1 Music education programs vary greatly from
country to country: the school bell rings, signaling the end
of the school day, and all the children race to the nearest
music center, or núcleo. They play violins, clarinets, drums
and other instruments for hours, learning techniques from
teachers and from their peers—and this publicly-funded
music instruction is open to all children. What you’re
picturing might sound like a fantasy, but in the South
American nation of Venezuela, El Sistema (“The System”),
a comprehensive music education program that serves over
300,000 children, is a reality.
[1] El Sistema, the nickname for the Fundación
Musical Simón Bolívar, was founded in 1975 by Dr. José
Antonio Abreu. [2] He envisioned this government-funded
program not only as a vehicle for music instruction, but
also for social change. [3] Disappointed that Venezuela did
not have its own 2 orchestra—Abreu wanted to educate
children about classical music on the national level. [4]
By providing safe spaces for children from crime-ridden
neighborhoods to practice music, the government would
be both protecting children and showing them that there
were other avenues to success than criminal activity. [5]
Abreu also believed that the opportunity to play music is a
basic human right, and he wanted to 3 reinsure that all
children had access to it. 4
The Venezuelan government began implementing
Abreu’s ideas right 5 away, by the end of 1975, it had
opened the first núcleo. More soon opened, and students
congregated 6 together at these centers after school to
play music. Children could attend classes from an early age:
two-year-olds started learning the basics of rhythm even
before they reached the regular classroom. The number
of núcleos has grown from just a few in the beginning to
over 300 today. They now operate from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. six
days a week, and the government 7 funding every facet
of the program, from the instruments to the teachers. Over
800,000 young Venezuelans have learned music through El
Sistema in the 40 years since 8 their inception.
El Sistema has 9 propelled some of these young
people into music careers. In 2002, Edicson Ruiz, a product
of El Sistema, became Berlin Philharmonic’s youngest
professional bass player at age 17. Gustavo Dudamel,
another graduate of the program, is the music director
of the Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar and became the
director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 2009. 10 As
Abreu says, “A child’s physical poverty is overcome by the
spiritual richness that music provides.” 11 Abreu’s bold
idea—to provide music education for all—has launched a
few music careers, but even more importantly, it has given
almost a million children the joy of playing music.
country to country: the school bell rings, signaling the end
of the school day, and all the children race to the nearest
music center, or núcleo. They play violins, clarinets, drums
and other instruments for hours, learning techniques from
teachers and from their peers—and this publicly-funded
music instruction is open to all children. What you’re
picturing might sound like a fantasy, but in the South
American nation of Venezuela, El Sistema (“The System”),
a comprehensive music education program that serves over
300,000 children, is a reality.
[1] El Sistema, the nickname for the Fundación
Musical Simón Bolívar, was founded in 1975 by Dr. José
Antonio Abreu. [2] He envisioned this government-funded
program not only as a vehicle for music instruction, but
also for social change. [3] Disappointed that Venezuela did
not have its own 2 orchestra—Abreu wanted to educate
children about classical music on the national level. [4]
By providing safe spaces for children from crime-ridden
neighborhoods to practice music, the government would
be both protecting children and showing them that there
were other avenues to success than criminal activity. [5]
Abreu also believed that the opportunity to play music is a
basic human right, and he wanted to 3 reinsure that all
children had access to it. 4
The Venezuelan government began implementing
Abreu’s ideas right 5 away, by the end of 1975, it had
opened the first núcleo. More soon opened, and students
congregated 6 together at these centers after school to
play music. Children could attend classes from an early age:
two-year-olds started learning the basics of rhythm even
before they reached the regular classroom. The number
of núcleos has grown from just a few in the beginning to
over 300 today. They now operate from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. six
days a week, and the government 7 funding every facet
of the program, from the instruments to the teachers. Over
800,000 young Venezuelans have learned music through El
Sistema in the 40 years since 8 their inception.
El Sistema has 9 propelled some of these young
people into music careers. In 2002, Edicson Ruiz, a product
of El Sistema, became Berlin Philharmonic’s youngest
professional bass player at age 17. Gustavo Dudamel,
another graduate of the program, is the music director
of the Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar and became the
director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 2009. 10 As
Abreu says, “A child’s physical poverty is overcome by the
spiritual richness that music provides.” 11 Abreu’s bold
idea—to provide music education for all—has launched a
few music careers, but even more importantly, it has given
almost a million children the joy of playing music.