Can Sistema save the Symphony?
On the S.S. (Symphonic Ship) Titanic
Fiesta en Canadá
A 2-week musical party kicks off in Canada, with South American guests of honour
It ain’t all Sistema
Is it possible that there’s a unifying theory of tempo for a ten movement work? I say there is, and I dedicated the article to Maestro José Antonio Abreu, because the solution I propose would make an economist smile
The Domestic Dispute Strikes Back – Part 2, Jonathan vs. the Horn
...The part of the experience that has stayed with me the longest was the opportunity to engage with the music on a completely different level, to go beyond playing it to a place where I started to understand it, to appreciate its architecture and narrative experientially, even if I lacked the knowledge to deconstruct it theoretically. The difference was no more than frequency and repetition, but music had finally begun to mean something more to me.
El Sistema in Canada – 2012 Update
Canadian núcleos are some of the oldest in North America; Canadian universities have hosted the first academic conferences related to el Sistema; a national foundation presented the Símon Bolívar Orchestra in its largest venue to date and formally honoured Maestro Abreu's achievements in 2008; and a Canadian youth orchestra has set the current gold standard internationally in advocating for and securing major government funding.
Venio, Video, Vinco
Not just two blog posts in one week, but the second is a video blog post at that. Enjoy this mini-documentary of a component of our activities in Baltimore last week.
Jonathan Andrew Govias 