If you saw him conduct in this amazing TED Talk, you definitely won’t want to miss the webcast on the 3rd. The concert will also available on demand for 24 hours beginning at 10 a.m. on Oct. 4.
Dudamel’s example is just one reason why TED is so enthusiastic to help bring the El Sistema model to the US. We can’t wait to reveal the Abreu Fellows to all of you on October 13.
The outpouring of enthusiasm for José Abreu’s wish from people around the world has been amazing. So, when the Abreu Fellows Program launches this fall, we want to have one scholarship that represents that support. We developed the Facebook Causes page to allow all of you to give micro-donations – $10, $25, $50, $100 or more – to raise $25,000 (one full scholarship). Just think, 2500 people donating at $10 equals one Abreu Fellowship raised.
While giving of oneself – through time or money – is definitely its own reward, we have sweetened the deal.
We have 4 incredible rewards for the top donators/recruiters** to this cause.
Donate $50 (or recruit 5 friends @ $10) and be acknowledged on the TED blog once the Abreu Fellowship is raised.
Donate $100+ (or recruit 10 friends @ $10) and be put in a ‘thank you raffle’ for a TED gift bag (incl. TED 2009 DVD’s & other fun goodies)
Donate $500+ (or recruit 50 friends @ $10) and be put in a ‘thank you raffle’ for a TED2010 web stream pass.
Donate $1000+ (or recruit 100 friends @ $10) and be put in a ‘thank you raffle’ to win a TED Associate Membership (a year-round TED experience that includes conference DVDs, the famed TED Book Club and other special touches)
So start recruiting! Here are 4 very simple ways to introduce your friends to this cause:
Use your status update: Attach the Causes tab to your update. I’m inspired & invested in this new model for social change
Tweet it: Music has the power 2 change a life & transform a community. I’m investing in this model 4 social change: http://on.ted.com/l
And remember…
One fellow, mentored.
Hundreds of children, inspired.
A community, transformed.
**We are measuring top recruiters/donators using the Facebook/Causes software – so for your efforts to count, please ensure that your friends join (& donate) through your Facebook/Causes invite!
For everyone on Facebook, you can now support the Abreu Fellows Program on a Causes page. We would love to raise one scholarship, $25,000, through this site in the next two weeks. $10, $25, $50, $100 or more – donations at all levels are important.
Check out this short video on the wish and the program then join the cause and support a fellow.
Today Chris Anderson, TED Curator, put forth a call to all of his Twitter followers to help sponsor an Abreu Fellow. If every one of his followers gave only $1 then four scholarships would be raised. Amazing! Check out his blog post to participate. Learn more about the program on elsistemausa.org.
Three months ago, the visionary Venezuelan musician Dr. José Antonio Abreu made his TED Prize wish – to create and document a special training program for at least 50 gifted young musicians, passionate for their art and for social justice, and dedicated to developing El Sistema in the US and in other countries.
Today we are proud to introduce the Abreu Fellows Program at New England Conservatory of Music. It is a one-year postgraduate certificate program for accomplished young musicians who desire to become ambassadors of El Sistema and who are committed to developing it outside of Venezuela. Abreu Fellows will spend a year studying between Boston and Caracas, and leave with the tools to return to their communities to teach the El Sistema model.
Subject to funds raised, the program is ready to open this fall with spots for the first 18 fellows.
el Sistema USA is a support and advocacy network for people and organizations inspired by Venezula’s monumental music education program. It will grow to provide comprehensive information on the El Sistema philosophy and methodology, and host a variety of resources that will aid those building, expanding and supporting El Sistema programs in the US and beyond.
Check out the site and be inspired. Help build the program by identifying or supporting a fellow. And if you haven’t already, watch the unforgettable youth orchestra performance from TED.
A huge thanks to Albertson Design, who did an amazing job branding the fellows program and designing and building the website.
In a remarkable testimony by Linda Ronstadt to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment & Related Agencies Tuesday, the pop singer made an impassioned plea for government support of the arts. And Gustavo Dudamel, the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s soon-to-be music director, was her poster boy.
In the United States we spend millions of dollars on sports because it promotes teamwork, discipline, and the experience of learning to make great progress in small increments. Learning to play music together does all this and more.
José Abreu, the founder of El Sistema, the children’s music curriculum currently considered to be the best in the world, says this: “An orchestra is a community that comes together with the fundamental objective of agreeing with itself. Therefore, the person who plays in an orchestra begins to live the experience of agreement. And what does the agreement of experience mean? Team practice, the practice of a group that recognizes itself as interdependent where one is responsible for others and the others are responsible for oneself. Agree on what? To create beauty.”
… As you may know, there is a conductor of staggering talent who has been hailed as the next Leonard Bernstein. His name is Gustavo Dudamel and he has toured the United States and Europe with the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra to ecstatic reviews. He joins the Los Angeles Philharmonic as their Music Director in the fall. Here’s what matters to us today: this young conductor has a passion for music education because he knows its true power to alter the course of young lives. He was brought up in Venezuela in the extraordinary music education system that I mentioned earlier called El Sistema.
Imagine what can be accomplished if we support the arts, engage ‘at risk’ youth and help them succeed in school and in their lives. For ‘underserved’ families, indeed for all families, participation in music and the arts can help people reclaim and achieve the American Dream.
After Maestro Abreu gave his inspiring talk and made is world-changing wish, the Teresa Carreño Youth Orchestra performed live via satellite from Caracas, Venezuela. Made up of students from El Sistema, the orchestra wowed the TED audience and we know they will wow you too. Led by Gustavo Dudamel, Music Director Designate of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and product of El Sistema, the orchestra played two pieces – Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10, 2nd movement and Arturo Márquez’ Danzón No. 2.
For anyone looking to learn more about El Sistema the best place to start is on their official website. Available in Spanish and English, it is a great resource for information on Maestro Abreu, the program, the ensembles and more. They have also posted a great article in Spanish on José Abreu winning the TED Prize, his wish and the amazing performance via satellite of the the Teresa Carreño Symphony Orchestra.
The Teresa Carreño Youth Orchestra is the national high school age youth orchestra of El Sistema, comprised of the best young high school age musicians from throughout Venezuela. Teresa Carreño was a legendary Venezuelan pianist after whom the main theater/concert hall complex in Caracas is also named.
