Opera star Placido Domingo says he will be "thrilled" to conduct an orchestra of New York City public school students.
The acclaimed tenor is expected to conduct students from two schools ? one in Harlem and one in Brooklyn ? at a fundraiser Wednesday night for their after-school music program.
The program, called Harmony, is modeled on El Sistema in Venezuela. El Sistema provides tens of thousands of Venezuelan children with free, intensive music instruction.
The New York City students study music for two hours every day after school.
Domingo said in an email that he believes nothing is more important than encouraging young people to love music.
He said a love of music enriches people's lives and can last a lifetime.
