by Mike Telin

 

Cleveland Orchestra violinist Isabel Trautwein had a vision which took her to Venezuela to study the famous youth orchestra program called El Sistema. The local result is El Sistema @ Rainey, located at the Rainey Institute on E. 55^th Street. In its second full year, the after school program now amounts to fifty students meeting five days a week from 4:30 to 6:00 pm under the guidance of five teachers. “The model is for it to become a daily orchestra community,” Trautwein told us in a telephone conversation. “For a lot of kids, this is after school care. We provide snacks and homework time, and the orchestra every day. Eighty percent of the magic of El Sistema is the daily work habits.”

 

The young musicians of El Sistema @ Rainey will perform during The Cleveland Orchestra’s “Make Music” Week Showcase Concert on Thursday, March 7 at 7:00 pm in Severance Hall. We spoke with Isabel Trautwein about her experiences in creating El Sistema @ Rainey. [Read more…]