| 4. In which ways is the initiative creative and innovative?
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The goal of PRIMA is to offer comprehensive musical education, with the understanding the music is in fact a means and not an end. It is of the most absolute importance that our students are empowered, aware, and prepared to face any social challenge. The orchestra becomes a metaph or for society..
An example of this can be seen within the Student Senate, found in each PRIMA site. Five students are elected by their colleagues to be their representatives. These representatives help choose repertoire, give feedback on all the classes, suggests debates and lectures both about music as well as social issues such as equality of gender, homophobia, racism, etc, and they can report abuses by teachers or coordinators.
Another important and innovative action of PRIMA was the birth of CRESCENDO, a method to train PRIMA instructors and monitors. It creates a philosophical link between students, teachers and family members from different points of view that interacts in the PRIMA branches. Each letter in the acronym is a reference to a word and therefore to a series of concepts and definitions that are bounded to give a certain meaning, unifying the culture of PRIMA
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| 5. Who implemented the initiative and what is the size of the population affected by this initiative?
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The implementation was made by the State Government of Paraíba through the Secretary of Education in partnership with the Secretariat of Culture under the direction of Maestro Alex Klein and his wife, Catalina Guevara. From its implementation in 2012, up to now, more than 4,000 students have passed through PRIMA. Many of them, thanks to social inclusion policies, have joined universities and technical colleges in Paraíba and other states.
Today, the direction of the Program is in the hands of the Conductor Priscila Santana, who as a graduate of a musical social program herself, is an example for our students of how hard work studying music can instill social skills and offer a diversity of career options.
PRIMA currently benefits more than 1,200 children and young adults and has a staff of 94 employees: 64 teachers, 11 branches coordinators, 11 branches inspectors, 2 drivers, 1 logistics coordination, 1 executive secretary, 1 coordination of events, 1 coordination of institutional communication, 1 coordination of patrimony and 1 pedagogical coordination.
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| 6. How was the strategy implemented and what resources were mobilized?
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The first branch of PRIMA was in the city of Cabedelo, located on the north coast of the state and suffering from a high level of violence. We started at the Fortaleza de Santa Catarina in March 2012. We spread the news of the program through sound cars and school visits, and on the first day of registration we were able to enrolled 20 students. The Fortaleza is a tourist site located in a needy area in Cabedelo. The first teachers took their own instruments and many of them ended up lending their cello or violin to students so they could try the instrument for the very first time.
During the first year, program implementation took place with choirs, classes in musicalization and theory. After Cabedelo, other branches were opened in Mandacaru, Bairro dos Novais and Alto of Mateus (districts of João Pessoa), Tibiri (in Santa Rita), Guarabira and Campina Grande. Each site followed the same plan as mentioned above: visit a community and identify a music teacher within the community who could be recruited to build the program. Amongst the many challenges we faced included explaining the social character of the Program as well as dealing with the students' anxiety about the arrival of the instruments. In many cases, music is still a huge taboo inside schools. Many teachers and principals still see it as a waste of time, since it is not an official subject for acceptance in colleges exams. Changing that belief remains a big challenge. Our strategy is to use our many success stories in order to change hearts and minds. Students who were once troubled and difficult are today references and roll models. Music served as an awakening and taught respect and discipline in a way that core academics was unable to.
In 2013, we managed to secure a R$ 7 million investment in order to purchase instruments, including violins, violas, cellos and basses, flutes, clarinets, oboes and bassoons, trumpets, trumpets, tubas, trombones, timpani and percussion, as well as pianos, keyboards, stereos, shelves and metronomes.
With the arrival of the instruments, the students, who were already developing musical skills through choir and theory, advanced rapidly in the instrumental development. Within months, orchestras began to appear in many Paraiban cities for the first time.
PRIMA's faculty always received a salary of R$ 1,200, coordinators R$ 1,500 and inspectors R$ 800, which gave an average cost of human resources, in the first years, of R$ 100,000 per month, paid by the state Department of Education. Since the branches are located in different cities, the travel of many teachers takes place in vans. The cost of renting cars, the payments of drivers and gas is also paid by the Secretary of Education. Currently, the Program is still 100% maintained by the State Government, generating an average cost of 2.2 million Reais per year. 90% of is directed to personal payroll and the others divided between transport rental and cost of the annual concerts.
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| 7. Who were the stakeholders involved in the design of the initiative and in its implementation?
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) It was Governor Ricardo Coutinho who first dreamt of bringing music to children in need. He invited internationally renowned oboist Maestro Alex Klein and his wife bassoonist and educator Catalina Guevara to share their expertise and passion in the creation of PRIMA. Alex set the artistic goals while Catalina laid the foundation for the program's philosophy and pedagogy. Executive Director Milton Dornellas coordinated and negotiated with host communities and cities in order to facilitate the opening of new sites and to build support for the program throughout all the levels of government.
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| 8. What were the most successful outputs and why was the initiative effective?
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In August 2015 PRIMA was selected among more than 170 projects from all over Brazil to present itself in the Education Map, an event celebrating successful education initiatives. PRIMA was among four selected programs to give a featured presentation. With tears of passion and pride in their eyes, student Antônio Cícero (horn player from the branch of Cabedelo) and flute professor Sergio Aires presented the program data, showing pictures and giving personal testimony.
Another of PRIMA’s victories was the formation of the first Paraíba Women's Orchestra. Paraiba has historically been one of Brazil’s states with the highest rates of violence against women. The OMPB (Women's Orchestra of Paraíba) was formed by students of PRIMA branches who were identified through sexual harassment commissions. The committee consists of two students, male and female, chosen to discuss gender issues of gender, sexuality and even moral, psychological, and sexual abuse, in order to spread the message of awareness.
In 2014, we began to see the “I” Of the PRIMA really working: the Inclusion. Students were accepted to formal musical institutions such as UFPB (Federal University of Paraíba), IFPB (Federal Institute of Paraíba), OSPB (Paraíba Symphony Orchestra), EMAN (Anthenor Navarro Music School) and nonmusical courses such as odontology, civil engineering, computer science, law, nursing, etc. These student accomplishments affirmed our mission to develop conscientious and dedicated citizens, musicians or otherwise.
In 2015, we were invited to participate in the Instituto Musica Brasilis tour, a touring project that offers selected groups a chance to perform in a highly prestigious and publicized event. It was the first time that students played in a formal “gig” and had the opportunity to play side by side with their teachers.
Each of these milestones have allowed our students to relish and reflect in their own accomplishments and potential. Going up on stage and communicating with audiences, facing fear and nerves, creates a confidence and attitude that is infectious and spreads throughout communities, offering all who are involved the chance to become masters of their own destiny.
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| 9. What were the main obstacles encountered and how were they overcome?
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Predjiduce towards music as a vehicle for social change: Oftentimes teachers, directors and unfortunately, many parents do not recognize in music to be a lever for a human development. With diligence and determination however, our students continually confirm that music teaches important values, such as listening, being "in tune" with others, respect, discipline, and so many other things that are essential to play in an the orchestra. Above all, these are essential values in the formation of oneself and in the development of social, professional and artistic skills.
Skepticism of orchestral music: Many believed that orchestral music is something for rich and older people and naturally did not believe that PRIMA was offering the opportunity to for at-risk communities to learn this music for free. PRIMA makes it a point to reach out and show communities that the orchestra can play anything and everything from Beethoven to authentic Paraíba music, such as Forró de Gonzaga.
Students Reality: Many students face serious financial problems, and in many cases our challenge is to rescue them from child labor. In some cases, the reality is tougher and frustrates our expectations. However, in other cases, we have been able to successfully recover these students through inclusion, on merit of the student himself, in projects such as the Paraíba Youth Orchestra, which pays a scholarship of R$ 700 a month.
Pedagogical challenges: How to teach bassoon in a city that has never had a bassoonist before? How to teach oboe in a place with no record of an oboe teacher?
The van was our logistics solution to take the teacher from the capital to the Sertão (countryside). Technology was crucial, with the internet bridging student and teacher, opening a window to other cultures and enabling the unprecedented to happen.
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