I attended a very exciting FMS conference last week in Leeds, where I was bowled over by the wealth of new thinking and energy that pervades so many areas of music education in the UK at the moment.

There Lord Adonis, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Schools and Learners, announced the proposed launch of an English version of the acclaimed orchestral music project from Venezuela, 'El Sistema', which over 33 years has helped 0.5m children out of poverty and produced the wonderful Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra, seen at the 2007 UK Proms.

Richard Holloway is very enthusiastic about Scotland's El Sistema project in Stirling and now educators in England are getting very excited about the English version, to be called 'In Harmony'. Led by Julian Lloyd Webber, In Harmony's steering committee will announce this Summer how the English version will work and will invite tenders for running projects.

Tell us what you think. Do you have plans for a project?