Tracy Bonham plays "Josephine" - Live at Hotel Cafe

Tracy Bonham (w/ Butch Norton on drums, David Sutton on bass and Peter Adams on keys) - "Josephine" - Live at Hotel Cafe - Los Angeles, CA - January 22, 2010. Recorded by Joshua J. Smelser

The Teresa Carreño Youth Orchestra (Sinfónica Juvenil Teresa Carreño) is the national high school age youth orchestra of El Sistema, Venezuela's groundbreaking, life-changing musical education program. To put this ensemble's musicianship in context, the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela is the next step for many of these young musicians. That orchestra, containing musicians from 18 to 28 years old, has toured the world with conductor Gustavo Dudamel and has made a number of recordings on Deutsche Grammophon. The Teresa Carreño Youth Orchestra is the next level below, and will succeed the Simón Bolívar.

Their conductor in this TEDTalk is Gustavo Dudamel, himself a product of the El Sistema. Dudamel conducted the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela for several years, and recently was named the Los Angeles Philharmonic's music director. He also continues to conduct other orchestras around the world.
The orchestra's namesake, Teresa Carreño, was a legendary Venezuelan pianist after whom the main theater/concert hall complex in Caracas is also named.



The gulf between the rich and the poor in Venezuela is one of the worst in the world. Jose Antonio Abreu, an economist, musician, and reformer, founded El Sistema ("the system") in 1975 to help Venezuelan kids take part in classical music. After 30 years (and 10 political administrations), El Sistema is a nationwide organization of 102 youth orchestras, 55 children's orchestras, and 270 music centers -- and close to 250,000 young musicians.

El Sistema uses music education to help kids from impoverished circumstances achieve their full potential and learn values that favor their growth. The talented musicians have become a source of national pride. Several El Sistema students have gone on to major international careers, including Gustavo Dudamel, soon to be the music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the bassist Edicson Ruiz, who at 17 became the youngest musician ever to join the Berlin Philharmonic.

There is a simple concept behind Abreu's work: for him an orchestra is first and foremost about together­ness, a place where children learn to listen to each other and to respect one another.

"Music has to be recognized as an ... agent of social development in the highest sense, because it transmits the highest values -- solidarity, harmony, mutual compassion. And it has the ability to unite an entire community and to express sublime feelings."      —José Antonio Abreu

156 Countries Sing Together

On December 7th, 2009 at 1:30pm musicians from all around the world came together and shared a song.  At that  moment musicians from 156 countries played "All You Need is Love" together.

Lend your own voice to http://StarbucksLoveProject.com  Watch streaming video from countries around the world and then join in by singing "All You Need is Love" yourself. For each video submitted, Starbucks will make a contribution to the Global Fund to help fight AIDS in Africa. You can also help increase the Starbucks contribution to the Global Fund by submitting a drawing to the Love Gallery.

The global sing-along is part of continuing efforts to help fight AIDS in Africa. In just one year in partnership with (RED)™, Starbucks has generated money equivalent to more than 7 million days of medicine to help those living with HIV in Africa. (RED), created by Bono and Bobby Shriver, is a brand designed to engage business and consumer power in the fight against AIDS in Africa. (RED) works with the world's biggest brands to make unique RED-branded products and direct up to 50% of their gross profits to the Global Fund to invest in African AIDS programs, with a focus on the health of women and children.

Playing for Change: Peace through Music

The Playing for Change band’s latest tour ended in November.  The recording of this performance took place in the Nokia Theater, Los Angeles. The song, "Felangaye", is a Titi Tsira original, and tells the story of a young woman who must overcome her fears and tell a young man that she loves him.

 Playing for Change is a project of Mark Johnson and Jonathan Walls. The idea is to film and record musicians from around the world sharing their music in the belief that we can all find peace through our music.


Mark Johnson, Jonathan Walls, Playing For Change Movie - Click here for another funny movie.