LONDON , England ( CNN ) -- Britain 's rundown housing estates and deprived inner cities will be the setting for a new project that aims to use classical music to lift children out of the poverty trap . Simon Bolivar Youth Symphony Orchestra rehearse ahead of a performance at New York 's Carnegie Hall in November last year . Organizers are modeling the plan on a hugely successful scheme already in place in Venezuela that gives free instruments and training to children from poor and vulnerable backgrounds . They are hoping that lessons learned in the slums of Caracas can be made to work in Britain . Internationally renowned cellist Julian Lloyd Webber is spearheading the initiative he hopes will give `` a sense of purpose '' to the lives of the most in need . Under the government-backed project , children as young as three will be taught to play classical instruments by trained musicians . `` We 're really trying to go to the most deprived children , to the most poor areas , '' Lloyd Webber told CNN . `` You 're talking about children from a background where classical music has almost certainly played no part . '' The inspiration behind the scheme is the El Sistema social program in Venezuela , which has helped improve the lives of thousands of young people since it began over 30 years ago . Many of those youths have gone on to be part of the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra , which was created as a result of the program and has performed around the world to rave reviews . The scheme has launched the musical careers of several of its members . One graduate , Gustavo Dudamel , currently conducts the orchestra but has been signed up to take over as musical director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic next year . The 27-year-old prodigy described by the New York Times as `` classical music 's hottest young podium property '' was born to a poor family in the Venezuelan interior and took up the violin aged 10 . However for Lloyd Webber , who has worked with a range of top musicians from Yehudi Menuhin to Elton John , the purpose of the UK project is not to create a new batch of professional musicians . `` That 's not the way we 're looking at it . It 's very likely most of those involved will not turn professional but they will hopefully be empowered to make something more of their lives . '' The Venezuelan project has grown from around 100 or so members when it started to involve 250,000 children and young people today . In the 1970s , Venezuela had only two professional orchestras mainly composed of immigrants from Eastern Europe and Italy . Thanks to El Sistema that number has expanded to over 110 . But will the British version be able to match this astonishing success , given the very different social conditions that exist in the two countries ? After all , though there are deprived areas in the UK they ca n't be compared with the grinding poverty of Venezuela 's slums where the incentive to escape to a better life is surely much greater . Lloyd Webber disagrees , insisting that levels of poverty in Britain are far worse than many realize . `` We have many of the same problems here that they 've encountered there . We have drug issues , prostitution issues , gang warfare issues . `` The Venezuelan project has been hugely helpful in reducing those kind of problems , and save children who would have possibly died without it . '' What about the wide array of distractions on offer in the West such as video games and television , not to mention the low regard many young people have for the world of classical music , which is still considered stuffy and uncool ? Again he disagrees , claiming that children in poor areas of Britain often have nothing to distract them , which he says leads to anti-social behavior . `` There are very poor areas in England and for the children who live there , there is often very little to do . That 's why you see them out on the streets drinking , bored out of their heads . '' Lloyd Webber is charged with chairing the steering group set up to organize the project , which is initially funded to run for the next three years . He says the scheme will focus on three or four specific areas of the country considered to be especially deprived . Charismatic teachers will be recruited to inspire the children . Although the cellist says the experience of performing in an orchestra should serve as a powerful inspiration on its own . `` I grew up performing in youth orchestras , '' says Lloyd Webber , who is the son of the composer William Lloyd Webber and younger brother of Andrew Lloyd Webber , who has written and produced several major West End and Broadway musicals including Phantom of the Opera and Evita . `` It will give them a sense of purpose and a sense of togetherness . It 's a wonderful feeling when you 've a group of a hundred players wanting to produce something bigger and better than they are . `` It could be that through this some of those involved feel self-worth for the first time in their lives . ''
A programme to provide musical instruments and training to youth in poor areas . The scheme is modelled on a successful program in Venezuela . El Sistema has helped lift many youths out of the slums through music . The UK programme is being led by famous composer Andrew Lloyd Webber .