$4 Million Grant from Edgerton Foundation Supports Construction of
Judith and Thomas L. Beckmen YOLA Center at Inglewood 

Los Angeles, CA (October 22, 2019) – The Los Angeles Philharmonic Association has received a $4 million grant commitment from the Edgerton Foundation, on behalf of their donor-advised fund at the California Community Foundation. The grant – the largest single one in the Edgerton Foundation’s history – will support the construction of the Judith and Thomas L. Beckmen YOLA Center at Inglewood, the first permanent, purpose-built facility for the LA Phil’s YOLA (Youth Orchestra Los Angeles) program, designed by Frank Gehry in close collaboration with Gustavo Dudamel. In recognition, the LA Phil will name the Center’s 4,400-square-foot performance and rehearsal space the Edgerton Foundation Performance Hall.

Louise Edgerton has been a member of the LA Phil’s Board of Directors since 2008 and serves on the Board’s Learning and Community Committee. Through the Edgerton Foundation, Louise and her husband Dr. Brad Edgerton have generously supported festivals and special projects featuring the Los Angeles Philharmonic at Walt Disney Concert Hall, as well as initiatives that innovate and encourage the forward momentum of the LA Phil.

Slated to open in fall 2020, the 25,000-square-foot, $23.5 million Beckmen YOLA Center transforms the former branch office of Security Pacific Bank located at 101 South La Brea Avenue, in the civic center of the City of Inglewood. The Edgerton Foundation Performance Hall will be located in the heart of the Center, viewable from street level through a glass façade. The Hall will feature a stage as well as auditorium seating for 250 people, with a Frank Gehry-designed glass roof that provides natural light and enhances the room’s acoustics. Additionally, the Hall will be separable into two smaller rehearsal or conference spaces to accommodate the needs of YOLA, the LA Phil, and community-based musicians.

The Beckmen YOLA Center will serve as many as 500 students a year from Inglewood and surrounding communities. The Center will provide a gathering place for students from existing and future YOLA sites and music educators from across the U.S. and around the world, be a cultural resource for the people of Inglewood, and act as the focal point of the LA Phil’s commitment to community engagement in the area.

“We are incredibly honored by the generosity of the Edgerton Foundation and are thrilled that this gift will name the performance and rehearsal space at the very heart of the Beckmen YOLA Center. That sense of community, of working together, of leveling the playing field is essential to orchestral music-making and fundamental to YOLA. We are very grateful that Brad and Louise have invested with us in this work. I look forward to the opening of the Center next year, and to thanking Brad and Louise again with the first strains of music played in the Edgerton Foundation Performance Hall,” says Chad Smith, Chief Executive Officer of the LA Phil.

Louise Edgerton also serves on the board of Occidental College and is a member of the Leadership Council for the International Medical Corps. Dr. Brad Edgerton is a retired surgeon and President of the Edgerton Foundation. Additionally, Brad serves on the boards of the Pacific Council on International Policy, Center Theatre Group, the Geffen Playhouse, and Harvard-Westlake School. The Edgerton Foundation supports artistic, educational, and cultural institutions in Los Angeles and also funds the development of new American plays nationwide. In addition, the Foundation supports efforts to deal with security and international policy and supports conservation biodiversity and habitat preservation in Alaska. 

“The future of young musicians and leaders in Los Angeles is bright in many ways thanks to the LA Phil. We can’t wait to see the extraordinary impact YOLA – and now the Judith and Thomas L. Beckmen YOLA Center at Inglewood – will continue to have across this city and nationwide,” says Louise Edgerton.