July 2021

 
The Ensemble seeks to connect and inform all people who are committed to ensemble music education for youth empowerment and social change.
 
The Ensemble Newsletter

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News & Resources

A Letter from Myanmar to Our International Community

Anonymous

07-07-2021

I am a pianist from Myanmar. Please let me tell you about the current situation here in my country.

Before February 2021, some of you might not have been familiar with the country called Myanmar. Because of the military coup and the spring revolution, the world now knows where Myanmar is. Since the coup on February 1, the junta has killed 863 people and detained 6,046 people (AAPP Burma, June 14).

Sistema Europe Wants to Feature Your Program at SEYO SummerFest

07-07-2021

The world is getting together in a couple of weeks—join the Sistema Europe Youth Orchestra SummerFest 2021, July 21–24 and 28–30. Check out the program here and join SEYO’s SummerFest by registering at: bit.ly/SEYOSummerFest2021.

The Importance of Contextualized and Conflict-Sensitive Sistema Programs

Graciela Briceno, Foreign Service Education Officer, U.S. Agency for International Development; Founder, Boston Music Project

07-07-2021

As I listened to the episode, I had a sudden crisis of conscience: had I done the same thing in starting a Sistema-inspired classical music program within a Boston public school? Given the principal’s enthusiasm, and the fact that at the time there was no music or visual arts programming, I eagerly launched the program without questioning what was best for the community. Was the money we were raising for the orchestra program being put to its best use at this school?

The Long-Term Impact of What We Do: A 12-Year Perspective

Abigail Dance, Teacher Musician, In Harmony Lambeth

07-07-2021

Over the years, there have been many memorable and defining moments for me at IHL. The ten-year-old student I chanced upon playing his violin on the street, not busking for money, but playing for the community “to make them feel happy on their way to school”; two young students who took their instruments to church the Sunday after their second viola lesson, to share with their congregation the four notes they had learned; the trip to Canada with our senior students, where we joined with other Sistema organizations for a huge orchestral celebration in our shared language of music; and many more.

Although our program is defined by the powerful togetherness and shared narrative of our orchestral family, I would like to share the stories of two talented and hardworking young artists who had their first taste of music-making through IHL nearly 12 years ago—Simi and Elijah.

VIDEO: Sweden’s Side by Side Camp Festival Concert

07-07-2021

Last month, El Sistema Sweden and the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra held their annual international Side by Side camp, welcoming participants from Sweden, Greenland, Venezuela, the U.S., and elsewhere to play and learn together. For the second straight year, the pandemic forced the camp to take place online, but the results were no less beautiful.

Celebrating the Potential of Our Vulnerable Communities at M-LISADA

Bosco Segawa, Founder, M-LISADA Organization

07-07-2021

Music attracts and connects otherwise unreachable hearts. And for children from the streets, it has the ability to soothe souls, provide comfort, and offer hope for the future. At M-LISADA Organization (Music Life Skills And Destitution Alleviation), a Ugandan registered NGO in the heart of the Katwe slums on the outskirts of Kampala, we serve those children with music education that celebrates their possibilities.

Iberacademy: Human Development Based on Musical Excellence

Irene Littfack, Journalist, Iberacademy

07-07-2021

More than a decade ago, Colombian orchestra conductor Alejandro Posada founded the Iberoamerican Philharmonic Academy—Iberacademy—in Medellín with one purpose in mind: to provide young Latin American talent with opportunities for human development through musical education of excellence.

Ambassadors July 2021 Update

07-07-2021

Toward the end of May, Melbourne experienced our fourth COVID-19 lockdown as a result of 26 new cases in two days. Unfortunately, the cases continued to increase, and the lockdown was extended from one week to two. As such, Pizzicato Effect once again returned to online learning. Happily, as we reached the third week of staying indoors, the number of daily cases decreased, and we were able to return to on-site learning.

“A Place to Share What I Needed”: Finding Our Strengths at My Voice Music

Ian Mouser, Founder and Executive Director, My Voice Music

07-06-2021

The idea for My Voice Music started in 2007, when I brought my guitar into a residential mental health facility where I was a Treatment Counselor working with youth. One of the kids asked me to teach him to play guitar and sing a song in time for the talent show. There was only one catch: the show was two weeks away.

For Young Music Organizations, Community Work Matters More

Laura Patterson, Executive Director, Make Music NOLA

07-06-2021

The first concert that Make Music NOLA ever played was the opening of a community garden. Back then, the organization was still named the Youth Orchestra of the Lower 9th Ward—a group of young musicians with less than a year on their instruments, putting on an unpolished performance of “Saints Go Marching In” for the community. The experience was critical for these students; performing alongside Irma Thomas, the Soul Queen of New Orleans, they felt a lasting current of community support and encouragement. Most of those students continued to play their instruments for years, and many went on to learn a brass instrument and join the marching band at Martin Luther King Elementary.

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