Trevor Lomba 2/17/2016
Professor Graham
CVA2032
Classical Music Education in Non-Mainstream Environments
The work of activists and organizations in low income communities often revolves offering opportunities for local youth to participate in activities, be parts of groups, and receive mentorship from individuals that their economic or geographic status wouldn’t normally allow them access to. Whether it’s a boys and girls club that gives kids a safe haven from the potentially negative influences of their surroundings, a big brother / big sister program that provides positive role models, or sports and education programs that encourage youth to develop their talents and invest in themselves, part of the goal seems to always be to give individuals tools to transcend their circumstances and contribute to mainstream society. Given the evidence presented in the chapter El Sistema L.A. from Mina Yang’s Planet Beethoven text, it is possible to assert that music education and youth performance programs have great potential to provide such tools. Additionally, as the face and representation of classical music matures in the 21st century, the art form may have a profound influence on demographics that it previously had not related to.
Many young people growing up in underserved communities – particularly boys of color – grow up with the belief that they have no place in mainstream society. Hence, they choose to pursue opportunities in their local communities that often lead to gang involvement, drug dealing, and withdrawal from societally sponsored means of development and maturation (mainly public education and participation in any formal job market). Even individuals who do receive higher education and are able to find stable employment sometimes report feelings that the cards are in some way still stacked against them, and may abandon their role in society to return to the community and underground economy where they feel more comfortable. Multiple psychological studies have shown that huge factor in all of this is, in fact, underlying feeling of worthlessness or self-doubt which become particularly prevalent when individuals are engaged in obligations where they feel they are different from their colleagues either in appearance or in background. Such a theory is unsurprising when you consider that while these young men and women are constantly surrounded by the people who look and act like them, and yet have historically been bombarded through media and national dialogue with sentiments that anything outside of the traditionally ‘white and proper’ prescription of ideal people and conduct – a stark contrast to what they see in themselves and their communities.
I believe this set of issues in particular make classical music education in low-income communities both relatively more challenging and more rewarding than certain other community programs. In my eyes, such education can yield benefits in several ways beyond what was mentioned in the introductory paragraph above. First, it may help dismantle the myth that traditionally mainstream forms of achievement are inaccessible or not intended for the poor, particularly if they are able to see individuals who come from similar backgrounds achieving success. Second, it has potential to give children whose experience may be limited in scope exposure to individuals and role models who fall outside of what they are familiar with – in appearance, conduct, or actions.
The piece touches on the idea that many forms of traditional art appear exclusionary to certain demographics – in the case of classical music, those who fall outside of the stereotypical descriptors of rich, white, and male often feel such practice is not intended for them. For the young students in California, simply being given the opportunity to practice and perform pieces they may have never considered before, or seeing perform in that way, can bring them to question other supposed limits imposed on them as well. Instead of believing that just because they look a certain way or are in a certain situation they are not fit to, say, pursue high academic achievement or enter higher education, they may reconsider the role they can play in society as they mature and have such positive influences and activities.
Of course, wanting to participate in mainstream society is only the first step – and many who have these aspirations can be discouraged due to feeling ill equipped to deal with a culture and people that appear foreign to them. Being able to introduce these students to mentors and peers who are from different backgrounds and demographics can ease such a transition and encourage students to assimilate more confidently, equipped with tools (and conduct) for success they would have never found if not for such unfamiliar influences.
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These are just a few of the benefits I see with programs like El Sistema, ones that I believe relate particularly well to my and my family’s experiences living and leaving a low-income neighborhood and helping others do the same. Mina Yang outlines clearly some the strides many the programs’ students are making – including improved school attendance and achievement, strengthened family bonds, and learning tenets of teamwork and personal accountability. Conscious efforts to ease the burdens of some of the forces that allow the American underclass to exist will undoubtedly yield somewhat mixed results, but such positive feedback is encouraging for those who see classical music education to be a vital force for good in these communities. While there will always be dissenters, budgeting roadblocks, and other issues associated with mixing cultures that are traditionally mutually exclusive, the benefit derived from breaking down such barriers will almost always allow for more fluid social mobility and a net benefit for those who are most in need. There is little question that these programs should continue to be implemented and funded for as long as possible.
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Bibliography:
Venkatesh, Sudhir Alladi. American Project: The Rise and Fall of a Modern Ghetto. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 2000. Print.
Yang, Mina. "El Sistema L.A." Planet Beethoven: Classical Music at the Turn of the Millennium. 145-65. Print.