Debuting "The Ensemble"  

Abreu Fellow's mentor Eric Booth, one of the nation’s most creative teachers and father of the teaching artist profession, has just sent us the first edition of a brand new newsletter for the El Sistema Movement in the United States. The story behind the project in Eric’s own words:

“I was sitting at home a few weeks ago, thinking about how to get more communication going among the dedicated sites and individuals in this growing network. It hit me. A newsletter--focused on the national movement, rather than any one site.“

“I sensed right away it would be a useful contribution to the national ecosystem, especially if it lived independently rather than under any existing umbrella. I knew my overstuffed schedule didn't allow for me to do it alone, so I asked Tricia Tunstall if she would be the Editor. Many of you know Tricia--she is the author of the forthcoming major book on El Sistema (coming out in January from WW Norton) and is an independent observer, enthusiast and writer about the movement. Generously she agreed. So we are making it happen.”

Please do help us distribute the newsletter to raise the visibility of our movement: by forwarding the newsletter, placing it on your website, and by printing out some copies.

So here it is, enjoy!

TheEnsemble.November.2011.pdf

An El Sistema Bibliography 

An El Sistema Bibliography, compiled by my friend and colleague David France:

Bibliographic References

Borzacchini, C. (2004). Venezuela bursting with orchestras. Caracas: Banco del Caribe.

Carroll, R. (2007). "Chávez pours millions more into pioneering music scheme". The Guardian (London): Retrieved 8 September 2007.

Graves, J. (2005). Cultural Democracy: The arts, the Community, and the Public Purpose. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.

Hetland, L. (2000) Learning to Make Music Enhances Spatial Reasoning . Journal of Aesthetic Education, Vol. 34, No. 3/4

Jackson, M. R. (2008).“Art and cultural participation at the heart of community life.” In J. Cherbo, R. A. Stewart, and M. Wyszomirski (eds.). Understanding the Arts and the Creative Sector in the United States. New Brunswick: Rutgers.

Webber, J. (2011) “El Sistema: When Music Cuts Crime and Saves Lives.” The Telegraph (London) Retrieved 13 October 2011.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/classicalmusic/6866818/El-Sistema-when-music-cuts-crime-and-saves-lives.html

Electronic references

Booth, Eric. El Sistema’s Open Secrets. 2010. Unpublished
http://www.arts.virginia.gov/resources/artworks/EricBoothReadingList2.pdf

Inter-American Development Bank (2007). Program to support the Center for Social Action through Music (VE-L1017). Washington, D.C.: Inter-American Development Bank.
http://idbdocs.iadb.org/wsdocs/getdocument.aspx?docnum=1002635

Evaluation of Big Noise, Sistema Scotland: The Scottish Government
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/345409/0114922.pdf

Fundación del Estado para el Sistema Nacional de Orquestas Juveniles e Infantiles de Venezuela (FESNOJIV) (2011). Website. Retrieved from:
http://www.fesnojiv.gov.be

Dissertation

Mora-Brito, Daniel (2011) Between social harmony and political dissonance: the institutional and policy-based intricacies of the Venezuelan System of Children and Youth Orchestras. Master’s Dissertation. University of Texas at Austin

Documentaries and audiovisual materials

Arvelo, A. (2010) (Director). Dudamel. Let the Children Play [Documentary]. Caracas

Arvelo, A. (2006) (Director). Tocar y Luchar [Documentary]. Caracas: FESNOJIV, Explorart Films, CNAC and CONAC.

TED (2009). José Antonio Abreu on kids transformed by music. Acceptance speech of José Antonio Abreu (TED Prize) [Video]. New York: TED. Retrieved on April 27, 2011 from: http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/jose_abreu_on_kids_transformed_by_music.html

Here we come!  



Abreu Fellow Ben Fuller and Communications Director Virginia Hecker finalizing plans for a visit at Big Noise, Scotland's flagship El Sistema-inspired program.  

The Abreu Fellows are now planning internships (October 24-November 18) throughout United States and around the world to collaborate with El Sistema-inspired programs in cities including Chicago, Cincinati, Juneau, Costa Rica, and Scotland. During our U.S. internships, we will be documenting the achievements of the field through active practice, exchange, and collaboration.

I am particularly excited about meeting and working with El Sistema-inspired teachers, directors, public policy strategists, and advocates of music for social change and innovation. I am focusing my internship in four key themes related to the exploration and development of El Sistema models in the United States. These include examining best practices and collaborations; public policy and advocacy; sustainability; and translation in the context of our music education ecosystems. I plan to be in residence in Baltimore, Washington D.C., and in New York City. Organizations I will be visiting include the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (ORCHKids), Organization of American States, and the League of American Orchestras.

Music in the Heart of Queens 


Imagination meets possibility, October 7, 2011

During our recent trip to New York, we met with our good friend Alvaro Rodas, a former Fulbright Scholar and Abreu Fellow ‘10. He graciously hosted us at Nucleo Corona, an inspiring musical community, right in the heart of Queens. The nucleo focuses on project based learning, with opportunities ranging from week-long camps with guest choral director Sanna Valvanne to paper orchestra projects, and bucket-band percussion ensembles. Alvaro believes in the orchestra as an ensemble that transcends cultural barriers and allows young people to discover and enact teamwork and discipline.

Alvaro and his team of teachers, parents, and volunteers are making a difference in their community through music. Thank you for sharing the beauty of your work with us all. Please visit www.nucleocorona.org to find out more about the project!

Friends in NY  



With Jamie Bernstein, New York, October 2011

“Only a society prepared by education can ever be truly a cultured society …Children must receive musical instruction naturally as food, and with as much pleasure as they derive from a ball game.”
-Leonard Bernstein

In New York City, our friend Jamie Bernstein invited the Abreu Fellows to her home for an evening of musical conversations and splendid Venezuelan cuisine. It was a beautiful group of people coming together to celebrate music and friendship. Among her guests, Anne Fitzgibbon of the Harmony Project, composer John Deak, and musicians from Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. She was a generous and gracious host to us all. 

 I told Jamie about my admiration for her father, how I am continually inspired by his legacy and vision. How I put together a Young People's Concert series for children when I was 12, writing scripts and taking pictures of portraits of Mozart and Beethoven from textbooks and turning them into slides. She showed us some of her childhood pictures, she told us about her dreams for the future of classical music. Having the opportunity to meet her was a beautiful experience.

A brilliant musician and writer, like her father, she is also a passionate champion for social justice. She is deeply involved in advancing music education through advocacy, collaboration, and meaningful artistic programming. As one of many contributions to the El Sistema movement in the United States, Jamie is currently working on a documentary featuring the children of Play-On Philly, a thriving nucleo in Philadelphia, led by Stanford Thompson, Abreu Fellow ‘10. See a short trailer here:



Jamie will be performing one of her signature Young People’s Concerts with the New York Philharmonic on November 12, 2011. The program features her father’s compositions and legacy to American culture and humanity.

Meaningful Partnerships 


In Los Angeles, with friends Dan Berkowitz and Susan Siman during the first YOLA Symposium (May, 2009).


Exciting news for music and education.

The La Philharmonic and Bard College will be collaborating in Take a Stand, an important educational iniative to advance aspects of the El Sistema movement in the United States. See the press release here: http://www.bard.edu/news/releases/pr/fstory.php?id=2179

I admire Bard’s commitment to education reform and the LA Phil’s vision for music as an instrument for social change. During the past couple of years, I’ve had the honor to cultivate meaningful friendships with these two organizations: studying as a Conducting Fellow at Bard College and guest conducting with the LA Phil's YOLA Orchestras at Expo Center. This partnership is a natural fit and an important step to connect and train classroom teachers in the El Sistema model.

I am excited about the future of the El Sistema movement in the United States and look forward to seeing more regional and national partnerships develop to sustain this important work. Building frameworks that connects resources, ideas, and best practices are all important steps to develop more effective iniatives at all levels.

In the spirit of partnership, the third class of Abreu Fellows at New England Conservatory recently collaborated with the Longy School of Music of Bard College  and the Conservatory Lab Charter School to host a workshop for El Sistema-inspired teachers in Boston. It was a fantastic event, bringing an important perspective to teaching in the El Sistema model. Master teacher Lorrie Heagy (Abreu Fellow ’10) and current Alaska Teacher of the Year, led inspiring seminars in music pedagogy and practice. More than 40 leaders and educators were in attendance, including representatives from the People's Music School in Chicago, the Hartford Symphony, and Community Music Works. The event culminated in a rehearsal/performance by the Charter School's Dudamel Orchestra and guests, led by conductor David Malek. Much praise to education directors at Longy, Elsje Kibler-Vermaas and Judy Bose, for organizing this meaningful event.
 
What's ahead:

The Abreu Fellows will be visiting  in Los Angeles (January 2012) to present the findings of a substantial nation-wide needs assessment survey during the 2012 YOLA Symposium. It is the first comprehensive survey of the El Sistema inspired programs in the United States. To register for the event, please visit:
http://www.laphil.com/education/yola-symposium/index-2012.cfm

Abreu Fellows and their Blogs  


The Third Class of Abreu Fellows at New England Conservatory of Music, Photo by: Andrew Hurlbut


The Abreu Fellows Program has two primary goals: to educate 10 people each year to make significant and sustainable contributions to the growth of the El Sistema movement in the United States and, through that work, to contribute knowledge and artifacts that are of use to others interested in growing El Sistema throughout the world. Upon completion of the Sistema Fellowship, graduates of the program are required to work on behalf of The El Sistema movement, preferably in the U.S., for at least one year. Graduates will become members of an ever-expanding network of Sistema Fellows, mentoring other leaders and teachers while developing their own local programs consistent with the original intent of El Sistema.

My fellow Fellow's Blogs:

David France:  "We talked of their love of learning and taking every opportunity to grow when outsiders visit. I am not a seasoned string specialist….yet so coming into a situation where I don’t know the level of the students and wanting to make a lasting impact the “what should I do here?” question was very important. Do I just work on sound, musical ideas, vibrato, posture, bow hold, intonation, phrasing, or rhythm? The answer is a resounding YES!"

Albert Oppeheimer: "There is a glowing classical music connection through history in New Orleans, but it has dimmed recently. How can we rekindle that light? If Sistema were to grow in New Orleans, the classical music that we would hear from the youth in underserved communities would not be a new sound, but a rebirth!"

Jennifer Kessler: "This is what it means when we talk about "building community:" giving the families a sense of pride in their children and in what the young people in their neighborhoods can do through musical accomplishment."

Stephanie Hsu: "And yet, flexibility and spontaneity seem also to be critical components of El Sistema’s success, making common denominators helpful, but never definitive Gospel. Ultimately, no discussion of common denominators can be had without a focused emphasis on outcomes."

Avi Mehta: "The music making was not only relevant to this community’s culture, but provided the students with three hours of artistic and academic instruction in a safe, compelling, and passionate environment."

Alysia Lee: "Large ensemble festival experiences have been an inspirational turning point for many young musicians and also motivate young musicians who often have little opportunity engage with peers musically-MICS provides that opportunity!"

Aisha Bowden: "I remember the day I first learned of El Sistema. It was during a normal meeting of music teachers in D.C. when Ben Hall (Director of Music for Washington D.C. Public Schools) mentioned an amazing music program in Venezuela that was taking the world by storm."

Ben Fuller: "Our purpose as Abreu Fellows is to make a significant contribution to the growing El Sistema movement in the United States."