HISTORY AND MISSION

The Harmony Project is an award-winning research-based program that targets at-risk youth in underserved areas of Los Angeles. We promote positive youth development through on-going year-round music lessons and ensemble participation.

Our mission is:

- To promote the healthy growth and development of children through the study, practice and performance of music.

- To build healthier communities by investing in the positive development of children through music.

- To develop children as musical ambassadors of peace, hope and understanding amongst people of diverse cultures, backgrounds and beliefs.

We accomplish this by: Bringing quality music instruction and ensemble playing to children who otherwise would not have access to it; complementing music education with supporting resources and opportunities; and, fostering a community of families that actively support their children's growth and development.

Starting with 36 kids in 2001, Harmony Project enrollment has grown to 750, and we have been selected by the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities in both 2008 ad 2009 as one of the best arts-based non-profits in the nation.

The Harmony Project has proven successful over the past eight years in Los Angeles.  A similar program, the Venezuelan national youth orchestra movement, known as ‘El Sistema’, has been replicated in more than 20 countries over the past 30+ years.  Funded in Venezuela by the Ministry of Health and Social Development, ‘El Sistema’ has proven effective at promoting the healthy development of children who live in poverty.  It has also produced some of the world’s top musicians, including Gustavo Dudamel, the LA Phil’s young new conductor.

The Harmony Project does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, religion or national and ethnic origin.