Dear Friends of Sistema Kingston,
It is exhilarating to be back! Thank you for your continued support and encouragement through the dark days of the pandemic. We are so happy to be working with students in their home school again, engaging with the school staff, and thriving on the buzz of making music together.
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It has been a whirlwind start to the year, with a record number of applications from students, a record number of practicum students from Queen’s University, and two new Teaching Artists. Because of the high interest at Molly Brant School, we adjusted our plans to account for a larger-than-planned beginner group this year, and we now have 32 students preparing for the Paper to Wood Ceremony on November 24th! This required some “eleventh hour” additional preparation, including making more paper instruments. With help from Bachelor of Education practicum students Rachel, Nikki and Tom we got it done!
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We are thrilled to introduce new members of our teaching team: Peter Wowk, Upper Strings and Will Smythe, Cello. Meet the rest of our fun and creative Teaching Artist team.
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Community Partners
Building relationships within our community is an important piece in our current three year plan “Sistema Kingston 2022-2025: Renewal and Growth”. We are delighted to launch a pilot project with the Kingston A-Strings program of the Kingston Youth Orchestra. Thank you to Danielle Lennon and Hugh Johnston for helping to develop this partnership that provides the opportunity for older students at Sistema Kingston to begin a pathway toward the larger Youth Orchestra community. If you are interested in supporting the A-Strings registration fees for Sistema Kingston students, please get in touch! Sistema Kingston and Kingston A-Strings Press Release
Our relationship with the Joe Chithalen Memorial Musical Instrument Lending Library (Joes MILL) continues to thrive, and we are thrilled that through a successful grant application to the Kingston-Cataraqui Rotary Club, Joe’s MILL is able to procure some new Orff-style instruments for our use in music-readiness programming.
We are super excited to partner with the Algonquin Lakeshore Catholic District School Board to open our second school site in early 2023! The realization of this plan was delayed because of the pandemic, but we are back on track and details are being worked out as I write this. Stay tuned to our facebook page for upcoming announcements!
The Sistema-inspired community also extends well beyond Kingston. Sistema Kingston is proud to be one of 15 founding members of the new Sistema Canada Network which grew out of informal meetings during the pandemic when we all reached out to one another. The past two years have seen shared music commissions, the sharing of resources and expertise such as technological knowledge, teaching/administrative practices, professional development support, and more. Find out more about the Sistema Canada Network here.
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Student Profile - Meet Dayah!
Dayah Rego joined Sistema as a grade 2 student in September 2019. She met her wood instrument at the Paper to Wood Ceremony in January 2020. She had only 6 weeks on her instrument before the world shut down for COVID, yet despite the difficulties of the pandemic, Dayah stayed connected to music and to Sistema Kingston and is back as one of our senior students and is participating in the Kingston A-Strings program. Learn more about Dayah here.
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Important Dates
Paper to Wood Ceremony
Thursday November 24, 2022
4:00 pm
Molly Brant School gym: 30 Lyons St. Kingston
Free admission
Holiday Concert
Thursday December 15, 2022
4:00 pm
Molly Brant School gym: 30 Lyons St. Kingston
Free admission
Year End Concert Celebration
Thursday May 4, 2023
4:30 pm
Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts: 390 King St W., Kingston
Admission by donation
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In Memoriam
It is always hard to say goodbye to those we love. In August 2022 we mourned the death and celebrated the life of Dr. Isabel Bader, who was a champion of Sistema Kingston. Thanks to Isabel and Bader Philanthropies Inc, last spring Sistema Kingston was awarded a $533,000 gift to support our “Renewal and Growth” plan for the next 3 years. In memory of Isabel, I want to share a birthday video that we made for her in 2019.
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THANK YOU!
Coming out of the pandemic, people are hungry for arts engagement. I want to extend a huge thank you to our donors and supporters for your continued confidence in our vision. In order to offer high quality musical learning and performance opportunities at no cost to students and their families, we rely on support from people like you. We know there are many valuable organizations that do amazing work in our community, and we are incredibly grateful for your ongoing support. We love you!
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As the holiday season approaches, thank you for considering Sistema Kingston on Giving Tuesday (November 29th ) or at any other time that you make charitable donations. The joy of music is more magical when shared with others – help us share it widely.
I hope to see you at one of our upcoming events.
Warmest regards,
Karma Tomm, Director
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Contact Us
Karma Tomm, Director: tommk@queensu.ca
Administrative Coordinator: sistema@queensu.ca
Telephone: 613-929-2594
Sistema Kingston website
Follow us on Facebook
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The 2022-23 season is supported by:
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Special thanks to the many individual donors who make Sistema Kingston possible.
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