The 6th academic year of El Sistema Greece began in September, welcoming musicians back to the physical classes for an exciting music year. Violin, viola, cello, french horn, trumpet, flute, choir, music theory and music initiation lessons restarted in Kipseli, Moschato and Corinth, while the members of El Sistema Greece Youth Orchestra reunited for the new season’s rehearsals at G. Malliaras “Nea Ekpaideutiria” school, the orchestra’s “home” for the past 3 years. Moreover, the Young Leaders Program of El Sistema Greece is back, welcoming the next leaders in the music industry. The second cohort of the program began its exciting journey and met for the first time at ESG headquarters in Kipseli on September 23.
Supporting the intrinsic value of the artistic experience, one of El Sistema Greece's high priorities is to offer great musical experiences to its students and their families. In that context El Sistema Greece participated in a series of percussion workshops (16-18/9/2021) implemented by the Drum Works team on music composition and interpretation through the use of percussion instruments. During those days rhythm and movement brought together diverse groups of children, young people and teachers and the celebration culminated with a unique percussion performance at the Alternative Stage of the Greek National Opera at SNFCC on Sunday, September 19, 2021. The DrumWorks workshop was organized by the Greek National Opera and the British Council in collaboration with the Adolescents / Young Adults Unit "Atrapos" OKANA and Schedia - street magazine.
In September El Sistema Greece also organized a creative Pop-Up Peace Project and joined a network of 120 ‘Pop-Ups’ across the globe, activating 1.200 young change-makers to celebrate the International Day of Peace, within the week which led to a Peace Youth Assembly on September 21st. ESG’s Peace Pop-Up entitled “Let’s Beat On It!” was held with the participation of both students and teachers, within the premises of the Greek National Opera. Peace Day 2021 was organized by MasterPeace, who – like ESG – is a partner of CAN (Community Arts Network). Here you can watch students’ and teachers' performance, and you can also find a few more highlights from the Peace Pop-Ups 2021 below:
From October 12 to 20, the Venezuelan Brass Ensemble - regarded as the most important group of youth and children brass players in Venezuela - traveled from Caracas at the invitation of El Sistema Greece, along with administration members of El Sistema in Venezuela and the maestro David Andrés Ascanio Abreu, Manager of the Academic Orchestral Program and the Musical Academic Director of El Sistema in Venezuela, sharing with us unique musical moments and unforgettable experiences. The VBE who emerged from El Sistema of Venezuela are a great role model for young musicians of ESG and it was a great honor to welcome them in Greece for a week full of educational music activities and pop-up concerts with them in all of ESG nucleos, in Kipseli, Moschato, Alimos and in Corinth. You can read more here, and watch the ESGYO’s performance with the Venezuelan Brass Ensemble below.
Furthermore, the amazing youthful ensemble La Camerata Chromatica composed by musicians from Lyon and Paris conservatories visited Athens in the frame of the activities of the European Cooperation Program EEEMERGING+ and the Athens Conservatoire, a partner in the Program, liaised with El Sistema Greece to introduce the ensemble to the students of ESG in Kipseli and Apostoli through educational activities and musical moments. Camerata Cromatica, established in 2019 on the initiative of Benjamin Delale as a dialogue between a solo organ and a vocal/instrumental ensemble, shared a rare and breathtaking repertoire of chromatic music of the 16th and 17th centuries, filling ESG students with inspiration and excitement.
On Friday, October 24, El Sistema Greece and UNICEF officially signed a Memorandum of Understanding setting as a common goal the empowerment of youth and the implementation of actions to raise awareness and defend the rights of children. Luciano Calestini, UNICEF Representative in Greece, and Olga Siokou-Siova, UNICEF Communications Specialist, visited the headquarters of El Sistema Greece in Kypseli to meet Anis Barnat, ESG co-founder, representatives of the administrative and teaching staff as well as young students of the program. Upon the signing of the Memorandum in the frame of their ongoing mutual support, appreciation and collaboration, a discussion followed between the representatives of UNICEF and the young musicians of ESG, discussing children’s rights and the difficulties they encounter in claiming and securing them within their daily lives.
Further events and activities this autumn featured El Sistema Greece's artistic director Jose Angel Salazar Marin presenting the programme as part of an event hosted by KMOP-Center for Social Action and Innovation dedicated to the topic: "Music as a tool for integration of immigrants", ESG choir director Vagia Papagiannopoulou bringing together ESGYC with the adult choir of the Moraitis School for a joint performance at the International Choir Festival, Nafplio Artiva Festival, or participation in Sistema Europe's 32nd anniversary celebrations of the UN Convention for Children’s Rights.
November brought the first live workshop of the pioneering European program Songs for Europe to Athens, with El Sistema Greece welcoming the artistic leader of the program, professor Gerald Wirth, representatives of all partners from Austria, Slovakia and Bosnia and Herzegovina and 20 choir members of El Sistema Greece for an exciting two-day workshop hosted at the exhibition hall of Serafio City of Athens. As part of the workshop, a series of educational and musical activities were implemented with the famous Wirth method, recorded by the innovative IT system smART, which makes it possible to continuously measure the participation, concentration and singing performance of students with the aim of improving teaching practices, and transforming the learning process into an exciting experience for children, leading to the acquisition of a high level of musical skills. Next stops after Athens are Vienna and Bratislava, where the next Songs for Europe meetings will take place in January 2022, reuniting ESG students with their counterparts from the Wirth Music Academy, Superar Slovakia, House of Good Tones and Creative Europe.
On Wednesday, December 1 the talented young musicians of El Sistema Greece made their fourth comeback to the festive Agora of Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center! This year, the stage was shared with the unique ONIRAMA in order to bring to life the Christmas World of SNFCC with a subversive joint performance full of musical surprises and positive energy at the city’s ultimate Christmas destination, starting the new year countdown to the sound of some of the most favorite -not only Xmas- songs! You can watch the whole event below:
This year, the date of 11 December marks 75 years since the Member States of the United Nations created the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and in this framework we are very honored to participate in the celebration that will take place on Saturday December 11. On that day members of the ESGYO and the ESGYC along with the singer and songwriter George Perris will perform at the concert held at the National Gardens of Athens, to celebrate this significant milestone in Greece.
And finally, on Sunday December 19 more than 100 musicians of El Sistema Greece will come together for a Christmas live performance at Serafio City of Athens. This is the first year that all the musicians from different nucleos of El Sistema Greece will share the stage for a Christmas concert and will also keep their loudest applause for the youngest ones from the music initiation classes, for whom this will be their very first live performance experience. Under the sounds of the most favorite Christmas songs we will welcome our favorite time of the year and we will start the countdown for 2022 and make a wish for more unforgettable music moments.