The Beckmen YOLA Center is the first permanent home of the Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles organization (YOLA), part of the world-renowned Los Angeles Philharmonic Association led by Gustavo Dudamel. The YOLA program was inspired by Venezuela’s revolutionary El Sistema training for young musicians.

YOLA was founded in 2007 as a way to engage and train area youth, ages 6 to 18, in the skills and discipline needed to perform instrumental music through a free musical education program.  The LA Phil and its community partners provide free instruments, intensive music training and academic support to students from underserved neighborhoods, empowering them to become vital citizens, leaders, and agents of change.  The Beckmen YOLA Center is the fifth iteration of the program and the first permanent facility built to support the effort.

Renowned architect and friend of the LA Phil Frank Gehry renovated the 1965 facility, preserving the building’s footprint and façade while creating a professionally proportioned convertible auditorium space for student performances.  The architect excavated the floor and raised the roof to provide the perfect acoustic span for experiencing symphonic sound. The performance space is surrounded by practice rooms and class rooms to ‘send a message to the world and signify dignity to our youth’s efforts and aspirations.

Los Angeles Philharmonic, formed in 1918, commemorates their centennial by announcing YOLA’s permanent home in Inglewood.

YOLA Established: 2007; permanent Inglewood facility 2021
Collection: Cultural Organization

Location
101 S. La Brea
Inglewood, California 90301