Exciting New Music Ed Degree

How exciting to hear that the Los Angeles Philharmonic will be partnering with Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, NY and the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, MA to offer a one-year Master of Arts in Teaching degree. The training will offer a music ed program geared toward underserved communities.

Based on the El Sistema social/music movement in Venezuela that fostered charismatic LA Phil director Gustavo Dudamel’s musical roots, the new program will be called “Take a Stand.” Students will work with the LA Phil’s Youth Orchestra Los Angeles as well as at a charter school in Delano, CA. Curriculum is being developed by Bard and Longy.

In Venezuela, El Sistema is designed to serve children as young as two years and on up into their teens. According to El Sistema USA, a network dedicated to bringing the powerful music education process to the US and other areas, El Sistema provides “a daily haven of safety, joy and fun that builds every child’s self-esteem and sense of value.” Preparation for performance in youth orchestras, singing in choirs to build community, and learning how to put the time into Intensive practice have served well 400,000 young Venezuelan participants, especially those from crowded, urban barrios.