Hopefully, something in the last month has made you feel inspired. It could have been something you saw on TV, an article in the paper or something a friend happened to mention. Whatever it is, find more information about it and share this with a friend or family member. Explain what inspired you and how this impacted your thinking.
Several days ago, I was driving and listened to a story about Jose Antonio Abreu, who founded El Sistema. I was so inspired I sent the following note to by colleague and friend Kathy (she wrote the amazing piece for the post Living as if we might die tomorrow: Does it work?)
" You’ve got to watch this orchestra.
These are high school students that learn to play music through a social services program, El Sistema, started in the 1970's. Gustavo Dudamel, the conductor, was one of the kids that learned to play music through this program and went on to be the conductor of this orchestra at 18. Today he is the conductor of the LA Philharmonic.
The founder of El Sistema was given the TED prize in 2009 and his wish was to take 50 gifted musicians, who were interested in social issues and to start El Sistema programs all over the world. These programs now exist in a number of US cities. Watch him on kids transformed by music. He has so much to say it’s incredible.
In learning more about this program, it came home to me how important our art and health initiative is. But first a little about El Sistema. In 1975, Venezuelan economist and musician Jose Antonio Abreu founded Social Action for Music. He believed that if you gave children an instrument and taught them music they would be less likely to take up a gun. Today, Venezuela has over 60 children’s orchestras, almost 200 youth orchestras, 30 professional adult orchestras and dozens of choruses. Almost 300,000 kids are in the music program and 90% of them live below the poverty level. Basically, the country has been transformed by music. You can read more at http://elsistemausa.org/el-sistema/venezuela/
We know how art and music transforms one and can help people heal. We know the difference it’s made in the people we work with. So how do we bring the El Sistema concept to health?"
This morning, I lay in bed thinking how much better it would be to go to the doctor’s if there was a place to make something or listen to someone play music instead of the TV they have blasting away. And for all the “drop in” centers that shelters, food pantries, and condition specific organizations run, what if they were places where you could make, learn and do something? Would we heal quicker? Would we stay healthier? I think we would.
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