Youth Orchestra LA is a network of public and private stakeholders devoted to providing quality instrumental music education for children with the greatest needs, fewest resources and little or no access to instrumental music education. The vision that unites this diverse coalition of partners is that every child in L.A. County who wants to play in an orchestra will be able to do so. The mission of Youth Orchestra LA is to put instruments in children's hands and give them the best quality instruction by creating new and leveraging existing ensemble programs.
Stakeholders within the network of Youth Orchestra LA include: city and county of Los Angeles, universities, LAUSD and other school districts in L.A. County, community music schools, non-profit music organizations, individual music educators, after-school programs such as Beyond the Bell and LA's Best, and funders. The inspiration for Youth Orchestra LA comes from the dynamic youth orchestra movement in Venezuela, where it is an agent for social change and has resulted in the formation of over 200 youth orchestras for low-income children.
The coalition will work together to coordinate and align its community resources, in-school and after-school, to provide a pathway of instrumental instruction and ensemble experience for children. The target population for Youth Orchestra LA is children ages 8 to 14 in underserved areas of L.A. County.
The first youth orchestra — EXPO Youth Orchestra, Central LA
The first youth orchestra to be launched will be located in Central L.A. in October. The LA Phil's partners for this youth orchestra include The Harmony Project, an afterschool music education provider, and the EXPO Center, a community center run by the City Department of Recreation and Parks, as well as a private board. Children will be drawn from a cluster of schools in close proximity to the EXPO Center. They will receive free music instruction, instruments and the opportunity to participate in a community youth orchestra.
