42 Non-Profit55 Schools- PublicEducation ServicesYouth Agency
43 years ago, a 31-year old Venezuelan economist and musician saw children living on the street. He said to himself, ''there must be something I can do to improve their lives.'' So he found 11 children, a parking garage for practice space, and some instruments. He told the children, ''I'm going to teach you music because if you have music in your lives you will never be poor.''
His vision has now spread across the globe. El Sistema inspired programs are in 60 countries and serve over a million children worldwide. El Sistema Colorado (ESC) has served kids in the GES neighborhoods for 6 years. We teach in an ensemble environment so kids have a safe community in which to learn, practice, and share their leadership and teamwork skills. In ESC, kids learn responsibility and perseverance. By creating a safe place for kids to fail, and then to work with those failures and learn from them, ESC gives kids not only the gift of music, but also the essential skills needed for life-long success.
