Spring 2012

Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra performs side-by-side with YOLA during LA Phil's Mahler Project

After hosting community-focused events at YOLA at EXPO and YOLA at HOLA, over 100 members of the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela joined forces with their young counterparts on January 30 to perform side-by-side in a free neighborhood concert as part of the LA Phil's Mahler Project. The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Downtown L.A. was packed with over 2,000 audience members (including Maestro José Antonio Abreu and attendees of the Take a Stand Symposium; see below). The night proved magical for the professional musicians and students following in their footsteps. Click here to see photos from the event!

Inaugural Take a Stand Symposium draws over 300 music education advocates to Los Angeles

On January 30 – February 1, the LA Phil, the Longy School of Music, and Bard College hosted the Take a Stand 2012 Symposium. The inaugural conference – which focused on driving the collective thinking of the El Sistema movement forward – drew over 300 attendees from 27 states and 13 countries. The audience convened in Downtown L.A. for three jam-packed days of interactive workshops, global networking opportunities, and inspiring speakers, including a keynote address byMaestro José Antonio Abreu, the legendary founder of El Sistema. Click here to watch videos, view photos, and read notes from the event.

Maestro José Antonio Abreu, founder of El Sistema, dedicates núcleo showcase to YOLA students

On their recent tour to Venezuela, LA Phil musicians and board members were invited to a "núcleo showcase" of nearly 1,800 students from Caracas programs (read about the event here in English and Spanish). The event included a brass ensemble of 50, enormous orchestras of various levels performing from memory (sized at 279, 310, 350 and 639 students) and a special-needs choir of 150 students. Reflecting on the work that the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela accomplished with YOLA in Los Angeles, Maestro Abreu dedicated the two-hour event to the students of YOLA.

Coming Soon: YOLA Neighborhood Project and Youth Orchestra Festival Days

It's an exciting spring for YOLA students! April 21 will mark the second annual YOLA Neighborhood Project (YNP) Day, where over 1,500 students from YOLA and YOLA Neighborhood Project schools in South L.A. and the Rampart District will come together to perform Beethoven's "Ode To Joy." Led by YOLA conductor Bruce Kiesling at the First Congregational Church of Los Angeles, the day will celebrate the power of music that unites our communities. A few short weeks later, on May 5, over 300 YOLA students from both the EXPO and HOLA sites will perform on the stage of Walt Disney Concert Hall during the LA Phil's annual Youth Orchestra Festival Day.

YOLA in the Press

Newsweek – Bravo, Gustavo! How Maestro Dudamel Is Saving Classical Music (2/6/12)

El Tiempo – Venezuela y EE UU se alían en una orquesta binacional (2/2/12)

Venezuela Sinfónica – Orquesta Binacional Venezuela – EEUU debutó en Los Angeles inspirada por El Sistema (1/31/12)

Telemundo – El ritmo de Joshua Dos Santos (Video Feature - 1/31/12)

Fundación Musical Simón Bolívar – The Venezuelan Brass Ensemble takes part in the Mahler Project (1/27/12); El Sistema is a model of education in Los Angeles (1/30/12); El Sistema continues growing globally (1/30/12)

L.A. County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky's Blog – YOLA makes music with Bolívar friends (Video Feature - 1/25/12)

TIME – Mozart vs. the Gangstas: How Classical Music Is Changing Young Lives (12/29/11)

For more YOLA-related press, photos, and video, visit our YOLA Media Library.

Student Spotlight

Name: Myles, age 11
Program: YOLA at HOLA
Instrument: Trombone
Why do you like being in YOLA? It makes me feel like I have something important to do.
You just performed with the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela! What was the best part? Getting to see professional musicians - and actually sitting next to a professional trombone player!
What music are you listening to now? [Wagner's] "Ride of the Valkyries" and [Ravel's] "Bolero." They're really interesting, and I hope to play them soon. The "Ride" makes me feel proud and brave and Bolero sounds mischievous, like tiptoeing.

Stakeholder Spotlight

For 19 years P.S. ARTS has been providing arts instruction to underserved public schools throughout Southern California, and it currently provides more than 11,000 children with yearlong music, theater and visual arts programs in six school districts. Its general music program, based on Orff Schulwerk, provides students with a solid foundation of musical skills, ensemble consciousness, music literacy, improvisation and composition, and joyful music making. Children experience creative movement, body percussion, drumming and percussion, Orff instruments, vocal development, ear training and recorder, all with an emphasis on creativity and personal expression. In 2010, P.S. ARTS launched TakePART, a collaborative project with The Harmony Project and three Los Angeles school districts. This exciting partnership provides hundreds of children with an articulated in- and after-school music program, and the opportunity to make music with children and families from other neighborhoods. P.S. ARTS is thrilled to be able to support El Sistema-inspired programs throughout the area by helping children develop core skills, musicianship, and a love of music making.

Click here for more information about the YOLA Stakeholder Network.

Leadership support at the $250,000 and above level for the LA Phil's Educational Initiatives is provided by Fidelity Investments, the Annenberg Foundation, Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts, Amgen Foundation, Rose Hills Foundation and the Lee and Hope Landis Warner YOLA Student Fund.