What a trip. You may know this already, but Venezuela is truly awe-inspiring. The sessions and readings we experienced as Fellows prepared us well – and then the trip itself catapulted us into another dimension! Every single bit of knowledge we received this year was brought to the surface as we visited El Sistema nucleos!

I have more pictures, videos and choir stories to share than you have time for, so for now I will just say we are forever changed.

I witnessed transformation in my fellow Fellows that warmed my heart. We went anxious to receive and left ready to give. What a blessing.

And with good reason – the beauty and spirit of the Venezuelan people are infectious. It was so wonderful to be in a place that celebrates the music of life so remarkably. Most impressive was perhaps seeing the vision of Maestro Abreu implemented so thoroughly throughout an entire country! We all fell in love with each city in a new way. I personally have plans to return by any means necessary.

On our last night in Venezuela, we enjoyed a glorious evening with Maestro Abreu. We walked out of that meeting with a renewed sense of purpose and passion. Now, more than ever, I am ready for the journey that lies ahead.

And, as always, I will keep you posted along the way.

A once in a lifetime moment: Peter Povey teaches two new Atlanta Music Project students their first violin lesson at our Coan Rec Center site.

This week the Atlanta Music Project was honored to welcome a special guest to our classes. Violinist Peter Povey, a graduate of the Yale School of Music, was kind enough to spend two days with our violinists at both our Gilbert House and Coan Recreation Center sites.

Born in Australia and raised in England, Peter came to the United States for graduate studies at Yale, where we met as classmates. At Yale, Peter and I hung out a lot and played on the School of Music intramural soccer team. We also both spent quite a bit of time participating in the school’s outreach program (now called the Music in Schools program). In the end, outreach has come to be a key part of both of our careers.

 These days Peter is a prime example of a Teaching Artist. He is pursuing a Doctorate in violin performance at Northwestern University and is on the faculty of numerous programs, including the Montgomery Music Project (founded by Yale School of Music alum Laura Usiskin) in Alabama. He founded the McAlester Institute of Music, “a two-week music program for students age 6-18, designed to effect social change amongst young people, develop leadership, and improve music schools through contemporary teaching.”

Peter has been a member of the Chicago Civic  Orchestra and, as he told our admiring students, he once performed for the Queen of England!

Myself, Peter Povey and Atlanta Music Project Choir Director/Site Manager James Dekle pose with students from our Coan Recreation Center site.

When Peter told me he wanted to spend a couple of days with us here in Atlanta to see the program, I gladly welcomed him, on the condition that he work with our students. He graciously accepted.

During a question and answer session, one of our students asked Peter if he had any advice about performing in front of important people. Peter responded that anytime one is performing, people are watching you from the moment they can spot you. Therefore, he emphasized, concert decorum is just as important as your music playing, as that is what people tend to remember. I thought this was fitting advice for our students, who will be playing for many important dignitaries in the months ahead!

Special thanks to Peter for coming by our sites and working with the Atlanta Music Project students!

I remember our first meeting with our “organizational guru/Sistema Fellows Team Mom” – Beth Babcock. She simply told us “I am here because I love you”. Since I had only known her for 3 minutes, I accepted her claim but still felt that time would be the true test of Beth’s love. Seven months later I can say with confidence that Beth does love us! She really loves us! And guess what – we love Beth too. But even if we didn’t, her love remains. That unconditional love is what I have for the people of Coro. I loved them before I knew them and now that we have met – the real fun begins!

Founded in 1527, Coro is one of the oldest cities in South America. It is home of the oldest church in Venezuela, the infamous Medanos de Coro (sand dunes) and now, the Sistema Fellows of New England Conservatory. After being here just two days, Coro has become a place to call home. The beauty of the city, coupled with the spirit of the people make it difficult to accept that our time here is only for one week. However, it motivates us to work hard and quickly – and that we are doing. We went to the nucleos right away.

Coro holds two nucleos – the main site hosts multiple orchestras, choirs and a special needs program. The second site, Panela, started less than a year ago with five children in the front room of a salon. Those children soon brought their friends, who then brought their friends, to what is now a burgeoning nucleo. Sound familiar?

We visited both sites on yesterday. Maybe it was the intensity with which the orchestra played, or perhaps the catchy tune from the choir, or it may have been the way the children stand in unison when greeting guests. Whatever the reason, Coro stole our hearts!

So after such a warm welcome on yesterday (see the video below), I returned to the newer site today with David, Julie, Ben and Stephanie ready to work. As they began sectionals on their respective instruments, I waited patiently for choir to start. I had already asked more than once what time was rehearsal – they had responded “now” – and though it was clear that no choir rehearsal was taking place, I didn’t push the issue. I figured I would only confuse matters with my broken Spanish. Nucleo Director Maestra Sandra then explained that the sectionals left no empty rooms for a choir rehearsal, but just wait 5 or 10 more minutes. Indeed, after a few minutes I noticed children arriving, so I assumed that a sectional would end in order for me to rehearse. Instead, Maestra Sandra eventually motioned for me to come outside where she pointed down the street. I saw a boy standing next to a house, waving wildly to me, and that is where my choir rehearsal was held. Each child grabbed a chair, one child grabbed the keyboard, and we walked down the street and set up for rehearsal on the outdoor patio of a neighbor’s home. We rehearsed for over an hour – and it was simply delightful. I later found out that choir rehearsal was really scheduled for 5PM – 2 hours later than when we had shown up. Maestra Maria literally went door to door, calling students to come immediately to the nucleo to work with the visiting Director from the United States. Now that’s love.

Over the next few days, it is my plan to pour that love back into them until they can’t take any more! I would continue this blog, but I’ve agreed to go to the nucleo early in the morning. Choir isn’t normally scheduled for Saturday mornings, but I have a feeling that Maestra Sandra will make it happen.

Prestigious Grant is the Largest Ever Received by the Atlanta Music Project

The Atlanta Music Project, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that provides intense music education for at-risk children right in their neighborhood, has been selected as one of only six national youth music programs to be awarded a Widening the Stage grant from the renowned Jack Kent Cooke Foundation.

The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation awarded the Atlanta Music Project a $122,801 grant that is renewable for up to three years and could escalate to have a total value of nearly $500,000. The Widening the Stage grant is the largest ever received by the AMP, and it will be used to create the Exceptional Student Program, which will provide the most talented AMP students with the best resources to develop their musical abilities.

“This grant allows AMP the opportunity to provide specialized musical training to our most talented students. While AMP’s primary efforts are dedicated to making high-quality music education available to all at-risk youth right in their neighborhood, with this grant, we can begin an additional track for gifted students who would not otherwise have the opportunity for advanced musical training,” said Dantes Rameau, the executive director for the Atlanta Music Project. “Children from Atlanta’s most underprivileged neighborhoods can now realize their full musical potential. Our program is giving them confidence, creativity, ambition and a sense of purpose.”

Students entering the Exceptional Student Program will have access to year-round advanced musical offerings in the form of weekly private lessons from AMP’s Teaching Artists, master classes from guest artists, public performances and access to specialty equipment and teaching materials. To be eligible, students must be between the ages of 8 and 18 and continue their normal AMP studies in addition to participating in the Exceptional Student Program’s curriculum.

“Musical talent exists in all communities, but not all communities have the financial resources to nurture that talent to its fullest potential,” said Dr. Lawrence Kutner, the executive director for the Jack Kent Cook Foundation. “Using our Widening the Stage grant, programs like the Atlanta Music Project will give students who have the motivation and aptitude to pursue rigorous music education the pathways to achieve their dreams.”

The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation’s Widening the Stage grant is designed to increase advanced instruction and performance opportunities for talented, low-income students. Other grant recipients included some of the oldest, most prestigious youth music programs in the country including the Merit School of Music in Chicago, the Levine School of Music in Washington, D.C. and the Settlement Music School of Philadelphia.

“The Atlanta Music Project is by far the youngest organization to receive an award, and to be included alongside the most esteemed music programs in the US is truly a testament to our program. The Widening the Stage grant demonstrates the confidence that organizations like the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation have in us to change the lives of low income, at-risk youth here in Atlanta,” said Al Meyers, co-founder and board chairman of the AMP. “This grant is validation that we can change children’s futures through the power of music education. Not only does music education help students have more academic success in school, research shows that it improves emotional and mental wellbeing, and it sets them up to be more successful and productive adults.”

About The Atlanta Music Project

The Atlanta Music Project is a 501(c)3 organization that provides intense music education for at-risk children right in their neighborhood. The after-school youth orchestra and choir program offers music education 5-days-a-week, 2 hours per day at the Coan Recreation Center in Edgewood and the Gilbert House in Perkerson. There are no auditions and the music education program is free to students – the only requirement to participate is a commitment to attend all classes. Founded in 2010 and modeled on El Sistema, the acclaimed Venezuelan youth Orchestra system that has transformed the lives of over one million children, the Atlanta Music Project encourages social and emotional development, hones academic skills and cultivates musical talents in Atlanta’s most underprivileged youth. For more information about the Atlanta Music Project, visit www.atlantamusicproject.org.

About the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation

The Foundation is a private, independent nonprofit established in 2000 by the estate of Jack Kent Cooke to help exceptional students with financial need reach their full potential through education. Foundation programs include the largest scholarships in the U.S. for community college transfer students, scholarships to college and graduate students, individualized educational support for high school students and grants to organizations that serve high-achieving students with financial need. Reflecting Jack Kent Cooke’s love for the arts, the Foundation has supported talented musicians from limited financial backgrounds through its Graduate Arts Award and scholarship programs including Young Artist Awards given to select pre-collegiate performers on the From the Top classical music radio show. www.jkcf.org

What if it all depended on me to change the world, change the world

Youth Choir in Guarico

What is my only responsibility was to change the world, change the world

In one corner was David, giving a young boy his first lesson ever. Both displayed great patience as David walked him through each step of holding the violin in painstaking detail. As I watched the two work together – not knowing each other at all before this moment, yet trusting each other and fully respecting the talent that each brought to the table – I was reminded of the power of one.

Let me be the one to start a revolution

During our five week stay in Venezuela, we are being introduced to more youth ensembles than we can count. In each nucleo, I have witnessed my cohorts work for hours without break in private lessons, squeezing as much instruction as possible into the brief time they have been given. We have never met these children before and we may never meet again. We don’t know if they will continue in the pursuit of music, yet we give all that we have to give in that moment. I thought how wonderful it must be for this young child to have his first lesson taught by a special visitor from the United States, who has given his life away to the cause of improving the lives of others through music. I realized just how many lives have been touched by David within the last week. How many lives have I touched in the last week? How many lives have I touched in the last year? David interrupted that thought as he turned to me and said “Today is his first lesson. And I get to be here with him.” An honor it is indeed, to be one of the chosen few to share these intimate moments. I love the fact that we are all aware of how much change one person can bring to the life of another – even if their time together is minimal.

Let me sing my song to the people of the world

I had the opportunity to work with the youth choir at the nucleo today. We enjoyed rehearsal of course, but the conversations that took place afterwards were amazing. One girl stopped me to tell me what today’s rehearsal meant to her. That prompted another, and then another. Before the end of the night I had recorded interviews, enjoyed a serenade of original compositions, and made new friends. The power of one.

It all begins with one

As we closed today’s rehearsal, the director thanked us for sharing with them. He said “I hope “Maestro Abreu sends us more people like you”. I hope so, too.

A young singer studies her music in choir rehearsal

Welcome to Venezuela!

Encantada!

After 6 months of preparation, the Fellows have finally arrived in Venezuela! We are feeling immensely fortunate to be among the chosen few that are invited to experience the Sistema in its most authentic form. For the next 5 weeks, we will be traveling throughout Venezuela, visiting numerous nucleos, documenting our experience and filling ourselves with enough music and inspiration to share with everyone we know back home. For those of you new to my blog, I am part of an initiative designed to bring music for social change programs to the United States. These programs are modeled after El Sistema, Venezuela’s now world famous system of youth orchestras and choirs. The system is, in actuality, an anti-sytem, an alternative to a life of crime and poverty that awaits many Venezuelan youth. Through music immersion, El Sistema has changed the life trajectory of hundreds of thousands of its nations most vulnerable youth, providing an outlet and an answer – participation in the Sistema gives a child new career opportunities, unites communities and provides social mobility for whole families. Formed decades ago with only a handful of children and a man with a vision, El Sistema is now wildly popular throughout the world. See here for the latest in a recent series of New York Times articles on the Sistema.

For those of you new to my blog, I am part of an initiative designed to bring music for social change programs to the United States.

After just 3 days in Venezuela, I am pleased to report that my very high expectations have been exceeded. Although I have only seen a few parts of Caracas, I know that Venezuela is amazingly beautiful. The people have embraced us warmly and the culture is spectacular! We have visited two nucleos and can now say with assurance that what you have heard is true. The instruction is INTENSE, but worth it. The children are playing and singing on a level that impresses even us. AFter all, we are the third, not first cohort of fellows, so we’ve heard it all before. Yet, witnessing it for yourself is different – it delights you. It grabs you in a way that forces you to participate. We were only to observe this week and get a feel of how things operate here, but we couldn’t resist jumping in. Julie dismissed her limited Spanish speaking and eagerly began working with beginner violins, Ben was interviewed by a mass of excited little people after a music language class, I was serenaded by a group of children with a song that has special meaning to me, we were all mobbed for autographs when leaving Montalban. This is exciting! And its real! And we are here to experience it.

Welcome to Venezuela.

Clips of Sarrias, nucleo in Caracas

If you want to know why they do what they do, just ask Raphael. When he speaks, we all listen.

David caught me COMPLETELY off guard (as usual), but its worth it to see the
beautiful children at the end

We are all experience Venezuela in different ways. I encourage you to check out the thoughts of some of my fellow Fellows while we are here.

JoseLuis is a thinker! He is interested in the orchestra’s in redifining the role of an artist. Read his blog here – you won’t be disappointed.

David is a dreamer. He envisions, he strategizes, he makes it happen. He doesn’t mess around. And he is a madman in the classroom!!! Watch this clip of him teaching the children to play so beautifully that his knees buckle from the sound. And after that – follow him on facebook.

Albert is a friend of yours, you just don’t know it yet. No. Really. He’s from Mississippi and he believes that strangers are just friends you haven’t met yet. SO come meet him. He has some great conversations that you might be interested in.

First Day in Venezuela

Sarrias percussion ensemble

The Fellows arrive in Venezuela

Sarrias nucleo in Caracas, VZ