A phenomenological investigation of access and participation: Music education in El Sistema, Venezuela's system of youth orchestras

This study examined the phenomenon of access and participation within the context of the Venezuelan System of Youth Orchestras (El Sistema). The study explored access and participation through the lived experience of El Sistema musicians participating in the program during the 2009 and 2011 seasons, a period of rapid national and international growth of the organization following increased attention from western elites who, heralded El Sistema as a movement that could define the future of classical music. In this hermeneutic phenomenological study (van Manen, 2016), I sought to understand and describe access and participation as a phenomenon derived from Giddens’ sociological theory of structuration. The study examined the relationship between participants’ lived experience of participation and construction of conditions for access in congruence with Giddens’ notion of the duality of structure and agency. The findings suggested that formative orchestral experiences organized around principles of social change as a common purpose inspired musicians toward a jubilant form of artistic expression rooted in hope and expressed as necessary for a better future. Venezuela’s chaotic social and political context served as a catalyst for charismatic leadership, for the creative allocation of limited resources, and for the day-to-day actions of communities, parents, staff, educators, and students to work in concert toward creating a competitive, yet familial environment. Such action, appeared to have enable young musicians to persist, take pride in their accomplishments and ownership of their success. Over time, there emerged a repetitive yet changing cycle which both reproduced and reconstituted what many observed to be an inclusive musical environment.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ed.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Music Education

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2022

Author dc:creator

• Kellum, Brian W.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Fairbanks, Stephen
• Kruse, Adam
• Gallo, Donna
• Nichols, Jeananne

• Music

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2021 Brian W. Kellum

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/115313

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F115313