NEC’s mission states:
New England Conservatory educates and trains musicians of all ages from around the world, drawing on the talent and deep reservoir of experience of our distinguished faculty. We are dedicated to inculcating the highest standards of excellence and nurturing individual artistic sensibility and creative growth. Understanding that music is one of the transcendent expressions of human civilization, NEC aspires to ensure it a central place in contemporary society.
New England Conservatory is ideally situated to host the Abreu Fellows Program and well poised to launch El Sistema initiatives:
• NEC Dean and Artistic Director of Preparatory and Continuing Education and El Sistema USA Director, Mark Churchill, has developed deep friendships with El Sistema leaders, teachers and students through work on shared projects and numerous visits to Venezuela, and he has acted as a major spokesperson in the U.S. for El Sistema’s vision of excellence in music as a powerful agent of social change.
• NEC leaders recognized the significance of the work of the Fundacion del Estado para El Sistema Nacional de las Orquestras Juveniles e Infantiles (FESNOJIV or “El Sistema”) almost 10 years ago by inviting FESNOJIV to be an institutional partner in founding the Youth Orchestra of the Americas. Since then, numerous educational exchanges, residencies and visits have taken place between NEC and FESNOJIV students, faculty and leadership.
• A “Friendship Agreement” between NEC and FESNOJIV was signed in 2005 and reaffirmed in 2008. The agreement recognizes shared values and musical vision and lists a number of ways that NEC and FESNOJIV will work together.
• NEC awarded the first and only U.S. honorary doctorate to José Antonio Abreu in June 2002.
