The most ambitious of music teachers seek not only to educate their students about notes and chords, but also to instill in them the transcendent joy of making music. That joy is abundant in Venezuela, where the El Sistema national music education program has been a boon to the country's cultural growth and has created a climate of positive social change. It is this same lofty goal that drew teacher Aisha Bowden to become an Abreu Fellow--the Fellowship is named after El Sistema founder Jose Abreu--at the New England Conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts. Bowden began her 10-month fellowship last fall, and as she nears its end, her enthusiasm for the El Sistema movement and its potential in the U.S. is infectious. In this article, Bowden describes the concepts of El Sistema. A Q&A with Bowden is included.