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Spirit Of

EPISODE 7

THE SPIRIT OF MUSIC

In November, CNN’s Becky Anderson takes a look at the transforming power of music.

Becky pays a visit to Venezuela to look at El Sistema – the classical musical program for children which has been credited with transforming the social fabric of the country. 

There are 250,000 children studying music under its auspices across Venezuela, from the most remote rural villages to the poorest barrios of Caracas. We talk to its founder, the composer/statesman José Antonio Abreu who claims that it heralds a "new era in which great art is created by the majority, for the majority".

In a politically turbulent country, it has provided a rare point of consensus, attracting support from a succession of governments including, most recently, that of the socialist president Hugo Chávez, who has financed a state-of-the-art concert hall and rehearsal space in Caracas. 

The most successful product of the system is the young conductor Gustavo Dudamel – at the age of 26 he is said to be one of the finest in the world. We talk to him prior to a performance in Leipzig.

Additionally the program will feature an interview with the legendary African musician Hugh Masekela whose music helped in South Africa’s struggle against apartheid.