On Monday, March 18, our last day in Venezuela, we had the honor and privilege of meeting Maestro José Antonio Abreu.  Just moments after returning back to our hotel, my roommate, Andrea, and I tried to capture in a few words just how special that moment was for us.  

Braille

          My week with Braille

          Normally if someone were to ask me “What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever done?” I’d probably say learning a language, completing a triathlon, or performing difficult repertoire.  Now I have a new one to add to the list, Braille.  This past week, I spent my mornings in Barquisimeto learning how to read and write Braille, the alphabet, numbers, and musical notation.  My most successful sentence thus far was THIS IS HARD. 

Some of my Braille work

            When writing Braille, you actually move from right to left; however, you read from left to write.  It’s fascinatingly difficult yet I really enjoyed it!  The students would check my work usually followed by a laugh and the very occasional- good job.  Every day I’d arrive at the núcleo and the teachers would ask, “So what did you learn last night?”  After showing them my work, I’d go back downstairs and begin again.  The more comfortable I became with the Braille (and I still have a long ways to go) the more I began to think about capability.  Just how much can we accomplish when we realize what were truly capable of?  Being in the special needs program these past weeks; I began to see how every single child is encouraged to reach his or her potential.  Most students not only sing but they play, compose, and arrange.  There are no limitations.  Almost every student is involved in several ensembles even down to the teachers.  Everyone is always learning.  I had the chance to talk with one of the students in the Manos Blancas choir after a rehearsal on Thursday.  That past week, I’d not only seen him sing, but also accompany and improvise on piano with the rhythm band.   As I began to talk with him, he said, “Oh I’m not a pianist.”  I laughed and responded, “But you play in two ensembles?”  He smiled and answered, “well yes but I’m a composer first.”  Let me also just add, he was one of my mentors in learning Braille as he is blind as well.  The students are unstoppable.  In fact I don’t even know if the words, no you can’t or we’ll get to that repertoire later even exist.      

            It was a pattern that I began to see every day in the núcelo.  Students writing musical compositions in one night, learning Mahler 1, first movement in a day, and being proficient at least three instruments.  It’s inspiring.  As I continue my Braille studies back in the United States, I’m going to think of my mentors here in Venezuela.  Because they showed me that limitation truly only exist in our minds and once we let go of doubt, we truly find our capability.  Yet also for reminding me that this is truly on the beginning.  

Bring on the Tears

Bring on the tears…

Normally I try to hold back the tears in a work environment, but this week has brought out a different side of me.  Every day, I’ve cried.  Not a weepy cry but more glistening tears of pure joy and amazement.  This week, I’m spending all of my time in Barquisimeto in the special education program.  As many of you know, this is my huge interest in the field of El Sistema and what I hope to bring back to the United States. 

            So far, I’ve taken a class in sign language and musical Braille, observed a percussion ensemble for children with Down Syndrome, participated in rhythm band; which includes a large percentage of students with special needs, listened to a choir, and that’s just in about two afternoons.  Needless to say, this place is brimming with excitement and activity.  Barquisimeto is actually the central hub for special education in music in all of Venezuela.  It offers many workshops in teacher training, education, and about 10 or more ensembles in which students can participate.  It’s limitless.  There’s no such thing as a disability or a handicap but rather everyone has a different entry point.  It’s amazing to see how a student who is blind directs a choir of forty from behind his accompanist chair or how a child with a severe cognitive disability is playing Chopin beautifully.  The percussion ensemble and rhythm band were probably two of the most musical ensembles I’ve seen in El Sistema.  Resilience and tenacity shine in every child and I was just overcome by the passion, emotion, and energy of the room. For me, that meant tears.  As I told this to my close friend, Bekah, she replied, “Well see then you were meant for this!” And I believe she’s exactly right.  Often when we feel emotionally vulnerable usually that’s when everything falls into place.  So keep bringing on the tears!

The Road to Self-Discovery

The Road to Self-Discovery

            Every child enrolled in El Sistema receives a medallion imprinted with the motto tocar y luchar- to play and to fight.  A concise yet powerful message, this tangible pendant gives a child a dream he/she can physically hold and carry.  As I talked with my roommate, friend and colleague Andrea Landin, she reminded me that sometimes we see the beauty of El Sistema for its intangible items (social change, musical excellence, collective efficacy, etc…) but often a child is just looking for something physical to hold.  There’s power in the physicality.  It’s not something that you feel but it’s something you can touch, hold, and carry and with that comes sentimental attachment.  Paralleling with this idea is the notion of singing versus playing an instrument.  So many students I’ve met enrolled in the choirs are almost always instrumentalists.  Recently El Sistema even changed its name to the National System of Youth and Children’s Orchestras and Choirs of Venezuela “for the purpose of systematizing music education and promoting the collective practice of music through symphony orchestras and chorus as a means of social organization and communitarian development (FESNOJIV website).”

Monique and I with students in a núcleo outside Barquisimeto
(Diana is center)

            The notion of being an instrumentalist and a singer is something I’ve thought about a lot here in Venezuela.   Truthfully, it’s something I envy.  These kids have the opportunity to partake in both and gain different lenses in terms of not only the music but themselves.  As an instrumentalist, there’s an attachment to a physical thing, your instrument.  Your self-awareness stems from how you react to not only yourself but an object.  In return, you’re responsible for yourself and something else.  Singing is very different.  It’s completely done in the body.  You, nothing else, develop the sound, intonation, character, etc…  So how amazing is it that the kids of El Sistema have the capability to bridge the two every day?  By being in choir, you gain the opportunity of self-discovery and awareness so that when you get to orchestra you can apply that to your interaction with your instrument.  That’s not to say that orchestra doesn’t create self-awareness, quite the contrary, but it’s a different modality and approach.  These students are always gathering different tools to make themselves not only better musicians but also citizens.

Goofing around: we loved each other's sunglasses so much we traded!

            As I’ve watched the choirs and orchestras, I am still stunned by the level of commitment and passion.  The notes might not always be there but everyone sings and plays with such fervor and enthusiasm.  It can make even the toughest person tear up.  Here in Barquisimeto, hometown of Gustavo Dudamel, I had the opportunity to talk with a violin student, Diana.  When I asked her why do you come to the nucleo she said, “ Simple- it’s where I get to become a musician”. I thought about that response for a while, unsure if I was satisfied with her answer.  Then I began to dig deeper with her discovering that to her music wasn’t about proficiency on the violin or learning a choral piece but it was about becoming part of a family.  She said, “Sometimes I need my alone time, so I play my violin.  Sometimes I want to make music with others, so we sing.”  For Diana and many other kids in El Sistema, I’ve found that through music they are beginning the journey of true self-discovery and that through the help of others they are beginning to find themselves.   

Students in Barquisimeto rehearsing for an upcoming concert featuring Disney music.  This is the elementary level choir performing "I Just Can't Wait to be King".

*Try and find which one may be my favorite- hint- he/she comes through at the end!

My first week in el Sistema

My first week in el Sistema…

It’s hard to reflect on my week here in Caracas.  It seems as if everything I’ve seen, heard, and felt is still not yet real.  My inner dialogue still spins with questions such as; did that class of 40 violin students actually just sit quietly for 20 minutes while the teacher explained curriculum to us?  Is that girl really practicing her flute fingerings every time another section rehearses?  Do I really not see an empty seat for a classical music concert and almost all attendees under the age of 35? The answer is yes- to all of them.   For me, it’s hard to imagine such a rich, young, and vibrant music culture that everyone wants to be a part of; yet here in Venezuela, it exists. 

Forty minutes and still focused...

            As we visited the núcleos of Montalbán, La Rinconda, and Sarría this week, the high level of student concentration, dedication and respect constantly amazed me.  Yes, the students would give a look to all the visitors but nothing more than an acknowledgement and then straight back to the music.  At the núcleo of La Rinconada, I watched a beginning cello and bass class play the same passage for 40 minutes.  I kept thinking okay when are they going to completely lose it?  It never happened.  I observed that if most students weren’t playing they were practicing or at least following along in the music.  I can’t even think of a time when a teacher repeated which measure he/she was beginning.  So what could hold their attention for so long? I am starting to believe it must be the high frequency of performance.  Students are constantly under pressure to perform and well.  It’s a part of the culture and the students know that they are always performing, even if nobody is the room.  Having the mindset that performance is only on the stage just does not ring true here in Venezuela.  Eventually, many hope to be part of the Simón Bolívar and they know that by acting as a performer even in the classroom they’re more likely to be under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel. 

Percussionists at Sarría practice outdoors!

             I’ve found that often times our life is spent watching out for what’s to come and we often lose the time to enjoy where we are.  Imagine if every day we took that time to perform.  Not our own concerto or aria but a performance for ourselves, recognition of our improvements and a reflection of how far we’ve come.  The ovation isn’t just about the beauty of that performance but more a self-realization of the work you accomplished to create that successful concert.  That’s what I believe is truly so beautiful here in Venezuela.  Every day as the students perform they have the opportunity to realize how far they’ve come, and how far they have to go.  While they watch for what’s to come they are also enjoying that moment of realizing where they are.

Listening for Something New

Listening for Something New

Last night, we attended Verdi opera scenes at the Center for Social Action.  As I walked in, I began to notice the amount of young adults in the audience.  As a singer and opera fan, I can never remember a time in which I’d sat beside someone my age- even at the Met.  Yet in Caracas, I was not only surrounded by young adults but I watched a young man with a mowhak give a standing ovation after La Traviata, a student independently filming the performance for further operatic studies, and a child sitting silently enthralled by the music.  I have to admit it was hard for me to focus on every performance because I kept finding myself scanning the room.  I was in awe.   What I was seeing is what so many symphonies in the United States dream of. How does this happen?  What is it that Sistema is doing that is attracting copious amounts of young people into its concert halls?  Well one answer could be the free tickets.  Anytime there is a concert at the Center for Social Action, all tickets are given for free and if the concert is anywhere else they come at a heavily discounted price.  Another answer could be…wait for it- it’ll shock you…the students actually like this music!! No way right? Young adults don’t really like opera, at least not this many of them… If you’d asked me years ago which I believed were more likely I would’ve said option 1; however, after being here for only a week I’m positive it’s option 2. 

It’s been said that you see what you look for and you hear what you listen for.  As I continue my travels here in Venezuela, I’m beginning to look and listen for something completely new.  Exactly how do you make classical music relevant to everyone?  It seems that in el Sistema they’ve found the way.  This week I’ll be in Barquisimeto, hometown of Gustavo Dudamel, with my eyes and ears watching and listening to music in a completely new way.  Stay tuned!

The Luthier Workspace

The Luthier Workspace

As many of you know, I am interested in beginning a program for children with special needs in the el Sistema field.  Above is a photo of a workspace at the Funda Procura.  Here students with lower limb paralysis work as luthiers for el Sistema creating beautiful instruments and bows.  I'm still processing the impact of my visit, so please stay tuned as I tease out this experience further down the road.

Venezuelan Maracas

The Venezuelan Maracas

This video is from a folklore class in the núcleo of Montalbán.  Here students learn traditional Venezuelan instruments such as the Venezuelan harp, maracas, and cuatro. It's also important to note that the students playing rotate instruments every song!