Plácido Domingo is lending his strong voice to the children of Mexico…

The 71-year-old Spanish tenor and conductor made his last appearance of the year at a charity concert in Acapulco, Mexico, performing before an audience of nearly 20,000.

Funds from Saturday night’s event will benefit a youth orchestra program in the southern Mexican state of Guerrero, helping hundreds of at-risk youths.

“One of the most beautiful moments was directing them and hearing them sing,” said Domingo in a post-concert press conference, referring to the 320 young people and children from the Orquesta Renacimiento who participated in the event.

The group was created on July 30 with children recruited from the poor Ciudad Renacimiento section of Acapulco, thanks to a program for training children from low-income households.

“I believe this is marvelous,” the Spanish singer, a strong supporter of using musical training to promote integration and prevent social exclusion, said.

Domingo, who was born in Madrid in 1941, said a “great friend,” maestro Jose Antonio Abreu, organized a similar program in Venezuela 35 years ago, allowing more than 350,000 childen to receive classroom training and get off the streets.