El Sistema Greece & Joyce DiDonato
music education for young refugees in greece with the renowned mezzo soprano
As an Ambassador for the NGO El Sistema Greece, the multi-Grammy and Olivier Award winning mezzo soprano Joyce DiDonato has traveled to Greece on a number of occasions to assist in providing free music education to children detained in the refugee camps there.
In the summer of 2018, I accompanied Joyce on a trip to Athens where she joined El Sistema’s efforts at the Skaramagas Refugee Camp, one of the largest such camps on mainland Greece. I was honored to have the opportunity to document how El Sistema’s devoted educators and leadership (many in their 20’s and 30’s) collaborate with Ambassadors like Joyce, with the goal of focusing the children’s energies on acquiring new skill sets, and building self esteem via the journey of making music.
The workshops taught by Joyce and the El Sistema instructors culminated in a concert free to the public, in which these young singers performed. This evening of music was part of DiDonato’s “War and Peace: Harmony Through Music” tour, and was held at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, designed by the famed architect Renzo Piano. The audience responded to their efforts with resounding applause, heartfelt tears, a standing ovation, and a large bouquet of flowers for Joyce. One quick beat after the colorful collection of blooms landed in her arms, Joyce turned to the kids, who were already brimming with pride, and began sharing her roses with the them, who in turn, presented these delicate blooms like precious gifts to one another, until each young singer held a flower of their own.
Via my interview with Joyce about her work with El Sistema:
“They are on the ground giving daily music lessons to these kids in the camp and it's a camp where Pakistanis are with Iraqi, Syrian, Congolese, Palestinian, Afghani, Venezuelan refugees…all centered in this camp.
They bring these children that are from countries that are at war with each other and they stand side by side and make music, and in the audience are their parents sitting side by side with each other, which would have been unthinkable in their home countries. They're all learning and growing and performing and experiencing things that unite them in an incredible way.
The genius of El Sistema Greece is that they also incorporate Greek children and they're mixing them all, so they become members of a chorus of El Sistema Greece. Through the centuries, the arts have proven to be a link and a uniting force rather than one that builds bridges and tears people apart. We sing with them. We dance with them. I listen to them. I perform for them and we connect. They get the chance to be with an opera singer, but when I leave, they still have a music lesson the next day because of the tireless work that this organization does. The difference between when I first went there and when I came back this year a year later, it's an extraordinary growth that has happened. So it's something I want the world to know about because it's a real example of how to heal a culture and a society and how to start building with the new normal, with the new reality.
The whole El Sistema Greece method is to bring in the next child, and the children who have been in the classroom for two weeks become the teacher to that new child. So there's a real mentoring that happens within the group and so the joy is letting that dynamic work, letting the ones who’ve had a bit more experience to bring along the other ones, and then challenging those leaders to go to the next level.
I'll tell you the thing that blows me away in that setting is you have children with stories, life stories, whether they're three, six, nine, 14-years old. Their life story has been trauma and violence and fear and separation. The only thing they have is what is left of their family…if they're lucky. In this particular case in Greece, some kind of modest shelter. There's not an organized school set-up in many of these camps. There's some volunteers but those are fading away. This music program is something that is steady, consistent, clear and life-giving. You meet these children and the life force that pulses through them is so humbling to be around. They are open. They physically hug you. There's a joy in their face when they see you, when they sing. There's a sadness. There's a vulnerability. Some are closed down and clearly need more help, but for many, this is a chance for them to open up.
it has given me unbelievable ammunition to go out into the world, and when people say, "Yeah, but opera is so old-fashioned. It's not relevant," I look them square in the eye and say, "You have no idea what you're talking about." Because I've seen the emotional connection and reaction from people who have never heard an operatic note in their lives, respond to it viscerally and physically and be moved by it, and be intrigued, and they want more of it. It also has shown me how vital this kind of work is and I love being vocal about it because I would love to see more and more singers also get involved and contribute in this kind of a way.”
To learn more about Joyce DiDonato, visit: www.JoyceDiDonato.com
To learn more about El Sistema Greece, visit: www.elsistema.gr
Photos © Kimberly M. Wang | Reproduction is not permitted.
