A boy is helped by his mother to play with the timpani during an interactive concert that is part of the “New Members” program in the headquarters of “El Sistema” in Caracas

A boy is helped by his mother to play with the timpani during an interactive concert that is part of the “New Members” program in the headquarters of “El Sistema” in Caracas

A boy is helped by his mother to play with the timpani during an interactive concert that is part of the “New Members” program in the headquarters of “El Sistema” in Caracas September 27, 2014. In a nation awash with guns and with one of the world’s highest murder rates, Venezuela’s hugely successful classical music program, known as “El Sistema” (The System), has for decades sought to counteract poor children’s exposure to violence with the gentle and inspiring influence of classical music. It used to only admit children aged at least 5. But under its latest “New Members” projects, hundreds of smaller infants can receive voice lessons, musical initiation with paper-made instruments, and free concerts, at its base in Caracas. Picture taken September 27, 2014. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins (VENEZUELA – Tags: SOCIETY EDUCATION)