TED Prize : Wishes Big Enough to Change the World

Silence. Eyes. Music.

casson — Fri, 04 May 2012 20:48:28 +0000

From Sistema Fellow Stephanie Lin Hsu… We sat huddled on two metal fold-up chairs on a half-balcony while a student rehearsal ensued below, sitting close together to be able to hear one another’s words. My head was spinning with the stories that Marielianny was sharing with me, about the blessings and struggles of directing the [...]

Sistema Choirs: Collaboration, Excellence & Passion

casson — Fri, 04 May 2012 00:31:00 +0000

From Sistema Fellow Alysia Lee… Last year, I kicked off my interview for the New England Conservatory Fellows program with this short introduction. “Hello, my name is Alysia Lee. I am a singer, and I am also a musician.” I wanted to establish myself as person with a vocal perspective for two reasons. First, in [...]

Transformation by music

casson — Fri, 04 May 2012 00:29:01 +0000

From Sistema Fellow Aisha Bowden… As an educator, I am a true supporter of learning abroad. Imagine my excitement when I learned I was accepted into a Fellowship that included a five-week El Sistema expedition in Venezuela! This year, the Sistema Fellows have been fortunate enough to study under some of the brightest minds in [...]

Composition in El Sistema

casson — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 15:42:40 +0000

From Sistema Fellow Albert Oppenheimer… After five weeks in Venezuela for our immersion in the teaching, learning, and community of El Sistema, we found ourselves seated at a table with the founder and patriarch, Maestro José Antonio Abreu. When Maestro Abreu asked us about our experience traveling throughout Venezuela, it seemed perfectly natural. However, his [...]

Better lives through music

casson — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 14:48:01 +0000

From Sistema Fellow Julie Davis... I came to understand the magic of El Sistema while traveling in a twelve-passenger van with a broken air conditioner amidst the rural Venezuelan state of Guárico. Too restless to sleep but too tired to read, I spent the majority of the six-hour ride watching the bumpy dirt road roll out in [...]

Growing Out of Poverty, Violin in Hand

casson — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 19:19:51 +0000

From Sistema Fellow Jennifer Kessler… All throughout our trip, we were told that many of the children in nucleos (music sites) come from neighborhoods with high crime, drug-use, and lack of essential resources like water and electricity. But I didn’t fully grasp this until a few of us visited Soroco, a school with an in-school [...]

El Sistema, instrument of peace

casson — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 15:07:54 +0000

From José Luis Hernandez-Estrada, Sistema Fellow at New England Conservatory… El Sistema, the brainchild of Dr. José Antonio Abreu, is considered to be one of the “world’s cultural treasures,” and a successful and insightful model for the role of classical music in our times. For five weeks, the Sistema Fellows at New England Conservatory had [...]

To the Arctic

casson — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 08:08:10 +0000

From mission-blue.org... To the Arctic is the first 3D IMAX documentary ever produced about the Arctic and is coming to theaters April 20. The MacGillivray Freeman Films crew spent a total of 8 months in the field over 4 years, shooting in remote locations in Canada, Norway and Alaska. The film was produced particularly to build [...]

How to enter your idea in the City 2.0 challenge

casson — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 19:11:45 +0000

This year’s TED Prize is the first ever given to an idea: The City 2.0. And instead of giving the $100,000 prize to one big idea, it’s divided in 10 blocks of $10,000 each, to help seed 10 projects in cities around the world. Onstage right now at TEDxSummit, five TEDx organizers are sharing their bids [...]

Unhackathon: The TED Prize City 2.0 Equality Challenge

casson — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 12:05:11 +0000

Why would 80 designers, technologists and business strategists give up their holiday weekend to collaborate with strangers on a pro bono project? Mostly because of Bryan Stevenson’s inspirational TEDTalk. When longtime TEDsters Christopher Ireland, Mary Anne Masterson and Nathan Shedroff heard Bryan at TED2012 in Long Beach, they did more than applaud. They contacted the TED [...]