Teamwork is our mentality
Music is our super power
A music family is our dream
In the mid-1970s, maestro José Antonio Abreu invited a group of young Venezuelan children to make a dream come true: form a youth orchestra that would allow music students to carry out joint practices, transform musical education and create a great movement that became a decent and professional source of work. And then, El Sistema was set up in Venezuela as a social program to bring disadvantaged youth off the streets and into musical ensembles to enrich their lives and promote social mobility.
Inspired by the philosophy and innovative methodology of El Sistema, El Sistema Greece was founded in 2016 in order to offer free music classes in the Refugee Camps in Attica. Today, three years later, the program has adapted to Greece’s changing environment and our work is about bringing people together, no matter their background, language and religion.
Since the beginning of our activities, we have been working directly with pedagogues and musicians from Greece, Venezuela and all over the world. We welcome international composers, teachers and artists to work with our students and to support our teachers. The most updated techniques and practices can help us pursue our mission and to shape an innovative pedagogy.
El Sistema Greece started in Greece in August 2016 with the joint effort of Impact Hub Athens and Anis Barnat in order to strengthen the socially weaker children through music. As part of its joint collaboration, the El Sistema Greece Youth Orchestra (ESGYO) was founded in Greece in October 2017. In 2018, the parties jointly decided to continue their contribution to the above purpose through two separate structures. Anis Barnat created the non-profit entity ‘‘El Sistema Greece’’ and Impact Hub Athens created a Community Arts department that uses programs and activities inspired by the methodology, practice and approach of El Sistema. In this way, each party recognizes the valuable contribution of the other party and at the same time together they preserve the legacy they created during the two years of El Sistema’s presence in Greece.
