Armed with nothing more than his creative muse, his passionate vision for world peace and a heightened level of human understanding, Nestor Torres has come to Costa Rica to work with young musicians as part of the Culture Ministry's campaign to benefit the National Music Education System (SINEM).

“Terrorism and violence come from ignorance, from anger, from despair. Music and culture inspire and revitalize; they calm the human heart and alleviate the soul. My life and my work, as an artist and as a human being, is a manifestation of this understanding,” he said.

That understanding has manifested itself throughout a series of activities including a master class for young musicians and will culminate with a concert at the National Theater Saturday night together with the Youth Symphony Orchestra.

Tomorrow night's concert will include a program of classical and jazz music, an evening filled with the sounds of Mozart's Concerto in D Major for Flute and Orchestra and the rhythm of Latin jazz written by Torres and others.

Proceeds from the concert will go to SINEM. This initiative of the Ministry of Culture plans to extend the national reach of music education to students to include as many as 5,000 students by the year 2010.

Nestor Torres was born in Puerto Rico. He began studying flute at age 12. By age 18, he moved to New York, where he studied jazz and classical music at Mannes School of Music, Berklee College of Music and the New England Conservatory. His education also included playing as a solo flautist in charanga orchestras, a Cuban music style that mandates improvisation.

Torres' career spans 20 years of performance with jazz luminaries such as Herbie Hancock and James Moody. He has shared the stage and recording studio with Tito Puente, Gloria Estefan and Ricky Martin, among others. As a symphonic soloist he has performed with the New World Symphony, the Cleveland Pops and the Philly Pops.

In 2001 Torres won the Latin Grammy for “This Side of Paradise,” and has received numerous awards for his commitment to education and cultural exchange. He has traveled the world participating in numerous events, concerts and festivals promoting peace.