Special thanks to Fundamusical Simón Bolívar archives for video footage of El Sistema and to Laurie Sude for additional footage of Anne Fitzgibbon.
The Harmony Program, an after-school program in New York City, is showing that music can make a big difference in children’s lives. The program provides 80 mostly low income students with free instruments and daily music lessons, but it’s not just about the music. Harmony is modeled after Venezuela’s hugely successful “El Sistema” program, which over the last 30 years has helped hundreds of thousands of the country’s neediest children learn not only how to play music, but also how to achieve success in school — and beyond. What works in Venezuela is proving equally effective in New York, where budget cuts have forced many schools to give up their music programs.
The Harmony Program is made possible through a partnership with The City University of New York.
Download transcript (PDF)
This program is made possible by the following funders:
Grade Level Reading Fund of the Tides Foundation, The Sergey Brin and Anne Wojcicki Foundation, The Wallace Foundation, and The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.
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