El Sistema • Youth Orchestra of Caracas

El Sistema

“For the children we work with, music is practically the only path to a social existence in human dignity. Poverty means loneliness, sadness, anonymity. An orchestra means joy, motivation, teamwork, striving for success.”
José Antonio Abreu

El Sistema – The Miracle. In 1975, José Antonio Abreu, conductor, composer and economist, developed the idea of improving social conditions in his country through classical music, by giving children an alternative to life on the streets. In Caracas, he founded the first Venezuelan children’s orchestra with twelve children from the barrios, the illegal suburban slums. Since then, he has built a network of orchestras and music centres – El Sistema – throughout the country; each of these teaches in the same unique way. The focus of this method of music education is on the ability to play together, which is why the children are integrated into orchestras from the very beginning. The transfer of knowledge from older to younger children is also part of Abreu’s intention and philosophy: to him, an orchestra is first and foremost a community in which children learn to listen to and respect each other. Thus, the goal is to integrate them into a social network in which every individual takes responsibility and contributes to the results achieved jointly. Maestro Abreu has been able to build upon and expand his vision continuously over the course of more than three decades. The children’s orchestras turned into youth orchestras and the music centres into academies where highly talented musicians study. During recent years, El Sistema has produced a whole series of internationally successful conductors, the most well-known of which is surely Gustavo Dudamel. At the present time, there are 286 music centres in Venezuela, the so-called nucléos, usually located at the edge of a barrio. Today, the Fundación Musical Simón Bolívar (the national system of youth and children’s orchestras and choruses of Venezuela) unites almost 400,000 members throughout the entire country in a system of preschool orchestras, children’s orchestras, and youth orchestras, all the way to adult symphony orchestras and choruses. 75 % of the children and teenagers participating in the programme live below the poverty line.

As part of the 2013 Salzburg Festival, this visionary and exemplary project will be presented for the first time in a larger context and in its full diversity outside of Venezuela. To achieve this goal, the Salzburg Festival has invited not only the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra – the orchestral training programme’s flagship, which has appeared previously in Salzburg – but also five of El Sistema’s other ensembles. The selection of ensembles, especially the invitation of the White Hands Choir (which unites children and teenagers with various disabilities), makes it clear that El Sistema is primarily a social project, which does its utmost to integrate as many social groups as possible, instead of excluding anyone.

Simon Rattle, who has been closely associated with El Sistema and has championed it for many years, will convey his enthusiasm for El Sistema to Salzburg’s audiences, along with Gustavo Dudamel and many other artists.

Apart from the symphonic and choral concerts, there will also be a chance for encounters and exchanges with institutions and initiatives from Salzburg and Austria. One example is the participation of children who are members of superar (the Austrian El Sistema initiative) in the grand opening concert of the El Sistema residence on July 24, when Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 will be performed under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel; another is a joint project of members of Venezuela’s Children’s Orchestra and members of the Mozart Children’s Orchestra of the Salzburg Mozarteum Foundation.

The Salzburg residence of El Sistema features not only concerts, but also symposia, workshops and conferences. Altogether, during the summer of 2013, far more than one thousand children and teenagers will travel from Venezuela to Salzburg, together with their teachers and accompanying persons.

At each of their concerts, the most convincing element of the Venezuelan children’s and teenagers’ performances is their boundless enthusiasm and their passionate music-making. Surely, the large-scale Salzburg residence of El Sistema will bring important impulses for new developments and efforts in Europe to introduce children and young people to classical music and joint music-making.
LEICA will commission renowned photographers to document the project.

Translated by Alexa Nieschlag

SPONSOR

A Partnership for El Sistema at the Salzburg Festival

Music as a means for social change. This vision of José Antonio Abreu stood at the beginning of the initiative El Sistema. And this vision became reality. Over two million children in Venezuela have benefited from El Sistema since its founding, and currently there are almost 400,000 children, mainly from disadvantaged social strata, who are learning to play an instrument and perform in the country’s ensembles and orchestras, gaining a new perspective on life.
In the meantime, the movement has gained traction all over the world. More than one hundred projects throughout the world have adopted this wonderful philosophy, believing passionately in the power of music.
We share this passion, and we hope that the residency of El Sistema at the Salzburg Festival will support and contribute new impulses to existing initiatives – for example SUPERAR – and also inspire others to realize similar projects in other countries, especially in Central and Eastern Europe. 

ERSTE Stiftung
Hilti Foundation
Red Bull Media House