Jose Antonio Abreu founded El Sistema (Spanish for "the system") in 1975 to help underserved Venezuelan children learn to play a musical instrument and be part of an orchestra. Thirty years later, El Sistema has become a worldwide organization of youth orchestras, children's orchestras and music centres - with close to 250,000 young musicians in Venezuela alone.
There's a simple concept behind Abreu's work: for him an orchestra is first and foremost about togetherness, a place where children learn to listen to each other and to respect one another.
El Sistema's Ideals:
