The Telegraph has an interview with Dudamel:Dudamel came up through El Sistema, the visionary initiative of José Antonio Abreu that harnesses classical music as a way of giving hope, purpose and a future to Venezuela's youngsters. It has had the additional effect of making music an essential part of life there.
"Classical music in Venezuela is now something like a pop concert," Dudamel says. "You can see people screaming or crying because they don't have a ticket. Recently, I went to a disco with friends, and all the young people were saying, 'Dudamel, we want to go to your concert, but it's impossible because it's sold out.' It's really amazing."
This weekend emphasized the trend we have been seeing. More and more of our students are choosing to study the orchestral strings. Why? I suspect because they CAN.
And Psychology Today has an article on China's 'little emperors'. I think many American children are suffering from the same problem.
China may be the world's next great superpower, but it's facing a looming crisis as millions of overpressurized, hypereducated only children come of age in a nation that can't fulfill their expectations.
This culture of pressure and frustration has sparked a mental-health crisis for young Chinese. Many simmer in depression or unemployment, unwilling to take jobs they consider beneath them. Millions, afraid to face the real world, escape into video games, which the government considers a national epidemic...
..."In this generation, every child is raised to be at the top," says Vanessa Fong, a Harvard education professor and author of Only Hope: Coming of Age under China's One-Child Policy. "They've worked hard for it, and it's what their parents have focused their lives on. But the problem is that the country can't provide the lifestyle they feel they deserve. Only a few will get it."
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