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El Sistema

According to the Oxford dictionary, the word community can be defined as “a
group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common”
I have been studying music since I was 6 years old at El Sistema, Venezuela. The
rehearsals and lessons took most of my days after school on an almost daily basis,
which is why I had the pleasure of growing up inside of a beautiful community
conformed by not only student musicians but also teachers, staff and parents.

The community at El Sistema was conformed by people from all kinds of
backgrounds. Some came from the lower social and economic classes, others came
from the middle class, and some others came from the upper classes. Although the
different backgrounds and “classes”, what impressed me the most from an early age
was that there was never ever room for any contempt, like I would see at school, for
example. The camaraderie among us, showed me from a young age, demonstrated me
that this community had a core, powerful value that united us, a value that transcended
any political, national, and socioeconomic barriers, and it was the passion for our art.

Around the years 2017 and 2018, many teachers began leaving the country to
seek a better future for themselves due to the increasingly difficult situation that started
emerging in the country. Due to the lack of teachers, many of the most advanced
musicians from the most advanced orchestras decided to step up and serve as teachers
to those younger students who were in need of an educator to continuing advancing on
their musical journeys, and even though these students were no receiving any monetary
benefits from this gesture, it did not matter to them, and they still put in the effort.

I learned all of my musical fundamentals at El Sistema, but I also learned some
of my most important core values for life tied to community such as solidarity and
camaraderie. Therefore, even though I am not physically part of El Sistema anymore, I
still carry those values with me everywhere I go. Said values had even led me to stand
out among the ensembles I have been a part of during my musical career in the United
States, offering me leadership positions both in the musical and academics areas.