On November 19, 2000, Ed Bradley did a piece called “The Orchestra” on 60 Minutes, which introduced Venezuela’s national efforts to make every child learn an instrument, from which they form a national orchestra made of 180 of the country’s best young musicians (up to 18 years old). OPUS was quite touched by this story. Some of the lovely sayings from this broadcast are:
- “Orchestra is a community whose essence is in collaboration.”
- “Orchestra requires teamwork, rigor, and disciplines, all of these elements, besides influencing the music, influencing a person’s development.”
- “The music taught me how to treat people without violence.”
Bravo! On Sunday Nov. 17, 2013, 60 Minutes did another segment on Paraguay, where Bob Simon reported much the same as the Venezuela story — only the instruments seemed more self-made, from metal buckets, wood, brushes, materials from the trash ….then there some help started to come from outside via donations — how touching!
OPUS will continue to perform community concerts to bring the Holiday spirit to all. Here is the schedule:
- 2:00 – 3:00 PM on Sunday Dec. 22nd at (Senior Home) Villa St. Benedict (east bldg), Lisle
- 4:00 – 5:30 PM on Sunday Dec. 22nd at Fox Valley Mall (Sears court, lower level);
- 2:00 – 3:00 PM on Monday, Dec 30th at (Senior Home) Plymouth Place, LaGrange Park;
- 4:00 – 5:00 PM on Monday, Dec 30th at (Senior Home) Immanuel Residences, Downers Grove