LA Phil partners with school for music master's program

The Los Angeles Philharmonic announced Wednesday it has entered into a partnership with an East Coast college to spread the methods of a Venezuelan national youth orchestra program.

The program is called El Sistema and for three decades it’s put instruments in the hands of some of Venezuela’s poorest young people.

The Longy School of Music and Bard College in Massachusetts will partner with the L.A. Phil to offer a master's degree program for trained musicians who want to be part of the initiative. The partnership will begin next year.

Longy president Karen Zorn said the program will attract musicians who value reaching impoverished neighborhoods.

"How do you teach music under those circumstances?" said Zorn. "We want to make sure they have a clear understanding of that. Because classical music and classical music education can be very much an elite pursuit."

El Sistema’s most famous graduate is L.A. Philharmonic conductor Gustavo Dudamel, who'll play a role in the Take A Stand program. The L.A. Phil wants existing youth orchestral groups from around the country to participate and will hold a symposium in January to that end.