This fall, the Orchestra will kick off the West Coast’s first comprehensive fellowship program for top-tier string musicians from underrepresented communities: the L.A. Orchestra Fellowship.

Created in partnership with the Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles (ICYOLA) and USC Thornton School of Music, the program seeks to address the diversity crisis within American orchestras. According to studies, less than five percent of the American orchestra workforce is African American, Hispanic or Native American.

Executive Director Scott Harrison says, “Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra is proud to join forces with ICYOLA and USC Thornton to launch this ground-breaking, hands-on fellowship that provides intensive guidance. While similar programs exist, none are as comprehensive, none are led by an organization from a community of color, as ICYOLA is, none are designed by such a diverse group of leaders and stakeholders, and none so thoroughly connect the pipeline from community to professional.”

The L.A. Orchestra Fellowship is the first fellowship program in which fellows receive mentorship from professional musicians focused on their career development, as well as serve as mentors to young musicians to help create future generations of musicians.

Four individuals have been accepted to the program – two violins, a viola and a cello.