In Canada, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra has launched Sistema Winnipeg, a music-education program modeled on Venezuela’s El Sistema program for social change through music. The WSO’s partner for Sistema Winnipeg is the Seven Oaks School Division, with Elwick Community School—located in the Maples area of Winnipeg, which has many low-income Aboriginal and new immigrant families—set as the first school to host the program. Kristjanna Oleson, a music teacher at Elwick, will direct the program when it begins on October 17, working with the Sistema students daily from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. Five WSO musicians will teach the students weekly, and WSO ensemble groups will visit Elwick in November. Sistema students will also have the opportunity to attend select WSO family concerts throughout the 2011-12 season. Winnipeg is home to one of four El Sistema-inspired programs in Canada; the other three are in New Brunswick, Ottawa, and Toronto.
Posted October 14, 2011
