Please help us spread word of this monumental event by inviting community organization leaders, school administrators, teachers, community arts activists, parents, and students to speak out for music for our youth! We kindly ask that you copy and paste the text below and send along as an email … or download it as a PDF and forward to your mailing list.

Because seating is limited, we ask that you please RSVP at this website so that we may reserve seats for you and your constituency.

New England Conservatory Invites You to a Symposium
November 7, 2007 from 2-5 PM.

Are you and your community interested in finding out about what calls “The Venezuelan Music Education Miracle?”

As seen on the TV program 60 Minutes, news of the monumental success of El Sistema, Venezuela’s program of social action through music, is rapidly spreading throughout the world. Today over 250,000 Venezuelan teenagers and children, mostly from impoverished backgrounds, are being filled with an “affluence of the spirit” through the intensive study of music and participation in orchestras and ensembles.

But how did this phenomenon come about? How can we learn from it? How can we apply it in our own community?

At this Symposium free and open to the public, maestro José Antonio Abreu, the founder of El Sistema, and national and local leaders in education, culture, and community activism will challenge each other to explore the answers to these questions. Invited panelists include Boston City Council members, teachers, and musicians.

You are invited to be a part of this unique dialogue!

Bring community organization leaders, school administrators, teachers, community arts activists, parents, and students to speak out for music for our youth! Participants at the symposium will watch a short and moving documentary film about El Sistema and then participate in a public discussion on how this astonishing education model might provide young people in this country with an opportunity to experience the remarkable power of ‘social transformation through music.’ A reception will follow.

Get involved: To reserve spaces for you and your constituency, and to find a complete schedule of the Symposium, go to http://www.mieatnec.org/venezuelasymposium
or call the New England Conservatory Center for Music-in-Education at 617-585-1362.

Find out more about the miracle: To read more about the Venezuelan music education system, please see the following article published in NEC’s most recent Journal for Music-in-Education. http://journal.music-in-education.org/venezuela

Please pass the word: send news about this monumental event to your colleagues and friends by forwarding them this email, so that they can reserve a seat as well!