Norwich

03-01-2019

At Sistema in Norwich (England), we have sought to put performance at the forefront of developing our programme.  Although performance has always been an important aspect of our work, and we have been getting children involved in performing from the earliest stages of the learning process, the Performance Project seeks to go beyond that practice.  The project developed out of three strands of thought.

EDITORIAL: Inspiration from Venezuelan Master Teachers

Eric Booth, Publisher, The World Ensemble

03-01-2019

The U.S. El Sistema-inspired movement felt like “a field” at the El Sistema USA National Symposium in Detroit, Michigan this past January, as we honored our lineage together and shared new ideas about how to advance our practice. The symposium brought together more than 200 Sistema colleagues, representing 80 organizations and hailing from 28 different states, for a day and a half of intensive dialogue and interactive demonstrations.  Elsewhere in this issue we will report on some of the key features of the Symposium, but this editorial focuses on one distinctive aspect of El Sistema:  Venezuela.

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