El Sistema-inspired programs
El Sistema-inspired programs are community-based music education programs in several countries inspired by the system of music schools in Venezuela known as El Sistema. Founded in 1975 by José Antonio Abreu, a Venezuelan educator, musician, and activist, El Sistema is built on the belief that the collective playing of music from an early age fosters personal growth, artistic expression, discipline, teamwork, and social integration.
During the 50 years since its beginnings, millions of children and young people have studied mainly classical music free of charge in El Sistema centers all over Venezuela. Financed by successive governments, El Sistema has created hundreds of orchestras and choirs and the program has received wide international recognition as one of the largest music education programs in the world. Graduates of El Sistema, including Gustavo Dudamel, Edicson Ruiz, Rafael Payare, Ron Davis Alvarez and Natalia Luis-Bassa, have embarked on international careers as conductors, musicians, composers and music educators.
As of 2022, more than 250 world-wide El Sistema-inspired programs in all continents were listed by El Sistema Global, a U.S.-based nonprofit organization that supports and connects educators, leaders, and programs sharing basic principles and methods. As one of their key social goals, ESI programs are intended to support the cognitive and social growth of all participating children, including those from underserved communities. El Sistema is part of the project "Music for Social Action", and similar programs have been called "Music for Social Change".
In his studies, British musicologist Geoffrey Baker has referred to ESI programs as "Social Action through Music". With regard to the social benefits of the programs, however, Baker and other scholars have claimed that strong empirical evidence for this goal has been scarce and exaggerated.
El Sistema Venezuela
El Sistema, officially the National Network of Youth and Children Orchestras of Venezuela, is a publicly financed, free music education program for children and young people at the community level. As a part of the project "Music for Social Action", it was founded in 1975 by José Antonio Abreu, a Venezuelan educator, musician and activist. The program is built on the belief that the collective playing of music from an early age fosters personal growth, artistic expression, discipline, teamwork, and social integration.In 1993, Abreu was awarded the UNESCO International Music Prize. UNESCO appointed Abreu as a Special Ambassador for the Development of a Global Network of Youth and Children Orchestras and Choirs in 1995 within the framework of UNESCO's "World Movement of Youth and Children Orchestras and Choirs". This project was created in the context of an interdisciplinary project "Towards a Culture of Peace". Abreu co-ordinated the programme through the UNESCO office in Caracas and was designated a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador in 1998.
According to UNICEF, El Sistema included over 400 music centers and 1700 smaller teaching units for more than one million young musicians in 2022. In the 50 years since its beginnings, El Sistema has inspired similar programmes in many countries, and in 2025, El Sistema published an overview on ESI music programs in all continents.
ESI programs around the world
Sistema Global
Sistema Global is a U.S.-based nonprofit organization that supports and connects educators, leaders, and programs inspired by El Sistema, the Venezuelan national music education model. On their website, the organization lists a program directory with more than 250 music education programs in six continents inspired by El Sistema in Venezuela.The HundrED Foundation selected Sistema Global for its Global Education Innovation Collection, highlighting the organization's role in promoting social engagement and youth empowerment through ensemble music education. According to HundrED, Sistema Global operates in over 40 countries and remains committed to El Sistema's original pedagogical and social model through its partnership with the El Sistema organization in Venezuela.
History and Mission
Sistema Global was created to realize a vision articulated by El Sistema founder José Antonio Abreu. In his 2009 TED Talk, Abreu spoke of a global network linking El Sistema–inspired programs around the world. Over time, the need for an online network where program leaders, teachers, and students could share learning resources, collaborate, and support each other became clear, and Sistema Global grew to fulfill that role. According to the organization's website, its stated mission is "to connect, encourage, and inspire" ESI teachers and leaders everywhere and to raise greater awareness of the El Sistema approach to music education worldwide.Sistema Global provides a variety of resources and services tailored to both teachers and students. It encompasses a broad range of approaches and cultural models, each shaped by distinct local conditions.The organization collects and curates teaching materials, online courses, and mentoring support contributed by El Sistema teachers globally, including Sistema Global ambassadors. It offers independent support to teachers and students, serving as a point of contact for pedagogical guidance or professional advice. Sistema Global plans to provide sheet music, online lessons, and information about music centers around the world.
It maintains a programme directory listing ESI local programs in multiple countries. Sistema Global does not itself operate music centers, but rather supports existing ESI programs and helps new ones form. Its connection to El Sistema is assured by several El Sistema leaders who serve on its board, preserving fidelity to Abreu's original social mission.
North America
El Sistema USA
El Sistema USA, also known as National Alliance of El Sistema-Inspired Programs, is a nonprofit organization based in Durham, North Carolina. In 2025, its network directory listed more than 140 member programs serving over 30,000 young people across the United States and Canada.El Sistema USA supports its members through professional development, providing assistance for emerging programs through training, mentoring, financial support, and administrative guidance. Its activities are aimed at using ensemble-based music education to promote social development, including among youth from underserved communities. It aims to strengthen long-term viability by fostering donor development and creative fundraising efforts, all with the goal of using music education and ensemble playing to build key life skills among young people facing economic hardship.
The philosophy and aspirations of El Sistema USA are expressed on their website as:
"We envision a world in which every child — regardless of income, geography, or identity — has access to a high-quality music education program that builds community, opportunity, and personal growth. Our model emphasizes programs with free or low-cost tuition, frequent instruction, and ensemble-based learning."
Notable ESI-programs in the U.S.
Following José Abreu's 2009 TED talk, TED funded the Sistema Fellows Program at the New England Conservatory. In this five-year program, 50 young musicians received instruction in conducting and leading youth orchestras across the United States. Special emphasis was given to leadership and community development, and the program included a month‐long residency to become familiar with El Sistema in Venezuela. The program ran from 2009 to 2024, with graduates taking up artistic and management positions at music education programs, including the Corona Youth Music Project in Queens, New York, New West Symphony Harmony Project in Ventura, California, and Music for Youth in Cincinnati, Ohio.The Harmony Program in New York City began with their daily after-school music lessons to children from underserved communities as a pilot program in 2003. The program trained and employed college- and graduate-level music students as teachers. After being incorporated as an independent nonprofit organization, the Harmony Program was re-launched in 2008 through a partnership with the City University of New York. It was founded by Anne Fitzgibbon, who had studied El Sistema in Venezuela on a year-long Fulbright Fellowship.
The Youth Orchestra Los Angeles is the Los Angeles Philharmonic's initiative to establish youth orchestra programs in ethnically diverse and underprivileged communities throughout Los Angeles. Inspired by the Los Angeles Philharmonic's music and artistic director Gustavo Dudamel's experience with Venezuela's El Sistema youth orchestra movement, the LA Phil founded YOLA in 2007. In 2021, YOLA provided free instruments, music training, and academic support to about 1,300 students age 6-18. The same year, the Judith and Thomas L. Beckmen YOLA Center at Inglewood was inaugurated, becoming YOLA's first permanent concert hall.
In 2011, the Longy School of Music of Bard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts and the Los Angeles Philharmonic formed the program Take a Stand to promote and support the ESI music education movement, and in particular socially committed music teachers through a new Masters of Arts in Teaching degree program in the United States.
Canada
In September 2007, Saint James Music Academy in Vancouver, British Columbia, was established as Canada's first El-Sistema program. Sistema New Brunswick in Moncton, New Brunswick, is a program of the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra, and started in 2009. It has since grown to include centres across the province. In 2021, Sistema NB launched their 10,000 Children Campaign to engage 10,000 children and youth in New Brunswick over the life of the program.Sistema Toronto was founded in 2011 by businessman and community activist Robert Eisenberg. Sistema Toronto's first centre opened at Parkdale Junior and Senior Public School; the second opened in 2013 at Jane/Finch's Yorkwoods Public School. Sistema Toronto has since opened two centres in Scarborough's Kingston-Galloway-Orton Park neighbourhood. As of 2017, enrollment was 240 children aged 6–13.
Sistema Winnipeg began in 2011 as a partnership between the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Winnipeg School Division, and Sevenoaks School Division. The program runs every day after school for approximately 130 students and includes a meal, choir, orchestra, and social programming. Sistema Winnipeg performs regularly with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and is led by Music Director Naomi Woo, who is also assistant conductor of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.
The Youth Orchestra of Northern Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, was established in September 2013. It serves students at local schools and is offered through a partnership between the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, the Edmonton Catholic School District, the Edmonton Public School Board, and the Inner City Children's Program.