Orquestas TECHNICAL REPORT Sinfรณnicas Penitenciarias
2007-2011
BEHAVIORAL IMPACT AND ARTISTIC PERFORMANCE
TECHNICAL REPORT
2007-2011 Orquestas Sinfónicas Penitenciarias José Antonio Abreu Founding Director Eduardo Méndez Executive Director Valdemar Rodríguez Deputy Executive Director Kleiberth Lenin Mora Academic Program Prisons Joryan Hernández General Coordinator
Research Team Report Alejandrina De Santiago Application Development Instrument Data Processing Soraima Contreras César Fuentes Ruth María Nephthys Aragón Cerón Proofreading Carolina del Valle Rodríguez Graphic Design and Layout Violette Bule, Amilciar Gualdrón Archivos del Programa Académico Penitenciario Photography Spanish Translation Hercy Berrios
MOTIVATION SELF-ESTEEM RESPECT
POSITIVE EMOTIONS
BEHAVIORAL IMPACT AND ARTISTIC PERFORMANCE
RESPONSABILITY AND RESPONSABILITY
COMMUNICATION
NEGATIVE EMOTIONS BELOGING AND COMPROMISE
Orquestas Sinfรณnicas Penitenciarias
TECHNICAL REPORT
2007-2011
PRESENTATION José Antonio Abreu
The “Simón Bolívar” Foundation, governing entity in charge of the National System of Orchestras and Choirs of Venezuela, assigned to the Secretary of Presidency of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is program devoted to the social rehabilitation through music. It was founded 36 years ago by Maestro José Antonio Abreu, with the aim of systematizing the instruction and the collective practice of music through the Symphonic Orchestra and the Choir as instruments of social organization and communitarian development. Many people wonder what the key to success this program is, as it has been demonstrated with vast repercussion both inside Venezuela and abroad, when orchestral and choral practice have hundreds of years already implemented in the whole world. The reason is given by the visionary spirit Maestro Abreu has had. From his very early years he has been involved in the wonderful world of music, awakening his musical sensibility to the point of promising himself to encourage the interest in music in children and youngsters through the orchestral and choral practice. Undoubtedly, his goal was a task of enormous proportions, especially because in that moment the maestros of music were only devoted to the individual teaching of the instrument. It was in 1975 when, supported by great maestros of the musical world, the social and artistic pedagogical principle that consolidates the orchestral and choral practice as the center of instruction was established. This institution has been devoted to the pedagogical, occupational and ethical rescue of childhood and youth through the instruction and collective and individual practice of music, focused in the training, prevention and recovery of the most vulnerable groups of the country, it is to say, it is a social rescue program, with a deep cultural transformation addressed to all the Venezuelan society, without any distinction. The Orchestra System started with just a few, but it was intended to favor bigger groups. It had as a main purpose the rescue -through the music- of children and youngsters in order to prevent their contact with an empty, disoriented and distorted life, giving them the opportunity of achieving the personal, intellectual, spiritual, social and
¨...after 36 years of being created, gathers more than 350.000 children¨ professional development. The Maestro Abreu was personally responsible for being in front of the orchestra day after day and finding the resources needed for growth. When the project grew he implemented a creative pedagogical system in which the teacher offered his/her knowledge to a child, the child transmitted this knowledge to the other children of his/her group, making the system a multiplier pedagogical system that, after 36 years of being created, gathers more than 350.000 children and young people who are part of a systemic network of orchestras and choirs working nationally. The functional, educational, artistic and administrative structure that shapes the system is the “Nucleus”. Here is where the orchestral and choral programs that make them teaching/training centers that, in most of cases, function as promotion centers of the educational, artistic and cultural activities of the communities. At present there are more than 200 nuclei around the whole national territory. These children are, at the same time, an important influence in their own family entourage, which enables the possibility of having more than a million of Venezuelans actively involved with the System. The contribution favoring the social change through music, as the Maestro Abreu expresses, is visualized in three dimensions: 1. The personal dimension, where the performance and practice of music in all its categories seduces, involves and attracts the student, reaching him/her with love, fun and joy to the intrinsic values of music: discipline and responsibility. When this kid or teenager is immerse in the
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Presentation deep world of music, he/she starts getting acquainted with the most sublime emotions, those that elevate not only his/her intellectual side, but also his/her spirituality, forming and strengthening his/her personality. This is achieved thanks to the everyday challenge of self-improvement, motivation towards the achievement of goals, team work, solidarity, self-esteem, sense of belonging, commitment and communication. The development of these values and principles would positively influence the participant’s transformation. 2. The familiar dimension is referred to the support the participant obtains from his/her parents from the very beginning, as well as to the pride and satisfaction they can experience as they see their child’s self-improvement. As the participant recognizes and accepts his/her own value as a member of the System, he/she would feel encouraged to participate successfully, creating new mental structures to help his/her closer environment in the goal of reaching a better way of living, establishing the rejection to violence, alcoholism and drug consumption as the basis of this wellbeing. 3. The last dimension is the one referred to The Community, it is related to the interaction between the closest environment the participant has and the community that surrounds him/her. They listen to his/her practices, see them passing day after day with their instruments, image that dignifies and gives them credit. A community that respects them and, maybe thanks to love or curiosity, attends the concerts, making them a primordial part of newly discovered spaces and emotions, giving music a new meaning, changing the old-fashion image of music as something “elitist” into a new vision that helps us to understand what the Maestro Abreu says, “orchestras spaces are revealed as creators of culture and exchange of new sources of meaning”. Taking as the context the three dimensions aforementioned, the programs implemented are the following ones: Systems of Orchestras Pre-K Children Juvenile State Symphonic Orchestras • Brass ensembles • Percussion ensembles • Symphonic Choirs • White hands Choir • National Music Groups • Jazz Bands • Latin-Caribbean Orchestras
1.Analysis of the sociological structure in the penitentiary centers, having as central aspects the study of Formal Power (institutional authorities) and the Natural Power (generated by the population itself). 2.Study of the safety measurements, since it would give access to the Orchestra National System teachers without any experience in the penitentiary environment, and it would be necessary to prepare operative manuals that could guarantee the personnel’s operability. Regarding this aspect, there were preliminary experiences previous the execution of the program, working with rap singers and percussion ensembles similar to the chamber music, achieving the ensemble of more than 40 inmates in a dynamic, pedagogical and fun way, showing the feasibility the project has. The Network of Penitentiary Orchestras was created with the purpose of (as referred by the FUNDAMUSICAL BOLIVAR),
“Reducing the levels of violence within prisons and facilitating the process of social reintegration of prisoners through learning, practice and the enjoyment of music”. Given the conditions set out in the framework of the humanization of the National Penitentiary System based in the Penitentiary Regime Act, which provides in its article 24 the establishment of programs designed to encourage the teaching and practice of music by inmates, using as the means to transmit the music the choirs, bands, orchestras, concerts and music sessions recorded in 2007.
And the most recent of all, the Penitentiary Academic Program, that started its activities in 2003 and was submitted to a rigorous study of feasibilities four years before it was implemented. This study included:
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Behavioral Impact and Artistic Performance
MOTIVATION
Motivation consists of six questions for both questionnaires, asked according to the reflexive practice. The item 04 from the Teacher’s Evaluation, Does he/she establish a favorable psychological atmosphere (motivation) during the whole class? grouped in Always and Almost Always from the evaluation with a 94,99% qualifies as Very Significant, while when speaking about the 5% it was distributed in Sometimes (2,51%); Almost never (1,25%) and No answered (1,25%). It was formulated with the purpose of determining if the teacher achieves the existence of an affective environment in agreement with the activity to be performed, that thing that impulses and generates a compromise. The motivation was not characterized through a personal trait, but through the interaction of people and situations. Hence, it is important the existence of a teacher, as it was manifested in item 10 from Self-evaluation, it was expressed in correspondence with the previous item (#4), Do I assume enthusiastically the role I have to perform inside the Penitentiary Symphonic Orchestra? The sum of Always and Almost Always reached a 100% to illustrate this result. Marquez (2002) points out that this type of teachers instills, with their energy, a favorable state of interrelationship, framed with respect and affection, and this leads naturally to the individual and collective development through the achievement of gratifying goals.
94,99 %
Always and Almost Always
2,51%
Sometimes
Motivation
1,25% 1,25% Almost never No answered
The item 07 of Evaluation, Do you reinforce in the orchestra members the values promoted in order to achieve goals?, included in the evaluation questionnaire, it was obtained a Very Significant result from the sum Always and Almost Always with a total of 93,75%; regarding the remaining score was located in Sometimes (3,75%); Almost never (1,25%) and No answered (1,25%) and is Less significant in the rank. The above mentioned demonstrates the permanent work of training oriented to the achievement of goals through what it implies: to know an instrument and/or the speech apparatus; to know how to play an instrument and/or how to manage the voice; the orchestral and/or choral practice.
The National Coordination, when selecting the musical repertoire, studies the mental processes that generate people’s motivation, for instance, considering the level of satisfaction of their needs and selects the themes to interpret with the aim of obtaining their attention and cause an impact in them, achieving a result higher to what was expected.
All of this happens under the demands of the teacher staff in a natural process of daily practice to achieve the best performance.
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Always and Almost Always
93,75%
Sometimes
3,75%
Almost never and no answered
1,25% item 07
The model of behavior is a relatively new technique of development. It is about to show people under training the most adequate way (the pattern to do something) on how the person practices the right model to subsequently offer feedback with his/her performance (p.276).
allowed to observe in the Evaluation that the sum of Always and Almost always is 93, 72% and in the Self-evaluation a 99,15%; a Very Significant result, something that reflects a personnel that keeps the energy needed to impulse and guide the performance of their functions with a strong tendency.
The aforementioned quote suggests the inductive process the individual follows when there are changes in his/her behavior in a progressive way, through the presence of a model to be followed as the motivation to reach the social performance. Motivation in the Administrative personnel was analyzed considering the item 13 of the Evaluation, while the General Services Personnel in table worked through the approaches done according to their functions. Considering this aspect and keeping in mind the writing of this report, the item was expressed as follows: Is he/she dynamic with the activity that he/she performs?. This question points out to the stages of motivation related to effort, difficulty and result. The sum of Always and Almost Always reached the upper limit from the Very Significant level, with a 96,66% and a 3,33% in the Almost Never category. Item 13 of Self-evaluation of the Administrative and General Services Personnel (it was measured in the area of work), Do I feel fine with the activity I perform?, the approach points out the willing-
ness of working well and in a productive way, and reached the 100% of the answers, classifying in the Very Significant level. The different items included in the dimension Motivation
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T “Sometimes, a focused and clear method works better for teachers and students, some others; the mixture of styles and strategies favors the development and self-expression.�
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