Summer greetings from El Sistema Sweden

Now summer and sun are soon waiting and hopefully safe socializing with loved ones after this spring that has been characterized by the corona virus. Here comes a summer greeting from El Sistema Sweden!

Side by Side camp

This weekend, the big music camp starts Side by Side by El Sistema in Gothenburg, which is aimed at anyone between the ages of 6 and 23 and is organized by the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. This year it will be completely digital. Instead of gathering 2,500 participants on site in the Gothenburg Concert Hall, they now meet in different ways via the web and a specially developed app. More information about the entire camp can be found here.

The highlight of the camp - which is open to anyone to watch - will be the festival concert where the world's largest (?) Digital orchestra plays "Circle of Life" from "The Lion King" under the direction of El Sistema Sweden's artistic leader Ron Davis Alvarez. You don't want to miss that! You will see the concert on June 16 at 3 pm CET on your computer here.

Digital meetings

Just like the Side by Side camp, all spring's El Sistema activities in the cultural school have been affected by the corona virus. Many cultural schools have supplemented the usual classroom teaching with various digital tools - all to ensure that children have the opportunity to continue their music education.

Of course, the El Sistema Sweden Foundation has also taken advantage of the digital opportunities. We have been able to offer individual coaching and master classes for groups of students.

A large part of the foundation's mission is to work in networks and promote educational development, both nationally and internationally. During the spring, we arranged meetings and meetings where a number of El Sistema educators and business executives were able to discuss and exchange ideas and experiences, for example, which technical tools are suitable for distance learning. Through digital media, educators from Sweden have met colleagues from all over the world.

During the spring, many also discovered El Sistema Play, our digital learning platform that is for practitioners - both teachers and students. Several instructional films for orchestral plays as well as sheet music included in El Sistema's joint repertoire are available here, free and accessible to everyone. See here.

Postponed anniversary

2020 is our anniversary year - 10 years ago the first El Sistema teaching started in Sweden and it was in Angered in Gothenburg. When El Sistema is now in 40 locations all over Sweden with 10,000 children and young people, we naturally want to celebrate it. The planned anniversary concert will be postponed and will take place next year.

Then also commemorates the anniversary piece that Benjamin Staern has specially composed for El Sistema. The piece is commissioned by all of Sweden's major orchestras: Gothenburg Symphonics (who will perform), Gävle Symphony Orchestra, Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Malmö Symphony Orchestra, Norrköping Symphony Orchestra, Norrland Opera's Symphony Orchestra.

El Sistema National Orchestra

As a clear audible sign of the musical development within El Sistema in Sweden, there is now a brand new youth orchestra: El Sistema National Orchestra, for musicians between the ages of 11 and 19 who attend the School of Culture. The orchestra is made possible by a collaboration between the El Sistema Sweden Foundation and Stim and is the first national El Sistema orchestra in Europe. The celebrated debut concert with 45 orchestral musicians took place this fall at the Concert Hall in Stockholm, see here.

This autumn's activities for El Sistema National Orchestra will be digital with coaching and teaching via link, but also live - we plan for a music camp in Stockholm during the autumn holidays in collaboration with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra / Concert Hall Stockholm and Sweden's Radio Symphony Orchestra/Berwald Hall. Admission to the El Sistema National Orchestra takes place through audition. The tuition is free of charge and we cover the student's all costs for food, accommodation and travel during the camps.

Summer musical greetings from

Eric Sjöström and Ron Davis Alvarez

Follow El Sistema Sweden via website, Facebook, Instagram and newsletters.

For questions or more information, please contact info@elsistema.se.

SEB, Signatur Foundation Sweden, Stim, The Solstickan Association and the Carpe Vitam Foundation enable the El Sistema Foundation's work in Sweden.