Symposium Media

Thursday, June 11, 2009

On June 11, teachers participated in the Symposium workshops, in which they explored the value of El Sistema, the Venezuelan music education system, to American music education during morning sessions. Daniel Trahey (Baltimore Symphony and Peabody Conservatory of Music), Larry Friend (Baltimore City Schools), and Robert Capanna (Settlement Music School-Philadelphia) led a lively panel discussion on the various aspects of El Sistema.

• Morning Welcome: Associate Dean Michael Yaffe
• Panel Discussion One: Will El Sistema, Venezuela’s Music Education System, Work in U.S Public Schools?

In the afternoon, the teachers explored the role of the music teacher as a “power-broker” for general classroom activities, using both school resources and outside organizations. Thomas Duffy, John Miller, and Olivia Malin of the Yale School of Music presented a panel on the activities that are done in New Haven in collaboration with Yale, and Professor Duffy narrated a performance of a work written by him based on a book project developed by a Davis Street School 4th Grade Class. The band from the school was also featured in this live performance.

• Panel Discussion Two: Linking Music to the General Classroom: The Music Teacher as a Resource to the Classroom Teacher
• Performance: “Seeing Through Diamond’s Eyes”
  Davis Street 21st-Century Magnet School Miss Amy Schlank, fourth grade teacher William Fluker, band director Music by Thomas C. Duffy

The Symposium concluded with a dinner and participatory performance by the Yale Tango Orchestra.