At ORMTA’s In Sync in July, we had a very interesting presentation on OrKidstra, presented by Tina Fedeski. Even though OrKidstra is an Ottawa-based program, there are Sistema-inspired programs in Ontario and all across Canada. OrKidstra is a social development program that empowers kids, ages 5-18, from equity-deserving communities by teaching life skills – such as teamwork, commitment, respect and pride in achievement – through the universal language of music. The philosophy of El Sistema has inspired hundreds of similar programs, which serve an estimated over one million children in at least sixty countries around the world. Please visit the Sistema Canada Network, The Ensemble website, or watch the documentary Teaching the Life of Music which follows El Sistema’s impact for more information.

 

Do you want a simple app to help your students learn and memorize notes? Flash Notes keeps track of how many notes students get right or wrong. Simply tap the score numbers to reset to zero. You can use the settings gear to change which clefs to show or to add ledger lines. The cards are infinite and randomly generated. This is a free app, available here.