El Sistema is inspiring young people well beyond Venezuela.?? This article reports on classical music and training being brought to some of the poorest neighborhoods in Britain.
One of the programs participants in West Everton???s Faith primary school says of Vivaldi:
???It???s beautiful music,??? she says. ???Like, at home I listen to Beyonc?? or Alicia Keys, but this is better??? well, it???s not better ??? it???s just better in a different way.???
Wow.
Another outstanding quote, from the same young person:
Only for a short time did ???my mates think it was different or weird to do this. Now, they think it???s cool; since this started, it???s dead cool to play a violin in West Everton.???
How are such sentiments achieved??? Well, it strikes me that the inclusion of everyone in the program goes a long way to help.?? Of course, when everyone is involved social stigma is removed.?? But it???s more than that.?? When everyone is involved, the experience of music making transcends the music itself and becomes more directly about the people and community involved.?? And once that has been achieved, the limits on musical expression are thrown off.?? Practice is no longer just work, and performances more self-expressive.?? It is a powerful thing when music making is about more than the music
That's it, isn't it: "It???s not better ??? it???s just better in a different way.???
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