In Friday’s (8/16) Los Angeles Times, Marcia Adair reports on how southern California’s performing arts institutions are helping fill the void caused by statewide cuts in arts education funding. “Los Angeles Unified School District alone has reported a decrease of 50% for its arts program since 2007-08.… Schools have reached out to area cultural institutions to help bridge the gap.… Some of Southern California’s big players (Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Opera, Pacific Symphony, Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Music Center) together account for an investment of more than $13 million each year for programs that send teaching artists to schools, arrange for kids to hear the pros in their home venues and work with teachers to develop cross-curriculum music learning. ‘In years past we could supplement [school programs] with inspiration and be the icing on the cake,’ said Pamela Blaine, the vice president of education and community engagement with the Pacific Symphony. ‘Now it’s a two-way street. We adjusted everything to make sure we support the curriculum.’ ” Also significant is the LA Phil’s Youth Orchestra Los Angeles (YOLA). The orchestra “has been doing residencies at schools since 2000. Now 16 schools are involved in the YOLA neighborhood projects and the YOLA orchestra draws from 200 schools in East Rampart, South L.A., and soon, East L.A.”
Posted August 19, 2013
