Domingo Hindoyan [La Opera Coresia]

IT used to be the talk and wonder of the music world: the revolutionary Venezuelan education programme El Sistema that supposedly encouraged children from poor backgrounds to learn instruments, join orchestras, and – in the process – turn their backs on lives of crime.

Over the years its methods have been questioned. But the fact remains that it’s produced several generations of musicians with big international careers, including the conductor Gustavo Dudamel. And two more Sistema graduates grace the Proms on August 7: chief conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philhamonic Domingo Hindoyan and his friend from boyhood, trumpeter Pacho Flores.

Together they front a RLPO evening at the Albert Hall featuring music from the “New World” (as it was known in more innocent days), including Dvorak’s symphony of that name and a catchy, Latin-rhythmed trumpet concerto by Arturo Marquez that Florez can be guaranteed to play with sensational exuberance (he has personality).

It’s not just the Americas that sweep into the Proms this week, though. August 5 brings a celebration of all things British with a night of tuneful classics by Elgar, Britten, Vaughan Williams and (no relation) Grace Williams – a mid-20th-century composer whose star has risen in recent years, claimed by the Welsh as one of theirs although she spent part of her life in Willow Road, Hampstead.

Bringing the Great British roster up to date, there’s also a new work by John Rutter, who spent his formative years at school in Highgate. Such are the gifts of north London to our nation’s cultural life.

Other Proms highlights include two doses of Mahler: his epic Resurrection Symphony on August 2, performed by the Halle Orchestra with striking mezzo of the moment Emily d’Angelo, and his fairy-tale cantata Das Klagende Leid on August 4 from the BBCSO.

But for me the absolute standouts are August 1, when pianist Yunchan Lim plays Rachmaninov’s 4th Concerto, and August 6 when Ivan Fischer brings his Budapest Festival Orchestra to play Bartok’s chilling opera for just two voices (albeit supported by an army of instrumentalists) Duke Bluebeard’s Castle.

As conductors go, Fischer is a maverick: you might recall the crazy Prom he led a few years ago that involved on-the-spot audience requests and descended into chaos. But his eccentricities come with genius. And to my ear, his BFO is one of the great orchestras of modern times: an always-astonishing ensemble who don’t know the meaning of the word routine. Whatever they do, you end up gripping the edge of your seat. Usually with joy.

These Proms are at the Albert Hall, but also broadcast live on Radio 3. Full details: bbc.co.uk/proms

• If you’ve ever sung in a church choir at Christmas you’ll know the composer John Joubert for his carol Torches: it’s a standard. But less well-known is that he wrote an operatic adaptation of Jane Eyre – which gets a rare London production, August 6-9, at the Arcola Theatre as part of its Grimeborn Festival of small-scale stagings. Worth exploring. Arcolatheatre.com/grimeborn

And for excerpts from more familiar operatic rep – “bleeding chunks” as they’re called in the business – try the fundraiser evening Hampstead Garden Opera hosts at St Michael’s Highgate, August 2, in memory of its founding-father Alastair Macgeorge. Hgo.org.uk