Supervisor Molina Allocates $350,000 to L.A. County High School for the Arts

The money will be used to expand the Los Angeles Philharmonic's Youth Orchestra Los Angeles initiative to serve LACSHA students from the Eastside, Southeast and San Gabriel Valley.

In the spirit of the Walt Disney Concert Hall's 10th anniversary, Supervisor Gloria Molina Tuesday contributed $350,000 to the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts.
The money, from one of the supervisor's officeholder accounts, will be used to expand the Los Angeles Philharmonic's Youth Orchestra Los Angeles initiative to serve LACSHA students from the Eastside, Southeast and San Gabriel Valley. YOLA provides access to free, high quality instrumental and orchestral education in order to promote youth development.

"It is vital that we support programs positively impacting young lives," Molina said. "I want as many kids as possible to know that they, too, can be a part of something as big and spectacular as Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Los Angeles Philharmonic."

The plan is to start the new LACSHA program with 80 students in January 2014 and then increase capacity to 120 students in the second year and 150 by the third year.
On Sunday, YOLA musicians will perform side-by-side with the Los Angeles Philharmonic for the first time, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel in a concert at the Walt Disney Concert Hall.
"It is always an awe-inspiring experience to see YOLA rehearse and perform with Gustavo Dudamel," Molina said. "He has begun to transform Los Angeles through a new generation of young musicians."
Deborah Borda, president and CEO of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, thanked Molina for the gift.
"We've been eager to expand YOLA east of downtown," Borda said. "We are enormously appreciative that Supervisor Molina's gift allows that to happen in a way that can insure YOLA's sustainability and growth over time. YOLA is built upon Gustavo Dudamel's vision that music is a fundamental right for all, and this expansion furthers this goal and our mission."
For more information about YOLA, go to www.laphil.com/yola.
The gift was made out of county funds allocated to individual supervisors for discretionary use. A vote of the board was required to approve the gift, but such votes are typically granted as a courtesy among the supervisors.
By City News Service