captioning funded by cbs and ford-- built for the road ahead. things that could derail the u.s. economic recovery that finally seems to be under way. and one of them is the debt crisis in europe along with the recession that is now sweeping across the continent. it's similar in many ways to the financial crisis that leveled the u.s. economy in 2008. except that in europe it's not just the banks that are in danger of going broke. it's entire countries. >> clearly if the euro zone has a really bad time of it this year, which it could well do, then america will not escape unscathed. >> it's fast.

it's rough, and it's considered to be one of the most dangerous sports in the world. what's the thing you're best at on the field? >> i'm tough. i'm not the most talented guy with the ball, but i never give up. >> polo's most famous player is a 35-year-old argentine. he's both the face of ralph lauren and the game's greatest ambassador. he's working hard to reignite america's passion for this ancient sport. >> simon: on this easter sunday we're going to bring you to one of the poorest places on earth, but you won't feel pity for any of our characters, only joy. [beethoven's ode to joy playing] while the members of this orchestra in the congo don't have many possessions, they enjoy their music more than any group we've ever met.

♪ ♪ [applause] >> i'm steve kroft. >> i'm lesley stahl. >> i'm morley safer. >> i'm bob simon. >> i'm lara logan. >> i'm scott pelley. those stories tonight on "60 minutes." ( bell ringing ) everything that i've gained in life has been because of the teachers and the education that i had. they're just part of who i am. teaching is the most important profession we have. we all go through a stage in our life where we'd like to do something important, and i was given the tools to do that. 'cause i was fortunate enough to have some great math teachers

that were incredibly inspiring. he told us all about how mountains form and rivers she'd convinced me that there was no limit to what we could learn. i don't think i'd be here today had i not had a wonderful science teacher. ms. moseo was her name. dr. gilmore. i mean, he could teach. he would never give up on any of us. a teacher can make a huge difference in a child's life. she had a big impact on me in applying engineering skill sets to make a better world. she was very inspiring for me. she made learning, of all things calculus, fun. i learned a lot from her, not just about math but about life. hello mrs. quinn, and thanks. thanks mrs. snyder. julie, thank you so much for inspiring me. thank you mr. davies thank you mrs. mullalond. thank you dr. newfield. you had a big impact on me.

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>> safer: before we begin tonight's broadcast, we have the sad duty to report the death of our friend and colleague mike wallace. mike died last night at age 93.

for more than six decades-- four of them on this broadcast-- he was a kind of one-man truth squad, a man with a remarkable gift for getting to the very core of a story. villains of every stripe were his specialty. he could charm them into coming on "60 minutes" and, with his audacity, get them to reveal their villainy. more than anyone else, he was responsible for the continuing success of "60 minutes." we are all in his debt. next sunday, we will broadcast an extended tribute to mike. >> kroft: there are only a few things that could derail the u.s. economic recovery that finally seems to be under way, and one of them is the debt crisis in europe, along with the recession that is now sweeping across the continent. it's similar in many ways to the

financial crisis that leveled the u.s. economy in 2008, except that in europe, it's not just the banks that are in danger of going broke, it's entire countries. greece has already defaulted on more than $100 billion of public debt. ireland and portugal have needed massive bailouts to stay solvent. italy and spain are just hanging on in what has turned out to be an imperfect economic union. at stake is the survival of the european currency, the euro, and the economic future of america's largest trading partner. the european union has all the accoutrements of nationhood-- its own flag, its own anthem, its own parliament, its own huge bureaucracy, and its own currency, the euro, shared by 17 of its 27 members. it's a loose economic alliance of countries and faded empires--

with different languages, cultures, and customs-- that have more or less been at war with each other for 1,000 years. until recently, their monetary union had brought stability and prosperity to the continent's social democracies, producing good wages, generous benefits, long vacations. but louise cooper, a top financial analyst in london, says the european holiday is over. >> louise cooper: we're in a debt crisis. euro-zone countries have way too much debt. we have gorged on debt. we are living beyond our means. and after ten years of booming economic times, it is now payback time. we are paying back our credit cards, and that will prove very painful and costly. >> kroft: it already has. ten european countries are now in recession. in spain, where the unemployment rate is 23%, there have been general strikes and civil unrest. in france, three of its largest

financial institutions teetered on the edge of insolvency until the european central bank came to the rescue with more than $1 trillion in easy credit to shore up the system. seven european countries have changed leadership because of the crisis, and one, greece, reneged on $133 billion in debts. >> cooper: this is an extraordinary event. you know, a member of the euro club, the elite euro club, can't pay its bills. that is extraordinary. a western developed country has defaulted. we haven't seen that since 1940, when italy did it in the second world war when it refused to pay its enemies. >> kroft: the financial markets worry that the same fate could befall ireland, portugal, spain and italy, which are already all in crisis and losing the confidence of international investors who have bankrolled their debts. >> cooper: the fear of greece is it sets a precedent for other indebted countries.

then, everybody who owns portuguese debt or irish debt, possibly even spanish debt or italian debt, you start to worry, "will i ever get my money back?" that is the problem. >> kroft: european finance ministers have spent most of the past year trying to find a way to save greece and keep the euro zone intact. but until recently, they have lacked the unity and the authority to impose a solution on 17 different countries, all of which have their own financial and political interests. christine lagarde, the managing director of the international monetary fund, has been part of the process. >> christine lagarde: when you have a single currency, and when you don't have a single or at least very closely coordinated fiscal policy, then you run the risk of having part of the territory go into one direction and other part of the territory go into another direction. and that's exactly what happened. >> kroft: lagarde says the divide exists between northern europeans-- the germans, the

dutch, and the finns-- who are industrious, prosperous, and frugal, and the southern europeans-- the greeks, the portuguese, and the italians-- who are much more relaxed about work, money, and paying their taxes. lagarde says it didn't matter much until 2008, when the global financial crisis rolled in, separating the savers from the spenders. >> lagarde: you know, it's like when the tide goes away, you see those that do not have a swimming costume on. and that was the case in europe. >> kroft: the largest of the countries left totally naked was greece. the nation of just 11 million people was a half a trillion dollars in debt and unable to pay its bills, leaving europe with a lehman brothers-like dilemma: either bail the greeks out or let them go broke, a risky proposition that could trigger another huge financial meltdown. >> cooper: i think the problem is that nobody quite knows what a messy greek default will do, and what a country coming out of the euro-zone will do.

and if it's uncharted waters, then that makes a lot of people very nervous. >> kroft: so, they'd rather fork over 130 billion euros to keep the game sort of alive... >> cooper: exactly. >> kroft: ...rather than risk the downside of a breakup? >> cooper: because we don't know what could happen, how messy, hideous, damaging it could be. >> kroft: i mean, how powerful is germany within the e.u.? >> cooper: germany is the check writer. >> kroft: with its huge industrial economy, its vast trade surpluses and balanced budgets, germany is by far the most powerful country in europe. and it reluctantly agreed to bail out what it considered to be its deadbeat relatives, but only up to a point and only under certain conditions. in return for going along with the bailout, chancellor angela merkel insisted that all euro members roll back their debt, and that severe austerity measures be imposed on greece, requiring it to slash government

spending, roll back pensions, lay off 150,000 public workers, reduce salaries by 20%, and raise taxes, all of this imposed on a country that had been in recession for the past five years. describe the situation in greece to me right now. what's going on? >> yanis varoufakis: greece is in its great depression. greece is in a coma, and it is getting deeper into that coma as one company, one firm, one shop shuts after the next. >> kroft: yanis varoufakis is an economist at the university of athens who has advised the greek government. he says the belt-tightening is stifling economies all over europe and made the situation in greece much worse. the greek unemployment rate now stands at 21%, and the economy is shrinking at the rate of 8%. there are bread lines in athens, and in the central markets, more people looking than actually

buying. how's your business? >> 70% down. right now, everything is very difficult and i don't think we've even started to see the beginning of the bad times. people don't have the money to buy anything. the situation is very bad. >> kroft: there's a feeling of hopelessness, humiliation, and anger in the country as the economy continues to spiral downward. most people would say greece got itself into this by borrowing way too much money, by being a fairly unproductive society, by not paying its taxes. all those things are true. >> varoufakis: all those things are precisely true, but have no capacity to explain the crisis that greece finds itself in today. all these things have always been true, but we haven't had a crisis like this. we are now going through what the united states of america went between 1929 and 1932.

only, we are part of a currency union which was never designed to sustain such a crisis. >> kroft: in the past, if greece found its accounts overdrawn, the country simply printed more money or devalued its currency to accommodate the relaxed greek lifestyle. that's no longer possible. with the drachma replaced by the euro, greeks must now march to the tune of german bankers. and they have not shied away from expressing their displeasure. ( shouting and chanting ) on february 12, the day the greek parliament adopted the new austerity measures, 80,000 people took to the streets to protest. by nightfall, the demonstrations had turned violent, as rioters clashed with police and set fire to buildings, causing tens of millions of dollars in damage. it was, in a crude way, an expression of greek nationalism that reignited old resentments

and grievances that had been carefully managed for the past 70 years, and much of it was directed at berlin. >> cooper: i mean, this is the trouble. when you get into debt, you don't control your own destiny, the creditors take over. and that's exactly what's happening in greece. >> kroft: do the greeks feel the germans are trying to run the country? >> cooper: yes. >> kroft: are they? >> cooper: and to a certain extent, they are. the sad thing for the greeks is they remember the second world war. some of the rhetoric harks back to what germany did in greece in the second world war. i mean, that is really quite terrifying that senior politicians are talking about these things. >> kroft: it was a long time ago and a different germany. but 300,000 greeks died of starvation during the nazi occupation, and that kind of history is not easily forgotten. so it did not sit well when the german government proposed sending a kommissar to athens to oversee greek finances.

the german finance minister, wolfgang schauble, even floated the idea of postponing greek elections out of concern that a new government might overturn the austerity agreement. >> varoufakis: you cannot tell a people when they're going to hold elections. you cannot tell a sovereign parliament when it should be dissolving itself or not. you can express a wish, but you cannot issue, especially if you're speaking with a german accent, to a people that have suffered in a german occupation and an occupation that is still vivid in most people's memories, what to do. >> kroft: the acrimony has been very public, with greek newspapers depicting chancellor merkel and finance minister schauble as nazis. schauble is the architect of the fiscal reforms in greece. there's some bad feelings towards germany in greece, as i'm sure you're aware. what's your reaction to that? >> wolfgang schauble: well, it's always like that, you know. when you have countries or people who have been living

beyond their means, and now they have to apply some austerity, they have to make cuts, they have to reform their labor market-- in such a situation, people tend to push the blame to others. they are looking for scapegoats. it's perfectly normal. but at the same time, the greek people know that their prosperity is thanks to greece being part of europe. >> kroft: i'm sure you've seen the cartoons-- people talk about living under the german boot, they blame you. not just germany, but in many cases, you personally. >> schauble: well, of course. that's part of politics. but it's my job as german finance minister to repeat over and over that we can't spend more than we have. but it doesn't mean that we want to dominate anybody. germany tried to do so in the past, and it never worked, but it no longer wants to do so today. >> kroft: the next hurdle for europe to clear in this slow- moving crisis is the upcoming greek parliamentary elections, in which voters are threatening

to roll back the economic reforms, an outcome that could result in a full-blown bankruptcy for greece and a forced exit from the euro. european leaders say they are confident that the worst is over, and so far, they have managed to avert a disaster. but there is still general pessimism in the financial markets, with the economic stagnation spreading to spain. >> lagarde: there's still medicine to be taken. and that's what's happening in most of these southern euro-zone states at the moment, plus ireland. >> kroft: what about the situation in greece? >> lagarde: the situation in greece is a close call, let's put it that way. >> cooper: to me, when i look at the euro, it's a battle between economics ripping it apart and politics desperately trying to hold it together. and my view is the economics will always win out, eventually. >> kroft: do you think greece is going to make it? >> cooper: no. >> kroft: could it drive the rest of the world back into recession? >> cooper: oh, absolutely. the euro area is a very big part

of the global economy. >> kroft: what about the united states? >> cooper: well, the u.s. is doing terribly well at the moment. however, clearly, if the euro- zone has a really bad time of it this year, which it could well do, then america will not escape unscathed. sponsored by: >> glor: good evening. union contracts for 40,000 at&t workers expired at midnight. there is no strike yet. talks continue. the national average for a gallon of gas is $3.93, up one cent from a week ago, and "the hunger games" won its third straight weekend box office. i'm jeff glor, cbs news.

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>> logan: polo is called "the

sport of kings," and for centuries, it's drawn royalty to its ranks. in the minds of many, the game has always belonged to the rich, the famous, and the privileged few. but there's more to the sport than the glamorous world that surrounds it. it began as a war game more than 2,000 years ago, and is one of the oldest team sports in history. most of us in america today know very little about it, but there was a time in this country-- in the 1920s and '30s-- when polo could draw a crowd of 30,000 spectators, and the u.s. was considered the best in the world. today, there are polo clubs all over the country, and this weekend, the best international players are gathered at the u.s. open polo championship in florida, one of the most prestigious tournaments in the sport. tonight, we're going to introduce you to one of the game's stars, who has made it his mission to try to reignite america's passion for the game.

it's fast... it's rough... ( cheers and applause ) and it's considered to be one of the most dangerous sports in the world. is it a fight on the field? are you going to war? >> ignacio figueras: it's war, yes. you're not... you're not trying to hurt anybody. but yes, you're trying to... to score more goals and to go faster and hit someone harder, and do whatever it takes to... to win that game. >> logan: 35-year-old argentine ignacio figueras, known simply as "nacho," is the most famous professional polo player today. you may recognize him as the face of ralph lauren, that sultry look, an international symbol for the polo brand. he's also the unrivaled ambassador for the sport. 18,000 people showed up at this charity match he hosted on governor's island in new york city, where some of the v.i.p. tables went for $50,000.

nacho is at ease among the glitz and glamour of the polo scene, the star attraction in that "great gatsby" world of extravagant hats, seersucker suits, and elegant spectators sipping champagne. but where we saw his real passion was on the field. >> polo, it goes beyond where you are or beyond what people are wearing, beyond the hats, beyond the high heels, beyond all of those things. people think of polo and they think of those things first. all these things are happening around it, but what about what's happening inside? >> logan: inside, it takes blood, sweat and hard work to play polo at nacho's level. these pictures were filmed at a thousand frames per second on a high-speed camera that we used to capture nacho in action, and the power and intensity of the game.

many people describe polo as hockey on horseback. nacho told us it's more like playing golf in an earthquake. >> figueras: i've broken my nose twice. i have stitches here from like here to there. i broken my... my wrist. i broken my ankle. i've been unconscious twice from falling. it's a rough sport. >> logan: you took a ball in the eye? >> figueras: yeah, right here. ( laughs ) >> logan: that explains the helmets and kneepads the players have to wear. nacho didn't bother with any of that when he was a boy growing up on a farm in argentina, obsessed with polo. >> figueras: i always say, "if you're born in hawaii, you'll surf. if you're born in austria, you'll ski. if you're born in argentina, then most likely, you'll play polo." >> logan: what's the thing you're best at on the field? >> figueras: i am tough. i am not the most talented guy with the ball or playing. i run, i kick, i hit people hard. i never give up. >> logan: so you're determined? >> figueras: oh, yes,

determined. >> logan: determined to try to make polo in america as popular as it was 75 years ago when these pictures were filmed on long island. back then, wealthy families like the vanderbilts and the whitneys dominated the game, and hollywood stars like spencer tracy and walt disney were avid players. to understand how the game is played, we asked nacho for a lesson. >> figueras: it's four against four. you play different periods called chukkers. they're seven minutes long. you have to score with a ball that is this big. >> logan: the object is to hit the ball through the opposing team's goal, and it all takes place on the largest field in sports, big enough to fit nine football fields. the rules are you have to use your right hand to play and control the horse with your left. the horses go as fast as 35 miles an hour, and usually last about three and a half minutes

before they have to be swapped out. nacho has one of the best strings of polo ponies in the game. what are his strengths on the field? >> figueras: stopping and turning-- amazing. these horses can stop on a dime. you can compare it with racecar driving. >> logan: so this is a ferrari right here? >> figueras: this is a ferrari right here that then also has to be tuned and feel great for the game. >> logan: he told us nothing is more important than the horse, and he picks his carefully. >> figueras: this one is cortina. i bought her two years ago from a very famous american polo player called owen rinehart. >> logan: owen rinehart runs a world-class breeding and training operation on his 300- acre ranch in aiken, south carolina. in a game dominated by argentines, this american was once one of the best in the world. what makes a good polo pony?

>> owen rinehart: speed, agility, mental soundness, competitiveness-- the really good ones are really competitive. >> logan: just like humans. you can't overstate the importance of a polo pony? >> rinehart: unbelievable how important they are. >> logan: training starts from birth, and for these newborns, getting used to being around humans is the first lesson. >> rinehart: that one's mother is a great horse, but she's mean. >> logan: they are all descendants of great polo ponies, bred from champion stock. >> rinehart: we want these to hopefully one day be in either the u.s. open, the british open, or the argentine open. those are the three biggest tournaments in the world. >> logan: these horses won't be ready for professional polo until they're six or seven, pretty old compared to a racehorse, which peaks at three or four. so he could turn out to be a champion polo horse. >> rinehart: i believe he will

be. >> logan: which would mean he'd be worth what? >> rinehart: up... i think that sort of the top end now is $200,000. >> logan: polo ponies don't spend long in the ring, but owen told us this is a critical part of their training, because it's here that he determines how sensitive their mouth is to the reins. >> rinehart: it's all about pressure, and this is very light pressure and you want a horse to have a light mouth. >> logan: on the field, they get used to full contact and learn how to compete at top speed. the best polo ponies, like the ones bred here, can play for ten years or longer. that's amazing to see her weave like that from side to side. owen showed us what a champion horse can do. >> rinehart: when she feels this... >> logan: yeah. >> rinehart: ...she goes that way. when she feels the reins on the other side, she goes the other way. it's all her, and it's literally

that or that. >> logan: professional players like nacho travel with their best horses. he brought 13 of the 300 he told us he owns here to the bridgehampton polo club on long island, where he was playing in a six-week tournament. >> hi, daddy. >> logan: his wife and children travel with him as much as they can. professional polo keeps nacho on the road seven months a year, competing in a series of international tournaments from singapore to spain. polo at his level costs millions of dollars and is paid for by the ultra-rich, like peter brant, who owns two polo clubs and his own team. nacho spent years playing for him. so this is your polo field? >> peter brant: yes. i have one polo field here, and we have two across the road for the greenwich polo club. >> logan: we met him on his estate in connecticut. he's what's known in polo as a "patron." >> brant: if the team runs into deficit, he covers it, and if it

runs a profit, he keeps it. ( laughter ) that's what a patron is. >> logan: have you covered more deficits or kept some profits over the years? >> brant: well, let's put it this way-- as an investment advisor, i wouldn't advise you to start playing polo to earn a living. i mean, as a producer of a team. >> logan: but in exchange for covering all the bills, the patron gets to compete in the biggest tournaments alongside the pros. and few of them play as well as peter brant, once the highest rated amateur in the u.s. there's another side to the sport that nacho wanted us to see. he introduced us to a 19-year- old player from philadelphia who he's mentored. >> kareem rosser: oh, nacho is amazing guy, you know, very caring. >> logan: have you played a game with him? >> rosser: yes, i have. i was fortunate enough to play couple times with nacho-- once against him, once with him.

i'd much rather play with him than against him, so... (laugh) >> logan: kareem rosser was named the best high school polo player in the nation last year. over 40 high school teams across north america compete for a national title. and nacho sees kareem's success as proof that polo can take root in the most unexpected places. most kids grow up wanting to play basketball or football. there aren't many kids that grow up in america wanting to play polo. did you ever imagine that that would be your life? >> rosser: i had no idea, but i'm glad that it is polo. i'm glad that polo has taken me far. i just love everything that it has brought to me, you know, all the opportunities, just the way it changed my life for the good. >> logan: kareem grew up in a rough part of west philadelphia. >> rosser: this is where a lot of bad stuff happened on this street-- drugs, violence, shootings, killings.

being around all that negative influence, it's easy to get pulled in. >> logan: just a five-minute drive from here was his refuge, this barn at the chamounix equestrian center, where philadelphia's mounted police once stabled their horses. 17 years ago, a woman named lezlie hiner started a program called "work to ride." she came to see the sport of kings as her way to help give poor kids a chance. in exchange for mucking stalls and keeping up good grades, lezlie taught the kids how to play polo with donated horses and secondhand gear. for years, they didn't win a single match, and they were not always welcomed in the wealthy, white world of polo. and now, you're high school champions for the country? >> rosser: yeah, we are. it took us a while to accomplish that goal, but now we can

definitely walk around and say we are national champions. >> logan: kareem told us he hopes that, one day, he'll play professionally like nacho. in the match on governor's island, we watched him lead his team to victory... hustling for the ball ... stealing possession... and charging down the field to score. >> figueras: playing the game the same way it's been played through the centuries, hoping to excite new interest in this ancient sport. >> nacho, nacho! >> welcome to the cbs spores update presented by: bubba watson defeated louis oosthuizen in a playoff to claim the 2012 masters.

watson entered the day in fourth place but charged from behind with birdies on 13, 14, 15 and 16 to force a playoff. watson's first major championship. for more sports news and information, go to cbssports.com. this is jim nantz reporting from butler cabin in augusta, georgia. follow the wings. not in this economy. we also have zero free time, and my dad moving in. so we went to fidelity. we looked at our family's goals and some ways to help us get there. they helped me fix my economy, the one in my house. now they're managing my investments for me. and with fidelity, getting back on track was easier than i thought. call or come in today to take control of your personal economy. get one-on-one help from america's retirement leader.

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>> simon: beauty has a way of turning up in places where you'd least expect it. we went to the congo a few weeks ago, the poorest country in the world. kinshasa, the capital, has a population of ten million and almost nothing in the way of hope or peace. but there's a well-kept secret down there. kinshasa has a symphony orchestra-- the only one in central africa, the only all- black one in the world. it's called the kimbanguist symphony orchestra. we'd never heard of it. no one we called had ever heard of it. but when we got there, we were surprised to find 200 musicians and vocalists who've never played outside kinshasa, or have been outside kinshasa. we were even more surprised to find joy in the congo.

when we told the musicians they would be on "60 minutes," they didn't know what we were talking about, but, still, they invited us to a performance. we caught up with them as they were preparing outside their concert hall, a rented warehouse. as curtain time neared, we had no idea what to expect. but maestro armand diangienda seemed confident, and began the evening with a bang. ♪ ♪ the music, "carmina burana," was written by german composer carl orff 75 years ago. did he ever dream that it would be played in the congo?

it wouldn't have been if it hadn't been for armand and a strange twist of fate. armand was a commercial pilot until 20 years ago, when his airline went bust. so, like ex-pilots often do, he decided to put together an orchestra. he was just missing a few things. you had no musicians, you had no teachers, you had no instruments. >> armand diangienda: yes. >> simon: and you had no one who knew how to read music? >> diangienda: no, nobody. nobody. >> simon: armand's english is limited. he preferred speaking french, congo's official language. when you started asking people if they wanted to be members of this orchestra, did they have any idea what you were talking about? "in the beginning," he said, "people made fun of us, saying here in the congo, classical music puts people to sleep." but armand pressed on. he taught himself how to read music and play the piano, play the trombone, the guitar, and the cello.

he talked a few members of his church into joining him. they brought their friends, which brought more problems. "we only had five or six violins," he said, "for the 12 people who wanted to learn how to play the violin." "so they took turns," he said. "one would play for 15 or 20 minutes at a time. that was very difficult." but more instruments started coming in. some were donated; others rescued from local thrift shops in various states of disrepair. then, it was up to albert , the orchestra's surgeon, to heal them. he wasn't always gentle with his patients, but they survived. armand told us that when a violin string broke in those early days, they used whatever they had at hand to fix it. you took the wire from a bicycle?

>> diangienda: bicycle, yes. >> simon: the brake of a bicycle and turned it into a string for a violin? >> diangienda: yes. >> simon: and it played music? >> diangienda: oui. >> simon: and with every functioning instrument, more would-be musicians poured in. before long, armand's house became a makeshift conservatory. armand was the dean. every room, every corridor, no matter how small or dark or stifling, was teeming with sound. outdoors, the parking lot was a quiet spot to practice the viola. but even this was an oasis compared to what was on the other side of the walls. the congo is, after all, a war- torn country, has been for 60 years. this is where most of the musicians live, on unpaved streets with little in the way

of running water, electricity, or sanitation. the musicians don't get paid for playing in the orchestra. some work in the market, selling whatever they can. very few people in kinshasa make more than $50 a month... or live past 50. sylvie mbela's life has gotten even more demanding since she started in the orchestra 17 years ago. she's got three kids now. there are no daycare centers in the neighborhood, so the kids are always with her, never far from her fiddle. but when she turns from mother to musician, she says she has left this planet, she is not in the congo anymore. ♪ ♪ for years, sylvie and the orchestra played on, but only in kinshasa. no one outside the congo knew anything about them until 2010.

that's when two german filmmakers made a documentary, which was shown in germany. it so inspired musicians in germany, they sent down instruments, and then themselves to give master classes. ♪ ♪ opera vocalists rolf schmitz- malburg and sabine kallhammer came to teach technique and diction. and if you ever questioned that music is the universal language, watch this, a german-speaking teacher tutoring a french- speaking african how to sing an aria in italian. ♪ ♪ but when rolf and sabine moved onto the full choir, it wasn't so easy.

were they pleased to see you? do you think that they said, "oh, how wonderful we have two white people here to teach us how to play music"? >> sabina kallhammer: they had experiences with other white people, so i can really understand that they were careful and a little shy. but... but they really were open to learn. >> simon: at times, they weren't sure what they were learning or why. "what was this all about?" the exercises are designed to loosen you up, the germans explained, and after a while, they did. >> kallhammer: and then they started to sing for us, and then we were, like... ♪ ♪

>> kallhammer: their faces change when they do their music. ♪ ♪ i mean, if you live in kinshasa, there is no culture life here, so these people have to find a way to go to some other places. making music is one way to go on a trip, a cheap trip because you can just close your eyes. they do that very often, and they are somewhere else. >> bien, bravo, bravo. merci beaucoup. >> simon: rolf moved on to the next class. that's where we met two tenors, brothers carrime and valvi bilolo. ♪ ♪

they live in the countryside, ten miles from armand's place. they took us there. the boys' parents, two brothers and a sister share a three-room blockhouse. carrime and valvi certainly had to learn the importance of harmony growing up here, so by the time they met armand, harmony was second nature. when did you join the orchestra? >> ( speaking french ) >> simon: the 8th of november in 2003. >> carrime bilolo: yes. >> simon: why do you think you remember the exact date? >> carrime bilolo: ( speaking french ) >> simon: "well," he said, "it's like a birth for us in this symphony orchestra, so it's a date we can't forget." and this is how they get to rehearsal, six days a week-- 90 minutes each way. some would call it a trek; for them, it's a commute. when they get downtown, the last stretch is on a bus.

what keeps them going? the music-- always, the music. ♪ ♪ >> kallhammer: they come here every day, they sing, and they go home. it's really amazing. ♪ ♪ >> simon: it's pretty difficult to relate to that, isn't it? >> kallhammer: yeah. i don't think that anybody would do that, with this conditions, in our country, no. >> simon: the boys and the choir have quite a repertoire now: bach, mendelssohn, handel... and, of course, beethoven. the week we were there, the orchestra was rehearsing beethoven's ninth symphony. not exactly starter music, but armand was determined to take it on. and like a good general, he

reviewed all his troops. ♪ ♪ the choir-- okay. ♪ ♪ the strings? not bad. ♪ ♪ but the full orchestra? not quite. >> diangienda: ( speaking french ) >> simon: "french horns," he said, "you're hitting it too hard." >> diangienda: ( speaking french ) >> simon: "be mindful of the echo," he told the string section. >> diangienda: ( speaking french ) >> simon: finally, it all came together. ♪ ♪

and on the night of the performance, in this rented warehouse, beethoven came alive. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ it's called the "ode to joy," the last movement of beethoven's last symphony. it has been played with more expertise before. but with more joy? hard to imagine.

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