The Venezuelan Model

Quite by accident the other night we found ourselves watching a broadcast of the Proms at Royal Albert Hall. Playing was the Simon Bolivar Orchestra under the direction of Gustavo Dudamel.

They were playing Mahler's scond symphony, Resurrection.  It is a huge orchestra, and each member is a graduate of the state music programme.  Dudamel was an absolute joy to watch - he's only 33 and he really is something special.  The more I learn about the programme in Venezuela, however, the more impressed I am.

The programme is called El Sistema and it offers free music education to every single child in the country.  The result of this programme is that large numbers of very poor people are finding a way out of their situations through music.  People are turning to music rather than crime, and they are being lifted out of of poverty and making music an intricate part of their lives.  Obviously not every single child goes on to play at the Royal Albert Hall, but the societal effects of this programme are reportedly stunning.

At its inception, there was doubt expressed in various quarters that classical music is for the elite - the rich - and that to give the poor access to a programme such as this would be a terrible waste of resources.  I am so thankful that they went ahead 30 years ago because it proves once again that music is for everybody, and the benefits of encouraging people to make music go far beyond what the ear actually hears.

As for what the ear heard in this broadcast of the Proms the other night, it was a gift unlooked for and I will remember it for a long time.