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Dvorak: Symphony No. 9 "From The New World": IV Allegro con fuoco (Live Performance with OSSBV) 13:550:00/13:55
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0:00/8:58
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0:00/10:43
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0:00/4:30
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Chavez: Inocencia 3:280:00/3:28
Sistema Tulsa is continuing to show what is possible when a community comes together to give the best of their time, care and skills. A theologian I admire once said that community is the fruit of our willingness to make the interests of others more important than our own. One of my own mentors in education, the late Jose Antonio Abreu said it best, “There is nothing more important in life than to give, the more you give the more you receive and this is where true happiness resides—this adds richness to all of life’s meaning.”
Each academic year we give the gift of music education to students in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Many people participate in the ongoing growth and development of our free social change through music program. From our volunteers to our teachers, our staff colleagues at the Boston Avenue United Methodist Church and its members—including many visionary donors in the community who sustain this program financially. This full-time work and ministry bring together all of my energies and skills and I find it a blessing in my life. I always look forward to meeting new students who will get to discover a place of promise through the beauty of music. -Jose Luis
In 2025, Sistema is celebrating its 10th year of service to the community. Hundreds of students and families have been part of the program since inception. The program has consolidated its practices creating a demonstrated social and artistic impact. Our students have translated their music lessons into documented achievement in areas of curiosity, grit, and social intelligence. We have tracked multiple layers of data over the past 9 years. Collecting data allows us to better understand the impacts Sistema Tulsa is producing:
Enabling Environments: Sistema creates a supportive environment where students feel safe, supported, and engaged, with opportunities for learning and skill development.
Program Experience: Stakeholders appreciate the program, particularly for its concerts, community-building, and musical learning. Staff and parents note improvements in students’ skills, confidence, and socialization.
Youth Skill Development: Students develop critical skills, including executive function, self-regulation, perseverance, self-awareness, and self-expression.
Community Impact: Sistema positively affects staff, students, and the broader community, enhancing teaching practices, fostering community and personal growth, and promoting equity and diversity.
Our affirmed theory of change:
- Positive, safe and validating environments grounded in community music education practices with a socio-emotional learning focus create resilient and intrinsically motivated learners that aspire to achieve in their personal, school and community life.
- Resilience and intrinsic motivation affect near transfers in social and cognitive development domains. We see students attempt hard work and not give up as a result or become curious about the world and other disciplines around them. Executive function skills are practiced as students learn, memorize, improvise, and coordinate musical activities and concepts. Inclusion in the Sistema Tulsa community becomes life-affirming over time resulting in responsible citizenship.
