Large donations keep music playing for WSO students

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This article was published 10/11/2017 (3243 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

News of a million-dollar gift Thursday was music to the ears of students benefiting from an intensive education program with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.

Two donations totalling $1 million to launch a new endowment fund in support of Sistema Winnipeg were announced at an event at Elwick Community School. Longtime supporters Tannis Richardson and the Michael Nozick family each donated $500,000 to Sistema, a daily music program of the WSO in partnership with Seven Oaks School Division and Winnipeg School Division that’s free to participants. It’s supported through an annual campaign with assistance from the WSO community.

The program began in 2011 with 30 students. Now there are 160 children in the program, from age 6 to 14 and from Grades 1 to 8. It’s inspired by Venezuela’s music education system, El Sistema.

“El Sistema is one of the greatest gifts we can give these children,” Richardson said in a WSO news release. “Their grades improve, their self-esteem improves and their future prospects are made so much brighter.”

Children attend Sistema three hours a day after regular school hours, five days a week,10 months of the year. Students are taught by trained music educators and professional musicians, including members of the WSO. Children start in the program in Grade 1 and have the opportunity to continue to Grade 12.

Daily schedules include nutritional snacks, group lessons (string, woodwind, brass), orchestra, choir, mentorship, music theory and community building.

“These kids come from high risk communities,” Nozick said in the release. “When they have a program like this to give them structure and purpose, they flourish. The community benefits because we’re giving the students a foundation that will serve them throughout their lives,” Nozick said. “I strongly encourage other engaged citizens of Winnipeg to support this campaign.”

A University of Manitoba study that started in 2011 found math and reading levels among Sistema students improved compared to expected grade levels, school suspensions dropped from 10 to one in the first two years, and chronic absenteeism dropped by 10 per cent in the first two years of Sistema.

The $1 million will be eligible for matching funds from the Canadian Cultural Investment Fund, resulting in a potential $2 million addition for the Sistema endowment fund, which will be housed at the Winnipeg Foundation.

“The creation of an endowment fund is the first step towards sustainable, renewable funding for the program, which means we can focus our priorities on offering the best student experience,” said Sistema Winnipeg manager Shannon Darby.

“It enables us to look at new opportunities for growth, to enroll more students, and to develop a comprehensive program for our students entering high school,” Darby said.