Erica S

Young Musicians Foundation

The Young Musicians Foundation's (YMF) mission is to empower underserved, frequently marginalized students to find creativity, connection and joy through learning and playing music. YMF is fundamentally dedicated to social justice. We believe that every student – every person – should have access to the numerous, profound, and well-documented lifelong benefits that music education provides. YMF annually provides music and media arts education to 5,000 under-served LA students (K-12) through in-person instruction at Title I schools and community organizations. All programming integrates Social Emotional Learning Domains with State Visual and Performing Arts Core Standards. YMF provides foundational skills that prepare students to participate in the creative economy. Students in grades 3-adult receive introductory, age-appropriate instruction in the basics of computer-based music creation. Students in grades 7-adult with an understanding of musical technology basics learn more sophisticated features and tools of production software and recording equipment with practical applications such as songwriting and composition. Young Musicians Foundation recently embarked on an exciting new partnership with Hollywood Community Housing Corporation (HCHC). This partnership will allow us to reach more undeserved youth by creating a uniquely innovative service model on the ground floor of their newest affordable housing project, the Florence Mills Apartments. The new facility will provide the residents of both HCHC's Florence Mills and Paul Williams apartments and the surrounding community with tuition-free music arts and media arts instruction, a media arts technology lab/recording studio.