Over three hundred students from the city of Los Angeles call the EXPO Center’s John C. Argue Swim Stadium their home away from home.
But you won’t find these kids in wetsuits -- or any kind of sporting gear for that matter.This elite group of inner city youth are members of YOLA, a youth orchestra program that has them training like the pros.
“It’s very intensive,” program manager Stephen Smith-Contreras said. “Students are here four to five days a week, some of them six.”
Students involved in the EXPO youth orchestra program get music lessons from some of the best musicians in the world -- and the best part is -- it doesn’t cost them a dime.
YOLA, otherwise known as Youth Orchestra LA, is partnered with the Harmony Project -- a program started in 2001 that now serves almost 1500 students throughout greater Los Angeles.
In 2008, famed musician Gustavo Dudamel joined forces with the LA Philharmonic to blend the Harmony Project’s mission with an idea he borrowed from his home country of Venezuela. Dudamel was inspired by El Sistema, officially translated as the National Network of Youth and Children’s Orchestras of Venezuela.
For over 30 years, the publicly financed program has given hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan students the opportunity to attend music schools and perform with highly regarded symphonies and orchestras.
“El Sistema started youth orchestras in some of the tougher neighborhoods in Caracas and throughout the rest of the country as a social welfare tool to get youth involved in making music instead of gangs, drugs, etc.” Smith-Contreras said.
After being named director of the LA Philharmonic, Dudamel set out to create his own version of El Sistema -- reaching out to students in low socioeconomic areas including the South LA district.
In exchange for their time, students are given the musical education of a lifetime -- and unlike most prestigious music programs, this one won’t leave them with holes in their wallets.
The LA Philharmonic and other community partners provide YOLA students with free instruments in addition to intensive music training and additional academic tutoring.
According to Youth Orchestra LA’s proposed theory of action plan, “academically, participation in music education can support more general positive attitudes towards learning and study habits that can impact broader academic achievement, as well as develop cognitive/metacognitive learning skills that transfer to other academic content areas.”
While the time commitment is intense, students involved in the program are optimistic that their dedication now, will have a great payoff in the future.
“I think all my experience in the program is going to help me a lot when I want to get into college in a few years,” Michael, a high school sophomore, said. “I would love to keep playing the clarinet after high school if I can.”
Students typically join YOLA around the age of six or seven, and most of them stick with the program until high school graduation. Because of its extremely high retention rate, there are currently over 150 children on the EXPO Youth Orchestra Program waiting list.
One aspect of the program is exciting for both parents and students alike -- members of YOLA are able to perform in some of LA’s most iconic venues like the Hollywood Bowl and Walt Disney Concert Hall. Today Youth Orchestra LA consists of seven orchestras throughout Los Angeles County.
“Some are more jazz-focused, one of them has a hip hop orchestra; the site here is much more classically focused,” Smith-Contreras said.
Although most students are more interested in today’s popular music, Smith-Contreras says focusing on classical music allows them to develop a stronger grasp and stricter focus on mastering an instrument.
Program guidelines stress the importance of home practice as a key component to student success -- in order to get the most out of their experience, YOLA members are given their instruments on loan to keep throughout the entirety of their high school careers.
As the program’s first batch of students head towards high school graduation, program coordinators say there is a possibility some of them may get to keep their instruments as they head to college.
