EL SISTEMA

El

Sistema is

publicly

financed voluntary

sector music

education program

in Venezuela, founded in 1975 by economist and musician Jos Antonio Abreu under the
name of Social Action for Music. The Master Jose Antonio Abreu mid-decade of the year 70
invited a Venezuelan musicians young group to make a dream reality: to form a youth
orchestra, it allowed that the music students practice on the whole and also to convert music
education a worthy source of employment.
Backed by an official decree in 1964, this indicated the requirement of practice on the
whole for all the students music school, Abreu and eight students began to join in 1974.
Frank Di Polo, Ulyses Ascanio, Sofa Mhlbauer, Carlos Villamizar, Jess Alfonso, Edgar
Aponte, Florentino Mendoza, Carlos Lovera y Lucero Cceres were the musicians that
undertake this journey.
From initiation, the project had nationalist character. The first major rehearsal was
February 12th 1975 in music school Juan Jose Landaeta with musicians from Aragua, Lara,
Tchira, Trujillo, Zulia, and Carabobo y Caracas. Who were the members the first
Venezuelas Youth National symphony orchestra, Juan Jose Landaeta, this orchestra
debuted officially April 30th 1975 in chancellery.

This group Venezuelas National System of the orchestras and youth and childrens
choir, was composed of 80 musicians. It had legal definition since February 12th 1975. In
1978 the group changed its name to Venezuelan youth orchestra Simn Bolvar, Now known
as Symphony Orchestra Simn Bolvar of Venezuela.

For many years its official name was Fundacin 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".

It has recently changed to Fundacin Musical Simn Bolvar (FMSB) but it is still widely
known by the FESNOJIV acronym. El Sistema is a state foundation which watches over
Venezuela's 125 youth orchestras and the instrumental training programs which make them
possible. The organization has 31 symphony orchestras, and between 310,000 to 370,000
children attend its music schools around the country. 70 to 90 percent of the students come
from poor socioeconomic backgrounds.
Abreu's vision
"Music has to be recognized as an agent of social development, in the highest sense because
it transmits the most important values: solidarity, harmony, mutual compassion. And it has the
ability to unite an entire community, and to express sublime feelings"
Abreu has remained in the program for the past 35 years through ten different
administrations, flourishing "with the backing and material support of seven consecutive
Venezuelan governments, he is careful to keep the Sistema separate from partisan
politics". Combining political shrewdness with religious devotion, Abreu has dedicated himself
to an utopian dream in which an orchestra represents the ideal society, and the sooner a child
is nurtured in that environment, it is better for all.

The structure of the El Sistema organization

Spread of regional centers in Venezuela

On June 6th 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 with
the argument that classical music is for the elite. In fact, the bank has conducted studies
on the more than two million young people who have been educated in El Sistema that
are linked in participation of the program to improvements in school attendance and
declines the juvenile delinquency.
With such benefits as a declines in school drop-out rates and a decline in delinquency,
the bank calculated that every dollar invested in El Sistema was reaping about $1.68 in
social dividends.Supported by the government, El Sistema has started to introduce 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 been extended to the penal system.
Simon Bolivar Orchestra
An important product of El Sistema is the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra. In the mid1990s, Abreu formed the National Children's Youth Orchestra, and many young musicians
graduated from it to the Simn Bolvar which grew considerably in size. However, this
"became an opportunity to re-create the ensemble as two separate entities. The first
generation of members was designated the Simn Bolvar A; the younger, newer
members, who had recently been brought in from the new National Children's Orchestra,
now constituted the Simn Bolvar B" and, 2007, it 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.

However, in Spring 2010, with a tour to the Lucerne Easter Festival, comments from
reviewers such as Tom Service of London's The Guardian that "the Simn Bolvar Youth
Orchestra is youthful no longer" like home, and Abreu "decided again create new younger
national orchestras" and so he set about creating new ensembles. The Teresa Carreo
Youth Orchestra, named like the Venezuelan pianist, started international touring in the
fall of 2010 with appearances at the Beethoven Festival in Bonn and then went to Vienna,
Berlin, Amsterdam, Madrid, and London. Other new youth orchestras include the Caracas
Symphony Youth Orchestra and a National Children's Orchestra consisting of 358
musicians.
.
Recognition of El Sistema
1. The international UNESCO prize was awarded to El Sistema in 1993, because served
as model for several countries and in recognition of its achievements.
2. Nationality ambassador of goodwill, UNESCOs recognition to National Network of
Youth and Children's Orchestras of Venezuela in 2004.
3. Sony Broadcast and Professional of Latin America in 2005 awarded Youth symphony
orchestra of Venezuela a recognition for its production of cultural programming in high
definition video made in 2005 in Venezuela.
4. The Glenn Gould Prize was awarded to El Sistema founder Jos Antonio Abreu on
February 14th 2008.Brian Levine, Managing Director of the Glenn Gould Foundation,
in an account of his visit to Caracas in 2008 wrote: "El Sistema has demonstrated
conclusively that music education is the gateway to lifelong learning and a better
future."

5. The Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts was awarded to El Sistema on May 28th
2008. The National Performing Arts Convention 2008, held in Denver, Colorado, Abreu
was as a guest speaker on 13 June 2008.
6. The TED Prize was awarded to Jos Antonio Abreu on February 5th 2009 for his work
on El Sistema. A pre-recorded speech was played at the ceremony in which he
explained his philosophy. The prize allowed the creation of the Abreu Fellows.
7. The Polar Music Prize from Sweden was awarded to El Sistema and Maestro Abreu in
2009.

El Sistema in the media

Tocar y Luchar (Play and Fight), a documentary film produced in 2004 about
El Sistema. The film has won several awards, including "Best Documentary" at
Cine Las Americas International Film Festival and also the CineMs
Albuquerque Latino Film Festival, both in 2007.

El Sistema, a documentary made in 2008 by Paul Smaczny and Maria

Stodtmeier about the system. The film won the "Best Documentary Feature
award" at the Chicago International Movies and Music Festival in 2010 and
"Best Documentary" at the Orlando Hispanic Film Festival in 2009.

Dudamel Conducting a Life: is an hour-long PBS program hosted by Tavis

Smiley on the subject of music education in the United States, with a focus on
Gustavo Dudamel and his achievements with the L.A. Philharmonic. The report
includes a look at how the Boston Conservatory Lab Charter works with
children.

El Sistema: a report of CBS's 60 Minutes from April 13th 2008 which explores
the "System" and includes interviews with some of the Venezuelan children
who are members of an orchestra.