Judith and Thomas L. Beckmen LA Phil Resident Fellows launched as a centerpiece initiative of the LA Phil’s centennial, creating a pathway towards a more diverse and inclusive orchestra of tomorrow.
The fellowship is an excellence-based training program for superb early-career symphonic musicians representing or serving historically underrepresented populations. Its goal is to prepare these musicians to compete for, and win, positions in major professional orchestras.
An annual cohort of up to six Judith and Thomas L. Beckmen LA Phil Resident Fellows are appointed as musicians playing with the Los Angeles Philharmonic for up to three years while they receive a salary and benefits package. The Fellows will focus on their artistic development through orchestral, chamber music, new music, and learning concerts performed at Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Hollywood Bowl, and in community settings. They will also have the opportunity to participate in tours. Mentorship from LA Phil Musicians and assistance with audition preparation are added benefits to prepare Fellows for future roles in major professional orchestras, including the LA Phil.
Continuing Fellows include violinists Gabriela Peña-Kim and Sydney Adedamola, and violist Jarrett Threadgill. Joining the current Fellows are the 2022/23 Judith and Thomas L. Beckmen LA Phil Resident Fellows: percussionist Justin Ochoa, who performed as the principal percussionist of the California Young Artists Symphony, appeared as guest principal timpanist with the American Youth Symphony and will appear as a percussion fellow with the National Repertory Orchestra this summer; double bassist Nicholas Arredondo, who studied at the Colburn Conservatory of Music and was a finalist and top prize winner in major competitions, including YoungArts; and Cuban-born cellist Ismael Guerrero, a member of the Sphinx Virtuosi and a graduate of the USC Thornton School of Music.
As the LA Phil imagines the possibilities for its next 100 years, the program will help the organization build on its historic achievements to create a model of a 21st-century cultural institution that both serves and reflects its community.
The Judith and Thomas L. Beckmen LA Phil Resident Fellows program is supported by Judith and Thomas L. Beckmen, the Eugene and Marilyn Stein Family Foundation, and Nancy and Leslie Abell.