Orchestras Canada

The Quebec Music Educators Association/Association des éducateurs de musique du Québec and the Fédération des associations de musiciens éducateurs du Québec are presenting a symposium on El Sistema on November 17, 2011 at McGill University’s Schulich School of Music. You can view the program here.

Earlier this week, New Brunswick Youth Orchestra/Sistema NB board chair Ken Macleod gave us a report on the first-ever national summit on Sistema, which took place in Moncton on May 14 and 15. Some 60 participants from every region of Canada and several US states took part in the gathering, which featured a keynote address by David Ascanio of Caracas, friend and collaborator of Maestro Abreu and one of the founders of El Sistema more than 35 years ago. The program featured much sharing of information, collaboration, and practical help to encourage delegates to begin or develop further their own Sistema programs. A particular highlight was the closing public event, which featured a performance by the 105 young children of the Sistema NB Children’s Orchestra and 80 voice children’s choir, who (in Ken’s words) “demonstrated, without a single spoken word, the power of youth and music to change us all – Bravo!” Mr. Macleod continues, “I am confident the results of this historic summit will be immediate and important in bringing joy and hope through music to the children, families and communities throughout Canada who can benefit. The NBYO and Sistema NB were honored to be a part.”

This May, there will be two different Canadian gatherings that will explore Venezuala’s celebrated El Sistema program.

May 14 and 15, Sistema Canada and Sistema NB will co-present the first-ever Sistema Canada Summit at the Delta Beausejour in Moncton NB. Featured speakers include Maestro José Antonio Abreu, Tina Fedeski of Ottawa’s Leading Note Foundation, Ken MacLeod of Sistema New Brunswick; panellists include Abreu fellows, Robert Eisenberg, Dantes Rameau and Stanford Thompson, and there will also be feature presentations by inspirational speaker Gair Maxwell and the Sistema New Brunswick Children’s Orchestra. For more information, and to register, please visit
sistemacanadasummit-eivtefrnd.eventbrite.com.

On May 29, the “Leading Music Education International Conference” will kick off with a one-day Canadian Symposium on El Sistema. Featured presenters include Ken MacLeod (El Sistema NB), Tina Fedeski (Leading Note Foundation) and Brian Levine (Glenn Gould Foundation). Jonathan Govias (Abreu Fellow 2009 / New England Conservatory) will give a keynote address and Canadian film producer Noemi Weis will present her newly released film on El Sistema entilted Teaching the Life of Music. A round table discussion, with additional El Sistema stakeholders will be moderated by UWO’s Music Education Chair Dr. Ruth Wright, and will take place after lunch. LME is being hosted by the University of Western Ontario from May 29 to June 1, 2010, and the full (and fascinating) program is available here: www.lme.uwo.ca.

Registration is now open for the MyCharityConnects Conference 2011, scheduled to take place at the MaRS Centre in Toronto June 6 and 7, 2011. Now in its third year, the conference brings together social media experts, online fundraising specialists and non-profits from across Canada for three thought-provoking keynotes, a choice from 25 breakout sessions and plenty of chances to learn from other non-profits about what works online… and what doesn’t. To learn more, please visit mycharityconnects.org.

Meanwhile, we’re hard at work on finalizing the program for Orchestras Canada’s National Orchestras Meetings, which will take place at the Vancouver Symphony School of Music, June 13-15, 2011. For up to date information on the program, hotel, travel discounts and more, please visit orchestrascanada.org.

Three years ago, the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra launched a guest conductor program, “to inspire and develop talent within the youth orchestra”.  This year, with the launch of Sistema New Brunswick and the opening of the NBYO’s first Sistema Centre in Moncton, the NBYO invited a guest conductor (and product of the famed El Sistema program) from Venezuela to lead them, and it’s not just a fly-in weekend visit, either!  Maestro Antonio Delgado is spending the entire month of January with the NBYO and Sistema New Brunswick, teaching and mentoring at the Centre, leading youth orchestra rehearsals and sharing the podium with NBYO music director Dr. James Mark in concert, as well. 

Maestro Delgado has conducted every major orchestra in Venezuela, and has worked in Ecuador and Puerto Rico. Currently, he is in charge of the Musical Direction of the National Theatre “Teresa Carreño“, where he conducts the major Venezuelan orchestras in Symphonic concerts, Ballets, and Operas.

Another highlight of the guest-conducted concert?  The musicians of the NBYO were joined on stage by all thirteen members of the NBYO faculty, including David Adams and Paul Campbell, violin; Chris Buckley, viola; Sonja Adams, cello; Andrew Miller, bass; Karin Aurell, flute; Belinda Code, oboe; Jean-Guy Boisvert, clarinet; Robert Lewis, bassoon; James Code, horn; Richard Gibson, trumpet; Richard Kidd, trombone; tuba; and Michel Deschênes, percussion.

For more information about the NBYO, please visit their website here.

As our readers may recall, last week’s issue of Orchestra News included an item about the launch of Sistema New Brunswick, a new offering of the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra, inspired by the remarkable Venezuelan program.  We had a follow-up note from Ottawa Youth Orchestra Academy director John Gomez about another, Sistema-inspired organization that’s been active in the Ottawa area since 2007. 

Duly motivated, we had a follow-up phone conversation earlier this week with Tina Fedeski, an accomplished flutist and teacher and the Executive Director of the Leading Note Foundation, which runs both Orkidstra and KidSingers.  Tina reports that she first heard about El Sistema when listening to broadcaster Rick Phillips’s Sound Advice program on CBC Radio Two in September 2006.  Coincidentally, her sister had just moved to Venezuela – and, in the winter of 2007, Tina traveled to Venezuela for a combined family and study trip, with a particular interest in learning more about El Sistema, and bringing it to Ottawa.  By October 2007, she had launched Orkidstra – and it’s since grown to include an orchestra, two choirs, five to six violin classes, a band class, and classes in cello and guitar, all offered in the after-school time slot to children in designated “high needs” neighbourhoods. 

The group enjoys two formal partnerships, one with the Ottawa Youth Orchestra, a number of whose members works as mentors to students in the program, and another with the University of Ottawa’s Department of Music, from whence seven undergraduate students with a keen interest in music education have been recruited to shadow and then emulate the program’s expert teachers.  The OYO’s high school students can use this supervised volunteer experience for their mandatory volunteer credits, and the University’s students are eligible for an academic credit for their work in the program.  As well, Orkidstra and KidSingers have grown from 40 students in their opening months to a projected 100 for 2009-10.

To learn more about the Leading Note Foundation and its programs, please visit their website here.