House of Good Tones
A New International Center for Reconciliation through the Arts
Ismar Porić, Artistic Director of House of Good Tones, as told to editors at The Ensemble
Few would disagree that imagining and constructing something good for humanity, in a place where vast harm has been done, is a creative act. Therefore, the completion of The Ensemble House in Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina can be seen as one of the world’s great creative triumphs in recent years.
Bosnia’s House of Good Tones: Expanding the Scope of a Music Program
Tricia Tunstall in conversation with Ismar Porić, Founder/Director of House of Good Tones Srebrenica
Have you or your colleagues ever thought about responding to pandemic hardships and political tensions by building a multi-media center? The Sistema-inspired House of Good Tones (HOGT) in Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina not only thought about that, but did it—and it’s a less improbable response than you might think.
Athens to Texas: “We’re With You”
Tricia Tunstall, Co-Founder and Executive Editor, The World Ensemble
Over the past few months, some El Sistema activists in the United States have been mobilizing resources to launch an El Sistema program this month for immigrant children in Tornillo, Texas, who are living in the acute stress of the border crisis. Raising money for this has been a challenge; a music industry charity, the NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) Foundation, recently came through with sufficient support, with help from the Leonard Bernstein Foundation, but many funders with deep pockets don’t understand how ensemble music learning can alleviate a humanitarian crisis.
