TED Talk Tuesday #304: Gustavo Dudamel and the Teresa Carreño Youth Orchestra

TED continues to spread ideas and help us all be better critical thinkers. Watching, listening and talking about TED Talks is a popular pastime for many in the CN&CO community. We visit TED.com regularly to clear our heads, have a laugh, learn or get inspired. TED Talks open our minds, spark new ways of thinking and can lead to some very interesting conversations and business opportunities.

Each month we pick a favourite and publish it on a Tuesday, because we like how “TED Talk Tuesday” sounds. It’s also a way that the CN&CO team play their part in spreading ideas and helping to make the world a better place.

This TED “Talk” was chosen by Colin Ford.

Sometimes you’ve just got to listen to the music. This “TED Concert” took place in Venezuela in February 2009. It was performed by the Teresa Carreño Youth Orchestra under the baton of Gustavo Dumadel.

These were not privileged conservatoire students groomed from birth for global careers. They were young musicians drawn from across the country, shaped by an idea that music could be a social force as much as an artistic one.

The orchestra members form part of El Sistema – officially the National Network of Youth and Children Orchestras of Venezuela – a publicly funded, voluntary music education programme. It was founded in 1975 on the belief that making music together, especially in orchestras and choirs, builds discipline, teamwork and social connection.

Over the years it has become known not only for musical excellence but for offering young people, many from deeply disadvantaged backgrounds, a compelling alternative to lives shaped by crime or substance abuse. The idea has travelled far beyond Venezuela, inspiring similar initiatives in more than 60 countries. The network has benefited over a million young musicians since being established.  

Gustavo Dumadel has gone on to win several awards and conduct world-class orchestras such as the Vienna and Los Angeles Philharmonics. He is due to start his role as music and artistic director for the New York Philharmonic in 2026.

For me, the music is uplifting and energising. I love watching the passion on the young faces on both sides of the baton and wonder where each of those musicians is today.

It’s amazing how listening to music can trigger memories. This concert took me back 10 years to the day I watched Carel conducting an orchestra at the Linder Auditorium with Business and Arts South Africa. I also had flashbacks to Starlight Classics, which is presented twice annually by our friends at Rand Merchant Bank.

So… when you have a few minutes, watch and listen to this amazing musical TED Talk.