Tocar el Corno: El Sistema, Social Change and the Horn

Presenter: Rachel Hockenberry

Forty years ago, Dr. José Antonio Abreu founded El Sistema, Venezuela's revolutionary music program founded on the belief that an intense, high quality music education can provide a vehicle for social change and youth development. Inspired by Dr. Abreu's vision, countries all over the world have adapted this Venezuelan model by creating after-school youth music programs in underserved communities. Building community through ensemble is one of the core values of El Sistema; thus, El Sistema instruction is largely conducted in a group setting as opposed to private instruction.

This presentation will provide a brief overview of El Sistema history and philosophy, defining the ways in which El Sistema aligns and differs from current teaching practices. It will then address the reasons behind the lack of horn students in El Sistema programs around the world, and provide an overview of instructional techniques useful to address the unique challenges of successfully starting young students on the horn in a group brass setting. The presentation will also cover teaching and organizational practices utilized to strengthen communities through youth music programs.