Why El Sistema Is More Than A Music Program

Julian Lloyd Webber: “Using the safe haven of the symphony orchestra, 300,000 Venezuelan children are involved in the scheme at any one time, and many claim it has saved them from a life of delinquency and crime. … There are currently 208 local centres or ‘nuclei’ and another 40 are expected next year … [the nuclei often have] waiting lists of more than 1,000 children clamouring to join.”

Soprano Mary Curtis-Verna, 88, Queen Of The Last-Minute Substitutes

“Known to opera aficionados for her large, flexible voice and astute musicianship, Ms. Curtis-Verna was associated with the Met from 1956 to 1966. Appearing in nearly 100 performances, she was cast regularly in leading roles, including Tosca and Aida.” In 1958, Time magazine called her “the Metropolitan’s most highly publicized relief aria-pitcher.”