Wayman Chin, pianist and dean of the Longy School of Music of Bard College, will share Longy’s vision on making social change through music, along with his school’s experience with El Sistema, a music education program in Venezuela, on Monday, November 25, at 7 p.m. in Goucher College’s Merrick Lecture Hall.
Chin will also conduct two master classes with students from the Goucher Chamber Music Seminar on Sunday, November 24, at 7:30 p.m. and following his Monday evening presentation.
All events are free of charge and will be held in Merrick Lecture Hall. For more information, contact Hsiu-Hui Wang, director of the Goucher Chamber Music Seminar, at hwang@goucher.edu or 410-337-6276.
Chin, who has taught for decades and performed extensively overseas, will also speak of the Longy School of Music’s preparation of musicians as agents of social change with El Sistema-inspired programs in Boston.
El Sistema is the common name for the National System of Youth and Children’s Orchestras of Venezuela. Founded in 1975, El Sistema is a free youth orchestra program that demonstrates the power of ensemble music to change lives and transform communities. Since El Sistema’s founding, 2 million kids, the majority of whom live below the poverty line, have gone through the program. There are more than 500,000 kids playing in some 200 youth orchestras all over the country. El Sistema is a growing movement in music education that has begun to spread rapidly in the United States.
This event is sponsored by the Goucher Music Department.