CALI, Colombia (Billboard) - On the roofless patio of a tiny house in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Cali, Colombia, a small miracle takes place every afternoon between 2 p.m. and 5:40 p.m.
More than 100 children, ages 6-17, come to study music at a small conservatory named Proyecto Desepaz after the housing project of tiny brick homes. The children come from some of Cali's humblest families, who have rarely, if ever, set foot in a theater or heard of Bach or Beethoven.
Since Desepaz's inception four years ago, music has changed their lives.
And they're not alone. Cali, Colombia's second-largest city with a population of nearly 2 million, boasts at least three similar programs that offer free music education to children in disadvantaged neighborhoods. The programs take many cues from Venezuela's internationally known system of orchestras, which has 180 youth symphony orchestras that serve 350,000 children.
In Colombia, the government oversees the Batuta (Baton) Foundation, which runs more than 200 music schools in every state. And there are programs like Desepaz, which are highly ambitious and funded entirely by private enterprise.
'Music transforms their lives completely,' says Amparo de Carvajal, founder of Desepaz and president of the nonprofit arts organization Proartes, which funds the program.
'Music is a nonreplaceable tool for children's education, as indispensable as math or languages,' she says. 'I assure you none of these children will grow up to be gang members or guerrillas.'
De Carvajal, a patron of the arts and former Colombian minister of culture, had long toyed with the idea of a community music school with high standards. The notion crystallized when four Venezuelan musicians, the product of Venezuela's music system, were recruited for the local symphony orchestra, Sinfonica del Valle, which Proartes runs.
With their help and that of orchestra conductor Paul Dury, de Carvajal created a curriculum that requires children to go to class every day. Children must audition to enter the program, and, after learning the basics of music during their first year, get to choose an instrument or vocal education. Each child owns his or her instrument, donated by private individuals.
'This isn't some little workshop,' says de Carvajal, who spends nearly $150,000 a year to run the Desepaz. 'From the moment these children enter the program, they're preparing not only for a musical career but to be excellent human beings who can give back to their families and their community.'
On a recent afternoon, the Desepaz string orchestra played Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 while the choir performed popular songs in four-part harmony. Earlier this year, the children played a concert at the city's cultural showplace, Teatro Municipal, that featured classical and popular repertoire, a mixture that Desepaz's instructors feel makes the music more accessible to a broader audience. The grand finale was Handel's 'Messiah,' which the chorus and string orchestra performed along with the Valle Symphony under Drury's direction.
Four years after its foundation, Desepaz is readying to graduate its first batch of students, all of whom are planning to study music in college.
Hernan Alvarez, a 15-year-old cellist who will graduate in two years, says he gave up soccer for cello when he started going to Desepaz.
'In the beginning my father wasn't too happy about it, but then, he went to the first concert and now the entire family—my grandmother, my aunts—they all support me,' he says.
Ten-year-old choir member Stephany Ospina wants to be a professional singer. She notes that she has an advantage over Alvarez, who can only take his instrument home during the weekends.
'I wear my instrument with me, every day,' she says.
More than 100 children, ages 6-17, come to study music at a small conservatory named Proyecto Desepaz after the housing project of tiny brick homes. The children come from some of Cali's humblest families, who have rarely, if ever, set foot in a theater or heard of Bach or Beethoven.
Since Desepaz's inception four years ago, music has changed their lives.
And they're not alone. Cali, Colombia's second-largest city with a population of nearly 2 million, boasts at least three similar programs that offer free music education to children in disadvantaged neighborhoods. The programs take many cues from Venezuela's internationally known system of orchestras, which has 180 youth symphony orchestras that serve 350,000 children.
In Colombia, the government oversees the Batuta (Baton) Foundation, which runs more than 200 music schools in every state. And there are programs like Desepaz, which are highly ambitious and funded entirely by private enterprise.
'Music transforms their lives completely,' says Amparo de Carvajal, founder of Desepaz and president of the nonprofit arts organization Proartes, which funds the program.
'Music is a nonreplaceable tool for children's education, as indispensable as math or languages,' she says. 'I assure you none of these children will grow up to be gang members or guerrillas.'
De Carvajal, a patron of the arts and former Colombian minister of culture, had long toyed with the idea of a community music school with high standards. The notion crystallized when four Venezuelan musicians, the product of Venezuela's music system, were recruited for the local symphony orchestra, Sinfonica del Valle, which Proartes runs.
With their help and that of orchestra conductor Paul Dury, de Carvajal created a curriculum that requires children to go to class every day. Children must audition to enter the program, and, after learning the basics of music during their first year, get to choose an instrument or vocal education. Each child owns his or her instrument, donated by private individuals.
'This isn't some little workshop,' says de Carvajal, who spends nearly $150,000 a year to run the Desepaz. 'From the moment these children enter the program, they're preparing not only for a musical career but to be excellent human beings who can give back to their families and their community.'
On a recent afternoon, the Desepaz string orchestra played Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 while the choir performed popular songs in four-part harmony. Earlier this year, the children played a concert at the city's cultural showplace, Teatro Municipal, that featured classical and popular repertoire, a mixture that Desepaz's instructors feel makes the music more accessible to a broader audience. The grand finale was Handel's 'Messiah,' which the chorus and string orchestra performed along with the Valle Symphony under Drury's direction.
Four years after its foundation, Desepaz is readying to graduate its first batch of students, all of whom are planning to study music in college.
Hernan Alvarez, a 15-year-old cellist who will graduate in two years, says he gave up soccer for cello when he started going to Desepaz.
'In the beginning my father wasn't too happy about it, but then, he went to the first concert and now the entire family—my grandmother, my aunts—they all support me,' he says.
Ten-year-old choir member Stephany Ospina wants to be a professional singer. She notes that she has an advantage over Alvarez, who can only take his instrument home during the weekends.
'I wear my instrument with me, every day,' she says.
