YOLA: Campaign Donors Invest in the Future of Music, Today

“The future of music is the present. It is right here,” Music & Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel says of the young musicians who participate in the LA Phil’s innovative Youth Orchestra Los Angeles (YOLA) program.  

Inspired by Venezuela’s revolutionary El Sistema – YOLA provides free instruments, intensive music training, and academic support to more than 800 students from vulnerable communities, empowering them to become vital citizens, leaders, and agents of change.

Campaign donors have recognized the value of YOLA to the LA Phil’s community and to the future of music, and have provided unprecedented financial support to ensure its continued growth.  Today, YOLA provides each student, from the ages of 6 to 18, with a strong musical and social foundation through participation in 12-15 hours of programming each week. With YOLA sites in South L.A., the Rampart District, and the eastside of L.A. County, YOLA engages students from more than 200 schools in L.A. County. Music study is complemented by leadership development opportunities, parent workshops, and performances – both in the community and in world-class venues such as Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Hollywood Bowl.

The future of YOLA is even brighter with plans for additional sites, expanded programming and increasing national leadership on the horizon. The LA Phil honors the visionary philanthropists who have made significant contributions to support YOLA and the LA Phil’s Education and Community Engagement programs: 

Peggy Bergmann YOLA Endowment Fund, The Walt Disney Company, Anonymous, Andy & Bill Concerts LLC, Los Angeles Philharmonic Committee, Lee and Hope Landis Warner YOLA Student Fund, Norma D. Kayser Trust, Max H. Gluck Foundation, Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts, Legacy Foundation, Ronald and Sheila Litzinger, Lauren Lexton and Kevin MacCarthy, James and Laura Rosenwald, the Wells Fargo Foundation, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, Estate of Judith Lynne, Amgen Foundation, and Toyota Motor Sales, Inc.

YOLA is a partnership of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Harmony Project, Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA), the EXPO Center, a City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks facility, and the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts.