LA Phil & YOLA Receive LARC Award

Youth Orchestra Los Angeles (YOLA), the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Music Director Gustavo Dudamel were honored with an inaugural Los Angeles Real Creativity (LARC) Award on December 5, 2009. Established by the Urban Land Institute of Los Angeles (ULI), the ULI LARC Awards are presented annually to four recipients who, through their extraordinary vision and creative action, help to change our world (and our lives) as Angelenos, Americans and global citizens.

Youth Orchestra Los Angeles (YOLA) is the Los Angeles Philharmonic's unprecedented initiative to establish youth orchestras in underserved communities in Los Angeles. YOLA is inspired by El Sistema, the visionary Venezuelan music education system that nurtured Music Director Gustavo Dudamel.

The inaugural ULI LARC 2009 Awards were presented in four categories: design, place, enterprise and idea. YOLA, LA Phil and Gustavo Dudamel were awarded in the Enterprise category, recognizing an especially effective and innovative company, group, program, grass-roots initiative, community organization or social movement.

Los Angeles Philharmonic President Deborah Borda commented, "It is an honor to be the recipient of the LARC award, and to be recognized for creativity and innovation. Music has the ability to transform lives and inspire social change. Through YOLA and our other educational programs, the LA Phil is committed to providing access to music education for the underserved youth of Los Angeles, and we hope that other organizations and communities are inspired to do the same."

A distinguished panel determined the finalists and winners in each category. Those chosen reflected the LARC mission - to reward brave, innovative and potentially world-changing thought - and also the mission of the Urban Land Institute - to provide leadership in the responsible use of land and/or lead to the building of more sustainable and thriving communities. In addition to presenters Frank O. Gehry, Stuart M. Ketchum, Stan Ross and Bowen H. "Buzz" McCoy, the 2009 LARC Awards Judging Panelists were: Neil Stiles, President & Publisher, Variety; Melody Kanschat, President, Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Richard Weinstein, Former Dean of the UCLA School of Architecture and Urban Planning; Greg Lynn, Architect, Greg Lynn Form; Wayne Ratkovich, President and CEO, The Ratkovich Company; Alex Rose, Sr. Vice President, Development & Asset Management, Continental Development Corporation and Chair, Urban Land Institute -- Los Angeles.

Additional LARC Award winners were Hollywood Cap Park in the Design category recognizing an innovative design - product, building, urban land plan or public art; Academy of Entertainment Technology in the Place category recognizing a completed building, public space, neighborhood or art installation which may have world-changing potential; Imagine Mars Project / JPL-NASA in the Idea category recognizing a singular "big idea" with profound and far-reaching consequences - a "game changer."

Youth Orchestra LA (YOLA)
YOLA is the Los Angeles Philharmonic's initiative to provide access to exceptional instrumental and orchestral education in order to promote youth development. Central to YOLA is the LA Phil's plan to build, with community partners, youth orchestras in underserved communities throughout Los Angeles. The aspiration that every child has access to the experience of playing in an orchestra is shared by a community of music education providers. The LA Phil brings these diverse organizations together to think big in service of children, recognizing that we can accomplish more together than we can on our own. YOLA is inspired by El Sistema, the Venezuelan music education system that nurtured the Los Angeles Philharmonic's Music Director, Gustavo Dudamel. El Sistema annually provides a quarter million children from all walks of life with free musical instruments and music instruction so that they may play in youth orchestras throughout Venezuela.

Los Angeles Philharmonic
The Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, under the vibrant leadership of Gustavo Dudamel, presents the finest in orchestral and chamber music, recitals, new music, jazz, world music and holiday concerts at two of the most remarkable locations anywhere to experience music - Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Hollywood Bowl. In addition to a 30-week winter subscription season at Walt Disney Concert Hall, the LA Phil presents a 12-week summer festival at the legendary Hollywood Bowl, summer home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and home of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. In fulfilling its commitment to the community, the Association's involvement with Los Angeles extends to educational concerts, children's programming and community concerts, ever seeking to provide inspiration and delight to the broadest possible audience.

ULI
The Urban Land Institute (www.uli.org) is a nonprofit education and research institute supported by its members. Its mission is to provide leadership in the responsible use of land and in creating and sustaining thriving communities worldwide. Established in 1936, the Institute has more than 40,000 members representing all aspects of the land use and development disciplines. ULI Los Angeles has an active membership drawn from the counties of Los Angeles, Ventura, Kern, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara, and is composed of groups and individuals united in their pursuit of improving land-use policies.