Venezuela’s El Sistema
A young musician puts bow to strings in Caracas, Venezuela, where her classical music training comes compliments of El Sistema the System. Today, about half a million young Venezuelans are enrolled in the programs centers. A shining alumnus: Gustavo Dudamel, music-director-to-be for the Los Angeles Philharmonic. (Susana Gonzalez / For The Times)
A young orchestra learns discipline, teamwork and more at an El Sistema training center in Chapellin, a poor Caracas neighborhood. Many regard El Sistema as a model not only for music instruction but for helping children develop into productive citizens; its been copied in Latin America and Europe. (Susana Gonzalez / For The Times)
A Caracas boy studies at one of El Sistemas nearly 250 locales around Venezuela. By far, most recruits are from low-income families; 33-year-old El Sistema takes all comers and gives them the same chance including free instruments. (Susana Gonzalez / For The Times)
A pair of youngsters grab lunch before a concert. Art education is an essential component of the educational system, says Venezuelan politician and economist José Antonio Abreu, for whom El Sistema has been a lasting spiritual mission. It cannot be a peripheral element. (Susana Gonzalez / For The Times)
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Karellis Reyes builds a guitar in a training center, or nucleo. A visitor to a center may hear Bachs Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 spilling from a rehearsal room filled with 15- and 16-year-old string players, or youthful fingers plucking a traditional folk tune on a harp. (Susana Gonzalez / For The Times)
Instruments stand at the ready at a nucleo. A Times reporter describes the centers as hives of cooperative activity; at one, he noticed students ages 7 to 18 going purposefully between rehearsal rooms, noodling on trumpets and woodwinds, or absorbing stacks of music. (Susana Gonzalez / For The Times)
Like the image on the wall behind her, a youngster offers a smile to her orchestra director. Older students, as they advance through El Sistema, eventually train younger ones, enhancing the feeling of being part of a surrogate extended family. (Susana Gonzalez / For The Times)
Nelson Mendoza, left, Veronika Jackson and Freilys Yanes warm up. Not many years older than these players is El Sistema product Gustavo Dudamel, who is conducting the Israel and Los Angeles philharmonics during Thanksgiving week. (Susana Gonzalez / For The Times)
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Pablo Jose Betancourt, 7, appears to play a pretend instrument in Caracas. El Sistema strives to provide its gifted students with the resources they need and even accommodates students with disabilities. The Venezuelan government contributes $29 million annually. (Susana Gonzalez / For The Times)
Gustavo Dudamel, a mere 27, is shown with the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venzuela. The conductor will take over as L.A. Philharmonic music director in September, following in the footsteps of Esa-Pekka Salonen. (Susana Gonzalez / For The Times)
