Didn't make it to Glasgow? Here's some of the stuff you might have missed.
Report from ISME 2016
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
What next for Sistema?
What do Microsoft and Venezuela have in common?
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.
Still Steamed about STEM (Part 2)
Sistema programs are a declaration of different aspirations, of different values, of a different vision for society
Jonathan Andrew Govias 