Playing for Their Lives: The Global El Sistema Movement for Social Change Through Music

by Eric Booth, Tricia Tunstall

Overview

An eye-opening view of the unprecedented global spread of El Sistema—intensive music education that disrupts the cycles of poverty.

In some of the bleakest corners of the world, an unprecedented movement is taking root. From the favelas of Brazil to the Maori villages in New Zealand, from occupied Palestine to South Central Los Angeles, musicians with strong social consciences are founding intensive orchestra programs for children in need.

In this captivating and inspiring account, authors Tricia Tunstall and Eric Booth tell the remarkable story of the international El Sistema movement. A program that started over four decades ago with a handful of music students in a parking garage in Caracas, El Sistema has evolved into one of classical music’s most vibrant new expressions and one of the world’s most promising social initiatives. Now with more than 700,000 students in Venezuela, El Sistema’s central message—that music can be a powerful tool for social change—has burst borders to grow in 64 countries (and that number increases steadily) across the globe.

To discover what makes this movement successful across the radically different cultures that have embraced it, the authors traveled to 25 countries, where they discovered programs thriving even in communities ravaged by poverty, violence, or political unrest. At the heart of each program is a deep commitment to inclusivity. There are no auditions or entry costs, so El Sistema’s doors are open to any child who wants to learn music—or simply needs a place to belong.

While intensive music-making may seem an unlikely solution to intractable poverty, this book bears witness to a program that is producing tangible changes in the lives of children and their communities. The authors conclude with a compelling and practicable call to action, highlighting civic and corporate collaborations that have proven successful in communities around the world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393245646
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	09/13/2016
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	432
Sales rank:	464,257
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.40(h) x 1.60(d)

About the Author

Eric Booth, one of 2015’s Fifty Most Influential Leaders in American Nonprofit Arts, is a celebrated teacher, actor, writer, director, and businessman. A longtime faculty member at Juilliard and Lincoln Center Education, he is the author of The Music Teaching Artist’s Bible and winner of America’s highest award in arts education.

Tricia Tunstall is the author of Changing Lives: Gustavo Dudamel, El Sistema, and the Transformative Power of Music and Note by Note: A Celebration of the Piano Lesson. A leading advocate for the importance of music education in children’s development, she consults with El Sistema programs in the United States and internationally.

Table of Contents

Introduction xi

Part I What Is El Sistema?

Chapter 1 To Play and to Struggle: El Sistema in Venezuela 3

Chapter 2 The Global Spread of the El Sistema Vision 21

Chapter 3 Understanding El Sistema: A Few Key Ideas 42

Part II Key Elements of the El Sistema Learning Environment

Chapter 4 Radical Inclusion 63

Chapter 5 Ensemble Learning 108

Chapter 6 Peer Learning 132

Chapter 7 Music as Passion and Expressivity 145

Chapter 8 Intensity 168

Chapter 9 High Musical Aspiration 195

Chapter 10 Family and Community Involvement 217

Part III Overview of a Movement

Chapter 11 Different Cultures, Different Needs 243

Chapter 12 Following the Money 274

Chapter 13 Connecting the Dots 303

Chapter 14 What We Can Learn from El Sistema 318

Chapter 15 A Reflection and a Celebration 344

Notes 353

Acknowledgments 357

Appendices

Appendix I Directory of El Sistema-Inspired Programs 359

Appendix II A Short List of Recommended Useful Resources 377

Appendix III Defining an El Sistema-Inspired Program 383

Index 387

Editorial Reviews

"This is an amazing story that has meaning for all of us in education. Plus, there’s a blueprint for how your own school can duplicate the remarkable success of El Sistema. You’ll love the book!"

Eric Jensen

"Playing for Their Lives affirms the power of music to change lives and communities. This is a book every orchestra lover must read, but also every community organizer, every school board member, and every citizen artist who is ready to change the world."

Joshua Bell

"Anyone looking for evidence of the transformative power of the arts should read this important book."

Daniel H. Pink

"Tunstall and Booth provide a beautifully textured exploration of the intersection of child development, social justice, and the orchestral experience. Their book should eliminate any doubt about the global relevance of the orchestral canon and its transformative powers."

Jesse Rosen

"I am hopeful that this inspiring book will encourage more communities to launch programs on the El Sistema model, so that all of our children can have this beautiful opportunity."

Congressman Elijah E. Cummings

"Playing for Their Lives brings us the news that not only is it possible to change the lives of children through music—it’s already happening on a worldwide scale. This book is an important call to action for people everywhere who care about using music to remake our kids’ future."

Quincy Jones

★ 06/01/2016
In 1971, a popular song turned into an advertising bonanza for Coca Cola. "I'd Like To Teach the World To Sing" carried a message of hope and love to generations. Four years later, El Sistema was founded in Venezuela by conductor and activist José Antonio Abreu as a music education program designed to engage disadvantaged children and instill in them a sense of belonging. Adopting the motto Social Action for Music, El Sistema now counts some 400 music centers and over 700,000 youth musicians in about 70 countries worldwide. There are more than 100 programs in the United States and nearly 70 in Italy. Volunteer educators and various artists are also involved. Coauthors Tunstall (Changing Lives) and Booth (The Music Teaching Artist's Bible) detail the experiences of the program through interviews, success stories, and vignettes. The text is lively and focuses on the international scope of El Sistema, introducing extraordinary musicians and other contributors. VERDICT A remarkable narrative with broad appeal to everyone from sociologists to general readers, this is one of the best recent books promoting social change.—Boyd Childress, formerly with Auburn Univ. Libs., AL

Library Journal

2016-06-08
In this follow-up to Tunstall's Changing Lives (2011), which examined the growth of El Sistema in Venezuela, the authors look at the expansion of this artistic-social project around the world.Activists and artists Tunstall and Booth traveled to 25 countries interviewing directors, teachers, students, and parents involved in more than 100 El Sistema-inspired musical and educational programs to understand how the project's principles are working in diverse environments "from Kabul to Rio, from Bethlehem to Soweto, from Manila to Manhattan." Acknowledging that research is not yet available to provide sufficient hard data about the program's value, the authors give their own assessment of El Sistema's impact, looking at its challenges and struggles as well as its successes. From its beginnings some 40 years ago in Venezuela, it reached out to children of poverty; in Europe today, it reaches out to children damaged by ethnic segregation and prejudice. The organization's goal is to create not just musicians, but responsible citizens, and to that end, El Sistema tries to provide children of all skill levels with a musical community where they develop self-discipline, confidence, and cooperative skills. The book contains three main parts: the first is an explanation of what El Sistema is, how it started, and how it has spread; the second is a close look at each of its six core principles; the third is an overview of how it operates in different cultures, the various ways it is funded, and the networking that links its far-flung programs. Profiles and personal stories abound, and material that did not fit into the narrative flow appears throughout in boxed inserts, which is occasionally somewhat unwieldy. Appendices provide specific information on how one can become involved and lend the movement support. A wide-ranging, highly positive assessment of the El Sistema movement, serving as both inspiration and manual for would-be social activists.

Kirkus Reviews