The next stage is probably not popular insurrection and restoration of democracy, but a coup.
While Rome (Caracas) Burns
When beauty pageants, human rights, and music collide
It’s likely that, were it not for some controversy, the most recent Miss USA spectacle would have passed largely unnoticed, as befits an outdated and sexist institution that ironically claims to be progressive and feminist (because seeing a woman in a swimsuit is apparently an essential way to gauge her intellectual capacities). But the competition … Continue reading When beauty pageants, human rights, and music collide
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.
To confer and to confront
I miss the old days, when doing a conference entailed sequencing a few heart-warming anecdotes from Venezuela, and where the only challenge was choosing the right tone and tenor to leave the audience bathed in moral elevation having heard firsthand the power of music. I particularly missed those days at 3am last Wednesday morning when … Continue reading To confer and to confront
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.
Touring Test – Part 1
From Mark Swed’s hogshead overflowing with champagne to Gabriela Montero’s dry shot glass, there’s been plenty of disagreement over both the size of the vessel and the extent to which it was filled by YOLA’s appearance in the Super Bowl
In search of a “Unique Dividend”
If pressed to answer the question “Why Sistema?”, I think there are only two legitimate answers
Jonathan Andrew Govias 