El Sistema USA: Transformation through music | Mark Churchill | TEDxBoston

The vision of Dr. José Abreu, winner of the 2009 TED Prize, changed the life trajectory of hundreds of thousands of a nations youth while transforming the communities in which they live. Mark Churchill explains how TED and the New England Conservatory are leading the adoption of maestro Abreu's revolutionary concept in the United States and around the globe.

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)