Empowering students through music and mentorship

K-12 STEAM education

County of Los Angeles (select only if your project has a countywide benefit)

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

Despite LA being a global hub for the creative economy and music industry, thousands of students still lack access to meaningful, high-quality music education. Many have never attended a live performance, met a professional musician, or created music of their own. This disparity of opportunity largely affects students from low-income neighborhoods, communities of color, and English learners.
Without music education in grades 3-12, students miss critical developmental opportunities like creative expression, cultural literacy, confidence-building, and collaborative learning. They miss entry points into careers in one of LA’s largest economic sectors.
Teachers have reported students calling classical music “not for them” until they meet our Teaching Artists, gain deeper knowledge of music, compose original works, and hear them professionally performed.
Without action, an entire generation may lose access to transformative arts experiences, identity exploration, and creative career paths.

This grant will support LACO’s in-school learning programs, which deliver high-impact music education: Meet the Artists in the fall and Meet the Music in the spring. These residencies serve students in grades 3-12 across LA County through immersive, standards-aligned curricula taught by LACO Teaching Artists, LACO musicians and guest artists.
Meet the Artists immerses students in classical and contemporary repertoire, while Meet the Music explores composition and improvisation. Both programs develop critical listening, identity-based reflection, and collaborative creativity. The culminating experience includes field trips to a live performance where students hear music they’ve studied, or composed, performed by a professional orchestra.
What makes these two programs unique is their model: practicing musicians and composers serve as Teaching Artists, bringing real-world expertise and mentorship to the classroom, while fostering students’ individuality and artistic voice. Our Teaching Artists and musicians model viable arts careers, introduce diverse genres and techniques, and fill vital gaps in schools facing music educator shortages. Students gain artistic and life skills that extend beyond music like confidence, discipline, and collaboration.
By bolstering these in-school residencies, we strengthen arts education across LA County – expanding access to high-quality music instruction across LA County and helping sustain the next generation of creative industry contributors.

Our goal is to serve 500 students across LA County through LACO’s in-school residencies, providing meaningful music encounters, immersive composition opportunities, and engagement with professional musicians in schools with limited arts access. Over the next two years, we aim to expand personnel and capacity to reach 1,500 students in LA County. If LACO’s programs were more widely available, LA would see transformative educational, social, and economic benefits. Our new curricula create an integrated experience where music connects with literacy, math, and science. Studies show music education improves academic achievement and supports well-rounded development. It also fosters identity and belonging, especially for English learners and culturally diverse students. Rooted in culturally responsive pedagogy, our work closes opportunity gaps, fosters creative confidence, and strengthens LA’s talent pipeline. This grant lays the foundation for lasting equity in music education.