Captivating the Community

Alexandria, VA — For more than a decade, the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra has used music as a vehicle for education, opportunity, and social connection through Sympatico, its ensemble-based music education program serving students in Alexandria City Public Schools.

Now operating in both John Adams Elementary School and Francis C. Hammond Middle School, Sympatico offers free, high-quality music instruction to students from diverse cultural and economic backgrounds. Inspired by El Sistema, the internationally recognized Venezuelan music education model, the program emphasizes ensemble learning, community engagement, and social development through the arts.

On Saturday morning, the program’s impact was on full display as Sympatico students performed at the bustling Old Town Farmers’ Market, delighting shoppers, families, and visitors gathered in one of Alexandria’s most popular weekend destinations. Audience members lined the market square, clapping enthusiastically as students performed upbeat percussion and ensemble selections under the direction of Greg House.

“The students work incredibly hard, and performances like this give them a chance to share their joy and confidence with the entire community,” House said after the concert. “What makes Sympatico special is that students learn they are part of something bigger than themselves. They support one another, and the audience feels that energy.”

The lively outdoor performance reflected the program’s mission of using music to build confidence, connection, and opportunity for children across Alexandria’s diverse communities.

“This is our 15th year sponsoring the ASO Sympatico Orchestra,” said Ellis Duncan of Coldwell Banker Realty, one of the program’s longtime supporters. “We have about 300 kids in two schools, John Adams and Hammond. The kids represent about 72 ethnicities and 86 dialects. It’s such a wonderful, colorful flag of cultures.”

Duncan said the program’s roots in Alexandria trace back to the vision of Linda Bunce, a member of the Alexandria Symphony Board of Trustees, and her late husband, Elliot Bunce, who helped establish the initiative after learning about Baltimore’s groundbreaking El Sistema-inspired program.

“We saw a program in action and thought it would be perfect to start at John Adams,” Bunce said. “Now we’ve gone into Hammond Middle School this year.”

Bunce explained that El Sistema was never intended simply to create professional musicians. Instead, its mission focused on helping underserved children build confidence, discipline, and opportunity through music.

“The system started as a way to change opportunity,” Duncan added. “Not to create more musicians, but to create social change.”

Sympatico officially launched in Alexandria in 2013, following a series of composition workshops that introduced students to bucket bands, strings, and Orff instruments. Today, the program includes multiple ensembles ranging from percussion and chorus to strings and mallet groups. Students rehearse before or after school three to five days each week at no cost to families.

For music educator Rebecca Walker, the impact of the program extends far beyond musical performance.

“I teach second, third, fourth, and fifth grades,” Walker said. “It is the most amazing experience inspiring not only the next generation of performers and musicians, but the next generation of music appreciators.”

Walker said introducing children to music early in life helps nurture both artistic and personal growth.

“It’s not only getting a head start on music education,” she said. “It teaches them social and emotional communication skills.”

Both participating schools are Title I campuses serving families from a wide range of economic backgrounds. Organizers say music becomes a universal language that helps unite children across cultural and linguistic differences while giving them a sense of belonging.

For the audience gathered at the farmers’ market Saturday morning, that mission was impossible to miss as proud parents recorded videos, children danced along to the rhythms, and applause echoed through Old Town at the close of each song.