Los Angeles Philharmonic Association Announces Edgerton Foundation Performance Hall

The Los Angeles Philharmonic Association has received a $4 million grant commitment from the Edgerton Foundation, on behalf of their donor-advised fund at the California Community Foundation. The grant - the largest single one in the Edgerton Foundation's history - will support the construction of the Judith and Thomas L. Beckmen YOLA Center at Inglewood, the first permanent, purpose-built facility for the LA Phil's YOLA (Youth Orchestra Los Angeles) program, designed by Frank Gehry in close collaboration with Gustavo Dudamel. In recognition, the LA Phil will name the Center's 4,400-square-foot performance and rehearsal space the Edgerton Foundation Performance Hall.

Louise Edgerton has been a member of the LA Phil's Board of Directors since 2008 and serves on the Board's Learning and Community Committee. Through the Edgerton Foundation, Louise and her husband Dr. Brad Edgerton have generously supported festivals and special projects featuring the Los Angeles Philharmonic at Walt Disney Concert Hall, as well as initiatives that innovate and encourage the forward momentum of the LA Phil.

Slated to open in fall 2020, the 25,000-square-foot, $23.5 million Beckmen YOLA Center transforms the former branch office of Security Pacific Bank located at 101 South La Brea Avenue, in the civic center of the City of Inglewood. The Edgerton Foundation Performance Hall will be located in the heart of the Center, viewable from street level through a glass façade. The Hall will feature a stage as well as auditorium seating for 250 people, with a Frank Gehry-designed glass roof that provides natural light and enhances the room's acoustics. Additionally, the Hall will be separable into two smaller rehearsal or conference spaces to accommodate the needs of YOLA, the LA Phil, and community-based musicians.

The Beckmen YOLA Center will serve as many as 500 students a year from Inglewood and surrounding communities. The Center will provide a gathering place for students from existing and future YOLA sites and music educators from across the U.S. and around the world, be a cultural resource for the people of Inglewood, and act as the focal point of the LA Phil's commitment to community engagement in the area.

"We are incredibly honored by the generosity of the Edgerton Foundation and are thrilled that this gift will name the performance and rehearsal space at the very heart of the Beckmen YOLA Center. That sense of community, of working together, of leveling the playing field is essential to orchestral music-making and fundamental to YOLA. We are very grateful that Brad and Louise have invested with us in this work. I look forward to the opening of the Center next year, and to thanking Brad and Louise again with the first strains of music played in the Edgerton Foundation Performance Hall," says Chad Smith, Chief Executive Officer of the LA Phil.

Louise Edgerton also serves on the board of Occidental College and is a member of the Leadership Council for the International Medical Corps. Dr. Brad Edgerton is a retired surgeon and President of the Edgerton Foundation. Additionally, Brad serves on the boards of the Pacific Council on International Policy, Center Theatre Group, The Geffen Playhouse, and Harvard-Westlake School. The Edgerton Foundation supports artistic, educational, and cultural institutions in Los Angeles and also funds the development of new American plays nationwide. In addition, the Foundation supports efforts to deal with security and international policy and supports conservation biodiversity and habitat preservation in Alaska.

"The future of young musicians and leaders in Los Angeles is bright in many ways thanks to the LA Phil. We can't wait to see the extraordinary impact YOLA - and now the Judith and Thomas L. Beckmen YOLA Center at Inglewood - will continue to have across this city and nationwide," says Louise Edgerton.

About the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association

The LA Phil, under the vibrant leadership of Music & Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel, presents an inspiring array of music from all genres - orchestral, chamber and Baroque music, organ and celebrity recitals, new music, jazz, world music, and pop - at two of L.A.'s iconic venues, Walt Disney Concert Hall (laphil.com) and the Hollywood Bowl (hollywoodbowl.com). The LA Phil's season at Walt Disney Concert Hall extends from September through May and throughout the summer at the Hollywood Bowl. With the preeminent Los Angeles Philharmonic at the foundation of its offerings, the LA Phil aims to enrich and transform lives through music, with a robust mix of artistic, learning, and community programs.

YOLA (Youth Orchestra Los Angeles)

Through Gustavo Dudamel's YOLA (Youth Orchestra Los Angeles) program - inspired by Venezuela's revolutionary El Sistema - the LA Phil and its community partners provide free instruments, intensive music training, and academic support to over 1350 students from vulnerable communities, empowering them to become vital citizens, leaders, and agents of change. YOLA provides each student, from 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, Westlake/MacArthur Park, and East L.A., YOLA engages students from more than 200 schools in L.A. County. Music study is complemented by leadership development opportunities, parent workshops, and performances. YOLA's young musicians have performed on great stages all over the world, including the LA Phil's two iconic venues - the Hollywood Bowl and Walt Disney Concert Hall - in many other locations throughout Southern California, on national and international television broadcasts, and alongside the greatest artists.

For more information please visit laphil.com/yola

To post a comment, you must register and login.