YOLA (Youth Orchestra Los Angeles)
Empowering Youth, Building Community
YOLA—the LA Phil's music education program—currently serves close to 1,700 young musicians across five sites, providing them with free instruments, intensive music instruction (up to 18 hours per week), academic support, and leadership training.
The program began as an adaptation of Venezuela’s revolutionary El Sistema music education program, but it is now an innovative model in its own right, often looked to as a guide for students and teachers from music programs around the country.
Come Make Music with Us!
Is your child interested in learning an instrument in a supportive music community at one of our YOLA Sites in Los Angeles? Read more below about the areas we currently serve, and fill out our YOLA Interest Form!
Discover more:
YOLA National
YOLA on YouTube
“To share music with children — who might not otherwise have access to it — is to share beauty, to share a different way of being. It can change their definition of what is possible for themselves.”
Gustavo Dudamel
Music & Artistic Director, Walt and Lilly Disney Chair, Los Angeles Philharmonic
AT-A-GLANCE
YOLA Sites and Partners
YOLA currently comprises five sites across Los Angeles. Though all are guided by a unified philosophy and mission, each site is designed differently to serve the specific needs of its community.
YOLA’s every success—from its local impact to its national influence—is built on a foundation of partnership. Through YOLA, community partners, peer program partners, and philanthropic partners come together to serve a common goal: creating equitable access to the transformative power of music-making for all young people.
Questions? Email YOLA@laphil.org
Beckmen YOLA Center at Inglewood
Location: Inglewood
Established: 2021
Ages: 6-12
Students: 200
Hours per week: 12-15
YOLA at Inglewood is housed at the new Beckmen YOLA Center, which emerged out of a close collaboration between the city of Inglewood, architect Frank Gehry, and LA Phil Music and Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel.
YOLA at EXPO Center
Location: South LA
Established: 2007
Ages: 6-18
Students: 330
Hours per week: 12-18
Number of orchestras: 3
The YOLA at EXPO Center program, within Exposition Park in South L.A., has grown to include three orchestras, mentorship, group lessons, chamber music, and parent programs.
YOLA at EXPO Center is a partnership of the LA Phil, Harmony Project, and the EXPO Center, a City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks facility.
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YOLA at HOLALocation: Rampart District |
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YOLA at HOLA (Heart of Los Angeles) classes include music creativity, singing and solfège, ensemble rehearsals, and an hour of academic tutoring daily. This holistic approach fosters a sense of community and provides the students with the opportunity to take advantage of HOLA’s exceptional programs and resources.
YOLA at HOLA is a partnership between the LA Phil and Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA).
YOLA at TorresLocation: East L.A. |
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Nestled on the campus of Esteban E. Torres High School, a performing arts magnet school in East L.A., YOLA at Torres offers students the opportunity to thrive in an intensive, nurturing musical environment, receiving up to 15 hours of musical instruction and academic tutoring per week.
YOLA at Torres receives logistics and infrastructure support from the East L.A. Performing Arts Magnet and Beyond the Bell.
YOLA at Camino NuevoLocation: Westlake/MacArthur Park |
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YOLA at Camino Nuevo is the first in-school YOLA model, allowing the LA Phil to bring rigorous music education into the school day and extend it after school. Currently serving students in grades K-10 at the Kayne Siart and Dalzell Lance campuses of Camino Nuevo Charter Academy.
In Our Community
“Music gave me a life I never imagined I would have, and it made me realize that where I came from had nothing to do with where I can go.” - Marcela, YOLA, Class of 2014
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