El Sistema USA is organizing a collaborative video project with Member programs nationwide who are performing the “Somewhere” repertoire gifted to El Sistema USA by Jamie Bernstein.
A Message from Jamie Bernstein:
August 25th, 2018, is the 100th birthday commemoration of my father, the composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein. In honor of his lifelong devotion to sharing the joy of music with young people, and to continue my own enthusiastic support of youth ensembles for social change in the U.S., I’ve cooked up a birthday present to my dad which is also a present to our country’s young musicians, and their audiences.
In collaboration with El Sistema USA, the Leonard Bernstein Office, and Hal Leonard, developed a special arrangement of the song “Somewhere” from my father’s beloved musical, West Side Story — offered at no cost to every Sistema-inspired youth ensemble and chorus across the country. The upward-reaching intervals in this anthemic song, combined with Stephen Sondheim’s stirring lyrics, together express our deepest longing for a world in which all its peoples live together in harmony, safety, and peace. No song could be more appropriate for El Sistema-inspired ensembles, with their passion for social justice.
With all my best wishes to our young musicians across the country,
Jamie Bernstein
