"El Sistema" being launched in the U.S.

I believe in the power of music and art. I saw the following story on 60 Minutes in April 2008 (it's about 13 minutes). It made my heart swell with pride at what Dr. Jose Abreu has done for the children of Venezuela. This is the type of story that makes me say out loud, "There's hope for us yet."




Feast your senses on a product of his passion (Performed live for TED 2009 - Keep in mind these are high school kids!! Amazing! Video is about 17 min.):



Then earlier this year, he received the TED Prize and requested help in bringing his program to the U.S. and other countries. My new hero! (video is about 17 min.)



This is what he says starting at minute-mark 14:53:

We hope that TED can contribute in a full and fundamental way to the building of the new era in the teaching of music, in which the social, communal, spiritual, and vindicatory aims of the child and the adolescent become a beacon and a goal for a vast social mission - No longer putting society at the service of art,
and much less at the service of monopolies of the elite,
but instead art at the service of society,
at the service of the weakest,
at the service of the children,
at the service of the vulnerable,
and at the service of all those who cry for the vindication through the spirit of their human condition and the raising up of their dignity.

I found out today that the program is being launched at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston.

More info about the program: El Sistema USA.
You can support a fellow or become a fellow through that site.

Bravo, TED!! I hope with all my heart the program is successful.