Creating the COVID-19 Community Response Fund
By Dalouge Smith, CEO of The Lewis Prize for Music The Lewis Prize for Music, a philanthropic foundation established in the United States in 2018, is guided by the mission of partnering with leaders who create positive change by investing... Read More →
The Amani Project Partners with U.S. El Sistema Teachers-in-Training
by Akhil Gopal and Ziyad Marcus, students in the MAT Program of Longy School of Music of Bard College As students in Longy School of Music’s El Sistema-inspired Masters of Arts in Teaching program, we have recently partnered with the... Read More →
OrKidstra’s Youth Group Gives Students Space to Be Themselves
By Andrew Gesing, Program Coordinator, OrKidstra, Ottawa, Canada “From pizza parties and Frisbee games to movie-watching and intense card matches, Fridays have been something to look even more forward to!” For Noah Linson-Hudson and almost 30 other OrKidstra students, Friday... Read More →
U.S. Sistema Programs Respond to Pandemic
by Eric Booth, co-founder of The Ensemble Newsletters In the U.S., Sistema programs shut down in early March—first one, then a few, and within a week, all of them. As safety issues were clear, there was little energy wasted on... Read More →
Inside SphinxConnect 2020
By Joanna Borowski, Director of Education, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra The Sphinx Organization is dedicated to transforming lives through the power of diversity in the arts. The distinctive mission of Sphinx, within that context, is to address the underrepresentation of... Read More →
U.S.A. National Sistema Orchestra Members Visit the Barbican
by Gerdlie Jean Louis, student, Kids4Harmony | 18 Degrees, in Pittsfield, MA, U.S.A. Since last July, I have had the distinct pleasure of participating in the inaugural cohort of the YOLA National Institute (YNI). YNI, an initiative launched last year... Read More →
Editorial | Competition, the Sistema Way
By Eric Booth, Co-Founder of The World Ensemble The English travel writer Pico Iyer moved to Japan 27 years ago, and his passionate hobby became playing ping-pong at a nearby club. His pleasure in the game comes from the way... Read More →
Editorial | Athens to Texas: “We’re With You”
by 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,... Read More →
Share Your Time & Talent: Sistema Connect
By Graciela Briceno, Founder and current board member, Josiah Quincy Orchestra Program Former Managing Editor, The World Ensemble Looking for a meaningful New Year’s Resolution that will benefit children and your own musical journey? Sign up to become a Sistema Connect Volunteer and help an emerging El Sistema program,... Read More →
BLUME Haiti: Building Leaders Using Music Education in Haiti
by Rachael Cohen, BLUME Haiti board member, Global Leader 2020 Cohort BLUME Haiti uses the extraordinary impact of music as a tool to empower musicians throughout Haiti. Responding to urgent needs after the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti in 2010,... Read More →