Mission
To cultivate musical expression as a vehicle for personal development, and to bring to fruition the full musical and academic potential of young inner city residents of Los Angeles.
About Us!
We are the Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles (ICYOLA),
the largest majority Black orchestra in America. Founded in 2009, ICYOLA is a California 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation that transforms the lives and minds of young people in Inner City Los Angeles through high quality music education.
We teach inner-city youth the great music of the world, and provide opportunities for them to perform that music in the most magnificent settings of our community. We prepare our members for advanced study and high caliber success in music and otherwise. We instill the ancillary benefits that music instruction provides: problem-solving skills, critical thinking, self-reliance, self-confidence, self-discipline, and the crystallization and pursuit of meaningful purpose.