Poco a Poco

Annie Gordon continues her series on El Sistema in this week’s article from The Muse Dialogue. In this fourth installment, she looks at several programs in the Pittsburgh area, programs that are directly inspired by El Sistema or that share El Sistema goals of using music to make an impact on young people. The work of the featured programs — Ozanam, the Poco a Poco intitiative of the Pittsburgh Chamber Music Society, the East Liberty Community Engagement Orchestra, Assemble PGH — have inspiring stories to tell, and we are grateful for the opportunity to share them.

Read and learn about the impact that music can make for young people in often difficult circumstances. Join us for “El Sistema and Pittsburgh” (click here to read the full article).

Rodney McCoy, violinist and alumnus of Ozanam Strings

The Ozanam Program in Pittsburgh has been serving youth for many years, advancing the mission “to help boys and girls of Western Pennsylvania develop into responsible young adults through positive, developmental training.” In the 1960s, before El Sistema even existed, Ozanam had a program that used music to reach young people. Ozanam Strings had years of success, and even was featured on Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood. Annie Gordon met with an alumnus of Ozanam Strings, Rodney McCoy, who went on to a career as a jazz violinist. McCoy shares his memories and his thoughts on how music education can change young lives at a time when they need it the most.

Read on for this exclusive interview conducted for The Muse Dialogue in part III of our series, “El Sistema Before El Sistema: Rodney McCoy and Ozanam Strings” (click here for full article).