Making Beautiful Music . . . And Maybe Changing the World, As Well

Ruben Rangel at Hotchkiss; Photo Marsden Epworth

Ruben Rengel does not remember a time he did not play violin. That’s because he started at age 2, on a 1/16th-size instrument. It’s 14 years later, now, and he plays with aplomb and beauty (but unusual style, holding the violin under his chin rather than his jaw, the way his teacher does and tells him not to). He is from Venezuela’s famous El Sistema, the Chavez government-supported program teaching thousands of children to play classical music. And change the world, too.