Elisse Kleiner

How the El Sistema movement in Australia and the world is transforming young lives through orchestral music

I believe that we have entered an age of awareness. Through today’s global inter-connectedness, we are aware that there are many possibilities in the way that we choose to live. We are aware of many problems in the world – environmental, social, economic, in health and education – and for the first time, we are becoming aware that there are things that everyone can do to help facilitate positive change.

One spectacular and rapidly growing movement for positive change in a social context is El Sistema. It offers children the rich education of classical music in an orchestral or ensemble setting as a means to develop themselves as expressive, cooperative and engaged members of the community, regardless of their socio-economic circumstances. Part of the beauty of El Sistema is that it escapes exact definition. Because of its flexible nature of addressing the means of a particular community, its manifestation is seen in a variety of guises: as a social action program; music education program; an after-school program or as a cultural development program.

For two months in late 2011, I volunteered at Baltimore Symphony’s OrchKids – a superb application of El Sistema’s philosophies into western society. There I was humbled by a room full of vibrant, vocal African-American children creating organic improvisation in ‘bucket-band’ (percussion using very affordable Home Depot paint buckets), and actively participating in the creative process of putting together a sheet-music-free instrumental performance. I witnessed the renewed energy of the kids who came every day after school to eat a full meal, participate in buckets, choir, instrumental lessons or ensemble. The 130 children are supported by the unshakable dedication of a team of staff who, in the turbulent reality of Baltimore’s crippling inner-city poverty and problems with gang violence, deal with miracles and crises on a daily basis.

The El Sistema movement first came about over 36 years ago in the troubled nation of Venezuela. The country has undergone a massive transformation thanks to the dream of economist, pianist and politician José Antonio Abreu. From its humble beginnings in 1975 when Abreu offered music lessons to 11 children in his garage, El Sistema has provided musical training to over two million Venezuelans aged 3 to 19 in over 126 community-based centres located in all the states in the country, and associated with them, 326 orchestras and choirs. The vast network of music schools or ‘nucleos’ has now grown to presently reach nearly 300,000 Venezuelan children – more than 81% of whom are from poor socio-economic backgrounds.

Impressive musical skills, artistic sensitivity, expressive capabilities and improvement in a plethora of skills applicable to many areas of life such as coordination, concentration and better academic results are considered “fortuitous side effects” of this program. Frequency over intensity is an important feature, basing the social experience on the ideal “community” of the orchestra, where everyone works together to achieve a common and beautiful goal. There is a focus on peer mentorship – bestowing upon the children a sense of responsibility as well as facilitating inspiration through the value of role-model behaviour within children of a similar age. Ever since famed El Sistema graduate Gustavo Dudamel’s conducting debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 2005, an explosion of interest worldwide has spawned the birth of programs in more than 25 countries, with over 50 similar projects in the US alone.

From the moment that my jaw dropped while watching CBS’s 60-minute special on Venezuela’s El Sistema in 2009, I have keenly followed this phenomenon around the world with the intention of developing a similar program back home in Australia. My travels have taken me to Venezuela, across Canada, and all through the United States where I have observed, questioned, volunteered, challenged and lost myself in the excitement of being surrounded by hundreds of vibrant, musical children. I have seen and felt first-hand the transformative effects of consistent community-driven artistic goals that have awakened a passion in groups of children as diverse as there are people. An amazing wave of energy created by a national movement of change was driving my tour of programs from east coast to west of the Unites States, and I was continually blown away by all the dedicated, passionate staff and animated children that I met.

All of the new youth programs inspired by Venezuela’s El Sistema take on a different form depending on the location, demographic and facilities available. Some of the programs that I visited in the US have a much heavier focus on classical orchestral music where daily ensemble work encourages a definite sense of achievement of having conquered such complexities and experienced its deep beauty. Others push the community engagement – with weekly performances, workshops and excursions (from playing alongside Hilary Hahn and the Baltimore Symphony to a day at the baseball) and welcome exposure to a wide variety of musical styles. Certain programs feed the children a full meal before each session, as OrchKids’ director Dan Trahey states: “The meal has many miracles attached to it besides sustenance: a time to be together and converse in a “family manner”, the students are responsible for serving and cleaning up after the meal, and it provides a time for the younger students to socialize with the older kids.” The OrchKids program also use the benefits of fundraising and spreading awareness through the Baltimore Symphony as a respected cultural organisation, while others – notably Play On! Philly – are quickly boosting their profile in the community by simply “doing their own thing”. Flexibility and the ability to respond promptly to changeable circumstances are essential features of all of these programs.

Despite the huge diversity in manifestation of the El Sistema-inspired programs in the places that I visited, they all engage a community in need and offer a safe and caring environment for children to develop musical skills. Each program is overflowing with passionate, youthful, artistic energy, constantly revitalised by the strong peer mentorship. The orchestral focus sees the children always working as a team – helping each other and enjoying overwhelming moments of pride in performances to parents and the wider community. The frequency of the programs – between 3 to 6 days a week after school – paves the way for solid and well-paced learning. All of the programs are non-selective, including any child in to the program, and most of them are free for maximum accessibility. Some of the most touching encounters were with the staff that I met who are all fervently dedicated to the social development of the children, and who keep each day exciting and fun.

In Australia, thankfully, we aren’t battling with the extreme poverty, violence and lack of education on the scale of what can be seen in the slums of Venezuela. Nonetheless, we certainly have our fair share of community disengagement. Over 13% of children in Australia live in poverty and the divide in wealth is increasing. New immigrants and their children face difficult conditions and disenfranchisement within their communities, and would hugely benefit from programs which establish social cohesion. Delinquency, drug and alcohol abuse exist widely amongst the disadvantaged communities around Australia, much as they do in many Western countries around the world. In addition, rural communities suffer disparity from the physical distance – and thus access – from services and opportunities compared to the major cities.

Sistema Australia is presently developing El Sistema-inspired programs on a national scale. Our pilot program Crashendo in Laverton, Victoria, has seen a wonderfully successful collaboration between the Hobsons Bay City Council, the Victoria Police and Laverton P-12 College, where a small sea of mixed faces proudly grin while displaying skills on their newly-acquired violins, violas and ‘cellos. Only six months into the program, we have seen some astounding results, not least in musical performance. A recent school survey of the parents revealed that 90% of parents have noticed an overall increase in their children’s confidence, 95% reported an increase in the general happiness of their children, and 95% of parents report that they are now more positive about their child’s future.

What Sistema Australia is building is by no means trying to replace existing music or social programs. Whether it is through the supply of instruments and teacher training, or the provision of an administrative staff and an entire team to build a new program, Sistema Australia aims to work harmoniously with various government and community organisations and provide the tools for society to facilitate its own positive social change. As with all the different projects in North America, each of our programs here in Australia will address the particular needs of the community in their own unique way. The self-development and community-development goals of El Sistema will help our country’s children to grow up with the ability to work compassionately and cooperatively with their peers, strive to achieve great collective goals and to appreciate beauty, quality and hard work. These principals will strengthen the community, create competitive advantage for the next generation of entrepreneurs, and will deeply enrich our nation’s cultural landscape.

We are so fortunate to be connected with what is happening around the world, and to become aware of ideas, events and programs that truly change our path for the better. El Sistema is a gift from Venezuela and from maestro Abreu that is setting the world alight with the fervor of positive change. It is our turn to take these inspiring lessons as a base for establishing a nation-wide movement of using childhood music education as a vessel for social change. By tailoring global models to suit our own unique circumstances, we have the means to enhance our cultural identity and better the lives of our nation’s children.

—

We would love to hear from you if you are interested in being involved in Sistema Australia as a supporter, teacher, volunteer or community voice.

Links:

60 minute special: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4011959n&tag=contentBody;storyMediaBox
El Sistema Venezuela: http://www.fesnojiv.gob.ve/en.html
Baltimore Symphony’s OrchKids: http://www.bsomusic.org/main.taf?p=9,5,8
Play On! Philly: http://www.PlayOnPhilly.org/
Conservatory Lab Boston: http://elsistemaclcs.tumblr.com/
YOLA at HOLA: http://www.laphil.com/yola/yola-hola.cfm
Community Music Works: http://www.communitymusicworks.org/
El Sistema USA: http://elsistemausa.org/

Sometimes life happens too fast for it to be processed or documented. Baltimore was an action-packed Orchkids-tastic episode with countless “epic hangs of biblical proportions”. One such moment was the launch of Classical Revolution Baltimore, in which 30 gung ho musicians crammed into the lovely Bohemian Cafe, and jammed non-stop until 2am with an organised chaos of two brass quintets, octets, bartok reading, jazz improv and so much more. It was indeed an electric night – no doubt the beginnings of a Revolution.

My adventures since Baltimore have taken me up the east coast – to learn more about the fabulous Sistema-style programs in Philly (Play On!), New York (Harmony Program), Boston (Conlab) and Providence’s string quartet-based Community Music Works, which predates all the other US programs by at least 10 years. Each of the programs shot me with a hit of super-inspiration, and I feel like I have been rolling around the country on this wave of amazing do-good energy. I was also priveleged to hang out with the Abreu fellows in Boston for a day, and had the great pleasure of spending time with the passionate vortex for the Sistema cause that is Eric Booth. Wild times!!

Having teleported across the country, I then proceeded to tour with the delectable Mash Potangos for two weeks around the Bay Area. Thankfully there are no Sistema programs in San Fran yet, otherwise I would probably have had to clone/split from energy-output overdrive. We smashed through intimate art house gigs, double-billed with fab local acts at cultural centres, performed wild milongas (traditional tango dances), a stunning gig in wine country and the glorious Sausalito and joined the Classical Revolutionists at Rev Cafe. We did all the bookings (the fabulous Rosi did most of that work), logistics and performing ourselves, and after two incredible weeks of non-stop work, we were flat on the floor, but beaming from it all. We were so fortunate to have played alongside many superb local musicians (including Tangonero and one third of Trio Garufa), who inspired us and taught us many new tricks. Somehow we also managed to squeeze in a recording session at the Bay Area’s newest fancy-pants 25th Street recording studio. Stay tuned for an album!!

fit right in...

On my way out of the US, I popped in to YOLA at HOLA in LA – the Sistema program famed by Dudamel’s presence in the city. At the end of the day we found out that three of the kids who were doing so well in the program – who had entered with a high risk of joining gangs, and in the last year had totally turned around their attitudes and were excelling at music, were being immediately deported to Mexico. It was an awful moment – there were many tears and promises of continuing music education. It is a very blunt reminder of why we do this…

After a few days of doing little but eating in Tel Aviv (a well-needed break), I am now preparing to head home to Melbourne. I am pumped and ready to get rolling with the Sistema project, and looking forward to going home for the first time in maaaaaany years.

I’ve ticked off a fair amount of authentic American experiences. I was fortunate to attend a baseball game with the OrchKids (yeah… ‘work’), where the Orioles lost miserably, but I was awarded a t-shirt, baseball cap, hot dawg, soda and popcorn which enhanced the overall experience. Locally, I’ve eaten some delicious crab cakes (at Fells Point), tried some raw oysters & clams at Lexington market, and been to an authentic Texas Steak House! Just yesterday, I enjoyed my first chili dog. Thankfully it was from a beautiful micro-brewery, and was quite delicious, despite it’s disgusting-sounding mix of components. A hot dog with mexican chili on top, squashed in a pretzel-bun with cheese whiz dribbled over and crushed corn-chips spilling out of it. Fantastic!

I am having a blast in my adventures at OrchKids. I am loving the connection that is developing through daily interaction with all the kids, and learning to distinguish them – hard as it is with their crazy names (count ‘Low-rider’ and ‘Lovely’ among them). It’s interesting to see them thrive in the OrchKids environment – creatively and socially, and it has been an eye-opening experience getting a taste of their daily life through observed mannerism and contact with parents. Earlier this week I dealt with one child who was streaming blood from her nose. She told me that a boy hit her when she was trying to break up a fight between him and her friend. “My mommy told me that if someone hits me, I gotta hit back harder” she said, looking at me with perplexed eyes. This is a common story here…

The Mash Potangos were very fortunate to do a tango workshop with some of the OrchKids last week. In 2 short sessions with the kids, we were able to teach them a complex melody, a new set of rhythms and put together an ensemble that performed to the other children. We were thrilled to have a professional tango dancing couple come in and show them some tricks! We had a wonderful time, and it was a fantastic experience for us all.

The trio are now turning our focus to San Francisco, where we will be performing a crazy variety of shows in two weeks at the turn of October / November. Check out the details here!

White people don’t ride the bus in Baltimore.

When Rosi and I jumped on yesterday, the driver hadn’t been told about the day-long block party and road closures. She got in a huff and turned the bus right around! Next bus we jump on, same story, and after half an hour of circling our house, the driver just told everyone she’d drop them off somewhere downtown. Fortuitously that was right in front of the “World Famous Lexington Market!”

There seems to be a very distinct class and colour divide in Baltimore. I’m unsettled to see such a vivid manifestation of this in a supposed first-world country, in this century. It seems to be cut fairly clearly here. African-Americans are poor. African Americans live in areas full of run-down and abandoned buildings which are considered dangerous and support a booming drug trade. White people all drive cars. White people don’t walk on the streets at night. I never imagined that I’d see such dis-integration here.

a crumbling church in West Baltimore

It does seem as though the young people who stick around in this town are really fighting for change. Frank, our generous host, works for the American Civil Liberties Union – rallying at full intensity for better school facilities for Baltimore city. Jen, his lovely wife, works at a homeless shelter for women, and is training for medical school. Dan, founder of the OrchKids program is offering kids in a rough neighbourhood the chance to transform their life with music. Undeniable similarities to what I saw in Venezuela.

Yesterday we ended up at the bustling, crazy market famous for their shrimp salad sandwiches and being the epicentre of the drug trade. We had such an adventure! Rosi and our friendly neighbouring companion coaxed me into trying fresh oysters and clams, we were privy to southern delicacies (fried chicken, crazy looking cakes), and the general hustle and bustle was super fun. Many people told me that they loved my white-girl dreads!

empty oyster shells

Montreal said it’s unique goodbye to me. In between lunch an dinner dates with friends, I bumped in to every other acquaintance that I hadn’t yet seen, and some that I already had! A day of releasing positive energy into the world and literally seeing it bounce right back at me. Even strangers struck up engaging, non-threatening random conversation. Just magic…

As I am now very used to doing, my life has been squished into to a large (extremely heavy) pack and a small backpack, and with it I jumped on another long-distance redeye greyhound (never a sensible idea). I have landed in Baltimore to a massive culture shock. Once I emerged from my house from the first time, I was privy to a drug bust two doors down. Abandoned buildings everywhere, kids generally hanging in the streets all day long. Just a tiny snapshot, but enough to surface many questions about Life in America.

In the way that life throws you opposing things in the same handful, amongst this sea of twisted logic, a bonding and intriguing human connection landed in my lap (or in the seat next to me on the bus). I didn’t sleep a wink in the 3-7am stint of the trip as I was drawn in to an intense and spiritual conversation with a complete stranger – an old man with whom I established an instant connection, and who filled me ideas and seeds for my time in America and beyond. The hope for our species definitely lies within the human connection. I will certainly keep in contact with him, though through hand-written mail, as he doesn’t even deal with computers!

Just another day in Montreal.

I woke up at 8am on a sleep-in day, again. It’s Sunday, and I REALLY have nothing to do. Alone at home, no more house stuff to sort out, no arranging music, nothing to do online… After attempting to read a bit more of ‘Teaching Music in the 20th Century’, I decide that I need to go to Tam Tams just to stay awake to read the book. It’s still early, but the mountain is rumbling with percussion, a perpetual wave of happy people arrive to meet friends, play frisbee, watch the medieval fighting, try out slack-lining or dance to the rhythms. I enjoy reading, talking to strangers, watching some amazing music & dance by a group from Guinea (west Africa), trying to follow their impossibly-layered beats with my newly acquired knowledge of teaching rhythm to children. I meet up with a friend that I haven’t seen all summer, and the hungry two of us meander down to get some food from Romados. Standing in 50-strong queue for the best portuguese chicken & chips in town, we’re joined by beautiful Erika, and take our feast (including 6 fresh custard tarts) to her place down the road. $15 later, 4 extremely satisfied people part ways. I’m walking with a full belly and big grin on my face when someone yells ‘Elisse’ at the first corner I turn. My gangsta buddy Adama Zon, ever-smiling multi-musician from Burkina Faso invites me to Les Bobards for a beer and a hearty chat in french about music and life. We have some great laughs and he hands me an invitation to an afro-beats festival out of town next week. I have to leave to get to a rehearsal in time, and on my way back I pass the Guinea musicians from the park, who stop to chat, and invite me to their show at Balattou later tonight. I tell them I’ll be there after my rehearsal with Valleymakers, who, with their gorgeous new songs and 8-piece ‘chamber folk-pop orchestra’, are having their CD launch next weekend. Strangely enough I feel most Canadian when I’m packed with 6 other musicians into Noah’s beautiful old mile-end Montreal bedroom with low lighting and strange antiques, singing songs about America in that beautifully rounded Canadian way.

I will really miss Montreal. I love the community here so much. I love the vibe, all my friends, the quirkiness and the creativity around every corner. But like everywhere, there is a trade-off. With its saturation of artists and various linguistic prejudices, sustaining a financially-viable creative lifestyle is not a reality. And the longest, most bitter of winters tip the balance too far. I’m happy and ready to be clearing my nest to fly away again, but this time I guess I will leave a few feathers behind.

Papa

PS On my way to Valleymakers I passed Jimi, our local celeb, who’d no doubt just returned from his day of air guitar in the parc.

Amidst the madness of non-stop summer work, I just enjoyed a blissful evening in Parc La Fontaine for Journée de la Lenteur. Happy francophonic friends, a decidedly non-vegetarian bbq, acoustic musicians, painters, masseurs, painted faces laughing, holding hands, colourful banners, masks, people rolling in the grass and having a wonderful time. What a beautiful occasion…

Valleymakers

There are many things that I will remember fondly about Montreal. Most of them are somehow linked to the community.

Marathon played at Casa tonight. Full house. I’ve brushed shoulders with 90% of the asymmetric hairstyles, oversize glasses and snowflake woolen-knit sweaters, and strike up gentle, contented conversation with a handful. The music is experimental instrumental avant-garde radioheadesque with hints of deathmetal and abstract song titles. Everyone’s under 35. Everyone paid the $7 entry. Everyone digs it.

Just amazing.

Classical Revolution has started up in Montreal at the wonderful Depanneur Cafe, on rue Bernard. We’ve had two fantastic tuesday afternoons of ‘string’ quartet, trio and piano trio jamming. With three cellos and zero violins last time, we had fun playing dressups with flute and viola. A great space in a great hood…

Back home the first batch of cream cheese rapidly disappeared from the fridge. It tasted a little like sour cream – I will have to work at tweaking the taste to be more… something else. But the texture was delicious. Perhaps next time garlic and herb à la Boursin?

I’ve also enjoyed making my first batch of home-made granola (muesli). Now that I’ve assembled all the ingredients myself and roasted them for a whopping 25 minutes, I just can’t understand why I ever bought boxes of the stuff. This is an orange-maple-cinnamon tropical muesli – cranberries, papaya, almonds, pecans and a few other surprises.

It’s 1am. Time for half a movie, some provoking reading, and bed around 2. A normal night in Montreal.

It’s still winter in Montreal. April 23rd, it’s 4 degrees, windy and raining. You can feel a sense of distaste eminating from the trees, who still refuse to open their little buds. They say it’s almost over, but they’ve been saying that since January, so who can tell.

Nonetheless, I’ve already almost forgotten what it was like in the -30 degree snow. As a little reminder of the precious few good outdoor times in those dark months, this picture recently surfaced, which was taken on a lovely snow-hike during a trip to beautiful Val David.

Back in the warmth of my apartment, today is a special day. Following the success of my first beautiful batch of yoghurt, I’m graduating to cream cheese. It takes at least 3 days before it’s ready to consume, which for me is also a good lesson in patience.

vanilla-berry organic yoghurt