Violin Practice Young people in Venezuela start to be involved in music at a very early age as a part of the "Sistema Nacional de Orquestas" known around the world as "El Sistema." This project has been actively working for more that 30 years and is still run by the founder. In 1975 Venezuelan economist and amateur musician Jose Antonio Abreu founded Social Action for Music and became its director. Abreu has navigated the program for the past 34 years through ten different administrations, flourishing under both the Presidents of the 1980s and the actual administration. Combining political shrewdness with religious devotion, Abreu has dedicated himself to a utopian dream in which an orchestra represents the ideal society and the sooner a child is nurtured in that environment the better for all. It is not a political movement and should not be associated with any government in Venezuela, now or before. Adrian is 8-year-old and he learned to read music when he was 4. Actually he can play violin, the flute & the cuatro (our national instrument, it's kind of a 4-string guitar) and is very active with concerts and recitals with other small kids in our local youth orchestras. Adrian had the opportunity to personally meet Mr. Abreu a few months ago when he acted as the conductor at a small concert in his honor with the baroque recorder group.