A Musical Revolution in Venezuela

I excitedly opened my mail the other day to find my first DVD from the Spiritual Cinema Circle. The Spiritual Cinema Circle offers 4 spiritually-minded movies per month on a DVD which includes 2 shorts, a documentary and a full-feature film. I put it into the computer to play and watched both of the shorts. I am not really familiar with short films and I was nicely surprised to see the quality of them was top-notch. They were simply short films. I had not heard of the third film either and initially didn’t even know it was a documentary. I pressed play to see what it was all about. It was titled Tocar y Luchar (To Play and To Fight). It began by showing young children in Venezuela playing violins. I was deeply moved by the quality of their performance. At first glance it appeared that this movie would be an interesting documentary about an exceptionally gifted small group of children. I was nicely surprised to see that I was wrong. This documentary was not about a small group, but rather the children from an entire nation.

In this documentary, Alberto Arvelo shows how over the last 30 years, The Venezuelan National Youth Orchestra has been a leader in a Musical Revolution; a Renaissance, if you will. While there is much poverty as well as political challenges throughout the country, there has also been a burgeoning seat of creativity developing. What began as a social program to enrich children’s lives has truly become a showcase of miraculous unparalleled beauty.

Throughout Venezuela, the ‘Orchestra’ has launched full symphonies and choirs incorporating children of all ages, starting as early as the age of two. This isn’t about one small group of prodigal children, being treated to the delights of music. This program is open to any child, regardless of their economic ability to pay. What is required is hard work and dedication to the practice of music. Currently, over 250,000 children are involved in this musical system.

What is the result? In two words: Happy Children. Seemingly beyond their young lives, these children are soulful, deeply fulfilled Beings. One child enthusiastically mentioned how his cello needed to be next to his bed or he wouldn’t be able to sleep at night. A couple of other children were found practicing their trumpets outside on a pier at a lake. Joyce, age 14, was found strolling through the narrow alleyways in her town, pining away on her violin. Daniel, 12 years old, articulated that he feels a connection between the trumpet and himself. The amalgam of different stories demonstrates the shared dedication of these young performers.

The children involved have such a deep commitment to their music that professional conductors from throughout the world have expressed the unparalleled vision these kids have. A tear was brought to Placido Domingo’s eye while he was treated to a performance by one of the symphonies. These are not just precocious kids; they are gifted musicians, no matter what age they happen to be. In fact, if my eyes were closed, I would not have been able to guess that these musicians were anything but professional players.

The ‘Orchestra’ has traveled the world to perform in the likes of Dresden, Dusseldorf, Vienna and Berlin. They have held performances with famed guest conductors who are delighted to have a small part in enriching the children’s lives and who in fact are enriched themselves by the children.

These children who are often quite poor, from rural areas and yet they still have the ability to express themselves. Mark Churchill, Conductor of the Boston Ballet, said it best when he offered, “We think of social programming as providing food, shelter, medical care…and that is very important for people that don’t have this. But by feeding people’s souls they will find a way to feed themselves and to house themselves and find the basic necessities and at the same time will grow into people of significance and contribution.”

For three decades, musicians have been passing the musical educational baton to the next generation of performers as they themselves grow up. They continue to have music in their lives including those who have become world renowned in the classical world. I was nicely surprised to see that Alberto Arvelo, a former member of the 'Orchestra', grew up to become the director of this fascinating documentary.

The long-term goal of the ‘Orchestra’ is to be showcased in every town and every community across the country and eventually across Latin America. I only hope that the United States, as well as every nation on the planet, takes note from Venezuela. We can surely learn from their teaching that our souls need to be nourished with the passion that creative endeavors such as music offers. They exemplify in genuine form what living is truly all about.

Thank you for reading and Namaste! (The Light in me recognizes the Light in you!)