Hear. The Future.

A presentation made to Orchestras Canada’s 2010 National Orchestras Meetings by Ken MacLeod, President NBYO.

Social Change through Music

“From the moment a child begins to play an instrument, they are no longer poor.”

- José Abreu, Founder El Sistema Venezuela

In June 2009, three members of the NBYO Board of Directors traveled to Caracas to study and learn from the El Sistema experience with the aim of adapting the program to fit and work in New Brunswick and Canada. Participants included Ken MacLeod, President of KMA Consultants (NBYO President), David Hawkins, President of Colour NB, and David Adams, Concertmaster of Symphony New Brunswick.

El Sistema – Here’s What We Saw:

- Five centres or “Nucleos”

- Each nucleo served 1,500 – 3,000 children per site

- Heard performances from more than 20 orchestras, from children ages 2-20

- Talked with Centre Directors, Conductors and children

- “Music changed my life” – the most commonly heard phrase from those we talked with

- Energy, joy, passion and commitment evident among the children and youth

- High caliber of musicianship evident

- These children are ‘no longer poor’

After seeing El Sistema in Venezuela, we knew New Brunswick children would benefit from a similar program. Although we live in a country very different from Venezuela, the circumstances which can lead to social exclusion for children are largely the same; as are the benefits of playing in an orchestra, which can counter them. We decided to learn what will work best in our setting by beginning with a single prototype centre.

Beaverbrook Prototype Centre

- October 19, 2009 first children’s orchestra began

- 50 children

- 4 participating schools – grades 1-4

- Inclusive

- Transportation provided

- 5 days/week; 3 hours/day

- All string instruments – violin, viola, cello, bass

- After-school nutrition provided

- No cost to children

The goals of Sistema NB are to:

- inspire children to achieve their full potential through music;

- build values like discipline, teamwork and mutual respect; and,

- foster qualities like joy, confidence and hope among children

The Early Results Are Promising:

From the beginning, children wanted to take part – we had many more applications than available.  And, many early results are promising too:

- Children engaged with joy and passion;

- Staff, parents and teachers reported improved behaviour, attention, and school performance; and

- Mentoring developed naturally, as children that advanced more quickly on their instruments helped their seatmates.

Derek’s mom said:

- He used to have attendance problems in school

- Since he began, Sistema has only missed 2 days

- His attitude toward learning has improved by “leaps and bounds”

- He picks out his favourite classical music on the internet, including his favourite conductors

- He performs music for classmates and teachers

- He is “World Famous” now that he is a member of Sistema

- He has taken a paper route to earn money so he can take more music lessons in the summer

“The genius of Sistema is the orchestra – where you can’t be great unless you are great together.”

- Builds respect, co-operation, and teamwork

- Fosters pride, confidence and self-esteem

- Promotes hope and the aspiration to succeed

Sistema NB: What next?

- 4-year Pilot (2010 – 2014)

- Expand Beaverbrook Centre by 50-70 children annually, 200-250 children by 2014

- Add an ‘in-school’ option for K, Gr. 1

- Open Sistema Centres in 3 other communities in New Brunswick

- Measurement / Evaluation – longitudinal studies

-Supported by Province / Private Sector

In a very short time, Sistema NB has received critical praise for its work.

1. “Sistema” Pilot (the first video in this presentation) won two International Awards at the Banff World Television Festival / nextMEDIA June 16th, 2010.  A full-length feature documentary will be broadcast on CBC Television in 2011.

“The New Brunswick Youth Orchestra are now recognized internationally as classical music revolutionaries through the “Sistema” program.”

2. Sistema logo selected for worldwide recognition

LogoLounge 6 features a fresh collection of totally new logos from designers worldwide. The Sistema logo, developed for the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra by Rich Gould of Razor Creative, was chosen for inclusion from over 34,000 logos entered. Selected logos are chosen for their quality, timeliness, relevance, and inspirational nature.

3. Media – numerous features in newspapers, radio and magazines like ‘Innovations,’ ‘Progress,’ and others.

Sistema Canada

Ken MacLeod is also part of the Sistema Canada Steering Committee, which is endorsed and supported by Dr. Abreu.

Composition of the Steering Committee:

-Brian Levine, (Chair) Executive Director, Glenn Gould Foundation

-Tina Fedeski, Margaret Tobolwska, The Leading Note Foundation

-Ken MacLeod, Sistema New Brunswick

(more information to come in fall 2010)

Sistema Canada’s Mission

Sistema Canada – to inspire and facilitate innovative and hope instilling ‘El Sistema’ inspired music programs across Canada – primarily in low-income communities – to empower and transform the lives of children.