Playing for Their Lives ─ The Global El Sistema Movement for Social Change Through Music

In some of the bleakest corners of the world, an implausible movement is taking root. Following in the footsteps of Venezuela’s overwhelmingly successful El Sistema, musician activists from across the globe are founding intensive orchestra programs for children in need. They are doing this in big-city ghettos and remote farming towns, in jungles and on mountains, and on every continent except Antarctica. In an effort to discover what makes this movement successful across such radically different cultures, Tricia Tunstall and Eric Booth have traveled to programs in more than twenty-five countries. They introduce the gifted, determined, and sometimes unlikely leaders of this movement and bear witness to the passion with which the young people play—a passion that is changing the trajectory of their lives. Weaving together engaging anecdotes and thoughtful research, Tunstall and Booth offer an entirely new way to think about what energizes people and communities toward positive social change.