Sympatico is sponsored by the
Alexandria Symphony Orchestra
Enriching Children’s Lives through Music
ASO Sympatico is a music education program provided by the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra in Alexandria City Public Schools. The inspiration for Sympatico was born out of the ASO’s commitment to education, the youth of Alexandria, and social change. In 2012, ASO staff and trustees began thinking about the best way to give back to the community of Alexandria City, while contributing to the city’s deep appreciation of the arts. After learning about numerous models for music education programs in public schools, the ASO concluded that establishing an El Sistema-inspired program would best accomplish its mission. El Sistema originated as a music education initiative in Venezuela, in which students receive high-quality music instruction at no cost to them, with the goal of social change. Today, there are El Sistema programs in 55 countries, and more than 100 El Sistema programs active in the United States. Each of the programs, including Sympatico, are guided by similar core principles: equitable access to students regardless of income, intense and high-quality music instruction, the use of an ensemble as the main learning environment, community and family engagement, and of course, social change.
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The ASO decided to test drive the concept of El Sistema in Alexandria City Public Schools. In 2013, two week-long music composition workshops were held at John Adams Elementary School (JAES), engaging students, teachers, and parents. These workshops brought guest musicians from around the world to the students at JAES, and culminated in students composing new music for bucket band, as well as for strings and Orff instruments. The composition produced during the second workshop
