Exploring El Sistema

The June edition of Tricia Tunstall and Eric Booth's publication chronicling the emerging field of El Sistema-inspired activity in the US and beyond, including an essay by Rebecca Levi, Sistema Fellow '10, is found here. Sistema Fellows Program

Please join us in welcoming the 2014 Sistema Fellows! Click here to read their biographies on the NEC website. Sistema Fellows Program

A short video of four nucleos (MYCincinnati, YOURS Project, Q the Music, COR) performing an excerpt from Brahms Symphony No. 1 at a recent seminario in Dayton, OH, that also included a full day of sectionals, workshops, and games. Sistema Fellows Program

From the archives: 2013 Sistema Fellows with FundaMusical leadership in Caracas, with Heath, Eric, and Tricia Tunstall. Sistema Fellows Program

About two weeks ago, the Sistema Fellows graduated from NEC. It was a small, intimate ceremony with some family members and lots of friends in attendance. The ceremony opened with encouraging words and anecdotes related to our class from NEC president Tony Woodcock. Then, each Fellow had the floor for... Sistema Fellows Program

Some mornings, beneath the streets of Boston, David France plays his violin for the passers-by who fill the subway corridor. Some stop to listen, while others acknowledge him by dropping money into the empty violin case that lies at his feet. France uses this money to fund Revolution of Hope,... Sistema Fellows Program

Congratulations to the class of 2013! Sistema Fellows Program

The El Sistema-inspired field is filled with questions. How could it not be, given its recent and rapid emergence? Our challenge, then, is to find the right questions – the provocative, testing, and ultimately, formative ones. One of the focal investigations of the Sistema Fellows this year was how to... Sistema Fellows Program

The other day I went in to teach a first grade violin class and felt quite distracted – bow holds and the D-A-D song were the last things on my mind. I was instead weighted down by a great sadness. So as class began, I asked them to set their... Sistema Fellows Program

It's been a while since we were all together in the same location! Sistema Fellows Program

Lexington KY – Central Kentucky Youth Orchestras is pleased to announce the creation of the North Limestone MusicWorks, a new El Sistema-inspired program in the North Limestone neighborhood of Lexington, designed in cooperation with the North Limestone Cultural Development Corporation (NoLi CDC). This program will be the first of its... Sistema Fellows Program

The day that Diogo and I performed at the Tamaca nucleo in Venezuela happened to coincide with the very first rehearsal of their “initiation orchestra.” The students, ranging from age 7 to 15, had been playing their instruments for at most two months and for others about fifteen minutes. There... Sistema Fellows Program

The May edition of Tricia Tunstall and Eric Booth's publication chronicling the emerging field of El Sistema-inspired activity in the US and beyond is found here. Sistema Fellows Program

Enjoying a field trip to Concord on the commuter rail. Sistema Fellows Program

Sistema Fellows Program

March 26 and 27 marked an important moment for Boston’s El Sistema community. On March 26, six El Sistema-inspired programs convened at NEC for an afternoon of music making: Conservatory Lab Charter School (Rebecca Levi, director); El Sistema Somerville (Diane Cline, director); Bridge Boston Charter School (Julie Davis, director); Josiah... Sistema Fellows Program

Say Yes to Assess For our students we just want the best For them to fly once they leave the nest Not only survive But also to thrive And to do that, we must assess At times it may seem like a mess with the piles and piles of tests... Sistema Fellows Program

Something remarkable is happening in East Price Hill. For two hours each weekday, Mozart, Beethoven and Vivaldi can be heard wafting from a small building on Warsaw Ave. There’s no sign – only a piece of paper tacked on the front door with the handwritten words “MYCincinnati.” But behind the... Sistema Fellows Program

As the lights dimmed, I ended my private conversation and got in “concert mode”-you know, not talking and sitting still. However, I noticed I seemed to be the only one on autopilot. Amongst my neighbors, the chatter persisted with anticipation and excitement. The music began yet the hushed conversations continued…for... Sistema Fellows Program

David France, Sistema Fellow '12, has launched Revolution of Hope in Roxbury, MA. The community being built in the Roxbury Youth Orchestra will of course be built around the smiles, laughter, and joy, but it will be sustained by how we weather the harder days... like today. While I was... Sistema Fellows Program