Founded At
Gault Elementary School, now at Radcliff, Mintie White Elementary Schools and Duncan Holbert Preschool

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Our Mission

El Sistema Santa Cruz is challenging the notion that socioeconomic is the single biggest predictor of academic success and that children engage in art and more specifically music from a very early age break down barriers of all kinds, from socio-economic to language or special needs, leveling therefore the playing field for all.

The Team:

 
Teaching artists at Gault, Radcliff and Mintie White Elementary Schools:

• Camilo Ortiz: a classical guitar player with a Bachelor of Music in Classical Guitar Performance and a Level I, II, and III Orff Schulwerk Certification also former pre-orchestra director and teaching artist at Youth Orchestra Salinas (YOSAL) an El Sistema inspired program with over 200 students.
• Amalia Diaz: a former student and teacher at Batuta, the second largest national program in the world after Venezuela, who supported the development of programs in Colombia, Jamaica, Haiti, St. Lucia and United States, conductor and string teacher at Youth Orchestra Salinas and El Sistema Santa Cruz. ​

• Anne Cleveland: a performing jazz, folk and classical music with a Bachelor of Arts in Music and Masters in Waldorf Education.
• Claudia Riege: first grade teacher and Orff specialist.
• Henry Wilson: recently graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree from UCSC and has been part of the Student Staff Ensemble program at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music. 
• Miran McPoland: holds a degree in music education from Willamette University and is Orff certified through the San Francisco International Orff Course. She has over a decade of experience in El Sistema inspired programs including Youth Orchestra of Salinas and Seattle Music Partners where she has done everything from teaching kindergarten to conducting high school symphony orchestra. When she is not teaching, she is performing on violin and viola.
• Erin Irvine: Santa Cruz Symphony- principal bassoonist,  Santa Cruz Youth Symphony- Woodwind Chamber Director,  UCSC- Lecturer in Music. Erin Irvine holds an undergraduate degree of Music from UCLA and a Masters of Music from Rice University. She has spent more than a decade as a professional musician performing in orchestras throughout the Bay Area and Oregon.
• Juan Ospina: Juan Ospina is a seasoned flautist who hails from the town of Bucaramanga, Colombia. Juan’s talents have taken him around the world to perform for many people, and over many mediums. His education began at the National University of Colombia where he earned a Bachelor of Music degree. This then led him to Texas where he received a flute performance degree from Texas Christian University, and garnered The Outstanding Musician Award in 2013-14. Education has always been an area of focus for Juan — With learning and also teaching in programs such as: The B Sharp Youth Music Program, and private flute instruction for various Independent School Districts in the greater Dallas/Fort Worth area. Juan has also toured with prestigious groups of musicians, such as: Ronnie Heart (Electro Funk), Real Charanga (Salsa group), Mucho Indio (contemporary indigenous Latin American group), Maria Mulata (music from the Colombian Pacific), Bereket (Turkish and Middle-Eastern music), Guafa trio (Colombian/venezuelan music). He also has performed with orchestral organizations like the Dallas Opera, Las Colinas Orchestra, Grapevine Orchestra, Symphony Orchestra of Colombia, and Philharmonic Orchestra of Bogota. Even with a robust list of educational and group performance endeavors, Juan’s passion for creation still runs forth in his recordings of original music with his band “Olemano”, arranging and composing, collaborating with local artists on video productions, and various other fusions of art and music.
  

Executive Director:
Isabelle Tuncer:  has over 20 years of experience in academics, international trade, development and project management. She first came to the United States as a Fulbright  scholar at the University of Texas, School of Law, held positions at the Agricultural Economics Research Institute, Turkey and the United Nation Conference on Trade and Development, Switzerland. Founder and director of El Sistema Santa Cruz since 2012.