November 2019

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

Rotating Student Leadership Roles at Tocando

11-06-2019

Widening participation is one of the goals of Tocando, an El-Sistema inspired program in the U.S/Mexico border city of El Paso, Texas. Students attend the after-school music program Monday through Thursday to receive tutoring, musicianship, and strings instruction. One of Tocando’s distinctive features is the emphasis on developing students’ sense of agency and ownership by giving them rotating job-based assignments. I had the opportunity to observe this process in my role as a researcher for my dissertation study.

Editorial: When the Arrows are Words, Best to Just Let Them In

11-06-2019

It’s that moment that threatens to undo many of us. I had just finished giving a Sistema presentation to the Alliance for Childhood at the European Parliament. It had seemed to go pretty well. And then came the first question; an apparently well-intentioned and gentle lady from Finland looked me straight in the eye, and asked in a low, steely voice, “What do you think about the criticisms of El Sistema?”

The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra Goes to Govanhill

11-06-2019

In autumn 2019, a collaboration between Sistema Scotland, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, and Holyrood Secondary School brought about a unique residency. For a few days in early October, the BBC SSO, Scotland’s oldest orchestra, decamped from their prestigious base of operations at the City Halls in Glasgow to a school in Govanhill, a neighborhood on the south side of the city. This was not the BBC SSO’s first community-based residency; however, it was one of its largest ones, with over 80 musicians participating over the four days.

A Mexican Village Hosts an International Music Festival

11-06-2019

The Naolinco International Music Festival (Festival Internacional de Música Naolinco) is an annual summer music festival that takes place in the municipality of Naolinco, Veracruz, Mexico. The motto of the festival roughly translates to “the project that will gather all.” This motto expresses the idea that music can be a factor in bringing people together in order to work towards a common goal. The festival has become a project that goes beyond music making—it is a project for social change, since it gives people an opportunity to be united around a music project that now the community has embraced as its own.

Child’s Play (India) Foundation enters the double digits!

11-06-2019

The Child’s Play (India) Foundation is an organization that seeks to instill positive values and provide social empowerment to India’s disadvantaged children, through the teaching of classical music at the highest possible standards. We are celebrating our 10th year of working with children in Goa, a state in western India.

News Notes, November 2019

11-05-2019

El Sistema USA recently announced the launch of the El Sistema USA Working Groups. These groups provide both a virtual and in-person space for leaders to come together to discuss and share best practices and challenges they face.

Fostering Environmental Stewardship in Sistema Programs

11-02-2019

One of our core tenets in the El Sistema movement is that great music education can be more than training on an instrument—it can create better citizens who contribute positively in all aspects of our world. We teach our students to take care of their instruments, the facilities they use, and their classmates and communities.

Partnering with Parents

11-02-2019

The People’s Music School (TPMS) is the first 100% free music school of its kind in the country. Founded in 1976 by Rita Simo, an immigrant from the Dominican Republic, our school has grown into a strong community movement. We serve 1,000 students ages 5-18 through programs in the four corners of Chicago: Uptown, Albany Park, Back of the Yards and Bronzeville.

Resources, November 2019

11-01-2019

English Language Learner (ELL) students are the fastest-growing student population in the United States—by 2025, an estimated 25% of public school students will be emergent multilingual learners, according to the National Education Association (NEA). Check out some free resources to support ELLs in your program.

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