On January 27, 2012, the fellows flew to Los Angeles, CA to take a stand. We had the great honor of delivering a keynote presentation at “Take A Stand”, a 3 day symposium on the state of the Sistema movement in the United States. Hosted by the LA Phil, the symposium allowed over 300 people to gather in the name of El Sistema. We shared knowledge, we debated best practices, we took a stand for music education! I, along with the other fellows, had spent countless hours preparing a national assessment of the field (for the record, there are 54 El Sistema-inspired programs in the US serving approximately 6, 317 children).
The entire trip was amazing, made even more special by the presence of Maestro Abreu and other El Sistema leaders from Venezuela.

There are many things that I will carry with me back to Boston, but one moment that I will cherish forever was meeting Maestro Abreu for the first time.