El Sistema Academy 2018

The 2018 edition of the El Sistema Academy recently took place at Stockholm’s Royal College of Music.

But, what is the El Sistema Academy?

In close cooperation with teachers from Venezuela, Sweden’s El Sistema Academy takes places every year and offers two-three days packed full of international expertise, with English-language workshops on El Sistema methodologies in orchestral and choral teaching and the use of paper orchestras.

And, as of 2018, there is even more on offer, as the orchestral strand has now been split into an introductory course for those encountering El Sistema methods for the first time and a more advanced course for those looking to build on the knowledge they have already acquired.

El Sistema Academy 2018

Ron Davis Alvarez, , Josbel Punche, , Luis Castro and Birgitta Mannerström-Molin were the main teachers at this year’s academy and they were able to welcome back some familiar faces as well as to get to know some new participants, with c.110 guests from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kenya, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Kenya, Sweden and Venezuela.

As with all El Sistema environments, those attending were kept on their toes, as they were asked to get involved and to put themselves in the place of their pupils.

Learning El Sistema pre-school methodology with Josbel Punche! Click here if you cannot hear/see the video.

Indeed, interaction remained a theme throughout the gathering. Be it working on paper orchestras, standard orchestras or choirs, the teachers and trainers in attendance were all encouraged to get hands on.

They learnt about how to use and put together paper orchestras and looked at different approaches for ensuring that their students remain engaged in the learning process; from employing lively metaphors, through to the creative use of onomatopoeia and visual emphasis.

Teachers exercise the use of visualisation at the El Sistema Academy. Click here if you cannot hear/see the video.

Of course, no one person can attend all of the strands at once, but, as the meeting came to an end, all the different workshops (orchestra 1, orchestra 2, choir and paper orchestra) convened to show each other what they’d learnt. This, in turn, was followed up by a final round of questions and answers, giving all who watched the demonstrations ample opportunity to gain insight into the workshops they had missed.

How can I find out even more about the El Sistema Academy?

If our brief description has given you a taste for El Sistema Academy and you wish to find out more about what happened at this year's gathering, then we can recommend the following blog links:

• Click here to read Kai Benjamin Jack’s account of his experience of the meeting, written for the World Ensemble (in English)
• Click here to read Terese Anthin’s blog about her music learning experience and the El Sistema Academy, written for El Sistema Sweden (in Swedish)

Below you can also find some pictures of proceedings and we will be sure to put up information on how to attend 2019’s El Sistema Academy as soon as it becomes available.

Photos from 2018's El Sistema Academy

Use the arrows to scan the gallery

 

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