What's in It for Professional Orchestras?

2017 | ISSUE #2 the world ensemble11 | 2011 THETHE NEWSLETTERNEWSLETTER FORFOR THE THE WORLDWIDEWORLDWIDE ELEL SISTEMASISTEMA MOVEMENTMOVEMENT What’s in it for Professional Orchestras? NEWS By Lucy Rash, Education Manager, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (Australia) AFRICA Plush velvet seats, dimmed lighting, and the overture- the opportunity to draw in younger audiences. For Xiquitsi Project Documentary, Mozambique concerto-symphony trifecta: it’s the perfect setting in Ros Giffney of Sistema Aotearoa (SA), the program The January 2017 issue of the World Ensemble which to enjoy classical music. Or is it? For an ever- represents “a close and positive partnership with the featured an article by Kika Materula, the founder of growing number of orchestras around the world, this Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra (APO) that provides Xiquitsi Project in Mozambique. You can now view a image of the main stage ‘art for art’s sake’ concert hall is young people with unique, inspirational opportunities.” 19-minute documentary film that brings this program fast losing its monopoly over company strategy. In 2016, SA alone engaged with over 1,000 students. to life: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6x2f-dcA_g Importantly, programs like this are now encouraging a Continued on page 2 > At Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO), we are in culture of mutual exchange whereby orchestras gain the process of implementing a new strategic plan. ASIA the interest of new young lovers of classical music while I’m extremely proud of the process, and here’s why: Introducing Sounds of Palestine investing in the skills and wellbeing of this audience. As the dreaming and doing traditionally undertaken by Sounds of Palestine was founded in 2012 in two Peter Garden, Executive Director of Performance and the Education and Community Engagement team is refugee camps in Bethlehem. Today, more than 160 Learning at Royal Liverpool Philharmonic/In Harmony undergoing a significant shift away from the periphery kindergarten children receive weekly music workshops Liverpool, suggests, “an extensive and outstanding and towards the core of our work as a company. throughout refugee camps of isolated villages. Once Learning program that genuinely engages your local children enter first grade... Continued on page 3 > The MSO’s Sistema-inspired community music community across age groups is part of what a 21st- program, The Pizzicato Effect, represents an evolved century orchestra should be.” EUROPE and considered response to Melbourne’s multicultural Nonetheless, the establishment of such programs The Dream Orchestra Helps Children Refugees community. Located within the City of Hume, a is not without its complexities. Changing education In April 2016 Ron Davis Alvarez started the Dream council area home to migrant and linguistically diverse policy, the often unpredictable status of philanthropic Orchestra with a handful young boys from a home for populations, our program could not exist without a support, and the reduction of budgets affecting refugees south of Gothenburg, Sweden. Six months company willingness to adapt. More than a third of later, the orchestra consisted of 30 children, mostly community partners’ ability to sustain meaningful our students speak two or more languages at home. unaccompanied, from Afghanistan, Syria, Albania and partnership are challenges at the forefront of many Consequently, the MSO – having long operated in the Somalia. These students... Continued on page 3 > programs’ daily operations. Sometimes progress can domain of western orchestral tradition – now regularly be slow. For Ms. Kloo Vik, the Sistema programs of prints communications in Arabic, Turkish, and English, LATIN AMERICA Gothenburg haven’t yet inspired the rate of progress and our program staff work onsite with students from Meaningful Performances in Mexico for instrumental skill development that its orchestral over 14 different language groups. Our community has 2016 was a busy year for the National System of community had hoped for. “There are a lot of acted as a catalyst for MSO’s reassessment of ‘what we Musical Development (SNFM) in Mexico. SNFM explanations for this,” she says, “[but] the best way to do’ each day as an orchestra. continued to develop its musical projects, serving address these worries was reminding the orchestral more than 10,000 children across the country. Our challenges are not unique. For many orchestras, community of the important starting point [of reaching Highlights from 2016 included Harmony Concerts for the key to long-term strength and sustainability now out to new audiences].” Gender Equality in Morelos... Continued on page 4 > lies in maintaining meaningful partnerships with Sometimes all it takes to identify that starting point community. “Before we even called it [the program] is the simple yet powerful will of a champion for the NORTH AMERICA YOLA, we were looking for community partnerships,” cause. For Camilla Sarner of El Sistema Sweden, her says Leni Boorstin, Director of Community and MYCincinnati Ambassador Ensemble first meeting with Gustavo Dudamel was life-changing Government Affairs at the Los Angeles Philharmonic The MYCincinnati Ambassador Ensemble (a for this very reason, as was the support of her senior Association (LAPA). “We always thought of it as a performance group of the Sistema-inspired program in colleagues. “He [Dudamel] was so enthusiastic and Cincinnati, Ohio) joined musician and artist Napoleon partnerships program.” The word ‘partnership’ is took the initiative to suggest we start a project Maddox in late February to create the world premiere trending in educational circles. But what do successful together. [Artistic Director of Gothenburg Symphony of Twice The First Time... Continued on page 4 > partnerships look like? “For us,” Ms. Boorstin says, “this Orchestra] Helena Wessman was very resolute and has meant shared management, shared responsibility, clear that it was both a very good idea and in the exact and shared financing of the program.” Naturally, this direction that the orchestra wanted to move.” model ensures that the program and its partners are Subscription actively including community interests and needs. A new truth is emerging: in order to thrive, orchestras “The future tax payer will no longer accept to pay for must now plan to be as relevant, meaningful and Website: TheEnsembleNewsletters.com orchestras if they aren’t relevant to more people than accessible as possible to a wider variety of audiences To ADD or DELETE names for just the small percentage that chooses to come to our than ever before. For the students, teaching artists, The World Ensemble, go to the website, or: concerts,” says Petra Kloo Vik, Education Manager at and administrators of Sistema-inspired programs Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra in Sweden. worldwide, identifying the right model for this kind of [email protected] engagement is, quite literally, child’s play. With average audience ages continually on the rise, Back issues in English and Spanish are always Sistema-inspired programs are also affording orchestras [For a fuller, detailed version of this article, click here.] available on the website. the world ensemble11 | 2011 THE NEWSLETTER FOR THE WORLDWIDE EL SISTEMA MOVEMENT Music Learning Strengthened by Social Context FROM THE EDITOR By Chloë Kline, Education Director/Resident Musician, Community MusicWorks, Providence RI In our ongoing quest to report on the growth of the Sistema-inspired movement across the world – Over the past five months, Community MusicWorks January, at CMW’s annual Performance Party. perhaps history’s biggest global movement at the has been engaged in an experiment we’re calling the The next round took place on March 24, with special intersection of art and social change – it sometimes “We Shall Overcome” Project. The experiment, which guest Emanuel Ax, as part of a community concert in a happens that a World Ensemble issue gives only involves deep exploration of this famous protest song local gym. After reflecting with students and teachers modest attention to our “mother country,” Venezuela. with all of our student musicians, was born out of about the January performance, we wove in some This is just as Maestro Abreu and his colleagues would CMW’s ongoing interest in how social justice issues new elements for March, including harder parts for the want it; they have always been remarkably non- can deepen our young musicians’ engagement in their more advanced students and parts of songs written by possessive about El Sistema as a set of principles and own musical and social development. members of our songwriting class. We also featured ideals meant for worldwide use in many diverse ways. The We Shall Overcome Project, which was planned verses written by members of the community: under In this column, however, we want to take a moment at Carnegie Hall in September as part of a PlayUSA the guidance of master teaching artist and composer to acknowledge and honor El Sistema Venezuela, grant, is based on a hypothesis that when students Tom Cabaniss, CMW teachers led community sings which turned 42 in February. The political and uncover personal rationales for playing music (such as leading up to March 24, inviting various community economic crisis gripping the country is a matter of self-expression and being part of a legacy of musicians groups to come together to sing the song, learn about deep sorrow and concern for us all; we know that our protesting oppression), they will have a different CMW’s project,

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