El Sistema NJ Week unites student musicians from five programs statewide
Student performances in their communities celebrate the power of music
El Sistema New Jersey Week: Nov 17–25, 2014
NEWARK, NJ—The five music-instruction programs of the El Sistema New Jersey Alliance present the inaugural El Sistema New Jersey Week—a festival of free community concerts—November 17–25. Each program in the alliance will produce concerts in its own community. The El Sistema New Jersey Alliance formed in 2014 through the collective efforts of five New Jersey programs inspired by the vision of Venezuela’s El Sistema, with a mission to create, support and advocate for a strong network of statewide El Sistema-inspired programs that endeavor to use music as a vehicle for social change and to widen life opportunities for New Jersey’s neediest children.
The alliance of NJSO CHAMPS (Character, Achievement and Music Project), the Paterson Music Project, Sister Cities GirlChoir (Camden), Sonic Explorations: Sharing Sounds of Oakwood (Orange) and Union City Music Project is the first of its kind in the US and is a significant marker for music education in New Jersey, says El Sistema expert Tricia Tunstall, author of Changing Lives: Gustavo Dudamel, El Sistema and the Transformative Power of Music.
“The El Sistema model from Venezuela uses musical learning and ensembles in the service of social engagement, social change and change in children and families’ lives,” Tunstall says. “What is distinctive about it is that it’s not about a program about creating musicians; it’s a program about creating happy, whole people. Across the world, El Sistema is being seen as a new and promising way to think about social change. The five El Sistema programs that have started in New Jersey in just the last two years is really a testimony to how inspiring this idea is.”
El Sistema New Jersey Week kicks off a season-long cross-program collaboration of the young musicians from these five sister programs. The year will culminate in the second annual Fiddle-and-Fa-La-La Fest, a joint pre-concert performance for NJSO Family Concert patrons on Saturday, June 6, at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) in Newark. Learn more about the first Fiddle-and-Fa-La-La-Fest collaboration and watch student performances from the event.
“By [working] together like this,” says Tunstall, “the students can see that not only are they working in ensembles themselves, honing their skills and finding they are capable of playing beautiful music, but that they are also part of something bigger than just their school—that there are kids everywhere who are learning like this and playing together in this way. It gives them a new identity for themselves, and there is something very powerful about that.”
EL SISTEMA NEW JERSEY WEEK: CALENDAR OF EVENTS
All events are free unless otherwise noted.
Mon, Nov 17
NJSO CHAMPS
Bethany Baptist Church Senior Citizens’ Day Performance
11 am | Bethany Baptist Church, 275 W. Market Street, Newark, NJ
Hear student members of NJSO CHAMPS (Character, Achievement and Music Project) in their first public performance of the season. First- and second-year students will present selections from class rehearsals and unite as a group for a rousing performance for the elders of the Bethany Baptist Church congregation.
Tue, Nov 18
Paterson Music Project
Kaleidoscope Concert
6:30 pm | Location TBD
Hear all Paterson Music Project students perform together in choir and orchestra.
Wed, Nov 19
Sister Cities Girlchoir
Girlchoir Leadership Mini-Concert
10:45 am | Walter Palmer Leadership, 5502 Harbison Avenue, Philadelphia, PA
The Big Sister Girlchoir performs for the first time this season for family, friends, fellow students and school staff.
Sister Cities Girlchoir
Girlchoir Camden Sing-along
4:30 pm | Coopers Poynt Elementary School, 201 State Street, Camden, NJ
The Big and Little Sister Girlchoirs unite for a sing-a-long that includes songs by Beethoven and Alicia Keys, as well as music from South Africa.
Thu, Nov 20
Sister Cities Girlchoir
Girlchoir Daroff Mini-Concert
5:30 pm | Daroff Elementary School, 5630 Vine Street, Philadelphia, PA
The Big and Little Sister Girlchoirs unite for a sing-a-long that includes songs by Beethoven and Alicia Keys, as well as music from South Africa.
Sonic Explorations: Sharing Sounds of Oakwood
Cultural Feast @ Oakwood Avenue Community School
6 pm | Oakwood Avenue Community School, Orange, NJ
A selection of students from Sonic Explorations will perform a short selection during Oakwood Avenue Community School’s Cultural Feast.
Fri, Nov 21
Paterson Music Project
Paterson Music Project Building Harmony Breakfast
9:30 am | Rogers Locomotive Building, 32 Spruce Street, Paterson, NJ
A free, one-hour breakfast in which Paterson Music Project will raise funds, tell its story, premiere the new PMP Video, and showcase our students! RSVP required: contact Elizabeth Moulthrop at Elizabeth.moulthrop@wmcmusic.org for more information.
Sonic Explorations: Sharing Sounds of Oakwood
Open Rehearsal and Performance
3:30 pm | Oakwood Avenue Community School, Orange, NJ
Family members of students are invited to an open choir rehearsal.
Sat, Nov 22
Sister Cities Girlchoir
Girlchoir North Mini-Concert
11:30 am | Walter Palmer Primary Campus, 910 N. 6th Street, Philadelphia, PA
The Big and Little Sister Girlchoirs unite for a sing-a-long that includes songs by Beethoven and Alicia Keys, as well as music from South Africa.
Sun, Nov 23
Paterson Music Project
New Jersey Youth Symphony: 35th Anniversary Concert
3 pm | New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), 1 Center Street, Newark, NJ
Students from the Paterson Music Project perform side by side with the New Jersey Youth Symphony for NJYS’ 35th Anniversary Concert. This is a ticketed event; tickets are available for purchase at www.njpac.org.
Mon, Nov 24
NJSO CHAMPS
“Hispanic Roots”—A special string quartet performance by musicians from the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra for the University Heights Charter School community
4:30 pm | University Heights Charter School, 66–78 Morris Ave., Newark, NJ
“Hispanic Roots” is an NJSO chamber music program that celebrates the cultures of New Jersey’s many Hispanic residents with a bilingual program devoted to the music of some of Latin America’s most distinguished composers.
Tue, Nov 25
Union City Music Project
Venezuelan Sounds
5 pm | Park Theater Performing Arts Center, 560 32nd Street, Union City, NJ
A vibrant group of Venezuelan El Sistema alumni will take the audience on a musical journey through traditional Venezuelan music and classical folk music.
THE PROGRAMS OF EL SISTEMA NEW JERSEY
NJSO CHAMPS (Character, Achievement & Music Project)
NJSO CHAMPS (Character, Achievement and Music Project) is an intensive education program inspired by the Venezuelan social change and music education program El Sistema. The program seeks to develop students’ goal-directed behavior and skills to foster social and academic success. It also seeks to improve students’ self-esteem, academic achievement and lifelong character traits like perseverance and leadership as they learn the intricacies of playing a stringed instrument. In the 2013–14 season, more than 40 UHCS students in grades four through seven are receiving after-school instruction in violin, viola or cello for up to two hours per day, three days per week. Students have performed with the NJSO and Greater Newark Youth Orchestras, at concerts in community settings and at school assemblies. www.njsymphony.org/champs.
Paterson Music Project
Based in Paterson, New Jersey, the Paterson Music Project (PMP) is an El Sistema-inspired program that uses music as a vehicle for social change by empowering and inspiring children through the community experience of ensemble learning and playing. PMP provides an intense musical immersion for 50 third-grade students enrolled at the Community Charter School of Paterson. Students study a primary instrument (violin, cello or viola) and participate in six hours of group music instruction, ensemble practice and private lessons weekly. Students also study music theory, music history, aural training and singing in musicianship classes. Students perform frequently for the school and community. The Paterson Music Project began in January 2013 and is run by the Wharton Music Center/New Jersey Youth Symphony. www.patersonmusicproject.org.
Sister Cities GirlChoir
Sister Cities Girlchoir (SCG) empowers at-risk girls by building resilience, leadership, mastery and connection through a comprehensive choral training academy that invests in the unique potential of adolescent girls to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty and transform their communities. The program is research-based, and although a music program is an uncommon poverty intervention, SCG is modeled on the powerful impact that investments in the lives of at-risk girls make for a city block, a neighborhood, a city … for the world. SCG is modeled after El Sistema, Venezuela’s monumental music education program that is transforming lives and communities. SCG founder Alysia Lee spent a year studying El Sistema and visiting programs in Venezuela and throughout the U.S. through the Sistema Fellowship at the New England Conservatory. The pilot program launched in September 2012, with 75 middle-school-aged girls in three community sites. In its second year, more than 250 girls are registered at six sites in three target communities: Camden, West Philadelphia and Kensington. www.sistercitiesgirlchoir.org.
Sonic Explorations: Sharing Sounds of Oakwood
Sonic Explorations: Sharing Sounds of Oakwood is an after-school music program at the Oakwood Avenue Community School in Orange, New Jersey. Beginning in the fall of 2013, the program has provided violin instruction and general musicianship classes to students in kindergarten through second grade. Inspired by the Venezuelan El Sistema program, Sonic Expressions aims to provide free music education within a social context for the youth of the Oakwood Avenue Community School. Through building a network of shared resources, values, aspirations and advocacy, this program seeks to inspire youth, increase academic awareness and move the community-at-large towards a more promising future. The Oakwood Avenue Community School seeks to advance both individuals and the community through the transformational power of music.
Union City Music Project
The Union City Music Project (UCMP) is an El Sistema afterschool program that uses music as a vehicle for social change by providing intensive orchestral and vocal instruction and performance opportunities for urban children in Union City, New Jersey. Through a disciplined, cooperative and fun learning environment that integrates parental involvement, this structured grassroots program inspires academic excellence, enhances life skills and builds community. UCMP was launched in 2012 as the first El Sistema program in the Garden State. It currently serves 62 students ranging from 4–12 years of age by providing them with 24 hours of monthly instruction in violin, cello, percussion, flute, clarinet, voice and music immersion. www.ucmusicproject.org.
NEW JERSEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Named “a vital, artistically significant musical organization” by The Wall Street Journal, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra embodies that vitality through its statewide presence and critically acclaimed performances, education partnerships and unparalleled access to music and the Orchestra’s superb musicians.
Under the bold leadership of Music Director Jacques Lacombe, the NJSO presents classical, pops and family programs, as well as outdoor summer concerts and special events. Embracing its legacy as a statewide orchestra, the NJSO is the resident orchestra of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark and regularly performs at the State Theatre in New Brunswick, Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, Richardson Auditorium in Princeton, Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown and bergenPAC in Englewood. Partnerships with New Jersey arts organizations, universities and civic organizations remain a key element of the Orchestra’s statewide identity.
In addition to its lauded artistic programming, the NJSO presents a suite of education and community engagement programs that promote meaningful, lifelong engagement with live music. Programs include school-time Concerts for Young People performances and multiple offerings—including the three-ensemble NJSO Youth Orchestras and El Sistema-inspired NJSO CHAMPS (Character, Achievement and Music Project)—that provide and promote in-school instrumental instruction as part of the NJSO Academy. The NJSO’s REACH (Resources for Education and Community Harmony) chamber music program annually brings original programs—designed and performed by NJSO musicians—to a variety of settings, reaching as many as 17,000 people in nearly all of New Jersey’s 21 counties.
For more information about the NJSO, visit www.njsymphony.org or email information@njsymphony.org. Tickets are available for purchase by phone 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476) or on the Orchestra’s website.
The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra’s programs are made possible in part by The New Jersey State Council on the Arts, along with many other foundations, corporations and individual donors. United is the official airline of the NJSO.
PRESS CONTACT
National & NYC Press Representative:
Dan Dutcher, Dan Dutcher Public Relations | 917.566.8413 | dan@dandutcherpr.com
Regional Press Representative:
Victoria McCabe, NJSO Communications and External Affairs | 973.735.1715 | vmccabe@njsymphony.org
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