Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar

The Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar (Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra) is a youth orchestra from Venezuela. The musicians are nearly all in their 20s. The orchestra was started by the economist José Antonio Abreu in 1975. Children from poor backgrounds had been given the opportunity, by the Venezuelan government, to learn a musical instrument. The orchestra consists of some of the best of these players.
The conductor Gustavo Dudamel has been the orchestra's artistic director since 1999. They have made recordings of music by Beethoven as well as Latin American music.
They became internationally famous when they played at the BBC Proms in London in August 2007.