Music for transformation

MANILA, Philippines - In 2009, Lianne Sala first watched the documentary “Tocar y Luchar (To Play and To Fight)” about El Sistema, a music education program started in Venezuela. Since then, she has dedicated her life to bringing the El Sistema program to the Philippines, through Sistemang Pilipino (SP). Even quitting her job to focus on the program, the president and CEO of Sistemang Pilipino remains steadfast in her belief – “Work done with love cannot be stopped.”

Venezuela’s Fundacion del Estado para el Sistema Nacional de las Orquestas Juveniles e Infantiles de Venezuela (recently changed to Fundacion Musical Simon Bolivar) is better known around the world by its nickname, El Sistema.

The program was founded by Jose Antonio Abreu in 1975 as a music education program. It now oversees 31 symphony orchestras with some 370,000 children participating around Venezuela. Almost 90 percent of their students come from underprivileged families. 

Among the products of the program are bassist Edicson Ruiz and acclaimed conductor Gustavo Dudamel. El Sistema also nurtures the young musicians of the world-renowned Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra.

With the success of El Sistema becoming well-known throughout the world over the past years, many countries took notice of the program and the Sistema Global was formed, composed of El Sistema-inspired initiatives around the world.

Years after seeing the documentary, on the other side of the world, Lianne started Sistemang Pilipino, based in her hometown, Cebu City.

“The two bottomlines of El Sistema are social transformation and musical excellence. These are our guiding lights,” she says.

“As we work to provide under-served children and youth with the best possible programs in music education and values formation, we hope that they develop a love for life that inspires them to excel in their chosen fields, and to be of service to the country.”

Officially founded in 2013, Sistemang Pilipino is now starting to branch out. With its roots established, Lianne, together with faculty members of the program, are determined to get more support for the program nationwide.

While El Sistema is significantly funded by the Venezuelan government, SP is mostly funded by the private sector, Lianne explains.

“Our greatest challenge is finding ways of funding our program sustainably and gaining stronger support from the local community,” says Lianne. “We hope to foster a spirit of openness, generosity, and collaboration.”

Sistemang Pilipino envisions producing a nation of servant leaders uniting the world through music. They plan inspire transformation within families and communities in the Philippines by providing children and youth with world-class music education and performances.

After only a year, Sistemang Pilipino is well on its way to achieving its goals. Lianne recalls the story of Angelica Fernandez, a young resident of the SOS orphanage who was one of the first students to take part in the program. At first, Angelica was a violent and angry child. After attending her first summer program and learning the violin, everyone around her noticed a marked improvement in her behavior.

Angelica herself says she feels very blessed to have become part of the program.

Sistemang Pilipino endeavors to produce excellent musicians from its program. To do this, the plan is long term – ideally 15 years of music training for the kids, from age 3 to 18. It may seem like a long way to go, but seeing the children improve little by little is motivation enough for the determined SP team.

“When you see them develop, it makes a world of difference,” says bassist and program development director Jiovanni Tabada. Oyo Rodriguez, SP’s community development director, who has worked for various social causes, agrees that their fulfillment comes from witnessing the transformation of children both musically and spiritually.

“This is what the country needs,” he says. “This is what every social center should do – create a new culture, develop it, and make it beautiful.”

Violinist Regina Buenaventura adds, “The kids have just started their lessons, so they have a long way to go insofar as being fantastic instrumentalists. I hope that SP continues to prioritize not only an excellent music education, but also the kids’ happiness... I also hope that the kids can truly find SP to be a place where they can find a sense of belonging, individuality, and self-confidence.”

Lianne, for her part, hopes “that SP becomes a center for music teacher training in Asia, reaching children and youth within and beyond the country, in a spirit of unity and joy.”

To learn more about Sistemang Pilipino, visit www.sistemangpilipino.org.