El Sistema

In 1975, Jose Abreu founded a music program that now provides instrumental instruction to a quarter million of the poorest children in Venezuela. These young musicians play in 125 orchestras. Fundación del Estado para el Sistema Nacional de las Orquestas Juveniles e Infantiles de Venezuela, (Fesnojiv) is known as El Sistema.

MYOCA and Scrollworks were inspired by and loosely modeled after El Sistema.

Please find out more:

• The official Fesnojiv website
• We are mentioned here.
• El Sistema on Wikipedia
• El Sistema: Changing Lives Through Music on CBS 60 Minutes
• The Ensemble newsletter by Eric Booth
• El Sistema USA
• Watch the documentary 'Tocar y Luchar' on Hulu.
• Read Jonathan Govias' essays on El Sistema.

The video of the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra at the 2007 Proms that prompted the comment that 'It can happen here.' -- and thus began Scrollworks!