Yesterday at 23:53
Photo from earthtones.org
The Venezuelan government economist turned musical educator founded the globally acclaimed El Sistema, or , in 1975 in a garage with just nine musicians. From that, the network expanded to 300 choirs, orchestras, and music centers across the country. Many have received awards from the Royal Swedish Academy and UNESCO.
The program claims to currently put one million Venezuelan children in contact with classical music.
Abreu’s model has been followed by more than 60 other countries, in Latin American as well as some in Europe.
On March 24th Jose Antonio Abreu died at the age of 78. Abreu’s backers contend that El Sistema is one of the few institutions in Venezuela that have endured almost two decades of polarizing, socialist rule.
