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There has been increasing media attention about the power and influence of music - particularly in the lives of children. An April 13 broadcast of the CBS news show "60 Minutes" featured a story about how classical music is elevating children out of the psychological damage associated with growing up in extreme poverty in Venezuela. After 30 years of providing a program of training children in classical music, the positive influence of the program not only has proven to transform the lives of individuals, but now is starting to transform the entire country. And the Venezuela National Youth Orchestra is putting Venezuela on the map as a musical Mecca.

I noticed several key ingredients in the Venezuelan music program that are universal to any similar type of musical training. Through music, the children learned self-discipline, the striving for artistic perfection, perseverance, working with others in a cooperative environment, and above all, they learned how to interact with music itself for the experience that touches the core of our emotional or sentient being. Understanding and coping with the emotional part of our being helps us in knowing ourselves and helps us develop attitudes about life. Although the majority of children trained in classical music do not pursue music as a profession, they acquire essential life skills - including self-esteem - that elevates them out of a cycle of poverty and enables them to become productive citizens.

Although there are pockets of this type of musical training in America, the general philosophy in our society is different. We don't see musical training as a means to transform lives of children and society. We tend to view the end result of music training as commercial gain. When children show an interest in music, they will eventually and inevitably be asked the question, "What kind of job and how much money can you make if you're a musician?" Even advertising executives associated with Hollywood and Madison Avenue learn to understand and use music in order to bypass linear reasoning and communicate directly with the emotions in order to win adherents to products, causes and ideas.

The transformation through classical music training that is going on in Venezuela should provide evidence that this type of program will universally work to make a difference in lives - individually and collectively. This includes our society. And Venezuela is accomplishing this transformation in the most impoverished cities in the country. Just think what could be accomplished if we put our resources into providing our children with the same type of music experiences as are found in Venezuela.

Dr. Kerry Hart is dean of Colorado Mountain College's Alpine Campus in Steamboat Springs. He can be reached at 870-4414 or khart@coloradomtn.edu.