tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6843001115286745042024-03-05T23:47:00.390-08:00A Fellow's Journey Towards El Sistema in the USAAlbert Oppenheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10727169722738689431noreply@blogger.comBlogger49125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-684300111528674504.post-50563445176535367202012-10-29T14:54:00.002-07:002012-10-29T14:54:46.650-07:00Vivaldi Concerto for 4 violins with 2 “A-HA!” moments @ YOURS Project, Chicago! <div>
<a href="http://necmusic.edu/xochitl-ysabela-tafoya" target="_blank">Xóchitl Ysabela Tafoya</a>, violinist/violist and member of the 4th class of <a href="http://necmusic.edu/sistema-fellows" target="_blank">Sistema Fellows</a>, is immersing herself in YOURS this week and is guest blogging, sharing her experiences below: </div>
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<i>This past week I conducted my fieldwork/residency at The YOURS (Youth Orchestras United Rita Sima) Project in Chicago, a Sistema inspired program supported by the <a href="http://www.peoplesmusicschool.org/" target="_blank">People’s Music School</a>. Former Sistema fellow and Program Director, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/AlbertOppenheimerComposer" target="_blank">Albert Oppenheimer</a>, has been absolutely wonderful at showing me around The YOURS Project and the great El Sistema-inspired values that they actively apply with their students, community and parents.</i></div>
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<i>While at The YOURS Project, I was able to observe the YOURS String Orchestra sectional with intern teaching artist Annarita, from Loyola, preparing Vivaldi’s Concerto for Four Violins. I remember being the same age as these YOURS musicians playing this piece and loving it! Good music is good music! </i></div>
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<i><b>A HA moment # 1: </b></i></div>
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<i>During my observations, Annarita asked the ensemble if they wanted to rehearse the piece regardless of some soloists being absent. With soloists missing, several string players were eager and excited to play this piece, and energetically volunteered to play the solo part. Instantly, seating order was rearranged, friends shared music and the piece began! YOURS students filled in where necessary, sight-reading solo parts and playing through this brilliant piece! These students loved this piece and more importantly loved playing together because they stepped in where necessary for the sake of the whole group. For them, it was about the music, creating something beautiful that they could all enjoy and be a part of something together! The YOURS project is not only developing great musical excellence, but also supporting and nurturing flexible and well rounded musicians who are actively challenged as both orchestra members and soloists. </i></div>
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<i>Reflecting on my own musical experience as a junior high school student, I was never in a group where the orchestra members were valued as soloists. The flexibility of everyone being both a soloist and orchestra member was not fostered at the early stages of my musical education. But to witness the depth and significance of these YOURS string players being so versatile was inspirational. These “fill-in” musicians were supported and encouraged to take a shot at being a soloist. It did not matter if the playing was perfect. These musicians were united playing Vivaldi because it’s beautiful and good music, but more importantly, they were having fun! </i></div>
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<i><b>A HA Moment #2 </b></i></div>
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<i>The second <b>A HA</b> moment came about during the same rehearsal of a fugue like entrance where each string section enters at different times. It is a tricky entrance for students to count in. I even remember it was tricky for me when I learned this piece. Annarita did a great job rehearsing this difficult entrance and having students understand what a fugue was. The ensemble rehearsed and rehearsed with intensity, effectiveness and focus. Finally, in one magical moment, each section nailed their entrance and the fugue was created. Magic!!! </i></div>
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<i>Not only did the string players beam, but Annarita could not contain herself and jumped up and down with joy and bliss that everyone started laughing and beaming from ear to ear. It was clear that the students heightened engagement combined with Annarita’s musical bliss deepened the meaning and value for these young musicians.</i></div>
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<i>After rehearsal, I congratulated Annarita on the success of that tricky entrance. It was great to see the students laughing while playing and sometimes unfortunately shocking to see this during a Vivaldi piece. I asked Annarita how she felt during that magical moment of the ensemble mastery during that tricky Vivaldi entrance. She replied to me, “it was really better than flirting with a boy. I cant wait to do it again!” I knew exactly what she was talking about. </i></div>
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<i>-</i>Xóxhitl Ysabela Tafoya</div>
Albert Oppenheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10727169722738689431noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-684300111528674504.post-32736359692541633522012-10-22T20:14:00.004-07:002012-10-22T20:15:44.269-07:00Sometimes, Multiple Personality Disorder is a Good Thing Last week, <a href="http://rachbrakes.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Rachel Hockenberry</a>, horn player and member of the 4th class of the <a href="http://necmusic.edu/sistema-fellowship" target="_blank">Sistema Fellows</a>, was in residence with the <a href="http://chicagotonight.wttw.com/2012/06/11/yours-project" target="_blank">YOURS Project</a>, and sums up her experiences below. This blog is also posted at Rachel's blog at: <a href="http://rachbrakes.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://rachbrakes.blogspot.com </a><br />
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<b><i>Sometimes, Multiple Personality Disorder is a Good Thing</i></b><br />
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<i>It can be difficult to describe sistema work. We love to use phrases like "using music as a vehicle for social change," or "social change through music education." These all sound great, but was does that really mean? Are we social service organizations? Are we conservatories? Are we childcare centers? And, what are our goals? Are we producing the next generation of concertmasters and soloists? Are we just trying to keep kids off the street? Are we helping kids graduate from high school and have productive futures?</i><br />
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<i>Here's the simple answer: Yes.</i><br />
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<i>We have multiple personality disorder.</i><br />
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<i>And, you know what? That's awesome. Let me tell you why.</i><br />
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<i>Let's start our journey down the dissociative identity trail at the People's Music School in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood. This organization has provided free music instruction for Chicago's youth since 1975. People's Music School has multiple personality disorder. It has two branches: onsite programming, conducted at PMS' building in Uptown; and offsite programming, under the auspices of the YOURS Project. Onsite programming focuses on private/small group lessons, music theory and composition. YOURS teaches nearly exclusively through group instruction. Onsite programming occurs 3 days a week; YOURS project, 5 days a week. </i><br />
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<i>Both programs offer free music education to Chicago's children. They have slightly different ways of doing it. Is that a bad thing? No! Are you kidding me? People's Music School is offering two different options in order to best suit the needs of the greatest number of children and families! That's brilliance!</i><br />
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<i>Let's focus now on YOURS, where I spent the majority of my time. I had the opportunity to meet with the entire teaching staff, including nucleo directors and teaching artists. I led discussion over two different sessions on the question, "What is el sistema?" Here is a random sampling of responses:</i><br />
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<i>-making classical music accessible to everyone</i><br />
<i>-time intensive and teacher intensive</i><br />
<i>-fostering self-esteem</i><br />
<i>-giving kids tools for their lives; home, school, relationships, etc</i><br />
<i>-self-confidence</i><br />
<i>-teamwork</i><br />
<i>-teaching kids to respect each other, realizing everyone has something to learn and to give</i><br />
<i>-group learning</i><br />
<i>-teaching the kids to work hard to achieve goals</i><br />
<i>-allowing music to be the medicine for the soul</i><br />
<i>-saving lives and learning to be better human beings through music</i><br />
<i>-goal of musical excellence</i><br />
<i>-provides a way to channel expression</i><br />
<i>-foster interest in classical music</i><br />
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<i>Are there distinct social goals there? Of course. How about distinct musical goals? You bet.</i><br />
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<i>During the Logan Square staff meeting, nucleo director Tom Madeja asked his teaching artists what they wanted to focus on with the children for the remainder of 2012. Responses included:</i><br />
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<i>-greater literacy and reading music</i><br />
<i>-create Logan Square method for teaching how to read music</i><br />
<i>-increase sense of belonging; making it fun</i><br />
<i>-creating a sense of accountability as a group within the students</i><br />
<i>-performance opportunities</i><br />
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<i>Musical goals? Check. Social goals? Check. </i><br />
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<i>The staff has multiple personality disorder.</i><br />
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<i>I also interviewed two YOURS students, asking them why they liked coming to the YOURS project:</i><br />
<i>Answer 1 (Jonathan, 9 years old): "Mostly, it's a great opportunity to learn. It's a free education. Most schools don't get this."</i><br />
<i>Answer 2 (Xochitl, 10 years old): "That you can learn to play new instruments that you didn't know before. They teach us new songs that we can play and show....orchestra rocks!"</i><br />
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<i>Management, teaching artists and students realize that this program is multifaceted. It's about teaching children of their own worth through musical excellence. It's about love, joy and song. I would argue that what makes People's and YOURS stand out is that they are giving the pursuit of musical excellence a greater purpose, making the goal more meaningful and desirable. This multiple personality disorder is a critical element of the program's success. To focus on only one of the two primary goals would be doing a disservice to the children. Is it a bad thing to have multiple personalities if both work in tandem to create a better world? </i><br />
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-Rachel Hockenberry</div>
<i><br /></i>Albert Oppenheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10727169722738689431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-684300111528674504.post-1047998113510690672012-10-19T22:36:00.000-07:002012-10-19T22:36:04.601-07:00Learning, Philosophizing, and Teaching <br />
<a href="http://rachbrakes.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Rachel Hockenberry</a>, horn player and member of the 4th class of the <a href="http://necmusic.edu/sistema-fellowship" target="_blank">Sistema Fellows</a>, is immersing herself in YOURS this week and is guest blogging, sharing her experiences below:<br />
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<i>Today was filled with significant learning and inspiration. The morning began with Sensei Oppenheimer schooling me on logic models. For those unfamiliar, logic models contain the following information: what are the needs of the community your program will address; how will these needs be addressed; how are you going to measure if they have been addressed; and, what are the desired outcomes. Though I’m not exactly sure where I’m headed after May 19th, 2013, so far all of my options will require logic models, and I am so grateful that now I at least kind of know what I’m doing with them.</i><br />
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<i>Next, I attended a staff meeting with Tom and the rest of the Logan Square team. This meeting was awesome; the whole team is pumped to move forward with the upcoming changes. We also talked about the meaning of el sistema and social change. While the Hibbard team had more to say about el sistema, the Logan Square team dug in to the meaning of social change. Here are a few of the elements they associated with the concept:</i><br />
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<i>-does not just affect the student, but also the student’s family</i><br />
<i>-achieving social goals with even one student can have a pervasive effect on the community</i><br />
<i>-increased sense of belonging</i><br />
<i>-individual and group accountability</i><br />
<i>-instilling the ability to strive for excellence</i><br />
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<i>The Logan Square staff gets it. This was no surprise to me.</i><br />
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<i>After this extremely productive meeting, I rode along with Tom and teaching artists Aryole and AJ to Hibbard. These three lovely people also granted me a short interview during the commute, concerning why they work for the YOURS Project. While at Hibbard, I got to bounce around all day. I took some interviews of the students (which I will post when I am able to edit them) before they enthusiastically enjoyed a performance by violinist <a href="http://www.violinium.com/" target="_blank">Tessa Lark</a>. After filming a few rehearsals, I had the privilege of temporarily filling Katie’s shoes and teaching the REACH winds, which was so much fun. Have I mentioned that teaching is my favorite thing to do? Because it is.</i><br />
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<i>And just like that, my YOURS experience comes to a close. I’m composing this post on a Southwest flight to Dulles for a quick trip to Pennsylvania, then hopping back on a plane to Chicago tomorrow night, only to fly to LA several hours later. Phew! Expect a final blog post from me within the next few days of my wrap-ups and reflections. Albert says I have become a YOURS evangelist, and I think he may be right.</i><br />
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-Rachel Hockenberry</div>
Albert Oppenheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10727169722738689431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-684300111528674504.post-74071939426986431112012-10-18T19:12:00.000-07:002012-10-18T19:12:00.023-07:00Insanity and Resilience<br />
<a href="http://rachbrakes.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Rachel Hockenberry</a>, horn player and member of the 4th class of the <a href="http://necmusic.edu/sistema-fellowship" target="_blank">Sistema Fellows</a>, is immersing herself in YOURS this week and is guest blogging, sharing her experiences below:<br />
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<i>Today was a full day of business here in the Oppenheimer mobile office (an apartment, other people's offices, a restaurant and a car). I began and ended the day with research on crime and violence in Chicago, focusing on district 17, where Hibbard is located. I came across some interesting information via the Chicago Police Department website including <a href="https://portal.chicagopolice.org/portal/page/portal/ClearPath/News/Statistical%20Reports/Juvenile%20Reports/JuvArr2008.pdf" target="_blank">juvenile arrest trends</a> and the <a href="https://portal.chicagopolice.org/portal/page/portal/ClearPath/News/Statistical%20Reports/Murder%20Reports/MA11.pdf" target="_blank">2011 murder report</a>. These stats are pretty daunting, making it clear that Chicago can be a dangerous place to live.</i><br />
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<i>This leads to one of my favorite things about sistema work and sistema people. Most sane individuals would look at the neighborhoods with the highest violence rates and say, "I need to stay away from there". This makes perfect sense as it seems silly to knowingly place oneself in danger. However, el sistema enthusiasts work on a different plane of sanity. When Albert and I were looking over these stats, we were saying "that's where YOURS needs to be". We're going to reduce violence through music education. It's going to work. The YOURS and People's Music School team are going to make it happen. </i><br />
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<i>Maybe doing this work requires a little bit of insanity. I'm okay with that.</i><br />
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<i>Perhaps the most important lesson I learned today is the necessity for resilience. Most of the meetings today centered around YOURS' second location in Logan Square. Due to many different circumstances, this program is now in a state of flux and changing locations. Because of this, there hasn't been any programming all week while YOURS has been relocating (thought it's important to note that there will be a three-hour session for the kids on Saturday). Logan Square program director Tom Madeja, Albert, and I met with the administrators at two potential new homes for this program. Both meetings were incredibly promising. For me, the best part of this was seeing the affect these meetings had on Tom. This whole week, Tom has been chomping at the bit to get his program started again. This has been an incredibly frustrating time for him. Seeing him communicate with these potential partners made his dedication to the program and to the kids palpable. He was willing to take on whatever responsibilities necessary to get the program back to its desired intensity level, therefore creating the greatest impact on the kids' lives. Sure enough, a temporary (if not permanent) solution was found, and the program will be back to its old self very, very soon. Witnessing Tom's commitment to the kids of Logan Square shows what an amazing program director he is. The Logan Square program will continue to thrive because Tom is awesome. It’s really as simple as that.</i><br />
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<i>I can’t believe tomorrow is my last day here! My trip has unexpectedly been cut a little short, so I will miss out on Friday’s adventures, but I have learned so much in my short time here and am so grateful for this opportunity!</i><br />
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<i>Until tomorrow...</i><br />
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-Rachel Hockenberry</div>
Albert Oppenheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10727169722738689431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-684300111528674504.post-63419542878876405422012-10-17T17:06:00.001-07:002012-10-17T17:06:35.527-07:00El Día Dos<a href="http://rachbrakes.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Rachel Hockenberry</a>, horn player and member of the 4th class of the <a href="http://necmusic.edu/sistema-fellowship" target="_blank">Sistema Fellows</a>, is immersing herself in YOURS this week and is guest blogging, sharing her experiences below:<br />
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<i>Today was another excellent day shadowing Sir Oppenheimer. I started the morning by doing some research on the community needs of Albany Park (expect more info on this later). This was followed by the most amazing part of my day. I was privileged to sit down for a long lunch with Albert, Aubree Weiley and Bob Fiedler. Aubree and Bob are the program director and executive director, respectively, of the People's Music School (PMS), which is the umbrella organization for the YOURS project. These lovely folks took over two hours out of their day to talk with me. After meeting with these wonderful people, I decided that Albert has the best job ever. The chemistry amongst this trio is tangible. They share the same mission and the same vision. They consider on-site programming at PMS and off-site YOURS Project programming not as separate entities, but as two programs working together to achieve the nearly the same goal. They all agree that no matter what, the most important thing to consider is whether or not the children and families are being served in the most effective way. </i><br />
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<i>Add this to the fact that the YOURS teachers and staff get it, and it's no surprise why this phenomenal sistema-inspired organization has persevered through good times and bad.</i><br />
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<i>This inspiring lunch was followed by a positive meeting with the Parks Department concerning potential partnerships (more on that later as well). After this, I got to do my favorite thing in the whole world: teach brass! I absolutely loved working with the trumpeters, hornists and trombonists from the YOURS orchestra. A highlight was being able to hand over some of the teaching duties to Louis, a 9th grade trombonist who graduated from YOURS and is now a high school intern. Louis did a fantastic job, producing immediate results.</i><br />
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<i>After programming, Albert and I went out to dinner with YOURS horn teacher Katie Swaydis. Katie and I have an uncanny amount of common traits: we are both vegan horn players with nose piercings who love sistema. We helped Albert enjoy his second vegan meal in as many days, while having great conversation about YOURS and life. This dinner may not seem like it was a crucial part of the business day, but in a way that is what made it stand out to me; the YOURS staff like each other. They like to hang out beyond program hours. This is a major factor in program stability and sustainability.</i><br />
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<i>YOURS is on fire, ladies and gentleman. Expect many great things from this organization, and from People's Music School, for years to come.</i><br />
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-Rachel Hockenberry</div>
<br />Albert Oppenheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10727169722738689431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-684300111528674504.post-31244605532413723692012-10-16T18:52:00.000-07:002012-10-16T18:56:20.241-07:00This Is What El Sistema IsDear Everyone,<br />
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Over the next many weeks the YOURS Project will be visited by three members of the fourth class of Sistema Fellows from the New England Conservatory. This is the program that I was part of last year when I bravely began this blog. Our first Fellow-in-Residence, <a href="http://rachbrakes.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Rachel Hockenberry</a>, will be a guest blogger while she is in town, sharing her experiences, thoughts, and insights as she shadows me in my day to day life as the Director of the YOURS Project. Enjoy!<br />
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<i>Greetings, YOURS Project lovers! My name is Rachel, and I'm a horn player who happens to be one of the lucky members of the 2012-2013 class of Sistema Fellows. I have the great privilege of spending the week immersed in YOURS goodness, and I couldn't be happier. I arrived in town on Sunday, and after a long nap was welcomed to the city in my favorite way: eating dinner at a fabulous restaurant. I want to use one sentence of this post to tell you all to go and eat at the Chicago Diner and experience pure bliss while gorging yourself on things like sweet potato fries and chocolate peanut butter milkshakes.</i><br />
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<i>Today was my first day at the program. After a lovely lunch with program directors Sylvia Carlson and Tom Madeja, we all headed over to Hibbard. I spent the afternoon just soaking everything in. I wandered around to all of the rehearsals, while naturally paying close attention to the horns.</i><br />
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<i>After the program, Sylvia held a staff meeting, where Albert asked me to facilitate a discussion on the question, "what is el sistema?" Knowing that this is a loaded question, I decided to begin the conversation by asking each staff member to share one or two elements they felt was necessary to create a thriving sistema-inspired program. Here were a few of the responses:</i><br />
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<i>-making classical music accessible to everyone</i><br />
<i>-time intensive and teacher intensive</i><br />
<i>-fostering self-esteem</i><br />
<i>-giving kids tools for their lives; home, school, relationships, etc</i><br />
<i>-self-confidence</i><br />
<i>-teamwork</i><br />
<i>-teaching kids to respect each other, realizing everyone has something to learn and to give</i><br />
<i>-group learning</i><br />
<i>-process over product mindset: teaching the kids to work hard to achieve goals</i><br />
<i>-allowing music to be the medicine for the soul</i><br />
<i>-saving lives and learning to be better human beings through music</i><br />
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<i>Through these answers, I realized why the program has been so successful over the past four years: the teachers get it. The teachers and nucleo directors have a solid understanding of el sistema's goals and, I believe more importantly, they believe in the ability of the program to positively alter the lives of its students. Beyond that, as percussion teaching artist Javier so eloquently stated, they understand that helping children become a better person directly affects the children's families, leading to an affect on the entire community. </i><br />
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<i>The teachers get it, and they believe it. This leaves me with no doubt that YOURS will continue to grow and thrive over the years, helping to create communities passionate about peace, collaboration, and music.</i><br />
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-Rachel Hockenberry</div>
Albert Oppenheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10727169722738689431noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-684300111528674504.post-30834765584827252502012-10-16T08:27:00.004-07:002012-10-16T08:27:56.663-07:00Giulia's Final Day - Sylvia Interview<br />
Dear All,<br />
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I found this blog post languishing in the depths of my email, buried under numerous correspondences and hidden amongst the spam. This is Giulia's final blog post- an interview with Sylvia Carlson, our Nucleo Director of our program in Albany Park. I am so glad that Giulia chose to join our family, even briefly- she help us launch the year, working with both of our sites and providing a look into what it is to discover the YOURS Project. She gave the kids the opportunity to work with someone from Italy. For me, foreign countries always seemed imaginary when I was younger, but now, I'm sure that Italy is very real to the students who Giulia impacted.<br />
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Thank you Giulia! You will always have a home in Chicago!<br />
Albert Oppenheimer<br />
YOURS Project Director<br />
People's Music school<br />
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Our guest blogger and volunteer from Italy, Giulia Molteni, reflects on her time with the YOURS Project:<br />
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9/26/12<br />
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<i>Last but not least, I'd like to introduce you Sylvia Carlson, the YOURS Project Nucleo Director at Hibbard Elementary School.<br /><br /><b>Giulia</b>: Sylvia, my time here with the YOURS Project is ending. We shared three weeks together that were completely different from each other! We started this journey at Hibbard with the amazing YOURS Project High School Intern Workshop and it was inspiring to deal with these helpful young students. Then, the YOURS Project finally started, although in a state of uncertainty, due to the Chicago Teachers Union Strike. Now the classes are run regularly in the afternoon, but as you told me, I've been here at the most difficult time for the program, because lot of things have just changed and there are many desicions to make. How do you feel at the beginning of this challenging school year?<br /><br /><b>Sylvia</b>: Well, honestly, I feel a lot like I did at the start of the last school year when the new program at Monroe began. There are so many similarities. I'm coming into an exisiting music program (at Monroe they had instrumental classes there already during the school day), and I'm dealing with the set ways and personalities of the people who are already there. I feel that some changes need to be made in order to make the most out of our resources and I am working with quite varied skill levels all in one class because of budget constraints. At Monroe we were able to make this work, although it took awhile, and developed some talented student leaders who really stepped up and helped out all the time without even being asked. At Hibbard the different skill levels used to be almost completely separated into three orchestras all the time except for rare peer teaching episodes. I want to make peer teaching a core component of the program. So to make the most use of our resources and to encourage peer teaching, we have combined the two smaller, beginning orchestras at Hibbard and plan to have three levels of peer teaching happening; the more advanced beginners will mentor the less advanced beginners in one unified orchestra, the advanced orchestra students will be enlisted to help out the sectional teachers with the beginning orchestra, and our newly trained high school interns will be helping out with teaching everyone else in the program.<br /><br /><b>G:</b> In agreeing to become the new Nucleo Director of this project you, have taken on a big responsibility. There are lot of things to take in account: administration, policy, schedule, but, above all, education, students, and teachers. At the faculty meeting we spoke a lot about these issues. What are your thoughts and plans?<br /><br /><b>S:</b> I would like to create an educational structure and a teaching and learning culture at Hibbard that is recognizable, well-defined, and securely ingrained. The first few years of a program, especially one that has funding challenges, are bound to be somewhat chaotic and inconsistent.<br />I'm going to work ceaslessly to define a curriculum (a flexible one, but still one that has structure), a standard repertoire and organized library, a code of conduct that emphasizes respect for everyone, compassionate disciplinary measures that ensure that all students have the chance to learn.<br />The time consuming part of this is that it will not work if I try to create a battery of rules on my own and force them on everyone. I need to start by creating a truly collaborative environment, one where teachers and students know that they are a part of the process.<br />This will take awhile, and it might seem like no progress is being made at first, but then, perhaps seemingly overnight, the way a child becomes an adolescent, there will materialize a structure and a culture that is all our own.<br /><br /><b>G:</b> Would you like to share with us some of your previous experiences within the YOURS Project?<br /><br /><b>S:</b> There are so many! I'll try to choose a few that illustrate a broad range of experiences.<br />A couple of years ago, about mid-way through my time at Hibbard, I experienced severe behavior problems from a child in one of my large, mixed- instrument classes. The class was full of beginners, and I was dealing with oboes, clarinet, flutes, brass, and percussion all at the same time. It was quite challenging already, but this one child's behavior made class almost impossible. I had talked to the director of the project about it, but things did not improve. Eventually I wondered if I would even be abe to continue teaching for the project under the circumstances, and so I mentioned this fear to the director. So she called the student's father and explained to him the situation and asked him to come to class with his child. Fortunately, he was able to do this and it made all the difference in the world! The father helped with everything, setting up chairs and stands, sending messages, monitoring breaks, and, of course, keeping his son's behavior in check. Finally I was able to have class and I had a collaborator in the room with me. It was this experience, and the knowledge that many teachers at Hibbard are struglling with similar circumstances, that led me to bring a parent room-monitor sign-up sheet to the parent meeting at Hibbard last night, and me and this same father, were able to explain to the other parents how useful this is, and to encourage them to sign up to attend classes.<br /><br />Last year at Monroe, after we had only been having classes for about three months, we were able to put on a full concert that included several original full orchestra arrangements that were written specifically for our mixed ability level ensemble, and student and teacher chamber groups. We really had an evening of music put together in a very short amount of time with about 35 kid, thanks to the hard work of all the teachers, students, and parents at Monroe. That was certainly a highlight of my time with the YOURS Project.<br /><br />And, of course, being back at Hibbard and seeing all of my old students so grown up and so much improved on their instruments, and so helpful with all of the younger kids. This is truly a pleasure.<br /><br />And finally, I would just like to say <b>thank you</b> to you, Giulia, for taking this time to spend with us. You have brought invaluable insight from a point of view that is in no way personally invested in the program. You have shown infinite kindess and patience with us and have been a true joy to have around. We will miss you!</i></blockquote>
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Albert Oppenheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10727169722738689431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-684300111528674504.post-74620865185429998122012-09-27T20:50:00.004-07:002012-09-27T20:51:11.124-07:00Giulia Interviews Jonathon - Nine-Year-Old Violinist/ConductorOur guest blogger and volunteer from Italy, Giulia Molteni, reflects on her time with the YOURS Project:<br />
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9/25/12<br />
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<i><br /></i><i>My time here in Chicago is coming to an end. Before I leave, I'd like to introduce you to a few other dear fellows I have met during this adventurous journey through the YOURS Project.</i> </blockquote>
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<i>Today I had an inspiring talk with Jonathan, an amazing violin player, only nine years old. </i><i>Every time I speak with kids, I'm always amazed by their ability to express thoughts and feelings in such a genuine and sincere way.</i><i><br /></i><i><br /></i><i><br /></i><i><b>Giulia</b>: Hey Jonathan, when and why did you start playing music?</i><i><br /></i><i><br /></i><i><b>Jonathan:</b> I started playing in the orchestra when I was in kindergarten. I've been playing violin from three and a half years of age. Actually I didn't start with violin, I started with drums! Now I play them just for fun. A couple of months ago, I was playing clarinet for a week but then I discovered that it wasn't my instrument.</i><i>I belong to a family of musicians. Once my father told me that my grandparents played all the brass instruments!</i><i><br /></i><i></i><i></i><i><br /></i><i><b>G: </b>Wow! A close friend and great teacher at Monroe Elementary School told me that not only do you play an instrument, but also you love conducting! I'm really curious to find out more about that..</i><i><br /></i><i><br /></i><i><b>J: </b>Well, one day at the rehearsal we were practicing William Tell with the orchestra. Since Milan (the YOURS orchestra conductor at the time) was working with others, I decided to grab my bow and start conducting. Deborah (The YOURS Project Founder) saw me and she asked if I wanted be a conductor and I said "yes!!". Then Miss Ivana taught me conducting at rehearsals on Tuesday and Thursday. In the auditorium of the school I conducted Star Wars and other great pieces! My parents and my little sister went every time to see me at the concerts! </i><i>Now at home my sister and I usually play concertos and pieces we find on the internet and we have a lot of fun conducting!</i><i><br /></i><i></i><i></i><i><br /></i><i><b>G:</b> Great! So Jonathan, it seems that you spend lots of time playing and listening to music. What is your favorite musical genre?</i><i><br /></i><i></i><i></i><i><br /></i><i><b>J: </b>Rap!! I love the singer Tyler James Williams. In his songs, he always tells about others and never about himself.</i><i><br /></i><i></i><i></i><i><br /></i><i><b>G: </b>What is music for you?</i><i><br /></i><i><br /></i><i><b>J: </b>It's my life!! It helps me think about the others and not only about myself. Every time I go downtown and pick my mother up, there's so much music around me. I'm happy!!</i><i><br /></i><i></i><i></i><i><br /></i><i><b>G:</b> Your spontaneous answer explains everything! So you want to become a great musician..</i><i><br /></i><i></i><i></i><i><br /></i><i><b>J: </b>Actually I want to become a paleontologist! I've wanted to ever since I heard about dinosaurs and saw a really cool show about them. Now I read a lot of books on dinosaurs. But even if I become a paleontologist, I'll spend my spare time practicing and music will be in my life forever.</i><i><br /></i><i></i><i></i><i><br /></i></blockquote>
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<i></i><i>The photo of this kid speaks for itself: two very deep brown eyes, a shy and genuine smile, a long path ahead of him and, mostly, lots of enthusiasm and positive attitude that must be an example for everyone! </i></blockquote>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jonathon - age 9</td></tr>
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-Giulia Molteni </div>
Albert Oppenheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10727169722738689431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-684300111528674504.post-36403284087645397182012-09-24T16:37:00.004-07:002012-09-24T16:37:36.880-07:00Giulia's Penultimate Week - Reflections <br />
Our guest blogger and volunteer from Italy, Giulia Molteni, reflects on her penultimate week with the YOURS Project:<br />
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9/23/12<br />
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<i>Another week full of activities has just finished at Hibbard Elementary School. Actually, though fun, it was really arduous and, as everything is at the beginning, full of decisions to make and problems to solve.<br />First, not knowing when classes were going to be, due to the Chicago Teachers Union strike, it was kind of hard to group teachers, interns, and volunteers. But all of us tried to do our best and were prepared for every kind of activity/warm-up/rehearsal together with the students from our 3 orchestras. .<br /><br />This week, not only did I continue to observe and help as a volunteer as part of the YOURS Project faculty but I also had very different teaching experiences than I've had before: I taught basic musical fundamentals to both viola players and our intermediate orchestra students; I taught piano lessons to violin players who were really excited about learning something new, and I also stood in for the percussion teacher.<br />Experiencing teaching in such different situations in only a week was challenging and gave me the opportunity to reflect seriously about what it really means to be involved in an educational program with a specific social commitment, as an El Sistema-inspired program must be.<br />In the past few days, I've thought a lot about my experiences, and I feel it important to share them with you all, my friends, and especially fellow music teachers.<br /><br />Even though I don't have any previous experience as a percussion teacher, when I was asked to help the young students I accepted very willingly. Since the piano is a percussion instrument, I usually work a lot on aspects of rhythm, so I suggested that the students perform different exercises together: sequences of basic rhythms, overlapping rhythms and counterpoint to clap, to dance and to play on the instrument. I also taught them a song and made a simple extemporaneous arrangement to encourage them to play together. Finally, I asked them to keep the beat and invent rhythms while I was playing some rag time and brazilian pieces on the piano. In short, I worked on how to play with the others, pay attention to the different nuances of sound an orchestra can create, and how to maintain a solid rhythmical basis throughout a piece. </i></blockquote>
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<i>Actually, it was really hard to deal with them and hold their attention. A few of them spent part of the lesson talking over my voice, without listening and collaborating together. I know that they are kids, but as a teacher, I feel responsible for educating the students and letting them know how music can really change their life. But all of this requires commitment, responsibility on both sides, and especially enthusiasm and passion, because no one is forced to attend a musical program.<br /><br />Teaching music is one of the most challenging jobs. Everyday you have to work first on yourself and continue to improve not only the specific and technical aspects of your musicality, but also the social and relationship skills involved. Mostly, you always keep in mind that, when you teach, the relationship established consists of three elements: the teacher, the student, and MUSIC (that includes the philosophy and the goals of the project you are involved in).</i> </blockquote>
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<i>So, being interested in delving deeper into the methodology and philosophy of El Sistema, yesterday I visited the website (http://www.fesnojiv.gob.ve/en.html) and very carefully read each section. I admit that I've never done it seriously so far. Of course, no reading can replace an experience, but, if you want to translate a project conceived in one culture to another, you must be aware of the fundamentals of that project.<br /><br />Below, I summarize what I feel are the most important aspects of El Sistema that everybody should know and care about:<br /><br />El Sistema is an organization committed to social development through an innovative and hope-instilling music education program, distinguished by its EXCELLENCE and for having a POSITIVE IMPACT on the communities where it is implemented. Its orchestras and choruses program help the youngest in achieving their FULL POTENTIAL and fulfill THEIR DREAMS of personal and professional realization through music. "Music is not only the product of the talent and virtuosity of its creators. It is the reflection of the soul of the people and, in this case, is the outgrowth of an education program." So these young musicians must be an example of SELF-IMPROVEMENT and VITALITY to their fellows. The guiding maxim "TO PLAY and TO FIGHT" implies FIRMNESS of purpose and PERSEVERANCE. To play and to fight means undertaking music as a collective experience which also involves INDIVIDUAL EFFORT! It entails a relentless pursuit of excellence and, above all, it means persevering until dreams become reality."<br />And about the El Sistema methodology, the site said that "Kids of preschool age begin with work on BODY EXPRESSIVENESS and RHYTHM. Encouraging the children to keep their bodies active while playing is a key feature of the program in later years. Early instruction includes SINGING and playing with a student's instrument... El Sistema's primary focus is to create a daily haven of safety, joy and fun that builds every child's self-esteem and sense of value. Discipline is relaxed but enforced. ATTENDANCE IS NOT AN ISSUE; the children want to be at their local Nucleo for themselves, their teachers and their fellow students. HARD WORK AND FULL ACHIEVEMENT ARE CRUCIAL TO THE SUCCESS OF EL SISTEMA. However a feeling of fun is never forgotten."<br /><br />What I reported speaks for itself. I only want to add that everyday we must build with effort and love the projects we believe in, living peacefully within our limits, but never giving up. Day after day we walk with our student along a path that will lead to the most beautiful destinations.</i></blockquote>
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Albert Oppenheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10727169722738689431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-684300111528674504.post-32031949803321967482012-09-20T11:49:00.000-07:002012-09-20T11:50:16.759-07:00Giulia's Tenth Day - Andrea InterviewOur guest blogger and volunteer from Italy, Giulia Molteni, reflects on her 10th day with the YOURS Project:<br />
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9/19/12<br />
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<i>Today I'm very glad to introduce you to an energetic and dedicated person: Andrea Grinberg, cello faculty and beginning orchestra strings teacher at Hibbard Elementary School.</i> </blockquote>
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<i><br /></i><i><b>Giulia: </b>Andrea, how long have you been involved in the YOURS Project here in Chicago? What made you want to join a musical program with a specific social commitment? </i> </blockquote>
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<i><b>Andrea:</b> I started out with the YOURS Project in 2011, when the program expanded and began at Monroe Elementary. I started out as a volunteer, teaching the lower strings and helping out with the larger groups as well. Why El Sistema? Well, I have been playing the cello since the age of five and was somewhat of a child prodigy. Throughout my years playing, performing and competing, it became increasingly apparent to me that the music world I was growing up in was lacking so much. Our art was confined to the concert halls and competition rooms, and no one 'out there' knew about us. Music is so much more than just notes on a page played with skill. I have always known that it has the ability to save lives and uplift souls in a way that no other medium in this world can, but couldn't find the venues to do so. In response to this, I have done many things such as starting an accessible concert series with my brother (a violinist), playing in 'unorthodox' venues, and making plans to gather a group of like minded musicians in Jerusalem. Now I feel that I have some answers and know how I want to proceed, and El Sistema is one of the ways.</i> </blockquote>
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<i><b>G: </b>Currently, there are many El Sistema-inspired programs operating in many cities and towns around the world. I know you are from Canada. Are there any El Sistema-inspired programs or any similar projects in your country?</i> </blockquote>
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<i><b>A: </b>I am originally from Toronto, Ontario, but I haven't lived in Canada for almost four years. When I left there wasn't much in terms of El Sistema-inspired programs, but there was a lot of talk about how much it was needed. Growing up, there was quite a bit of outreach done (schools going to concerts, people coming in and performing/teaching etc.) but there wasn't much follow-up and many children lacked the resources to actually pursue music. However, recently there has been an explosion of El Sistema-inspired programs which is very exciting! If I ever end up back in Canada I will definitely be involved with these programs. You can see a current list of Canadian programs at</i><i>- http: jonathangovias.com/2012/02/16/el-sistema-in-canada-2012 update-</i><i> I have spent the last three years in Jerusalem before moving to Chicago and really want to bring El Sistema to Isreal when I return. There is some outreach done in volatile areas such as Sderot, but with no followup or resources. And in the central cities there isn't anything as far as I know. I passionately believe that a place such as Israel, which has so many social divides and barriers, needs an El Sistema-inspired program to help bridge these gaps. My husband and I hope to gather a group of talented musicians and create a performing group that is accessible, passionate and wants to bring music into the hearts of those that don't even know it exists. We hope that these musicians would be the ones to teach and travel when we add an El Sistema component to this idea. I am trying to learn everything that I can while I am here in Chicago so this dream can become a reality.</i> </blockquote>
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<i><b>G:</b> Last week, we went and listened to great performers at the Beethoven Festival Art and Music, and we were particularly affected by an excellent cellist, Amit Peled. Personally his sound left me speechless! I discussed this with Jessica Pearce, the brass teacher at Monroe, but I'd also like to ask you, as a string teacher, how do you help these young students work on intonation, to get a good sound. </i> </blockquote>
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<i><b>A:</b> There is nothing in the world quite like creating a deep, rich sound on a stringed instrument. There are many techniques that lead to developing a good sound in students, but once they get it, it changes everything! Different students respond to different approaches, so I always try to tailor my teaching depending on the specific student's needs. However, there are some basic, universal principles to developing a beautiful sound; A student needs to learn how to let go of any tension that is working against him/her and use the natural weight of the arm to sink into the string. Every instrument will have a different ideal contact point and speed of the bow, so I will work with students to help find this. Finally, in terms of intonation, I believe that it is so important to train students to hear overtones. These are the natural vibrations that a stringed instrument creates when a note is in tune and ringing with the rest of the instrument, and the tone is allowing the vibrations to happen. It is sometimes difficult to teach, and not everyone can hear in the same way... but once a student experiences the bliss of creating a beautiful, deep and ringing sound, there is no going back! </i> </blockquote>
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<i><b>G:</b> Share with us some of your most enthusiastic musical experiences! </i> </blockquote>
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<i><b>A: </b>Wow, what a question! I have had so many, so I will just list those that come to mind first. Firstly, performing Bloch's Schelomo with a conductor that truly understood what I was trying to do, and an orchestra that had "just" understood the piece. I was so worried about this performance because the orchestra part is difficult and two days before the concert, we couldn't come close to getting through it. But something happened the day of the dress rehearsal... something clicked and the orchestra discovered how amazing the piece truly is. The performance was incredible, because there was so much passion and discovery in it. It's so important to play every concert like it is your first time, and also like it is your last. In this performance, even though I was young, I really felt like I gave everything that I had, and so did everyone that was playing with me. Secondly, I always try to get my non-musical acquaintances to understand the beauty of art music, and usually I have a lot of success! I did however, have this one friend who simply wasn't able to open up to it. I had tried many times and always received the same blank "meh" afterward. Then one day, this friend went through a difficult break up, and I sent him the second movement of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto #2. He cried, a lot, and afterward called to tell me that when he listened to this music, he knew that even though he was sitting in his room shut away from the world, he wasn't alone. Thirdly, I remember hearing the Brahms String Sextet #1 for the first time, live at a music festival in Israel. It was performed with so much tenderness, passion, and life. I was transported. There is nothing quite like hearing something for the first time performed like that. I will never forget it. Lastly, the experience of working with the high school interns at Hibbard last week was wonderful. It was amazing to see their confidence grow and their playing improve because they were playing with their teachers. I remember when I was young how playing side by sides with professional orchestras always made my playing grow in leaps and bounds, and it was so amazing to see this happen for the interns. I am looking forward to playing with them more this year!</i></blockquote>
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Albert Oppenheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10727169722738689431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-684300111528674504.post-36880444643342138582012-09-19T08:58:00.002-07:002012-09-19T08:58:39.613-07:00Giulia's Ninth Day - Jessica Interview <br />
Our guest blogger and volunteer from Italy, Giulia Molteni, reflects on her 9th day with the YOURS Project:<br />
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<i>Delving deeper into the YOURS Monroe faculty, today I'd like to introduce you to the brass teacher, Jessica Pearce!</i></blockquote>
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<i><b>Giulia: </b>Jessica, I'd like to find out more about your musical background and your previous teaching experiences. Is this the first time you have been involved in an El Sistema-inspired program here in Chicago? </i></blockquote>
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<i><b>Jessica: </b>This is my first time working with an El Sistema-inspired program<br />in Chicago, and I'm so excited to be a part of it. I've mostly taught<br />private lessons in the past at nearby high schools, my home, and the University of Illinois at Chicago. In May of 2011 I guest-taught at the <a href="http://www.laphil.com/education/yola" target="_blank">YOLA program in Los Angeles</a>, which is an El Sistema-inspired program led by Gustavo Dudamel. I really admired the leaders of that initiative because they built an amazing program out of nothing, all for their love of music and children. I wanted to be a part of something like that, so I am very thankful that I now have that opportunity through the YOURS Project! </i> </blockquote>
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<i><b>G:</b> Great! So, we know that an El Sistema-inspired program works with communities to immerse young players in intensive ensemble-based music education. Last week, I observed you and the others teachers playing with the students during the classes and I really enjoyed it! How do you feel when you both teach and attend sectional rehearsals, being part of the group? </i></blockquote>
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<i><b>J:</b> Being a part of the team at Monroe Elementary School feels really<br />great. I like learning from the other teachers and feeding off of<br />their energy. Sometimes we can get stuck in a rut with our own<br />playing or teaching and teaching with a team means that you get to share lots of new ideas.<br />Leading a group of kids in sectionals is challenging and really<br />satisfying to me. By striving to challenge the children, I challenge<br />myself to be more enthusiastic, engaging, and effective. I have to<br />project my confidence and my love for music so that I can give my best to them. I also just have to let loose and not be self conscious. I'll sing, dance, clap, yell, or talk in a funny voice if it means that I get my ideas across in the best way. </i></blockquote>
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<i><b>G:</b> I find that, for a beginner, one of the most difficult things to work on is intonation. How do you help your students to devolop a good sound? </i></blockquote>
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<i><b>J:</b> We have a lot of brand new brass players in the program- which is<br />very exciting. I have been working with them everyday on the basic principles of good breathing and posture. I tell them the two things they need to focus on are "wind" and "song." I ask them to sing the music so that they understand that their instrument just needs to be an extension of their voice. If they play with great air and have the song in their ear, intonation will happen for them. It just takes focus.</i></blockquote>
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Albert Oppenheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10727169722738689431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-684300111528674504.post-30785379390128302722012-09-17T21:20:00.001-07:002012-09-19T09:00:27.409-07:00Giulia's Eighth Day - Hibbard's First Day! <div>
Our guest blogger and volunteer from Italy, Giulia Molteni, reflects on her 8th day with the YOURS Project:</div>
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9/17/12<br />
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<i>Today, the YOURS Project at Hibbard Elementary has finally started! At 9:00 a.m. the auditorium was crowded with lots of kids, very excited about the beginning of a new musical year together.</i> <i>To welcome these little players as warmly as possible, and to make the beginners comfortable with the new situation, Sylvia Carlson, the YOURS Project Nucleo Director at Hibbard, proposed splitting them up into instrument groups to play some ice-breaker games. </i></blockquote>
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<i>I'm really happy to have had the opportunity to spend time with and to teach an instrument group, the violas, in collaboration with Andrew Aldo Gonzalez, the High School intern I introduced you to last week. We engaged these kids in many different activities, both to create a welcoming atmosphere, and to start working on basic techniques and exercises. In recounting this experience, I'd like to share with you some personal points of view regarding music education.</i> </blockquote>
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<i>As a pianist in an orchestral program, I can neither teach any instrument nor can I help students in solving the technical problems they have, according to the specific instrument they play. However, my musical background allows me to volunteer in a Project such as this, both as a fellow pianist and a music theory teacher. So, this morning I decided to work on musical fundamentals which, in my opinion must be covered before beginning to play an instrument: <b>rhythm, breathing and singing.</b></i> </blockquote>
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<i><br /></i><b><i>Rhythm:</i></b><i>Throughout my learning and teaching experience, I've often noticed that students have lots of difficulty feeling the rhythm with their bodies and keeping the beat. On one hand, this difficulty is surprising because dancing has always been the most spontaneous and natural musical expression, attested by archaeological finds of almost every ancient civilization. On the other hand, this rhythmical problem makes sense because students study just reading music first, without practicing the movements and motion inherent in the music. </i><i>So today I started the lessons with two simple but really useful games - the WAH game, as proposed by the YOURS Project Director Albert Oppenheimer, and a game to help people remember each other's names. Both games were played while the kids kept the beat, dancing in binary and ternary rhythms (ex. a waltz).</i> </blockquote>
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<i><br /></i><b><i>Breathing:</i></b><i>Another thing a musician must work on is breathing. Taking a moment each day to check-in with one's inner-self and breathe so that the body is free of tension really makes a difference long-term!</i><i>There are lots of simple but very effective exercises to try, stimulating the imagination:</i><i>-stand up tall, and lift your arms up above your head- imagine climbing a mountain, or grabbing our favorite sweet hanging from the ceiling</i><i>-sit tall, as one is to play in orchestra, slowly rolling the shoulders up towards the ears and then circling them back and downwards. Imagine having pencils on the tips of the shoulders and drawing circles with them, bigger and bigger. </i><i>-close the eyes and think of the chest widening and opening. Then release the body down and allow it to move freely, as if a puppet.</i><i>It's important while doing these exercises to focus on the breathing, stimulating the concentration that a musician must have.</i><i>Trust me: the kids had a lot of fun and understood the meaning of what they were doing.</i><i><br /></i><b><i></i></b></blockquote>
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<b><i>Singing:</i></b><i>Last but not least we worked on singing.</i><i>When I asked the students if they liked singing, they answered 'NO!' So at first it was a challenging task to convince them to use their voices. After few games, at the end of the lesson, the room echoed not only my voice and the voice of Andrew, but theirs too!</i><i>We had fun exploring the different kinds of sounds (low, central and high), imitating the cry of some animals (monkeys, dogs); all singing the musical scale together, while combining some movements.</i> </blockquote>
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<i><br /></i><i>For the kids to be more aware of themselves and develop as people, it's necessary to return to a more natural dimension, closer to our core essence. And also, as a really sweet kid told me today, to 'NEVER GIVE UP!'</i></blockquote>
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<br />Albert Oppenheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10727169722738689431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-684300111528674504.post-74306990325379831282012-09-15T07:24:00.003-07:002012-09-15T07:27:29.352-07:00Giulia's Seventh Day - Pictures and Reflections!<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Our guest blogger and volunteer from Italy, Giulia Molteni, reflects on her 7th day with the YOURS Project:</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><i>An intensive week has just gone by at Hibbard Elementary School of Chicago. So far, in this amazing journey within the YOURS Project, I have met new friends and introduced you to some of them, sharing with you their musical backgrounds, previous experiences, feelings, and plans for the upcoming months. Day after day, during the next two weeks of my staying in Chicago, we'll find out more about these energetic and dedicated people involved with YOURS Project and we'll delve into new interesting stories.</i></span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><i>What I really enjoyed was not only the hard work on strictly music stuff, such as covering the fundamentals - how to get a good sound, practising singing, solving rythmical problems - but I also really enjoyed the time spent discussing what was going on, why we were doing this work, and sharing different points of view. Also, we went and listened to excellent performers at the Beethoven Festival Art and Music: a great enriching occasion for both the YOURS Project interns and the teachers.</i></span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><i>This week has been a breath of fresh air and enthusiasm. Much has already been said and much is going to happen and be defined in this growing Project. But, you know, when in a group there's a common goal, one's reliability and positive attitude will inspire confidence throughout the whole team.</i></span></blockquote>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy and musical at the end of great week <3 </td></tr>
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Albert Oppenheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10727169722738689431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-684300111528674504.post-48156219619627526982012-09-13T21:54:00.000-07:002012-09-13T22:15:33.336-07:00Giulia's Sixth Day - High School Intern Andrew Interview<br />
<span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Our guest blogger and volunteer from Italy, Giulia Molteni, reflects on her 6th day with the YOURS Project:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">9/13/12</span><br />
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<i>Today I really want you to get to know one of the YOURS Project High School Interns, 14-year-old Andrew Aldo Gonzales.</i> </blockquote>
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<i><br /></i><i><b>Giulia:</b> Andrew, I was very impressed by your enthusiasm at the introductory meeting of the YOURS Project High School Internship Workshop. I think it would be very interesting if you would share with all of us some of your experiences as student who has participated in the YOURS Project. </i> </blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: 'lucida console', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><i><br /></i></span><i><b>Andrew:</b> I would be happy to share a few of my experiences as a YOURS student at Monroe Elementary. When the YOURS Project first arrived at our school, I was so excited about it. I could finally be in a program I loved. I love music, and at our school we had band and orchestra, but they weren't classes that would go into depth and actually be satisfying. So when the YOURS Project came, it was my chance to finally advance as a musician, and I dedicated myself to this program. I found it so nice that we had private/section lessons with a person who specialized in that instrument, which was something I missed out on before the YOURS Project came<span style="font-family: 'lucida console', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">.</span></span></i> </blockquote>
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<i><b>G:</b> Which aspects of an El Sistema-inspired program have you absorbed in the course of your studies? Which of these do you feel is necessary to pass on to your younger peers?</i> </blockquote>
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<i><b>A:</b> I never understood the Venezuelan El Sistema methods, nor do I know if anybody used them or not, but something that Albert said during our introductory meeting resonated- <b>it is a social program</b>. I felt very touched by that, and I couldn't agree more. Through the YOURS Project, I was able to be friends with so many additional students at my school instead of only knowing my peers from my own grade-level. I believed that these children really looked up to me, and it was truly an honor helping out with the program as much as possible. I felt that I became a little more aware of what being a leader means. As a student you just deal with your own self and try to better yourself. But everybody is different, whether it be the tuning or the sound of your instrument or your personality. As a leader, you have to see all these different things and make them work together as a musician/section/band/<wbr></wbr>orchestra. So being empowered at the YOURS Project made me realize that you have to take into account everyone, not just yourself. So not only was I being a teacher, I was becoming more understanding towards others and becoming more social, and I was able too see that growth in other children as well.</i> </blockquote>
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<i><b>G: </b>It's quite interesting that you grew up in an American city, but your parents are from Italy and Puerto Rico. Music is an enriching dimension in many different cultures. How do you combine all these cultural elements in your everyday music learning and teaching?</i> </blockquote>
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<i><b>A:</b> Coming from a family from Puerto Rico and Italy, it is very interesting to see what kinds of music I can play. I have always grown up around Salsa, Bachata, Merengue, and Cumbia- typical Latino music. When I get a piece of music that has similar values, it seems easier for me to play, and I feel like I am connected to my heritage. I feel a very big void on my Italian side - my grandfather, who was Italian, died before I was born, and I never was able to share with him. I do know that his mother had great talent, and was a piano teacher. I feel that when I play or listen to music, I am learning a different culture, but at the same time, in a common language. And it is wonderful that I can learn about other countries, and people, through music. I think it is important in today's world to always share something in common with people, as people sometimes hate each other just because of our differences. Instead, it is nice to have something as powerful as music in common. I mean, if it can change a child/family/neighborhood/<wbr></wbr>community/nation like Venezuela, we can all overcome many of our differences, and coexist happily.</i> </blockquote>
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<i><b>G:</b> We live in a difficult moment for the education field. It's comforting to see young people who dream and hope to build a better future. Any plans?</i> </blockquote>
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<i><b>A:</b> I find it so nice to meet people who are serious about education. Going to Northside College Prep, where I am a freshman, has helped me to see that everyday. We all share so many things in common. Being around grown- ups in the YOURS Project has helped me to see that there <b>are</b> people who care about our future. I am happy that they are making a difference in our lives. Opening us up to music, we are each able to connect with others who enjoy music as much as you do. It gives us something to look forward too, especially when I can do what you guys do, and help students become better individuals to ultimately build a better society. If I can do what you guys do, by doing what you love the most, and prove that music helps us become better people, and that it can help us in other ways, like education, I am so for it! I would love to continue what you guys do, and volunteer my time to teach others!</i></blockquote>
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Albert Oppenheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10727169722738689431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-684300111528674504.post-86510980368394175162012-09-12T19:48:00.002-07:002012-09-12T19:51:20.351-07:00Giulia's Fifth Day - Neeraj Interview <br />
Our guest blogger and volunteer from Italy, Giulia Molteni, reflects on her 5th day with the YOURS Project:<br />
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<i>In a music program involved in a social commitment, as the YOURS Project is, it's common to find dedicated people who take time out of their busy everyday life and want to volunteer. </i> </blockquote>
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<i>Today I'd like to share with you the experience of Neeraj Saraiya, a process engineer who volunteered at Hibbard as a low brass instructor for an entire year.</i> </blockquote>
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<i><b>Giulia: </b>Neeraj, you're an engineer with a strong passion for music. What made you want to delve into a field radically different from your everyday profession, joining the YOURS Project?</i> </blockquote>
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<i><b>Neeraj: </b>Well, I think it's more about who I am as a person. I cannot see myself as simply a scientist - it's far too limiting. I've been involved with music for such a long time, that being without some form of musical outlet can be confining. Unfortunately, I stopped playing when I began graduate school at Northwestern in my field of study (Chemistry). However, about 5 years ago, I picked it back up again and began to really enjoy the experience - it reminded me of why I started in the first place - musicianship makes you feel alive. There's a sense of community - working as a group to make notes on a page come to life and leave an audience caught in your magic. Being involved in music is a great way for me to relax and meditate on just enjoying life. It's the natural counterpoint as a scientist who normally sees from an analytical point of view. The arts, and music in particular, allow one to feel and appreciate the emotional nuances of living - in essence, enjoying humanity. It is only natural to want to pass these feelings and experiences of pure enjoyment onto others, especially those who are younger and looking at the world with fresh eyes. When one of my friends, who also volunteers with the YOURS project, told me about the program, I jumped in feet first! Although it may appear that music and the sciences are radically different, I would argue they work in concert. There are a lot of approaches from science that are inspired through some of the concepts and themes in music and vice versa. Perhaps, it is a commentary on society's current approach to separate everything to their specific mechanics. I think that's an error, because in the end, we overlook the similarities that help one area of discipline with the other. Personally, being involved with YOURS and music gives me a sense of balance.</i> </blockquote>
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<i><b>G: </b>Yesterday, at the meeting, the YOURS Projec Director Albert Oppenheimer reminded us all that the mission of an El Sistema-inspired program is to study the Venezuelan model and apply its principles, making music change the life of the students. It's a challenging task! As a volunteer, what does this commitment mean to you?</i> </blockquote>
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<i><b>N:</b> I believe the El Sistema methodology is very special. I compare it to the athletic programs popular in many countries, including here, in the United States. The idea is that through hard work, dedication, and working together, goals can be achieved that also have the added benefit of bettering the lives of the participants and the communities in which they live. Instead of using sport, we use music as our vehicle for achieving social benefit. In all honesty, when I started, I was not fully aware of what the El Sistema methodology really was - however, my past year's experience has given me a new found appreciation of what it has accomplished in the various incarnations in South America and what it can and will do for the students who participate in YOURS. For me personally, it is a chance to build a community with the fellow teachers, students, and their families while using music as the common thread. Through our work, musical accomplishment is something that can be felt and heard - it's something tangible which resonates for the individual, ensemble, and the community in which they live. I do find it is a challenge to make sure all elements are always covered - however, it's a good challenge to have and one I am more than happy to portray, whether it's musicianship, comraderie, or simply being a positive role model. The thing I hope most it that their station in life, along with their own personal well being </i><i>will continue to grow and improve the more they discover how unique and wonderful they are to their communities, families, school, orchestra, etc.</i></blockquote>
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<i><b>G:</b> Neeraj, you volunteered an entire year. Would you share with us some significant episodes of your experience?</i> </blockquote>
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<i><b>N: </b>As far as some experiences - there were many to reference. I have never really taught before in a musical setting - most of my teaching experience is from the science arena - be it lectures, labs, or recitation periods. Even though I was a volunteer, I was involved with the students on a regular basis since I came to Hibbard 3 days a week. I really enjoyed the various opportunities I had to try and run private lessons and sectionals. I have no conducting experience, so running sectionals was a challenge - but definitely something I would love to try again should the opportunity present itself. For me, my favorite activities were private lessons - this would involve borrowing a low brass player (or any brass player for that matter) from one of the three ensembles and running through passages they were having difficulty with, or trying different approaches with their pieces so they could understand what was going on thematically as well as the impression it had on them. Of course, this varies in degree with the level of the student's abilities. For the younger kids, we would work on basic fundamentals of getting a good sound and reading rhythms as well as singing the pitches to get an early idea of musical lines and phrases. With the intermediate students, I would also cover fundamentals, but also allowing a little more character into their playing - shaping tonal qualities, and really getting into the character of their part. We would also work on technical exercises that pertained to the music they were playing. The advanced players would get a full battery of fundamentals, solo playing, and musicality exercises. We would also work on the more difficult passages within pieces as well. I would often try to get parts from the bassoons or cellos - the trombone parts were sometimes a little bare and it allowed the player, in this case, Luis, to hear different parts of the piece and also develop some of the nuances inherent in those parts. Overall, most of the activities were about developing a relationship with the students so that they know they would feel natural talking about different musical concepts. Naturally, they would also feel comfortable discussing what's going on in their own lives. If anything, that would be the part I enjoyed the most. As I mentioned earlier, teaching sectionals was more of a challenge - instead of the more intimate setting of private lessons, there were more variables to be aware of. All the kids have to be engaged - so working parts within the different sections can be tough - but I learned that shortening the amount of rest or breaks between passages allowed us to stay focused and let the kids work on their playing while bolstering self-confidence. Of course, not everyone is always on board, but that just takes a little work in either changing the approach, changing the method, or getting help from the other faculty members to help you when there is difficulty. For me, the end result (mastery of the piece ) is always important, but so is involvement from all of the individuals in the ensemble.</i></blockquote>
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-Giulia Molteni </div>
Albert Oppenheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10727169722738689431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-684300111528674504.post-82249173602977096052012-09-11T18:02:00.002-07:002012-09-11T18:37:08.042-07:00Giulia's Fourth Day - Hibbard Elementary and the High School Internship WorkshopOur guest blogger and volunteer from Italy, Giulia Molteni, reflects on her 4th day with the YOURS Project:<br />
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<i>09/11/2012 </i> </blockquote>
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<i><br /></i><i>Today I came in contact with the other side of the YOURS Project: The program at Hibbard Elementary School.</i> </blockquote>
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<i>This week is going to be really interesting: I'll join the YOURS Project High School Internship Workshop, an intensive training course for high school students. The students participating in the internship have all been involved with the YOURS Project at either Monroe or Hibbard elementary. This important experience will help them become student leaders within the YOURS Project, teaching them how to share their skills with the younger student body. </i> </blockquote>
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<i><br /></i><i>Sylvia Carlson, the Nucleo Director at Hibbard, explained to me that it's the first time that a program of this kind is becoming a part of YOURS. Some of these high school students have previous experiences as teachers, but they have never been involved in an official teaching program such as this. In fact, the YOURS Project interns will be asked to take part in the program as full teachers, receiving training and experience instructing sectionals, teaching private lessons, assisting ensemble directors, and rehearsing and performing with the orchestra. </i> </blockquote>
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<i></i><i>This experience is going to be really challenging not only for them but also for the teaching staff, consisting of energetic and dedicated individuals: Andrea Grinberg (Cello Coach and Strings Instructor for the Beginning Orchestra), Brett Benteler (Double Bass Coach, Low Strings Instructor, and intermediate orchestra conductor) Javier Saume-Mazzei (Percussion Teacher) and Ben Bolter (Strings Instructor and Conductor of the Advanced Orchestra). </i> </blockquote>
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<i><br /></i><i>Today I was really happy and grateful to have joined a group of people so collaborative and united by the same goals and the same enthusiasm. In one room, there were people of different ages, coming from different cultural backgrounds, different countries, but all of them speaking a common and universal language: MUSIC.Thinking about the competitive world in which we live, I'd like to share with you all a personal thought: when you're part of a group, sometimes it doesn't matter if you're the best. The most important thing is to be someone who contributes to the group as a whole, and who is happy being part of something bigger than oneself. </i></blockquote>
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Giulia Molteni</div>
Albert Oppenheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10727169722738689431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-684300111528674504.post-63003809124269002862012-09-06T18:35:00.002-07:002012-09-06T18:45:38.290-07:00Giulia's Third Day - Ivana Interview<div>
Our guest blogger and volunteer from Italy, Giulia Molteni, reflects on her 3rd day with the YOURS Project:</div>
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<i>9/6/2012 </i> </blockquote>
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<i><br /></i><i>Having so enjoyed yesterday's strings lesson, I felt it would be interesting to delve deeper into Ivana Dudnik teaching experience with the YOURS Project. So I asked her some questions I want to share with you. </i> </blockquote>
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<i>Giulia: Ivana, when did you come to Chicago and how was your first experience with YOURS Project? </i> </blockquote>
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<i>Ivana: Well, I arrived in January 2011, invited by Deborah Wanderly dos Santos, one of the founders of the program. At first I had mixed feelings and I was curious to understand how to translate El Sistema-inspired programs in the American culture. </i><i><br /></i> </blockquote>
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<i></i><i>G: Having worked with the El Sistema-inspired program in Brazil, which aspects of this philosophy did you feel were important to bring here? </i> </blockquote>
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<i>I: Everywhere you bring an El Sistema-inspired methodology you must be clearly aware that you're goal is to change the life of these kids and let them become better people. You must help them develop a sense of responsibility. </i><i><br /></i> </blockquote>
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<i></i><i>G: Taking part in an orchestral program is enriching. However it's not always easy to join a new group and play together. How do you help the kids through the music? </i> </blockquote>
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<i>I: We help them by combining the technical aspects a student needs to improve musically with the social skills a student needs to develop personally - giving them a link between what they do in the class and their real life </i><i><br /></i> </blockquote>
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<i></i><i>G: To be enrolled in an orchestra requires commitment. Throughout your experience, have you observed any significant change in the way kids approach this project? </i> </blockquote>
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<i>I: Actually I had a strong experience in Bahia, Brazil. I had a class of "relaxed" students not used to coming to class on time. After six months and a lot of reinforcement I noticed almost 95% of them being present at the scheduled times. The same happened here, when I taught morning classes. At first, the lessons were attended by only five kids. Soon, they developed a sense of responsibility and understood the importance of participating they were present every morning! </i><i><br /></i> </blockquote>
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<i></i><i>Last but not least, have you ever thought that an everyday orange bucket could be used as a tool to drill musical skills? That's what I saw this afternoon when I joined the percussion class!Peter, an engaging percussionist, taught students an introductory lesson, giving a boost to both imitating the rhythms he proposed and inventing new rhythmic combinations. If any overlapping rhythms or funny counterpoint came out, the goal would to do so in time! At first it wasn't easy, but the children and I really enjoyed playing together. </i> </blockquote>
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<i>At any time of day, when we get bored or we are in a funk let's cheer ourselves up by listening to the rhythms of our body and just play whatever is handy! </i></blockquote>
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-Giulia Molteni</div>
Albert Oppenheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10727169722738689431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-684300111528674504.post-77592817501897638202012-09-05T18:26:00.002-07:002012-09-05T18:46:36.768-07:00Giulia's Second Day - String Class<div class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Our guest blogger and volunteer from Italy, Giulia Molteni, reflects on her 2nd day with the YOURS Project:</span></div>
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<i><br /></i><i>Today, my exciting second day at Monroe Elementary School, I took part in the string classes. What a wonderful experience!</i> </blockquote>
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<i>I observed Ivana Dudnik, a Brazilian musician who came to Chicago having worked many years with the El Sistema-inspired program in Brazil, <a href="http://www.neojiba.org/en" target="_blank">Neojiba</a>. Ivana worked with two groups divided by age: the first group had kids in 6th grade and below, while the second group was made up of 7th and 8th grade students.</i><i>I really enjoyed her teaching method and I found it productive: before starting to play, pay attention to the body, sit tall like a hero and concentrate on what one is doing. These fundamentals are necessary to become real performers and as the weeks go by by I'm sure they'll get used to them!</i><i>I was also fascinated by some useful games Ivana proposed to work on the fingers independence and flexibility, necessary to use the bow properly to produce each kind of articulation. I saw these young players have a lot of fun moving fingers up and down through the bow like a spider, or rotating the wrist like the wind shield wipers of a car.</i><i>Can all these be an effective teaching tools? Sure, and it's also very entertaining!</i></blockquote>
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-Giulia Molteni </div>
Albert Oppenheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10727169722738689431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-684300111528674504.post-35395253019948405772012-09-04T19:29:00.002-07:002012-09-04T19:30:18.266-07:00Introducing Giulia and the First Day of School! I'd like to introduce Giulia Molteni!<br />
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Giulia comes to us from outside Milan, Italy, and she has joined us in Chicago specifically to work with the YOURS Project. She has a theory and piano background, having worked in music therapy programs in Italy with youth and adults. She has come to our country because she is interested in learning and observing how an El Sistema-inspired program in the United States works with youth. Out of all the great programs growing in the USA, she chose to spend time with us, here at the YOURS Project! We are honored and so excited to have her with us this month. <br />
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Giulia will be joining me as a guest blogger for the next few weeks, as I have asked her to share her thoughts on the program each day she is here. Below is her beautiful post about her first day with the program:<br />
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<i><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Tuesday 9/4</span> </i></blockquote>
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<i><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Today the YOURS PROJECT at Monroe Elementary School in Chicago has finally started off! Tom Madeja, the Nucleo Director of this amazing Project, warmly welcomed both the teachers and the students, sharing with them his enthusiasm and expectations for the new school year.</span> </i></blockquote>
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<i><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The teaching staff consists of young and very energetic people: Aryiole Frost is the Children's Orchestra Conductor, Ivana Dudnik will be working with the strings students, Jessica Pearce will teach the brass students, Peter Tashjian will be working with the percussion players, and </span>Erendira Izguerra will help teach violin. </i></blockquote>
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<i><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">As a volunteer, I'm so happy to join this project for this month and I feel it is important that the experiences of these children be told! </span> </i></blockquote>
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<i><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I strongly believe that everybody always has something special to share with others and music really helps everyone to talk about themselves and their experiences. So, as Tom outlined today, a course of music is not just a matter of graduating, but above all a way of being better people.</span><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">My hope is that a daily report about the children will make us all be amazed by the healing power of music.</span><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">YOURS PROJECT of Chicago, thank you for your important mission!</span></i></blockquote>
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<i>-Giulia Molteni</i></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br />Albert Oppenheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10727169722738689431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-684300111528674504.post-28488749850417938642012-09-04T19:11:00.002-07:002012-09-04T20:22:29.683-07:00New Beginnings Hi Everyone!<br />
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A lot has happened since I last posted. </div>
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Some highlights: </div>
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<li>The Fellows returned from Venezuela, </li>
<li>we presented the business plan we had created for the <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/yolower9thward/" target="_blank">Youth Orchestra of the Lower 9th Ward</a>,</li>
<li>and we, the 3rd class of Sistema Fellows (formerly Abreu Fellows) graduated!</li>
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The work we did for YOL9W was grounded in the community mapping I had done in the fall, outlined in this blog! Read some of my previous posts from October and November 2011 to find out more!<br />
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When the Fellows graduated, we each spoke a little about our experience in the Fellowship. I spoke about shaping your own future, and how the fellowship had given me the permission and the tools to craft my own path. I used this example of penmanship, created by myself when I was 9, to illustrate that point:</div>
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<i><b>Most people think that all they are is all they've been.</b></i> </div>
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We are more than the sum of our experiences. We can choose to create new parts of ourselves, and new paths for us to travel in the future. Which brings me to my next announcement:</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I am now the </span><span style="font-size: large;">Director of the </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.peoplesmusicschool.org/" target="_blank">People's Music School'S YOURS Project in Chicago!</a></span></div>
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Check out this video that WTTW, Chicago's local PBS affiliate, did on the YOURS Project recently: <a href="http://chicagotonight.wttw.com/2012/06/11/yours-project#.UEayOzhLcks.blogger">YOURS Project | Chicago Tonight | WTTW</a></div>
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I visited this program over Thanksgiving, and was enamored with all the great work I saw while I was there. At that point, I had no idea it would even be a possibility for me to join the project. I am so excited to join the family. I began working with YOURS in June, listening and learning from everyone working with and within the project. After the successful completion of a month-long summer program, I spent the remaining summer working with the directors of our two nucleos dreaming and planning. Today is the day we've dreamed and planned for! Our nucleo at Monroe Elementary has launched! </div>
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Today was the first day of the school year for the YOURS Project, and I am excited. I'm excited for the staff, for the schools, for the participants. I'm excited for the music and I'm excited for the growth. I will begin updating this blog regularly again, so follow along, it's going to be an adventure! </div>
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Albert Oppenheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10727169722738689431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-684300111528674504.post-9347046704854447962012-03-21T21:34:00.003-07:002012-04-29T23:12:08.190-07:00Todavía<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Hola! </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I am writing to you from the backseat of a van full of fellows. Yesterday was our last day in Calabozo, and today we are traveling to the Caribbean coast, to a nucleo in the gorgeous city of Coro. I’m looking forward to a full week imbedded in another nucleo, another fabulous community, and some beautiful beaches. </span></span></div>
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" 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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Throughout the past many weeks, I’ve been focusing on staying open and wide-eyed, allowing myself to soak up the experience, the atmosphere, the pedagogy, the structures, the friendships, the youthful exuberance, and the joy that I’ve encountered in every site we’ve visited. Processing the full depth and breadth of this experience will take a considerable amount of time, and I imagine learnings and realizations will continue to appear long after I’ve left this place, brought into focus by some resonating future experience, an insight blossoming into existence without warning. Invigoratingly, a few glimmers have already begun shine. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">One of my favorite spanish words is <b><i>“todavía.”</i></b> It means ‘yet’. As in: </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>“I haven’t seen the beaches of Coro… </i><b><i>todavía.”</i> </b> or</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>“I don’t eat arepas at every meal in the U.S. … </i><b><i>todavía.”</i></b> or</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>“There isn’t composition in El Sistema… </i><b><i>todavía.” </i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>...</i><b><i>Todavía</i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Try saying todavía after every seemingly negative statement. It’s fun! Recognizing the possibility inherent in every blank page. <i>“But I’ve never written music! ...</i><b><i> todavía”</i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I entered the fellowship with a personal quest to learn about and envision the possibilities for composition and improvisation within El Sistema inspired programs. When we started, I knew very little about what the composition world looked like within El Sistema in Venezuela. Now I’m starting to get a better idea. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">As we travel, I’m talking to teachers, students, and administrators, attempting to begin to draw a picture of composition from a few different points of view: </span></span></div>
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<li style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Curricular point of view</span></span></li>
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<li style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Is composition a part of the theory curriculum?</span></span></li>
<li style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Are there independent composition classes (private or in a group)? </span></span></li>
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<li style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Cultural point of view </span></span></li>
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<li style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Do you play new music? In an ensemble or otherwise?</span></span></li>
<li style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Do you or your teachers talk about composers? </span></span></li>
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<li style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Individual point of view </span></span></li>
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<li style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Do you write music? </span></span></li>
<li style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Do you have friends that write music? </span></span></li>
<li style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Do you want to write music?</span></span></li>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">So far, throughout our journeys, I have found very few programs that include a composition element as a part of their theoretical study. Also, I haven’t visited a nucleo that has a separate composition class or private composition lessons. Though there are forms of composition instruction in nucleos imbedded in ‘conservatorios’, what we might call arts high schools, but usually only for older students. I have yet to visit a program that is playing works by living composers other than Hollywood tunes. That being said, in every site we’ve visited, I have been approached by some student in the nucleo who wants to share their music with me. Or the nucleo director or a teacher hears I’m a composer and excitedly points me towards the 7 year old who just wrote a string quartet, or the 13 year old who is puzzling out how to harmonize the melody he just wrote for violin. I have been approached by so many young, excited composers, scores in hand, eager to show and tell. These encounters bring me to a realization:</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Composers are everywhere in El Sistema. </span></b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">There just isn’t a structure within the system to nurture them… <b><i>todavía. </i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">While I was studying composition at New England Conservatory, I moonlighted as faculty for the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPJfCL5QAl8" target="_blank">preparatory school at NEC</a>, teaching theory courses to children ages 5-18. I worked with <i>a lot </i>of kids. Yet, there seem to be exponentially more young, budding composers in these nucleos than there were that sprouted out of the fertile musical environment at NEC Prep. In fact, I have encountered more young composers here than anywhere else I’ve been. It makes sense, in way- there are large numbers of youth that understand the language of music, and all their friends do too. Implicitly, they are introduced to the idea of composers and composition through the music they play. Intrinsic to the act of playing classical music, they have composition role modeled for them. And they are immersed in that environment for 4-6 hours a day, 5-6 days a week! I am excited by this potential. I am invigorated by the questions. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Questions of the day: </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Is the concept of composition intrinsic to an El Sistema environment? </span></i></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">How could composers be identified and nurtured within El Sistema and El Sistema inspired programs? </span></i></span></div>
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<br /></div>Albert Oppenheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10727169722738689431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-684300111528674504.post-24979437297453525962012-03-09T20:42:00.002-08:002012-03-17T11:07:57.602-07:00Santa Rosa<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I have spent the last two days at the Nucleo Divina Pastora, Santa Rosa.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> I can’t express in words how much I love this nucleo. Located around a large public square in front of a beautiful Catholic church, sunlight streams down and gentle breezes blow as birds flock to the music. The site overlooks a rolling verde vista, hills spotted with distant houses, and an easy mix of youthful possibility and deep history permeates the air. Every space surrounding the square is utilized by the Nucleo – there are lessons taking place in nooks and unexpected alleys, a violin lesson against a wall here, 3 guitarists in a corner there. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; letter-spacing: 0px;">There are about 35 teachers employed by the nucleo serving about 600 children, ages 3 and up. Non-teaching staff includes the nucleo director, Jose-Luis, an assistant administrator, and 4 security guards. Of the 600 children involved in the nucleo, 350 or so play in one of two orchestras (Orchestra A, for younger children, and Orchestra B, for the older children). The remaining 250 at the nucleo choose among studying their instruments privately, participating in chamber music, singing in the choirs, and studying the language of music.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; letter-spacing: 0px;">The sunny central square is bright and bustling with families socializing as their children swirl around them from activity to activity, the Nucleo running from 2pm-6pm Monday-Friday with additional ensemble time on Saturday. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">The nucleo schedule includes a diverse catalogue of musical activities and instruction, engaging students in many different ways. </span></span></div>
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<li style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Monday</span></b></span></li>
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<li style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Large Sectionals by instrument </span></span></li>
<li style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Musical Language (theory/ear training/solfege)</span></span></li>
<li style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Individual Lessons</span></span></li>
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<li style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Tuesday</span></b></span></li>
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<li style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Individual Lessons</span></span></li>
<li style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Small Sectionals by instrument</span></span></li>
<li style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Chamber Music</span></span></li>
<li style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Musical Language</span></span></li>
<li style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Ensembles </span></span></li>
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<li style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Wednesday</span></b></span></li>
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<li style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Full Orchestra</span></span></li>
<li style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Musical Language</span></span></li>
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<li style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Thursday</span></b></span></li>
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<li style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Individual Lessons</span></span></li>
<li style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Small Sectionals by instrument</span></span></li>
<li style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Chamber Music</span></span></li>
<li style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Musical Language</span></span></li>
<li style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Ensembles </span></span></li>
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<li style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Friday </span></b></span></li>
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<li style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Full Orchestra</span></span></li>
<li style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Musical Language</span></span></li>
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<li style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Saturday</span></b></span></li>
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<li style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Full Orchestra or Large Sectionals</span></span></li>
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<li style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">1</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 8px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px;"><sup>st</sup></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> & 3</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 8px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px;"><sup>rd</sup></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> of the month: 9am-1pm </span></span></li>
<li style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">2</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 8px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px;"><sup>nd</sup></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> & 4</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 8px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px;"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> of the month: 9am-1pm & 2pm-4:30pm</span></span></li>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">In regards to my focus on linguaje musical, the language of music, I found an exciting synthesis of pedagogy at Santa Rosa. Every single student in the nucleo takes a separate, hour-long, scaffolded language of music class twice a week. However, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, there are small sectionals of 4-5 students where instrument specific, repertoire related, language of music training is interwoven with technical specifics, meant to be complimentary to the independent language of music classes. This is very exciting. A hybrid of what I’ve seen so far at Montalban and Sarria, this method utilizes both instruction of theoretical concepts in the classroom and applied instruction of theoretical concepts on the student’s instrument, in an ensemble! Qué interesante! </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">If you're following this blog, consider also following my fellow fellows!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Stephanie Hsu writes a fabulous log of our journey from caracas to Barquisimeto with initial reflections and insights: </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;"><a href="http://respiriting.wordpress.com/2012/03/09/bendiciones-en-barquisimeto/">http://respiriting.wordpress.com/2012/03/09/bendiciones-en-barquisimeto/</a></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Ben Fuller gives an update regarding what he is hoping learn from his time here with some great videos!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;"><a href="http://bentonfuller.blogspot.com/2012/03/update-from-venezuela.html">http://bentonfuller.blogspot.com/2012/03/update-from-venezuela.html</a></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">José-Luis Henádez-Estrada ponders what effects living in and through <i>sound</i> can have:</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;"><a href="http://bentonfuller.blogspot.com/2012/03/update-from-venezuela.html">http://bentonfuller.blogspot.com/2012/03/update-from-venezuela.html</a></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Here is some media from my time at Santa Rosa!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Monica, the young lady front and center, is a 7 year-old I worked with on reading and clapping durations - quarter (negra) and half (blanca) notes. She approached me the 2nd day I was at the nucleo to introduce me to her mother and grandmother, both of whom were spending time in the sunlit square while the nucleo was in session. </span></div>
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<br /></div>Albert Oppenheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10727169722738689431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-684300111528674504.post-23675658057159857312012-03-04T21:18:00.000-08:002012-03-05T03:47:28.481-08:00The Language of Music<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Musical Language </span></i></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Today finds me in Barquisimeto, the fourth largest city in Venezuela. The fellows are all about to hunker down and begin to delve into the work here, connecting, observing, teaching, and learning with and within the many nucleo communities to be found in this area. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">While I am inundated by the rich deluge of experiences, one of the few particular aspects of the work I want to focus on is how the nucleos interact with the <b>language of music</b>. How is it taught to the students? How is it spoken about? Is it learned independently of their instruments? In a group? Is improvisation a natural part of the process? Is composition a unique occurrence? </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I have already encountered two very different ways that nucleos might introduce and nurture the language of music. In the Montalban nucleo, they have a curriculum scaffolded and structured around the <i>Lenguaje Musical, </i><b>Musical Language</b>. Once a student picks up an instrument, they begin classes on sightsinging, dictation, and theory concurrently with their ensemble studies. Every student in the nucleo attends a musical language class at least once a week. They attend class with others who play the same instrument, and the nucleo has a musical language guide book for each instrument. Typically, whole sections will study theory together as they progress through the nucleo. This seems to be familiar to me. Separate theory classes are the basis of musical training in the states. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">In the Sarria nucleo, reading and theory are taught completely ensconced within sectionals and private lessons. There is no additional class, and all theoretical teaching is driven by repertoire, as are the technical skills. This repertoire based technical and theoretical curriculum calls for a very intentional, scaffolded series of pieces chosen for their musical and pedagogical value. It’s all taught with instrument in hand, never in a class. This is more unfamiliar, yet very exciting. Are there others who teach like this? What repertoire could be used for the first week? The first month? The first year? </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I move forward, hopefully encountering many more nucleos along the way, excitedly exploring the relationship other programs have with the language of music. There is no judgement, only intense curiosity. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Let’s take a moment to reminisce about the<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: cyan;"> <a href="http://albertoppenheimer.blogspot.com/2011/10/foundation-of-thought.html"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">very first post on this blog</span></a></span>, remembering my excitement regarding the potential for creativity within the discipline of Sistema:</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">My personal goal within the fellowship is to research and encourage the possibility of working with the concepts of improvisation and composition from the moment musical education begins. The potential is enormous, and is but a subtle shift of the understanding of musical language. Music is not just a language for one to speak, like speeches to be read off the page via the violin, much like one might perform Shakespeare. It is also a language of creation, of personal expression and exploration. Every pitch, every rhythm is another tool/ingredient/option to potentially be re-imagined into a unique composition. If music was taught with the understanding that it is also as malleable as language, as fluid as finger paint, perhaps we could nurture a generation of composers. </span></i></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div>Albert Oppenheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10727169722738689431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-684300111528674504.post-54503955422040374052012-03-02T10:21:00.000-08:002012-03-04T18:26:23.839-08:00Caracas, Venezuela!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">Hola! Today finds me in Caracas, Venezuela!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small; letter-spacing: 0px;">In my last post, I was spending Thanksgiving in Chicago with family, and concluded that trip by visiting the <a href="http://www.peoplesmusicschool.org/index_files/yours.htm"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">YOURS project</span></a>, one of the oldest El Sistema inspired programs in the United States. Since Thanksgiving, I have spent the winter in China with the<a href="http://yoa.org/"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"> Youth Orchestra of the Americas</span></a> as part of the administrative staff as they toured the country. In February, I presented, along with the other fellows, at the first ever national conference for El Sistema in the united states, hosted by <a href="http://www.takeastand.com/"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">Take A Stand- a partnership of Bard College, the Longy School of Music, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic</span></a>. Here is a link to the slides we used assisting our presentation: <a href="http://prezi.com/fl9jnmzd2cmb/abreu-fellows-la-presentation/"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">http://prezi.com/fl9jnmzd2cmb/abreu-fellows-la-presentation/</span></a> - wait for it to load, and then click through!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small; letter-spacing: 0px;">Now, a month after our presentation in LA, the fellows are starting their 5 week residency in Venezuala! We are so excited, estamos muy emocionados, to be studying the inspiration at the source. I am striving to enter this experience with an open mind and heart, ready to observe and absorb. I will attempt to blog regularly throughout our time here in VZ, so please check back in and travel with us! </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small; letter-spacing: 0px;">Here are some videos created from the experiences of the first 2 days by my fellow fellow, David France. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small; letter-spacing: 0px;">Day 1</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small; letter-spacing: 0px;">Montalban Nucleo:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small; letter-spacing: 0px;">A montage with reflections on the experience- </span></div>
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<u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none;"><span style="font-size: small; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rgn0bxoRwB8&feature=BFa&list=UUiT5BT_tC0OZAV3FOLlTdkA&lf=plpp_video">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rgn0bxoRwB8&feature=BFa&list=UUiT5BT_tC0OZAV3FOLlTdkA&lf=plpp_video</a></span></span></u></div>
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<span style="font-size: small; letter-spacing: 0px;">Also, fellow fellow José Luis Hernández-Estrada wrote a beautiful post on his experience in Montalban: </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.joseherstrada.com/abreufellow.cfm?feature=2291369&postid=1827429">http://www.joseherstrada.com/abreufellow.cfm?feature=2291369&postid=1827429<span style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Verdana; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"></span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small; letter-spacing: 0px;">Day 2</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small; letter-spacing: 0px;">Sarria Nucleo: </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small; letter-spacing: 0px;">Rafael Elster, now a national level administrator of El Sistema, worked with the Sarria Nucleo for 10 years and has been working within El Sistema for 30 years. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJvhhPPlCKI&list=UUiT5BT_tC0OZAV3FOLlTdkA&index=2&feature=plpp_video">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJvhhPPlCKI&list=UUiT5BT_tC0OZAV3FOLlTdkA&index=2&feature=plpp_video</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small; letter-spacing: 0px;">A violin teacher’s thoughts and reflections: </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92PnTGE7uq8&list=UUiT5BT_tC0OZAV3FOLlTdkA&index=3&feature=plpp_video">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92PnTGE7uq8&list=UUiT5BT_tC0OZAV3FOLlTdkA&index=3&feature=plpp_video</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small; letter-spacing: 0px;">Another fellow fellow, Aisha Bowden, sharing her thoughts on video- towards the end of the video she engages a number of the students at the nucleo in conversation, ending with a song! </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeC3MbbZzbo&list=UUiT5BT_tC0OZAV3FOLlTdkA&index=1&feature=plpp_video">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeC3MbbZzbo&list=UUiT5BT_tC0OZAV3FOLlTdkA&index=1&feature=plpp_video</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small; letter-spacing: 0px;">Also, Jose-Luis’s reflections regarding his experience at Sarria: </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.joseherstrada.com/abreufellow.cfm?feature=2291369&postid=1831532">http://www.joseherstrada.com/abreufellow.cfm?feature=2291369&postid=1831532</a></span></div>
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</div>Albert Oppenheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10727169722738689431noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-684300111528674504.post-816154428864511332011-11-24T20:51:00.001-08:002011-11-25T22:16:38.147-08:00Happy Thanksgiving!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Today found me in Chicago with my sister, who attends the University of Chicago, and my father, who drove from Mississippi to join us. During the brief time that I spent in Boston, after I returned from New Orleans, an Abreu Fellowship reunion took place. Many stories were shared of the amazing journeys that my fellow fellows have had. They had adventures in far away lands such as <a href="http://makeabignoise.org.uk/sistema-scotland/" target="_blank">Scotland</a> and <a href="http://www.sinem.go.cr/" target="_blank">Costa Rica</a>, while others braved the temperate rain forests of <a href="http://www.jsd.k12.ak.us/~heagyl/ArtIsElementary/JAMM.html" target="_blank">Alaska</a>. Some visited programs in <a href="http://www.bsomusic.org/main.taf?p=9,5,8" target="_blank">Baltimore</a>, <a href="http://playonphilly.org/" target="_blank">Philadelphia</a>, <a href="http://www.pricehillwill.org/MYCincinnati" target="_blank">Cincinati</a>, <a href="http://www.peoplesmusicschool.org/index_files/yours.htm" target="_blank">Chicago</a>, and <a href="http://atlantamusicproject.org/" target="_blank">Atlanta</a>. One fellow, <a href="http://www.avimehta.com/blog.html" target="_blank">Avi Mehta</a>, traveled around Texas, visiting programs in <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Austin-Soundwaves/277065912327749" target="_blank">Austin</a> and <a href="http://www.yosa.org/index.php/YosaPrograms/category/music_learning_center/" target="_blank">San Antonio</a> and discussed the potential for a program in the Dallas – Fort Worth area. For our reunion, we spent two glorious days with Gretchen Nielsan, Director of Educational Initiatives for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, learning about the LA Phil's Sistema inspired programs under the umbrella of <a href="http://www.laphil.com/yola/" target="_blank">Youth Orchestra Los Angeles</a>. Check out the <a href="http://www.laphil.com/yola/yola-resource.cfm" target="_blank">YOLA resource library</a>- it's full of useful documents and information regarding El Sistema and the structure of YOLA'S programs. During our reunion, we spent some time exploring the massive amounts of data gathered by our ongoing national needs assessment of all self identifying 'El Sistema inspired' programs in the USA- very interesting, very exciting. Also, Gretchen helped us create a foundational understanding of nucleo program design. The first step of which is <b>context</b>. That concept of context brings me to my phrase of the day:</span><br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;">Happy Thanksgiving! </span></b><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Before you can truly begin designing a Sistema program to serve a community, you have to explore and get to know the ecosystem that already exists in that community. This is a large part of the work I was doing in New Orleans. In both program design and community mapping, understanding what a community <b>already has to be thankful for </b>is an essential initial step in the process. The goal should be to strive to discover and understand what programs already exist doing great work in the community- to look at which programs are role models and potential partners/collaborators- to ascertain which programs' outcomes could be enhanced through support, collaboration, and connection. In order to achieve the most positive possible impact, you need to truly grasp the <b>assets </b>of a community as you attempt to address the need.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">There is some amazing work going on in the world. The work is going on in your country. In your city. Perhaps, even right next door. Look up, look around, and get in touch! I am filled with thankfulness for all the individuals and programs who work so hard to make the world a more joyful, a more peaceful, and a more musical place to be. <b>Thank you. </b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Questions of the day:</span><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">What can be gained through the knowledge of the assets in a community? </span></i><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">What musical/educational/social programs are you thankful for in your community? </span></i><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Have you said 'thank you' recently? </span></i><br />
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<br />Albert Oppenheimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10727169722738689431noreply@blogger.com3