There’s much less now to say about Sistema except perhaps “requiescat in pace.”
Impoverished Improv
I’m tired of being stomped like a foot-action player piano and then being told I’m empowered and improvising.
The Search for SIGnificance
Whither (wither?) the Sistema Special Interest Group?
Report from ISME 2016
Didn't make it to Glasgow? Here's some of the stuff you might have missed.
A little less conversation, a little more…
Of the many quotes of the eminently quotable British Statesman Sir Winston Churchill, the one that seems to have the most currency today is his statement that “Democracy is the worst form of Government except all those other forms that have been tried.” This wry cynicism may be attributable to Churchill’s personal view of Democracy, … Continue reading A little less conversation, a little more…
When Sistema isn’t as easy as pie
On the drive back from the Reframing El Sistema conference in Baltimore, my students and I stopped for pie in Washington DC. Over a very delicious and savoury slice of steak and chile (really) I took the opportunity to ask a freshman cellist what she had thought of the conference. Her response was brutal: “I … Continue reading When Sistema isn’t as easy as pie
Touring Test – Part 2
The future of classical music is not dependent on 20 seconds of screen time at the Super Bowl. It’s in the hands of the certified music educators around the nation who live and labour under increasingly difficult circumstances to make music a part of their students’ lives.
In search of a “Unique Dividend”
If pressed to answer the question “Why Sistema?”, I think there are only two legitimate answers
The Price Tag of Independence
If you don't like the politicization of El Sistema in Venezuela, there is something you can do about it.
Bonfire of the Inanities – International censorship in Sistema
Who's telling you what to read or think?
Jonathan Andrew Govias 