A Dudamel pal launches new Sistema branch

The Venezuelan conductor Rafael Payare, an El Sistema alumnus who is very friendly with Gustavo Dudamel, has started a Sistema initiative in Montreal, where he is music director of the symphony orchestra. El Sistema is the musical flagship of an illegal regime in Caracas.

Here’s the gushy stuff:
The Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, its Music Director Rafael Payare, and La musique aux enfants are thrilled and immensely proud to announce the launch in Montreal of their El Sistema-inspired program. Over the next 5 years, this program will provide intensive and immersive musical education to more than 600 young people aged 4 to 16. Under the aegis of La musique aux enfants, theProgramme El Sistema OSM will enable students to learn, in a group setting, to play an orchestral instrument, in sessions scheduled four times a week, three hours per day, after school hours. Since mid-November, the program has taken root in two schools in Montréal-Nord: Saint-Rémi Elementary School and Calixa-Lavallée Secondary School. Participants from two other schools have also joined the program in January: Aux Milles Voix Secondary School and La Fraternité Elementary School

In addition to instrument lessons, this enriching program includes various musical activities that support the development of social skills, self-discipline, conscientiousness, and teamwork. The program’s young students engage in a learning environment that is immersive, stimulating, and playful, designed to foster their growth, both musically and personally. The project’s aim is to help each child develop their full potential and become self-fulfilled and socially well-integrated adults, whatever route they may choose.

“It has been a dream which is finally taking shape. Without El Sistema, I would neither be the person I am today, nor the artist I have become. This program opened doors for me and enabled me to build a career I could never have imagined. Music should never be a luxury reserved for a privileged few, but a fundamental right, accessible to all, since it has the power to transform lives”. —Rafael Payare, Music Director, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal.

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