Back in 2005, TED took the next step
in terms of spreading ideas worth spreading,
with the introduction of the TED Prize.
This year, one of those TED prizes
went to a gentleman by the name of Dr. José Abreu.
We are fortunate enough
to have the epicenter of that TED Prize here in Boston,
centered out of the New England Conservatory.
This next set of segments includes a video about that TED Prize:
the wish that Dr. Abreu presented,
as well as Mark Churchill,
a Dean from the New England Conservatory,
who really has been silently leading this wish here in the US,
and as well as Benjamin Zander,
whom many of you know,
a wonderful conductor
who is maybe more vocally leading a lot of this initiative.
Please join me in welcoming Mark and Benjamin up to the stage.
But first let's hear about that TED Prize.
(Music) 33 years ago, in a parking garage in Caracas,
Maestro José Abreu brought together 11 young people to play music.
(Music)
He told them, "With this instrument, you are going to change the world."
"El Sistema" was born.
And today...
(Music)
Youth Orchestra of Venezuela conducted by Gustavo Dudamel.
(Music)
We are very happy, because we have this angel in the world.
He is giving us the possibility to have dreams
and to make true the dreams.
Here is the result
of this wonderful project that is The System.
(Music) "[El Sistema] is undoubtedly one of the most successful
music-education projects of its kind in the world."
(Music)
"The truth is, I have never felt so moved.
Not only because of the emotion of the moment...
but because of the quality of the El Sistema musicians."
(Music)
"El Sistema" has produced over 150 youth orchestras in Venezuela.
"El Sistema" serves over 300,000 young people in Venezuela per year.
70% of the participants live below the poverty line.
The effect of "El Sistema" is felt in three fundamental circles:
In the personal/social circle,
in the family circle and in the community.
The most miserable and tragic thing about poverty
is not the lack of bread or roof,
but the feeling of being no-one.
That's why the child's development in the orchestra and the choir
provides him with a noble identity
and makes him a role model for his family and community.
There is no difference here between classes,
nor white or black, if you have more money or not.
Simply, if you are talented,
if you have the vocation and the will to be here,
you get in, you share with us and make music.
In 2009, Maestro José Antonio Abreu was awarded the TED Prize.
He received one wish to change the world.
I wish that you help to create and document
a special training program
for 50 gifted young musicians
passionate about their art and social justice
and dedicated to bringing El Sistema
to the US and other countries.
Thank you very much.
(Applause)
Debuting: El Sistema US
at the acclaimed New England Conservatory of Music.
18 post graduate fellows a year.
Talented
dedicated
motivated
socially conscious.
Completing their training between Boston and Venezuela,
they will learn from the masters to train the next masters ...
The Abreu Fellows will then bring their leadership and passion
to undeserved communities,
inspiring new students to work hard and dream big.
(Music)
(Music ends)
(Applause)
18 new "El Sistema" leaders a year 18 new communities served.
Transforming a nation's youth www.elsistemaus.org.
(Applause)
Well I have the great fun of telling you a little more about El Sistema,
but first a little lead-in.
So many of us in the arts
can describe our lives as a continual search
for ways to share the immensely positive impact
that our art form has on us
with more and more people, particularly children.
We ourselves live with art every day.
The artistic experience is at the center of our being.
Art informs how we feel, think, learn, move, interact,
contribute, love and transcend.
And those of us in music deeply understand
and strive to achieve the intricate balance
between the mind, heart, body and spirit
that leads to the most effective and satisfying musical performance
and indeed state of living.
When we teach music,
we see the exquisite interplay of these human elements
in a complete and balanced learning
that nourishes the souls of the young people
while developing an array of life skills.
It's the clear power of arts learning that creates the conviction in us
that all children and young people, all of us really,
deserve this education in life.
And in a way that's affirming, rigorous and freeing,
we come to believe that every human being
has the potential to experience art at the highest level,
that we all deserve the privilege of an arts-rich life,
that people thrive when art is at the center of society,
and that art is truly transformative.
And so we set to work,
finding every available moment in our busy lives
to advocate for arts in education,
and to create effective delivery systems often aimed at undeserved communities.
Over the past 30 years
I've had the privilege and honor of being involved in the founding and development
of a number of these Music-In-Education initiatives,
and Boston has again proven to be a powerful incubator for ideas
and a leader in building models of success.
Project Step, created in 1982,
supports professional training in string instruments
for young black and Latino students.
The Boston Music Education Collaborative,
a nine-year partnership
between the New England Conservatory, the Boston Symphony,
the Boston public schools and WGBH,
worked at integrating music into classroom learning in core subjects.
The Conservatory Lab Charter School in Brighton
explores ways to employ arts learning across the curriculum
at the elementary school level.
From the Top, the national radio series,
celebrates the power of music
in the lives of the entire range of diverse teenagers in the US
and the Youth Orchestra of the Americas that you'll hear shortly
brings together young musicians from some 25 countries in our hemisphere
to learn from each other
and to serve as a beacon of international collaboration.
Now I only name a few, and this in only one city in America.
But even with all these efforts,
we feel like we're taking very small steps
towards the goal of bringing all young people
into a profound relationship with art.
Enter El Sistema.
I first came face to face with El Sistema 10 years ago,
when I had the great privilege of working with Maestro Abreu
in the founding of the Youth Orchestra of the Americas.
It was instantly clear that we all needed to take this very seriously.
Here was an affirmation of our faith.
Living proof that our programs and initiatives
could be more than tiny drops in the ocean of need.
El Sistema was demanding that we think much bigger
about our efforts to bring art to our society
and educational systems.
Thank you, maestro Abreu,
and the more than 1 million young Venezuelans
who have participated in The System over the last 35 years.
For me, the last 10 years
have been a journey of discovery about El Sistema.
I've been to Venezuela at least 15 times
and I always feel that I'm coming home to the Land of Music.
Last fall, I spoke to some eminent German musicians in Caracas,
and they told me that now in Germany,
they refer to Venezuela as the Motherland of Music,
and to Germany as the Grandmotherland of Music.
(Laughter)
Now, El Sistema might best be described as a set of inspiring principles
that has lead to a clearly defined and well-practiced
full-time after school music program,
that holds social change as its first goal
and the highest values of excellence in music education
as its close second.
Learning from our Venezuelan friends,
by observation, and from our own experience,
my colleagues and I across the US
have identified 4 core values of El Sistema
as well as its essential, transferable, philosophical and practical elements.
The core values cover:
human dignity,
the belief in every child's potential,
the necessity of strong self-worth
and clear priorities for education.
And growing out of these values are the things that need to be present
if we want to see the kind of results that El Sistema has produced,
and are thrilling audiences throughout the world.
Philosophically, we need fun first,
group learning,
and discipline inspired by the pursuit of excellence.
On the practical side, programs must be sustainable,
placed within target neighborhoods,
employ large musical ensembles,
be intensive,
fully engage families and communities,
speak to the whole child,
give constant applause
and feature peer-to-peer learning.
In many conversations during the past years,
it became clear that we needed 2 principal tools in our country
to foster and accelerate the El Sistema movement.
A networking resource advocacy organization,
and highly trained and skilled leaders.
The realization gave birth to 2 national initiatives:
El Sistema USA and the Abreu Fellows Program.
Being developed with the guidance of a national advisory group,
El Sistema USA is a support and advocacy network
for people and organizations in the US inspired by the Venezuelan model.
Largely through an effective website contributed by a TEDster in San Francisco,
and launched a few months ago,
it will provide comprehensive information
on the El Sistema philosophy and methodology
and a variety of resources that will aid those in building,
expanding and supporting El Sistema programs
in the US and beyond.
As it develops, El Sistema USA will, among other things,
become a national leader
for advocacy efforts for arts and education,
host conferences,
arrange study tours to Venezuelan and US programs,
fund research projects and provide consultants.
The first major initiative of El Sistema USA
is the Abreu Fellows programs, to be launched this fall.
This, of course, was the focus of Dr. Abreu's wish.
I'm thrilled to say that our first class of 10 Abreu Fellows
will be arriving in Boston this fall
for a year of intensive study,
including a two-month residency in Venezuela.
There is no doubt that we found 10 of the best and brightest,
passionate for their art and for social justice.
They will found El Sistema centers here in Boston and in other cities
as well as joining the leadership teams of existing pilots
in LA, Chicago, Baltimore, Brooklyn and Miami.
The existing startups have already done much
to prove that El Sistema can effectively be translated to the US.
Kids are thriving, waiting lists grow every day,
families are engaged, communities are taking notice
and feeling pride and worth.
We are beginning to El Sistema
as an important key to a new educational philosophy
that may very well have the power
to change the fundamental way we think about the education
of our children and youth.
The El Sistema movement has begun.
Thank you.
(Applause)