YOLA (Youth Orchestra Los Angeles)
Empowering Youth, Building Community
YOLA provides young people, ages five through eighteen, with free instruments, intensive music instruction, and opportunities to perform on stages in their communities and around the world.
Launched in 2007, YOLA has been adapted to meet the needs of communities across Los Angeles. Since the program's inception, YOLA musicians have received more than six million hours of instruction and performed for audiences of millions—from neighborhood concerts and community events to the Hollywood Bowl and the Super Bowl Halftime Show. Today, the program operates at sites across the city, including the Judith and Thomas L. Beckmen YOLA Center at Inglewood, which opened in 2021 as YOLA’s first permanent, purpose-built facility.
Come Make Music with Us!
Read more below about the areas we currently serve and get started by filling out our YOLA Interest Form:
Questions? Email YOLA@laphil.org
“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
Every success—from its local impact to its national influence—is built on a foundation of partnership. Though all of our sites are guided by this unified philosophy and mission, we design each neighborhood program to serve the specific needs of its community.
YOLA at Inglewood
Location: Inglewood
Established: 2021
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 HOLA
Location: Rampart District
Established: 2010
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 Torres
Location: East LA
Established: 2014
Nestled on the campus of Esteban E. Torres High School, a performing arts magnet school in East LA, YOLA at Torres offers students the opportunity to thrive in an intensive, nurturing musical environment, receiving musical instruction and academic tutoring.
YOLA at Torres receives logistics and infrastructure support from the East L.A. Performing Arts Magnet and Beyond the Bell.
YOLA at Camino Nuevo
Location: Westlake/MacArthur Park
Established: 2017
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.
YOLA at Camino Nuevo is a partnership between the LA Phil and Camino Nuevo Charter Academy.
Additional Program Offerings
YOLA Institute
The YOLA Institute is the program’s featured hub for enhanced musical training and experiences. The YOLA Institute connects YOLA musicians who are inclined to pursue a musical pathway to their field of study or career. The Institute provides advanced training and support for young musicians through audition-based orchestras, private lessons with LA Phil musicians, and college application assistance including subsidized travel and recordings.
YOLA College Prep and Access
YOLA College Prep and Access provides financial support and wraparound services to help high school students and current college-age alumni thrive, including mentorship, academic counseling, and wellness resources. In 2024, the program awarded 17 scholarships totaling $77,000 to YOLA alumni in 2- and 4-year programs, nearly 70% of whom are first-generation college students.
YOLA Alumni Network
YOLA’s growing Alumni Network supports young adults as they transition into college, careers, and leadership roles in the community, while offering opportunities to give back to the program. Activities include free concert tickets, performance and teaching gigs, travel and audition assistance, academic guidance, wellness services, and career-building workshops on everything from grad school to financial literacy.
YOLA Camp
Each summer, musicians from across YOLA sites come together for an immersive multi-day camp that focuses on musicianship, peer connection, and personal growth. For many students, it’s their first time making music outside their comfort zone—surrounded by nature and immersed in a focused, intensive setting. Alongside ensemble work, students explore new artistic avenues through interdisciplinary workshops and guest artist sessions that broaden their creative horizons and deepen their engagement with the arts.
YOLA Community Day
YOLA Community Day is an annual celebration that brings musicians, families, and community members together at Walt Disney Concert Hall for a day of music, joy, and shared purpose. The event features ensemble performances, workshops, and opportunities for the entire YOLA community from site locations to connect and celebrate their accomplishments together.
Featured Stories
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What is YOLA?: An overview of our young symphony of change
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Our First Mahler Symphony
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YOLA on Tour with The LA Phil, 2024
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YOLA Camp: Exploring Music and Future Pathways
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My First Concert with Gustavo
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YOLA’s Next Step: The Beckmen YOLA Center
YOLA Highlights & Timeline
2023
2022: Hollywood Bowl 100 with Gwen Stefani
2022: Sofi Stadium Super Bowl with Mary Mary
2021: Beckmen YOLA Center Grand Opening
2020: YOLA at Home
2019: Beckmen YOLA Center Breaks Ground
2019: CDMX Tour
2018: YOLA National
2016: California Tour
2016: Super Bowl 50 with Coldplay
2015: Japan Tour
2014: YOLA at Torres
2013: London Tour
2012: Take a Stand Festival
2011: Global Soul Performance with Stevie Wonder
2010: YOLA at HOLA
2009: ¡Bienvenido Gustavo!
2007: YOLA at Expo Center
In Our Community
YOLA has been instrumental in showing me the vast possibilities within and around music. It gave me a community, an education, and the chance to grow—not just as a violinist, but as a person.” – Mary, YOLA Class of 2024
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