Sistema Fellow David France a WBUR ‘Change Agent’
Roxbury Youth Orchestra founder David France is an alumnus of the Sistema Fellows program at NEC.
David France ’12 Sistema, founder of the Roxbury Youth Orchestra, was featured in WBUR's Change Agents series, which highlights “people who are quietly working outside the spotlight to create positive change in their community or the world at large.”
To France, the kids become musicians the moment they first take their instruments in their hands. He sees music — and the connections it brings — as a vehicle for the students to expand their boundaries.
"A lot of times young people who live in neighborhoods like this [in Roxbury], they don't feel other parts of the city are places maybe that they're welcome," France says.
France completed the Sistema Fellows program at NEC, which was a five-year iniative to train music educators passionate about social justice in the United States. The program was created in collaboration with El Sistema founder Dr. José Antonio Abreu's 2009 TED Prize.