The third El Sistema Academy took place in Stockholm’s Royal College of Music at the end of January. With an action-packed three-day schedule and a new collaborative strand with Sistema Europe, the 2019 edition of the El Sistema Academy featured something for everyone and attracted circa 75 attendees from across Europe.
A wide variety of themes and presenters
El Sistema Sweden had spread their nets far and wide to attract Sistema teaching talent this year and there were sessions featuring and/or hosted by teachers, organisers and music professionals from Sweden, Finland, Venezuela, England, France, Portugal and Italy. And, the topics were just as diverse as their presenters, with discussions and practical sessions on working with the very young, conducting mass orchestras, producing arrangements for different skill levels, organising common repertoires, teaching with eurhythmics, using the Sistema model to overcome common problems faced by social action music programmes and much, much more.
With many of the discussions flowing over into lunch, general and dinner breaks, the learning experience certainly wasn’t over when the sessions stopped either and the whole weekend proved to be one long exchange of tips, information and experience from Sistema and Sistema-inspired teachers coming from a wide variety of circumstances and programmes.
With so much on offer, it was impossible to attend all of the many sessions provided, but your Sistema Europe editor did his best to take in a range of activities and sessions from across the different strands and will try to provide a snapshot of the weekend and what the El Sistema Academy is all about in the paragraphs to come.
Three days entirely devoted to Sistema
The importance of music education
Beginning on Friday afternoon, Ron Davis Alvarez was quick to get us all in the mood from the off, starting proceedings with a lively warm-up of musical movements connected to key words in his welcome. Properly refreshed and motivated, the academy proper then got under way with a discussion between Rebecka Törnkvist (Artistic Director, El Sistema Södertälje), Stefan Forsberg (Exec. and Artistic Director, Royal Stockholm Phil.), Cecilia Rydinger Alin (Vice Chancellor, Swedish Royal College of Music) and Maria Majno (Vice President, Sistema Europe). Ably moderated by Eric Sjöström (Chair, El Sistema Sweden), this discussion looked at the different speakers’ roles in their programmes, cultural politics, how to get children into classical music programmes and how to gain more recognition and support for the arts.
Stefan Forsberg spoke about there being a bigger platform for music than ever before, the difficulties entailed in getting politicians to implement supportive arts policies and the perhaps bad reputation of classical music amongst young people. Talking about the projects he has experienced, Mr Forsberg said that the children themselves don’t tend to differentiate between styles and loved classical music once they got involved in it, but that getting them involved in the first place could be difficult.
Both Rebecka Törnkvist and Cecilia Rydinger Alin then lamented culture and the arts in general being overlooked amongst a political preoccupation with traditional core subjects such as maths and sciences. Mrs Törnkvist also emphasised that, for her personally, it wasn’t enough to talk about the knock-on benefits of music-learning and that music needed to be seen as being good in its own right.
Shortly before it was concluded, the discussion turned to how families could help to change perceptions and strengthen programmes’ hands at a local level. Maria Majno in particular stressed how greater community involvement raised awareness amongst children and their parents and created an environment of great positive influence within municipalities, even when, as in Italy, the broader political situation is perhaps somewhat less rosy.
Clapping, singing and dancing towards better melodies
Following half an hour’s coffee break and group conversations galore, I then attended the first eurhythmics session of the weekend with Eva Nivbrant Wedin, where I was suitably impressed by both Mrs Nivbrant Wedin’s methods and by the speed and finesse with which the assembled teachers took to these.
After a brief introduction to the genesis of Dalcroze eurhythmics, we got to see and practise how to stimulate music-learning through visualisation, physical experience and the application of our combined senses.
Via Walk the Beat, the Conducting Clap, a highest/lowest note exercise and the use of chopsticks and gymnastics mats, we explored a number of different ways of learning through action and the employment of kinaesthetics to stimulate our memories. Several of the simpler approaches were also then combined to create more complex learning experiences, with, for example, clapping, clicking, swaying and singing adopted to learn musical phrases and melodies without having to resort to using abstract thinking or more traditional school book intelligence.
The use of gymnastics mats and group movement to improve sight reading is another good example of how eurythmics can help to simplify and make learning more enjoyable for the children participating, with different applications able to increase or decrease the complexity and the extent of the learning experience as required.
Watch participants at El Sistema Academy 2019 practise eurhythmics with Eva Nivbrant Wedin
You can find out more about Eva Nivbrant Wedin's approach to eurhythmics on her website at nivbrantwedin.se
Afterwards, it was time for the first of three new Sistema Europe sessions, in which those attending turned their attention to typical problems faced when working with children’s level repertoires and possible solutions to these problems.
Tackling common repertoire concerns
Splitting up into four groups, the participants discussed difficulties they faced in their programmes. If the members of the group were familiar with the issues and able to propose solutions, then these and the problems were then later presented to all the participants. If the group was unable to come up with a solution, then the problem was presented to the whole group with advice subsequently being sought from the other participants present. Via this approach, a number of problems were addressed and tailor-made solutions were proposed and discussed in depth by a wide group of the teachers’ own peers, making optimal use of the wealth of collective experience on hand.
In many cases, the initial solutions proposed themselves raised additional questions and these were then also looked into by the group/s. For instance, when looking at how to practise with groups of different ages and levels, it was proposed that a common repertoire was selected to form a collective identity and that all groups played the same pieces but as according to their abilities. Yet, this then raised the question as to who should determine said repertoire and how a lack of personnel resources could impact upon both decisions, with a number of different solutions and scenarios subsequently discussed for all eventualities.
Other issues which were discussed included expanding one’s reach and accelerating learning through the use of student assistants, finding common notes amongst different instruments for group arrangements, the importance of structure, constructively improving parental involvement, effectively using information management, maintaining discipline in mixed groups and ensuring continued motivation.
Photos from the El Sistema Academy in 2019
Use the arrows to scan the gallery
This particular session ended the first day and, to some extent, also started the second day, as Ron Davis Alvarez’s lecture for all on the Saturday morning revisited some of the themes, looking at and presenting solutions to common issues in Sistema/Sistema-influenced programmes.
Education gaps and attitude
Getting the second day started off with an interactive warm-up session in which we physically represented winter, spring and summer – freezing, growing and then smiling –, Ron soon had everyone’s attention on his presentation. A point which was explicitly made as we moved onto the first issue, namely, keeping the attention of big groups. Here, Ron told us about his own difficulties focusing on one task at a time as a child and encouraged us to think about the individuals in our groups and to adopt a variety of approaches as opposed to trying to make everyone understand one way of doing things.
In a similar vein, Ron addressed the adaption required to make the most out of the different circumstances of programmes (i.e. in school, after school, outside school etc.) and the pros and cons of each. Moving on, we heard about how to use different age groups to our advantage (via mentoring), the importance of having clear group goals from the very start, the necessity to balance discipline and attitude, how to bridge natural educational gaps (for example, primary-secondary education) and the different leadership approaches we could adopt.
As with all of Ron’s work, the session was full of energy, interaction and physical examples, with one particularly memorable section seeing the whole room engage in exercises designed to deal with excesses and/or lack of energy. As you can see below, using hand puppets, Ron Davis Alvarez combined three simple singing, clapping and chanting exercises to produce a lively and engaging interim session, showing us one possible way of regaining the attention of restless pupils and reinvigorating students with lagging energy levels.
Ron Davis Alvarez shows some possible ways of improving energy levels & regaining attention
You can find out more about Ron Davis Alvarez' teaching by watching El Sistema Play episodes at play.elsistema.se
My second session of the day then took me to Francis Gagliardi and an introduction to working with the very young, in a slot dedicated to El Sistema beginners’ groups.
The pyschology of El Sistema beginners
As with Ron, Francis got us started with a clapping tune designed to get the children’s attention and a body warm-up complete with an ear massage to get us relaxed and, in our role as stand-in children, ready to play.
Francis then took us deep into the theory of working with younger musicians, helping improve our understanding of the science behind what makes our youngest members tick and giving us a better chance of making the most of our improved understanding to our, and ultimately their, advantage.
Learning more about very young children’s physical, cognitive and socio-emotional abilities provided the teachers present with the requisite knowledge for making specially tailored class choices. Francis showed us exercises devised to help strengthen and fine tune raw motor skills and spoke about how ability with a particular hand can, for example, affect instrument choices and how matters such as independent hand-washing have a knock-on effect on instrument playing.
Francis also went into depth on suitable content and exercises for our youngest musicians, encouraging the implementation of clear structures, roles and mentor system principles in combination with a physically active series of exercises which employ a range of senses. For the latter, we looked at a series of clap/shh interchange repetitions of simple rhythms with three body positions, moving one’s body from crouching to standing according to scale octaves, training breathing and muscular skills by working with play-doh and twirly straws and, for example, using animal metaphors to help the pupils differentiate between the speeds of different movements.
Concluding her session, Francis prepared a basic class planning structure to model beginners’ classes around, suggesting that a similar order of activities would best channel the children’s energy and encourage them to continue attending classes by saving the best to last, praising their efforts and giving them something to look forward to:
- Welcome
- New content
- Aural activities
- Review (with children to improve one’s class planning)
- Free expression activities (with music)
- Farewell (with praise and link-in to the next session)
Throughout her session, Francis emphasised the importance of building up from the bottom and getting the basics right, encouraging us to develop routines for packing and unpacking instruments on arrival and departure, to ensure that our children breathe together, to improve the children's general synchronicity and to always teach them to work as a group – teaching, waiting for and generally helping one another.
The first two days had thus flown by and soon it was time to catch a brief look at my second-to-last session proper of the academy, with board and other meetings scheduled in for myself and the Sistema Europe board members throughout the latter stages of the weekend.
How to conduct hundreds of children all together
Rejoining Ron Davis Alvarez, there was, however, still time to get a foretaste of Gothenburg in June and a glimpse into the levels of preparation and energy involved in conducting the massive groups of children and young people involved in El Sistema Sweden’s Side by Side concerts.
In his session, Ron stressed that teachers of such large groups need to maintain high levels of energy and to be constantly on the move in order to keep everyone’s attention. As Francis before him, Ron was also quick to emphasise the need to lay out your rules, goals and expectations at the start and to make sure you then stick to them.
Ron spoke passionately about the social aspect of the orchestra, stating that this wasn’t just important for our social but also for our musical goals, with passion and energy playing huge roles in the sounds orchestras achieve. Therefore, Ron likes to ensure interchange within his orchestras and that the students make friends with one another, organising activities (such as accumulating stickers from friends) for precisely this purpose.
Just before I had to dash to take down the minutes for the board meeting, I managed to catch Ron providing examples of how to maintain energy levels in large orchestras via a clever and pre-planned interchange of sections. This approach sees, for example, the levels of effort required by different instruments taken into account and plans section breaks accordingly, so as to ensure that the rest of the orchestra can proceed undisturbed, with breaks occurring when they are most required and are least likely to spill over into restlessness, ill-discipline and disturbance.
Ron Davis Alvarez shows how to manage mass orchestras of 100, 200+ students
You can find out more about Ron Davis Alvarez' teaching by watching El Sistema Play episodes at play.elsistema.se
And, then, suddenly, the weekend was nearly over. With several interim meetings, my last full session was the Sistema Europe panel discussion, which brought all the participants together to close 2019’s El Sistema Academy.
Sistema Europe at the El Sistema Academy
This session gave Sistema Europe the opportunity to look back at the weekend, to introduce members of the team/board and our plans and achievements for Europe’s Sistemas, while also seeking feedback and input and suggestions on how to move forwards from all of those present.
Of particular interest for those in attendance were the proposed internal section of the Sistema Europe website and our efforts to harmonise repertoires for the facilitation of common projects, with a great many proposals coming from the audience to help cement and expand upon our own ideas.
Sistema Europe's president, Marcus Marshall, also used the occasion to comment on his experience of the weekend, declaring how pleased he was that Sistema Europe had been able to get involved in and contribute to El Sistema Academy 2019:
Sistema Europe was delighted to be able to attend and also play an active role at the El Sistema Academy for the first time. We think it’s a fantastic resource for Sistema programmes that want to dive into their teaching with more depth and breadth. Across the weekend there were great insights, lots of practical learning and the usual Sistema vibrancy and joy. Well done El Sistema Sweden, we can't wait for the next Academy instalment!
And, of course, it isn’t just Sistema Europe’s board members who have been seeking and providing feedback. El Sistema Sweden has already put together its summary on the feedback from those attending the academy, with a number of important conclusions for future manifestations of the El Sistema Academy going forwards.
El Sistema Academy 2020
The good news is that 97% of the 2/3rds of participants who responded felt that the weekend had met their expectations. Where problems perhaps lie is in the number of events happening at the same time, with the El Sistema Academy having so much to offer that it is difficult for any individual to take it all in. This led to a change in proceedings this year, with the flexibility to adapt throughout the weekend being introduced and, going forwards, El Sistema Sweden is also going to look to expand upon the event descriptions, so as to provide more clarity as to what exactly to find where. Furthermore, wishes for more practical music practice, concerts, repertoire exchanges and conducting have emerged and have been taken on board by the team as they contemplate a possible El Sistema Academy 2020.
Want to find out more about El Sistema Sweden?
You can find information on El Sistema Sweden’s activities at several locations:
elsistema.se
Swedish speakers will find out all they need to know on El Sistema Sweden’s own website
elsistema.se/in-english
Non-Swedish speakers can enjoy a quick introduction to El Sistema Sweden in an English-language summary on the El Sistema Sweden website
play.elsistema.se
Everyone can follow El Sistema Sweden’s online teaching portal and its development at El Sistema Play
elsistema.se/har-finns-vi/vill-du-vara-med/
A list of El Sistema Sweden programme cities and towns can be found here
dreamorchestra.se/en/
The affiliated Dream Orchestra has its own website, which you can find here
sidebysidegoteborg.com/
Those interested in the annual Side by Side camp can find more information on the camp’s website
And, of course, you can also follow El Sistema Sweden on social media:
https://www.facebook.com/ElSistemaSwedenfacebook.com/norcasistema
https://www.instagram.com/elsistemaswedeninstagram.com/elsistemasweden