At The Awards: Maestro José Antonio Abreu
José Antonio Abreu has been hailed as a visionary, not only in his native Venezuela but throughout the world, as architect of the extraordinary music-education program called El Sistema. He is quick to point out that “Venezuela’s musical miracle” is not a musical project, but a social action project. Some of his students, 80 percent of whom have come from low-income backgrounds, have gone on to be performers and music teachers, but many are politicians, diplomats, academics, teachers, doctors, lawyers, civil servants, and community leaders—in short, pillars of society. El Sistema represents education in the widest possible sense, and Abreu, at 74, is still lit from within by the fire of its possibility.
Read Clemency Burton-Hill’s tribute to Maestro José Antonio Abreu
Musical America’s Edna Landau, left,
interviews José Antonio Abreu, 2013 Educator of the Year.
2013 Educator of the Year José Antonio Abreu
accepts his award
2013 Musician of the Year Gustavo Dudamel, 2013 Educator of the Year José Antonio Abreu
Features Editor Sedgwick Clark presents 2013 Educator of the Year José Antonio Abreu with his award
2013 Educator of the Year José Antonio Abreu with Features Editor Sedgwick Clark
