A Model for Community Participation in the Performing Arts: Social Action Through Music and the Internationalization of the Venezuela Orchestra System

This essay examines the notion of "Social Action Through Music" as a model for participation in the performing arts. It focuses on the Venezuelan Orchestra System, which started in 1975 and has developed an international model for social action through music. The essay aims to identify the fundamental principles that have made this system survive political and economic changes in Venezuela, and the challenges that the orchestra system has to face in order to be replicated in other countries. It also examines the role of leadership in the Venezuela orchestra system and the influence of international organisms funding arts and cultural projects on cultural policies of the Third World, specifically in Latin America, and how this relates to the growth of the Venezuelan system. It concludes that the fundamental principles are a cohesive mission and strong leadership for change and empowerment.