Musicatlas
The Praemium Erasmianum Foundation, located in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, has awarded the Erasmus Prize 2010 to Jose Antonio Abreu. The prize money is a sum of €150,000.–. A ceremony in which the award will be presented will take place on 7 October 2010 in the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.
The theme of the Erasmus Prize 2010 is “The Future of European Classical Music.” The Prize is awarded annually to a person who, within the cultural traditions of Europe, has made an especially important contribution to culture, society or social science in Europe.
The Erasmus Prize is awarded to mr. Abreu for his efforts to involve a large group of young people in music making, thus offering them inspiration as well as a new social context.
José Antonio Abreu is the founder director of El Sistema (Venezuela), which isthe National Network of Youth and Children's Orchestras of Venezuela. This organisation has become an important factor in the training of professional musicians and has also helped in reaching new audiences for classical music worldwide.
[Source: www.erasmusprijs.org]