Deaf, disabled kids harmonize in Venezuela program

BARQUISIMETO, Venezuela - When the choir begins, only some of its young members sing aloud. The rest make music silently through sign language, wearing white gloves as their hands perform an elaborate choreography in unison.

The deaf members of the White Hands Choir are part of an unusual program in Venezuela that brings together students with a wide range of disabilities and immerses them in music. They rehearse with blind and mentally disabled musicians who play the trumpet, piano and bongo drums and with singers who have Down syndrome or autism or use wheelchairs.

Venezuela's music program for the disabled began in 1995 in the north-central city of Barquisimeto and has spread throughout the country while also becoming a model internationally.