Ravinia proudly congratulates Isaac Sinnett, Senior Associate Director of the festival’s Reach Teach Play music education programs, on being elected as the newest board member of El Sistema USA! He has worked exceptionally with Reach Teach Play for more than a decade to serve over 75,000 Chicagoland community members each year through Ravinia’s education programs, ensuring music remains accessible to all.
For the past 10 years, Sinnett has been in charge of Reach Teach Play’s Sistema Ravinia program. Inspired by the El Sistema music education model, which emphasizes both community building and musical excellence, Sistema Ravinia provides 3rd–8th grade students with orchestral training that fosters social development and creates pathways for continued success.
El Sistema USA is the membership organization that supports a nationwide alliance of El Sistema-inspired organizations. Members of ESUSA envision a world where every child has access to music through high-quality music learning and performance.
Sinnett was elected to the ESUSA board by its members, having served on the membership and engagement committee for the past five years. “We are grateful that El Sistema USA has recognized Isaac Sinnett’s leadership in growing Ravinia’s El Sistema–inspired program to be one of the largest and most effective programs of its kind by appointing him to the ESUSA board of directors,” says Jeff Haydon, Ravinia’s President and CEO. “Ravinia also congratulates Christine Taylor Conda, Director of our Reach Teach Play programs, for her inspiring leadership at Ravinia and as an ESUSA board member since 2016 and chair in 2019.”
As an ESUSA board member, Sinnett looks forward to supporting the organization’s strategic plan across the nation to help others grow together as a national alliance, which in turn will help to provide better programming for students, teachers, and communities.
“I’ve been working in the field of El Sistema–inspired programming for over a decade now. Along with my colleagues across the nation, we have been pouring our hearts and souls into creating programs that will change the face of orchestras for the future,” Sinnett says. “This appointment means a lot because it represents an endorsement of the work that my peers and I have put into building these programs from ideals to successful services for young people. I have the opportunity to learn from those on the board who are helping to support this work across the nation and I can continue to provide my energy and efforts at a national level.”
Ravinia became interested in El Sistema-inspired programming as a long-term project of the festival’s Women’s Board, which sought to build on the great history of the work being done in Reach Teach Play. After learning from programs in Chicago and around the country, Ravinia’s own El Sistema–inspired program, Sistema Ravinia, was launched in 2012.
Sistema Ravinia continues to flourish and grow stronger. “Next year we are celebrating the 10th anniversary of Sistema Ravinia. We are entering a new phase where students are achieving social and musical excellence. Students are taking ownership in their music-making and agency in their musical journey,” Sinnett reflects.
And this success that he sees is all thanks to a community of stakeholders including the program’s managers, teachers, students, families, and partners: “It’s their work, effort, and consistency and devotion to achieving something great that is making a difference. I have the honor of representing all of those stakeholders nationally on the ESUSA board.”
