Side by Side by El Sistema Sweden, for a Joyful Decade

 
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

Regions

Africa

Asia/Oceania

Europe

Latin America

North America

Topics

Teaching & Learning

Program Design

Student Voice & Leadership

Community Building

Collaborations

Funding & Support

Perspectives & Collective Action

News & Resources

Side by Side by El Sistema Sweden, for a Joyful Decade

Emily Kubitskey, CEO & Founder, Global Arts; Faculty Teaching Artist, Side by Side

09-04-2024

Scandinavium stadium, view from the stands. Photo: Side by Side.

Every year, a joyous gathering of over 2,000 children and hundreds of teachers and chaperones transforms the sunny city of Gothenburg in mid-June into a grand musical jubilee: it’s the Gothenburg Symphony’s Side by Side youth orchestra festival. Now in its tenth year (with a few creative adaptations during COVID), Side by Side brings together young musicians from across the European Union for a week of music-making. The week traditionally culminates in several large concerts, filling both the Scandinavium, Gothenburg’s huge indoor arena, and the Göteborgs Konserthus, the Symphony’s primary performance venue.

The author (standing, in green) working with students. Photo: Side by Side.

This past June, Side by Side marked its anniversary by including over ten musical ensembles, full orchestras, and choirs—some of them bringing hundreds of young people!

Organized and executed by passionate project manager Johan Andersson, the festival has become a beloved tradition and summer home for many students—and many teaching artists as well, myself included. The dedicated teaching faculty, arriving on a Friday from all corners of the globe, came with the shared purpose of empowering this group of students from around the world to feel comfortable and confident enough to create music with thousands of others. We didn’t bother with jet lag; we jumped right into planning meetings before the festival/camp began on Saturday morning. Each one of us knows that everyone else is just as excited as we are to dive right in.

Concert in the plaza. Photo: Side by Side.

The week unfolded with an intricate schedule of full rehearsals, sektionrep (large sectionals by instrument family, such as woodwinds), and stämrep (small sectionals by individual instrument, such as clarinets only). There were also pop-up concerts for the community, in the plaza in front of the concert house. While most rehearsals and events are conducted in English, the diverse backgrounds and languages always create a wonderful opportunity for immediate connections and often some shared laughter.

Many of the orchestras and ensembles were prepared by Venezuelan conductor Ron Davis Álvarez and Dutch conductor Marjolein Vermeeren. Ron and Marjolein bring tremendous collective experience and the boundless energy essential for leading ten hours of rehearsal each day, sometimes with over 400 students in each orchestra!

Final concert in the Scandinavium Arena, Gothenburg. Photo: Side by Side.

One of the most exceptional and heartwarming aspects of the Side by Side festival is its inclusivity: students from ages 6–23, with all levels of playing ability, are welcomed into the Side by Side family. It’s inspiring to witness Ron work with the younger students, helping them to feel at ease in what is, for many, a new and exciting environment. This kind of support extends all the way to the advanced students, who have the extraordinary opportunity to play side by side with the Gothenburg Symphony in the festival’s final concert.

One of the festival’s most moving traditions occurs each year during the final gathering in the huge arena, when all 2,000 orchestra and choir students, alongside the Gothenburg Symphony, perform a heartfelt rendition of Coldplay’s song “Fix You,” with lyrics in Swedish. In English translation, these are the final lines: “Here by your side am I / Here by my side are you / Come, let’s fix your heart. Side by side….side by side.”

10th Anniversary, Choir Performances, Coldplay ‘Fix You’, Emily Kubitskey, European Union Musicians, Global Music Festival, Gothenburg Events, Gothenburg Symphony, Inclusivity in Music, Johan Andersson, Marjolein Vermeeren, Music Education, Music Ensembles, Musical Collaboration, Orchestra Rehearsals, Ron Davis Álvarez, Scandinavian Music, September 2024, Side by Side, Student Musicians, Teaching Artists, Youth Orchestra Festival

Related Content

Share

ABOUT US MASTHEAD THE AMBASSADORS THE ARCHIVES SUBSCRIBE CONTACT
© Copyright 2022 Ensemble News