"Upon our arrival, it was a new world, a different approach for bringing music and culture to people." "Practically nobody knows what's happening here in Venezuela, and it's something I believe should be copied worldwide." "[Venezuelan National Anthem]" "Glory to the brave people which shook off the yoke the Law respecting virtue and honor." "Glory to the brave people which shook off the yoke the Law respecting virtue and honor." "Those who create beauty and harmony by playing music, will discover within themselves the natural harmony of humanity." "Don't forget, youngsters, the importance of tomorrow's concert, which will feature all the nation's youth orchestras." "Only music can have this effect on the human being, this revelation which transforms, refines, and develops the spirit." "It's my first time in this theatre, and I didn't expect a divine experience." "Honestly, I've never felt such emotion before." "It's not just the effort I'm seeing, it's also the quality." "From the musical perspective, from the humantarian, social, cultural, and political..." "it's exceptional." "I never thought the culture would be so advanced." "It's fantastic." "They told me that the slogan "Play and Fight"" "is because when Maestro Abreu started this system he didn't expect it would be anything successful." "Somebody said to him that we must fight to achieve our dreams." "He was told not to forget to fight, as well as play." "What is an orchestra?" "It's the only community" "with the unique, essential characteristic of having the central objective of harmonization." "So, those who play as part of an orchestra form part of a harmony, which is teamwork." "This team recognizes itself as being interdependent, where each is responsible for the group, and the group to all." "Harmony for what purpose?" "To generate beauty." "Projects lacking results have no reason to exist." "The youth orchestra program has achieved results." "I see the results." "I've lived it." "I'm a product of "The System"." "Since I was four years old I've been studying music." "This family has taught me more than just music." "It's taught me about life, and how to face challenges." "This is the success of "The System"." "I imagine that God must be something like music." "Something so beautiful can only be the work of God." "In Venezuela today, schools share a common method." "This violin school is the first of its kind in Latin America." "And to be able to play in orchestras is a big inspiration." "One of the memories I treasure most was a night when I could see only 11 students in the theatre," "and there were seats for 25 musicians." "I said to myself, maybe this means the program has failed." "In this moment of pessimism, a boy appeared carrying a violin." "He sat down, as if there was no problem at all." "And that was all the encouragement I needed." "This youth project has the potential to change the fabric of society, whether in Venezuela, Colombia, Peru or Mexico." "It's fabulous in itself, and also in its ability to be replicated." "The core of "The System" are the study centers." "These nuclei exist in all the country's states." "We have about 90 in total." "Each has on average two or three orchestras, which are the pre-school, infant and youth orchestras." ""The System" is spreading throughout the continent." "Currently in Venezuela, across the entire network, we have approximately 240,000 children inscribed." "It's a pure expression of Venezuelan beauty and mostly importantly, blind to human differences," "but with a national identity which makes the movement, and even the sound of the orchestra, quite unique." ""If anyone were to ask me where to find something important for the future of music, I would simply say: here in Venezuela." "You have all seen this project develop for some 30 years, but for an outsider like myself, it's such a powerful emotion" "that sometimes we need a moment to take it all in." "In Venezuela, I have witnessed the future of music; a resurrection." "[Llanera folk music from the lowland plains]" "The first thing I would do is put this program in every institution." "This would enable children to experience music and learn what music is, all in an entertaining way." "There must also be discipline." "It's not all fun and games." "These are techniques which should become second nature." "Art is about a sense of perfection and excellence." "Or, perhaps better said:" "a path to excellence." "What does the orchestra cultivate in the students?" "A sense of harmony, order, which is required for rhythm, a sense of aesthetics, of universal beauty," "the invisible language transmitted by music." "I feel like I've discovered another world in which I laugh, cry, learn from the professors." "I steal their ideas, their techniques." "This life revolves around the instrument and the school." "In this environment you forget about bad influences." "I used to play the cornet, which they gave me because I'm small." "Later I went to a trumpet seminar, and met a musician from the Philharmonica Berlin who listened to me play." "He was impressed and gifted me this trumpet." "Music must be recognized as a social cohesive, as a powerful force for social development, because it promotes the highest social values:" "Solidarity, harmony, and mutual compassion." "The ability to unite people and express sublime feelings." "What I've witnessed has been incredible, a moving experience." "I can't understand why this has never been tried before." "I'm the eldest and sleep here." "My little brother sleeps down here." "What I like about my bed is that it's right next to my cello." "I'll show you my cello." "I can't sleep if it's not here." "My mama says it should go over there, but I wouldn't sleep." "It has to be right here next to me." "Let me get this out and play something for you." "Imagine if this model could be extended to other countries shared by Venezuela with the entire continent." "We would be profoundly transforming our social history." "It's artistic culture, literature, higher philosophical thinking," "and spirituality of religion or through art, in synthesis, that can truly convert a crowd into a community." "As such, our undertaking is of colossal proportions." "This project goes far beyond public performances." "Orchestra doesn't just transform those who hear it." "Before doing that, it has already transformed itself." "Art was always the reserve of an elite minority." "We're beginning a new era in which art is created by a majority." "Where art is a reserve of the majority, and enjoyed by all." "When I play, it feels like God has a connection with the trumpet." "Supposedly how you feel will affect how the trumpet sounds." "If you're upset, the trumpet will play badly, as if it's upset too." "If you play a piece from your heart, it'll bring the music alive." "I chose the trumpet because of its sound, the feel of it." "This is my son Danny playing and singing at five years old." "The general purpose of the special education program is the incorporation of special needs children, such as those with sight or hearing impairments, cognitive or motor deficiency, learning disabilty, autism, and integrate them into society through music." "It used to be inconceivable that a deaf musician could cope in this program, playing in an orchestra." "We've now superceded that paradigm of thinking." "What can we say about Edison?" "He's the pride of" "La Candelaria, we're honored by this very talented youngster." "He's a real star of art and music." "He's a Venezuelan genius." "Words can't describe him." "Makes your hair stand on end." "Look at how far he's made it." "I came to see him today, proud that he's Venezuelan, playing in such an important orchestra." "When I joined the orchestra, it was such a wonderful family," "I felt its warmth and enthusiasm." "Through music I acquired a gift that everybody can enjoy." "The orchestra today, in the world today, is a unique way of touching one's soul and transforms the entire individual." "Transforming people's futures is really possible with music." "That's what orchestra means:" "Salvation and transformation." "So I would sit here, playing the opening, then the sound of the group would flood the room." "This is the environment where I began playing." "Our first official meeting was here in La Candelaria" "Before the recital began, a stranger appeared and said, "This orchestra will be known worldwide."" ""You are the pioneers of an important movement,"" ""and your responsibility is to share your knowledge"" ""with Venezuelan children throughout the country."" "It's like a Garden of Dreams, which multiply and spread." "We've all dreamt of doing great things for music." "We are now united for this wonderful dream which Jose Abreu maybe was the first to dream." "These individual dreams have converged into one project." "A country dotted with orchestras." "Above all, it has planted in each of us the conviction that it can be done." ""Play and Fight" is a slogan" "which has been ingrained in our souls." "Love and conviction are unstoppable forces." "Heidegger said that life is like swimming in the sea and trying not to drown, grasping at the future," "so the immediate present is a future already past." "Our spirit was established since the first meeting." "and went on to multiply and become a way of life, which was necessary to interpret and express the nature of Venezuela's musical program." "Our lifetime experiences, and those of the orchestras today, resound in the souls of audiences from the first note." "These people have dedicated their lives to this mission." "They've had faith in themselves." "Humility before music." "This must be taught." "This first generation must pass it on to the next." "If we have learnt well, and can teach others," "I would say..." "the sky's the limit." "Rhythm isn't a musical phenomenon." "It's spiritual." "Rhythm is the internal pulse of the soul." "Music refines this pulse and expresses it in harmony." "Transmitted subtly and invisibly without words, to other human beings." "It is the art of unifying the will, soul and spirit to generate a message and profound values," "optimal values which deeply transform spirits." "What do people feel?" "A revelation." "God reveals something which is indescribable, and cannot be examined by rationality, only intuition." "A youngster who is challenged by music and the orchestra begins a psychological transformation." "We must be moved by the art which brings us together through music, plastic arts, literature, cinema, and recognize ourselves in our essences, our identity." "Through art, we can find the true revelation of our being." "Thus art reveals authentic beings through beauty, good, and truth." "Time is relative." "Why is this?" "Stravinsky said that time is in space." "A musician takes music from the moment which he is living." "It's not like I just turn up and say, one, two, three, four." "It's something undefinable." "That's the secret, the magic of music." "This is what music's about." "If I don't make the effort..." "Welcome to this special concert." "Over 250,000 youth have gathered here for this celebration of present and future." "I envision a Venezuela in which no town, no matter how small, has its very own choir and orchestra." "Such a culture is an ejemplary vanguard, a timeless, eternal culture."