Sistema Scotland: a critical inquiry into the 
implementation of the El Sistema model in Raploch

Borchert, Gustavo (2012) Sistema Scotland: a critical inquiry into the 
implementation of the El Sistema model in Raploch. MMus(R) thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

In the mid-1970s a group of young Venezuelan musicians, led by the economist, politician and musician José Antonio Abreu, started a youth symphony orchestra that became the social initiative broadly known nowadays as El Sistema. By offering free classical music education to deprived communities, the initiative aimed at rescuing millions of Venezuelans from poverty. Since then, El Sistema has not only grown into a solid institution in its home country but has continued to expand to other parts of the globe.

In 2008, the Venezuelan program was launched in Raploch, a community in Central Scotland with a long history of deprivation. Named Big Noise and under the supervision of the charity Sistema Scotland, the initiative seeks to positively change the life of the residents of Raploch.

This work offers a critique of the El Sistema movement and its implementation in the community of Raploch by analyzing contemporary subjectivities emerged from the current cultural dynamic in the institutional discourse of both initiatives.

• Item Type: Thesis (MMus(R))
• Qualification Level: Masters
• Keywords: El Sistema, Sistema Scotland, social inclusion, discipline, symphony orchestra
• Subjects: M Music and Books on Music > M Music; M Music and Books on Music > MT Musical instruction and study
• Colleges/Schools: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Culture and Creative Arts > Music
• Supervisor's Name: Heile, Dr. Björn and Butt, Prof. John
• Date of Award: 2012
• Depositing User: Mr. Gustavo Borchert
• Unique ID: glathesis:2012-4044
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 12 Mar 2013 10:25
• Last Modified: 12 Mar 2013 10:25
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/4044