The jury is still out as to whether playing Mozart to Baby Snooks will improve cognition, but most will agree that the act of making music can be a transcendent experience, one bordering on the magical for both listener and performer alike. (Need an example? Enjoy Smetana’s “The Moldau” and float past Prague.)
I recently learned about an unlikely youth orchestra from Paraguay, made up of children raised in a village that was literally built atop a landfill. Nearly all their instruments are made from recycled materials. This does not prevent them from performing beautifully. Watch this exceptional short film about the Landfill Harmonic.