El Sistema

El Sistema (which translates to The System) is a publicly financed, voluntary sector, music-education program, founded in Venezuela in 1975 by Venezuelan educator, musician, and activist José Antonio Abreu.Lesniak It later adopted the motto "Music for Social Change." El Sistema-inspired programs provide what the ''International Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies'' describes as "free classical music education that promotes human opportunity and development for impoverished children." By 2015, according to official figures, El Sistema included more than 400 music centers and 700,000 young musicians. The original program in Venezuela involves four after-school hours of musical training and rehearsal each week, plus additional work on the weekends. Most El Sistema-inspired programs in the United States provide seven or more hours of instruction per week, as well as free use of an instrument.

Origin and history

El Sistema began under the leadership of José Antonio Abreu (7 May 1939 – 24 March 2018) with 11 students in an underground parking garage. For many years, its official name was ''Fundación del Estado para el Sistema Nacional de las Orquestas Juveniles e Infantiles de Venezuela,'' (''FESNOJIV''), which is sometimes translated into English as "National Network of Youth and Children's Orchestras of Venezuela." The organizations has recently changed its name to Fundación Musical Simón Bolívar (FMSB), but is still widely known by the FESNOJIV acronym.

Abreu's vision

Abreu has said that "music has to be recognized as an agent of social development in the highest sense because it transmits the highest values – solidarity, harmony, mutual compassion," crediting it with the ability to "unite an entire community and express sublime feelings."

Abreu led the program for nearly four decades with the backing and material support of seven consecutive Venezuelan governments, ranging across the political spectrum from center-right to the current leftist presidency installed by Hugo Chávez although Abreu has been "careful to keep El Sistema separate from partisan politics."

Play and fight

"Play and Fight" was the title of the ''El Nacional'' news story about the National System of Youth and Children's Orchestras of Venezuela that appeared on 2 February 1976. The organization soon adopted that phrase as its motto, expressing its members' determination and commitment to El Sistema as a vital and critical project, both orchestrally and socially.

Success stories

*Gustavo Dudamel, current musical director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Paris Opera, had his musical beginnings in El Sistema. According to Dudamel, "music saved my life and has saved the lives of thousands of at-risk children in Venezuela...like food, like health care, like education, music has to be a right for every citizen."
*Rafael Payare was hired as music director of San Diego Symphony and Orchestre symphonique de Montréal
*Christian Vásquez became chief conductor of the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra
*In 2011 Diego Matheuz was appointed as principal conductor by La Fenice Theater of Venice
*Giancarlo Guerrero is the musical director of the Nashville Symphony
*Since 2015 Carlos Izcaray is the conductor of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra
* Rodolfo Saglimbeni in 2019 was appointed as Principal Conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra of Chile
* César Iván Lara is the Principal Conductor of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Mendoza (Argentina)
* In 2019 Giancarlo Castro D'Addona became the conductor of the Reed College orchestra being the first Latin American conductor to obtain this position
*Alexis Cardenas is violin concert master of L'Orchestre national d'Île-de-France in París
*Edward Pulgar is Principal Second Violin of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra
*Giovanni Guzzo teaches violin at the Royal Academy of Music in London and is principal guest leader of the Budapest Festival Orchestra
*Gustavo Núñez served as principal bassoon of the Amsterdam Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
* Jaime Martínez is principal oboe of the Orquesta Filarmónica de Medellín
* Sergio Rosales conducted orchestras in Colombia, Belgium, Japan, and United States
*Double-bass player Edicson Ruiz became the youngest musician ever to join the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
*Tulio Cremisini is the Principal Timpanist with Miami Symphony Orchestra
*Paul Desenne cellist since 2016 he is Composer in Residence with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra
*Pedro Eustache is a multidirectional soloist flautist, and world-class reed and woodwind player
* Alcides Rodriguez, a clarinetist with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, has said that "the System was an open door to another dimension, a different world that I probably could have never seen."
*On 4 September 2016 Paul Desenne's work ''Hipnosis mariposa'' was premiered at The BBC Proms by Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra conducted by Gustavo Dudamel.

Venezuelan government involvement

The program has a reputation for rescuing young people in impoverished circumstances, directing them away from lives of drug abuse and crime, into which they would likely otherwise be drawn.

The Venezuelan government of President Carlos Andrés Pérez began fully financing Abreu's orchestra after its success, in 1976, at the "International Festival of Youth Orchestras" in Aberdeen, Scotland. From the beginning, El Sistema came not under the ministry of culture, but under the umbrella of social-services ministries, which has strategically helped it survive. The current Chavez administration has been El Sistema's most generous patron so far, covering almost its entire annual operating budget, as well as additional capital projects.Arthur Lubow, "Conductor of the People", ''The New York Times'', 28 October 2007
Abreu received the National Music Prize for his work in 1979 and became Minister of Culture in 1983. In 1995, Abreu was appointed Special Ambassador for the Development of a Global Network of Youth and Children Orchestras and Choirs by UNESCO. He also became a special representative for the development of orchestras within the framework of UNESCO's "World Movement of Youth and Children Orchestras and Choirs."

At the time, its network of 102 youth and 55 children's orchestras (including approximately 100,000 youngsters) came under the supervision of the Ministry of Family, Health and Sports. A goal of El Sistema is to use music for the protection of children through training, rehabilitation, and prevention of criminal behavior.

In September 2007, with Abreu present on the television talk-show,'' Aló Presidente,'' the president Hugo Chávez announced a new government program, ''Misión Música,'' designed to provide tuition and music instruments to Venezuelan children. It has been noted that "various ministries oversaw El Sistema until two years ago, when the president's office took direct control. El Sistema's mission runs parallel to Mr. Chávez's program to provide subsidies and services to the poor." There have been objections, however, to Chavez's involvement from those who oppose the policies of the present government.

Spread of regional centres in Venezuela

On 6 June 2007, the Inter-American Development Bank announced the granting of a US$150 million loan for the construction of seven regional centers of El Sistema throughout Venezuela. Many bankers within the IDB originally objected to the loan on the grounds that classical music is for the elite. But then the bank has conducted studies on the more than 2,000,000 young people, educated in El Sistema, linking participation in the program to improvements in school attendance and reduction in juvenile delinquency and crime rates. Weighing such benefits, the bank calculated that every dollar invested in El Sistema was reaping about $1.68 in social dividends. Supported by the government, El Sistema started introducing its music program into the public-school curriculum, aiming to be in every school and to support 500,000 children by 2015.

The project has also been extended to the penal system. On 25 May 2008, Leidys Asuaje wrote for Venezuelan daily '' El Nacional'': "The plan to humanize jails through music began 11 months ago under the tutelage of the Ministry of the Interior and Justice and FESNOJIV...."

However,
journalistic investigation
in 2022 revealed that the regional centers funded by the IDB were never built and therefore the bank's long-term project to decentralize El Sistema had failed.

Controversy

In November 2014, British music scholar Geoffrey Baker published a newspaper article and a book that disputed many of the claims made by and about El Sistema and suggested that much of the publicly circulating information about the program was hyperbolic or simply false. The book's allegations included a culture of authoritarianism, hyper-discipline, exploitation, competition, and gender discrimination. It argued that the program was deeply conservative beneath its progressive exterior and that its claims of social transformation were unproven and exaggerated. For example, Baker's work alleges that the IADB's claim that El Sistema was reaping about $1.68 in social dividends for each $1 invested was based on dubious calculations and had been withdrawn by the bank itself. Considerable controversy ensued, with furious denunciations by Sistema advocates and enthusiastic responses from music education experts. In his review of Baker's book, Damian Thompson, arts editor for ''The Spectator'' highlighted Baker's contention that the rampant sexual abuse of young musicians in El Sistema is part of "classical music's dirty little secret."

Baker's research was validated in
2016 article
by Lawrence Scripp and the former El Sistema violinist Luigi Mazzocchi, and it was further supported b
the appearance
of previously unpublished external evaluations of El Sistema dating from the late 1990s, which confirmed many of the issues observed by Baker. Political controversy mounted from 2014 as Abreu and Dudamel's close relationship to the Venezuelan government came under increasing scrutiny, with the pianist Gabriela Montero becomin
their most prominent critic
In 2017, the claims in many official El Sistema sources that Abreu held a PhD from the United State
were proven to be false
2021 sa
further claims
of widespread sexual harassment and abuse within El Sistema, this time directly from alleged victims. El Sistema was finally obliged t
acknowledge the issue
and several overseas affiliates (including Sistema England and Sistema Scotland) issued critical public responses. In 2022, El Sistema's failure to build any of the seven regional centers funded by the IDB - an issue raised repeatedly by Baker over the previous eight years - was documented and published by a team of Venezuelan journalists.

Simon Bolivar Orchestra

An important product of El Sistema is the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra.
In the mid-1990s, Abreu formed the National Children's Youth Orchestra, and many young musicians graduated from it to the Simón Bolívar which grew considerably in size. This became an opportunity to re-create the ensemble as two separate performing entities. The first generation of members was designated the Simón Bolívar A; the younger, newer members, who had recently been brought in from the new National Children's Orchestra, now constituted the Simón Bolívar B"Tunstall (2012), pp. 118–125 The Simón Bolívar B is now the touring orchestra and, in 2007, made its debut at the BBC Proms in London's Royal Albert Hall and later at Carnegie Hall under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel, receiving enthusiastic reviews. 2009 saw the orchestra touring in the US, but also in Europe as well.

In the spring of 2010, however, a tour to the Lucerne Easter Festival drew comments from reviewers, such as Tom Service of London's ''The Guardian,'' that the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra was "youthful no longer." This struck home, and Abreu decided, as he put it, "the time is once again ripe for new, younger national orchestras." And so, he set about creating new ensembles. The Teresa Carreño Symphony Youth Orchestra, named for the famous Venezuelan pianist, started international touring in the autumn of 2010 with appearances at the Beethoven Fest in Bonn, followed by Vienna, Berlin, Salzburg Festival, Milan, Amsterdam, Madrid, and London. Other new youth orchestras include the Caracas Symphony Youth Orchestra and a newly constituted National Children's Orchestra consisting of 358 musicians.

In other countries

United States

El Sistema USA is a membership organization, which supports and encourages more than 80 El Sistema-inspired programs throughout the United States, a number which are growing rapidly. Its philosophy and aspirations are expressed on its website:

A visionary global movement that transforms the lives of children through music. A new model for social change.

Abreu appeared in a public symposium on El Sistema on 7 November 2007 in Boston, Massachusetts, where he gave the keynote speech of the public symposium on El Sistema on the WGBH Forum Network. A significant panel of speakers was present.

At the November 2007 symposium, Abreu expressed delight at the prospect of joining with the Conservatory Lab Charter School in Boston and other musical institutions in the United States to create a Pan-American movement. "The New World," he said, "is nothing less than all three Americas. And so what we are in the process of creating is really an expression of a new, transcontinental social and musical culture." The Conservatory Lab school is associated with the New England Conservatory of Music, and was the first El Sistema-infused charter school in Massachusetts.

It has been estimated that there were five or six El Sistema-based programs in the US in early 2009, but "by mid-2011, there were at least 50 such programs – and list is increasing by the week..." In addition, many of the original Abreu Fellows who came together at the New England Conservatory as a result of Abreu's TED Prize, have gone into their local communities to start new programs or to expand upon or within existing ones. These cover a wide geographical area ranging from Kidznotes in North Carolina, JAMM (Juneau Alaska Music Matters) in that state, and ICAN (Incredible Children's Art Network) in Santa Barbara, California. In 2011, Longy School of Music of Bard College, Bard College, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic formed Take a Stand to promote and support the El Sistema-inspired music education movement in the United States. Based in Los Angeles, it also offers a graduate-level degree program based on the tenets of El Sistema, including Master of Arts in Teaching in Music degree.

First Notes in Vail Valley, Colorado; CityMusic in Cleveland, Ohio; Club O in Fort Wayne, Indiana; Kid Ovation program in Des Moines, Iowa; and Orchestrating Diversity in Saint Louis, Missouri are also inspired by El Sistema.

Other El Sistema-inspired programs in the US include:

*Atlanta Music Project (Atlanta, Georgia) is sponsored by major companies and foundations of the city. It is managed by two Sistema Fellows, graduates of the 2010 and 2012 Program at the New England Conservatory of Music. The Atlanta Music Project offers both an orchestral and a choral music program.
*Austin Soundwaves (Austin, Texas) was founded in 2011 by Sistema Fellow and executive director, Patrick Slevin, focusing on the artistically underserved community of east Austin. Programming takes place primarily in-school with a variety of offerings, including concert band, string orchestra, philharmonic orchestra chamber music, and mariachi.
*Boston String Academy (Boston, Massachusetts) founded in 2012 by Taide Preito, Marielisa Alverez, and Mariesther Alverez, Boston String Academy is a El Sistema-based program. The founders started their journey through El Sistema in Venezuela. Previously working at Kids 4 Harmony, they were inspired to start an El Sistema inspired program in Boston. BSA offers three programs, those being in Chinatown and Allston neighborhoods, serving more than 120 students.
*B Sharp Youth Music Program (Fort Worth, Texas) is a free extended-day music program founded in 2010 at Como Elementary, funded by The Goff Family Foundation in partnership with the Fort Worth Independent School District. As the Fort Worth ISD's only elementary orchestra and the only El Sistema-inspired music program in North Texas, B Sharp fosters positive youth development through ensemble-based music instruction, peer-to-peer teaching, emphasis on group music-making, life skills training and the social aspect of learning music.
*BRAVO Youth Orchestras (Portland, Oregon) began in 2013. BRAVO is an independent non-profit organization. While it is independent it relies on partnerships to be able to provide vocal and instrumental classes. It partners with Portland Public Schools to provide in-school music classes; then partners with SUN and Boys & Girls Club for its after-school programs.
*Chicago Metamorphosis Orchestra Project (ChiMOP) (Chicago, Illinois) was founded in May 2013 by Thomas Madeja and Sylvia Carlson. Its first program, the ChiMOP Summer Youth Orchestra, is an advanced youth orchestra that is designed to bridge the gap between academic year programs. ChiMOP's second program, Mary Lyon Music, is an El Sistema inspired program that takes place at Mary Lyon Elementary School in Chicago's Belmont Cragin neighborhood and was launched in September 2013.
*El Sistema Lehigh Valley (ESLV) (Allentown, Pennsylvania) was founded in 2011 as a free music education program through the Allentown Symphony Association. Since starting with less than 70 students on paper instruments, the program has expanded to provide orchestral and choir instruction to more than 100 students from the elementary to high school level.
*Harmony Program (New York City) was one of the first El Sistema-inspired programs in the US. It began as a pilot program in the New York City Mayor's Office in 2003. After being incorporated as an independent non-profit, the Harmony Program was re-launched under its current model in 2008 through a partnership with the City University of New York. The program was founded by Anne Fitzgibbon, who studied El Sistema in Venezuela on a year-long Fulbright Fellowship.
*Kids 4 Harmony (Pittsfield, Massachusetts) was launched in 2012 by Berkshire Children and Families, a social services organization and is based at the Morningside School in Pittsfield. The Berkshire Symphony Orchestra, Boston Conservatory, and Longy School of Music have supported the program with periodic tutoring and public fundraising performances. Another branch of the program is located in (North Adams, Massachusetts).
*Kidznotes (North Carolina) was launched in 2007 by co-founders Katie Wyatt and Lucia Powe. They serve over 400 students in the Raleigh-Durham area but are expanding. They offer orchestra, band, and choir programs for children grades K–12.
*Miami Music Project (Miami, Florida) was founded in 2008 by James Judd with chapters in Doral, Little Haiti, and Liberty City.
*MYCincinnati (Cincinnati, Ohio) is a free youth orchestra program. It was founded in October 2011 by a graduate of the second class of Sistema Fellows at New England Conservatory. The program has a full string orchestra of over 70 students who meet for two hours a day, five days a week. In addition, the program added winds in 2017.
*Orchestrating Diversity (Saint Louis, Missouri) was founded in 2009 by Mark Sarich, Max Woods and Jesse Windels as a free music program for inner-city youth based at the Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center. Orchestrating Diversity offers an intensive eight-week summer program as well as after-school classes throughout the school year, teaching students college-level music theory, history, and musicianship. Students also perform symphonic music as an ensemble, and are given private instruction on their instruments from professional musicians, college faculty members, and student volunteers from nearby universities.
*OrchKids (Baltimore, Maryland) is an after-school program at the Luckerman Bundy Elementary School which brings "intensive music education to very young children" one of its distinctive features According to Nick Skinner, director of operations for OrchKids, it concentrates on both the musical and the social: "(the children) learn that being an OrchKid means behaving in a certain way". The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is involved in the program and its conductor, Marin Alsop, conducts concerts with the young group.
*Paterson Music Project (Paterson, New Jersey) Founded by current Brown University student Daniel Solomon, PCMP is an El Sistema-inspired arts education program that educates public school students to become holistic arts leaders, both in and outside the classroom. With 502 students and 31 student-staff, PCMP operates, funds, and instructs 8 weekly arts education programs, and organizes 3 annual large-scale public arts initiatives, free-of-charge. PCMP is the first student-led nonprofit grants recipient of Miami-Dade County, State of Florida, and the only student-run instructional contractor to the Miami-Dade School Board. PCMP is driven by the principle that every child should have access to a high-quality music education that not only encourages them as musicians, but utilizes the arts as a vehicle for social change.
*Play on Philly! (POP) (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) started in 2011 with 110 underserved children (grades 1 to 8) in St. Francis de Sales, a West Philadelphia school. Another site at the Freire Charter Middle School, established in September 2010, brought the total number of students to close to 250. In addition to group instrumental lessons children study composition, general music, choir, chamber and ensemble music. POP employs 31 teaching artists. A major part of the program is a series of 30 concerts in the community throughout the year as well as visits from guest artists and conductors.
*''Q the Music'' (Dayton, Ohio) was founded in September 2012 through the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra. The program serves around 70 students in Grades 3 through 6 at Ruskin Elementary, a Dayton Public School.
*Shift: Englewood Youth Orchestra (Chicago, Illinois) was founded in July 2014 by Larry Gerber, Ayriole Frost and Albert Oppenheimer. It serves children grades 3 through 8 in the Englewood neighborhood of Chicago, and takes place at Wentworth Elementary School.
*Soundscapes (Newport News, Virginia) was founded in 2009 and opened its first nucleo at Carver Elementary. In 2012 the program opened its second nucleo at Downing-Gross Cultural Arts Center.
*UpBeat NYC (Bronx, New York) was established in 2009. It is a free community music program in the Mott Haven neighborhood of the South Bronx. Its activities include an orchestra program for ages 8 and up providing lessons, sectionals, and ensemble rehearsals, a beginner violin orchestra that transitions children from paper orchestra to real instruments and prepares students for the orchestra program, and a pre-orchestra program for ages 5–7 that implements Kodály methodology and a paper orchestra curriculum. The majority of UpBeat's staff are volunteer musicians.
*Union City Music Project (UCMP) (Union City, New Jersey

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