Musical Inspiration – Natali Del Conte

Musical Inspiration

When I was in journalism school, it was considered very bad form to miss 60 Minutes. Because of this, I have long-since considered the program to be the standard that all reporting should strive to emulate. With very few exceptions, I have not missed an episode of 60 Minutes in nearly ten years.

I always learn something about the world when I watch 60 Minutes. Often times I find myself feeling angry, helpless, desperate, or fascinated by a 60 Minutes piece. Tonight, one segment in particular left me feeling inspired. The piece I am referring to is about a youth outreach program in Venezuela called El Sistema. It teaches poor children how to play classical music. WordPress won’t let me embed the CBS video player but you can watch the piece here.

This segment was aired last weekend but my DVR recorded the final hour of the Masters tournament instead. I had to seek this out on the 60 Minutes Web site and I’m really glad I did. I had heard of El Sistema from a previous 60 Minutes segment about the conductor, Gustavo Dudamel. I am thankful that the show’s producers decided to profile the youth program separately because it is really touching. I hope you find 12 minutes in your night/day to watch this. It is not often that we get a chance to see tangible ways to make the world a better place. Tocar y luchar.

This entry was written by Natali, posted on April 21, 2008 at 1:28 am, filed under Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post. Post a comment or leave a trackback: Trackback URL.
  • Dennis
    Hey Natali,

    I know this is a little late, but I've been busy and haven't checked in on your blog...lookin at this story, I am curious where the last spanish saying you ended with came from?

    To touch and to fight? Is that correct?
  • ergosum
    Love your show you tell the news in very ef.way btw you have very sweet and pr. pure gracial mediterenian face except for the eyes which sre ameriindian check biodiversityforum.com gooc luck
  • Gavacho
    This is wahat news is supposed to be about: what are people doing to improve or at least sustain civilization? This man reached down to the bottom of his world and lifted it up. He has, at the very least, bettered these kids lives and in more than one case saved their physical existence while teaching them how to be civilized. We could emulate such a man in his great work. And all who assist him.
  • Trivikram
    That’s amazing. These kids proved that music has no cultural barriers and that it transcends poverty, and hatred. Outside world is the product of our inner world and music has the power to create a better inner world within us. The video segment reminded me of Mahatma Gandhi’s quote..."Be the change you want to see in the world". These kids are becoming that 'change'. Eyes usually reveal the truth. That segment captured the enthusiasm, hope & diligence in the eyes of those kids. Truly fascinating.
  • Sam R
    Thanks for sharing Natali. That was a really good piece. Classical music is a very powerful thing. THat is awesome that it is getting used to impact those kids lives in a powerful and positive way.
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