LOS ANGELES (Aug 1, 2025) — The LA Phil is proud to present the 2025 YOLA National Festival, taking place July 28 to August 13, 2025. This intensive summer orchestral training program brings together 192 young musicians from across 24 states for rigorous musical and artistic development, leadership training and community building, culminating in two public performances with the youth orchestras, one led by LA Phil Music & Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel and guest conductor Jessica Rivero Altarriba on August 4 and led by guest conductor Karena Bovell on August 11.
For the first time in the festival’s history, the 2025 program introduces two new chamber music programs, offering advanced musicians in both the Symphony Orchestra (ages 14–18) and Overture Orchestra (ages 12–14) the opportunity to deepen their artistry through chamber ensembles.
This year’s festival will be held at California State University, Fullerton, with culminating performances on August 4 and August 11 at Walt Disney Concert Hall. Performances are free and open to the public, and reservations available here.
“The YOLA National Festival is more than a musical intensive—it’s a powerful reminder of what’s possible when young students are given the tools, support, and platform to lead. With the addition of our new chamber music programs, we’re deepening the artistic experience for our most advanced musicians while continuing to foster a national community rooted in collaboration, musicianship, and access,” says Camille Delaney-McNeill, Vice President of Learning, LA Phil. “It’s an honor to witness the transformative impact of these students as they grow not only as artists, but as changemakers.”
On August 4, LA Phil Music & Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel and guest conductor Jessica Rivero Altarriba lead the YOLA National Symphony Orchestra in a dynamic program featuring vivid works by Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Manuel de Falla, Gustav Mahler, and Dámaso Pérez Prado. The evening opens with the inaugural performance of the YOLA National Overture Chamber Music Program.
The following week, on August 11, Conductor Kalena Bovell leads the YOLA National Overture Orchestra in a compelling program featuring music by Michael Abels, Ottorino Respighi, and Gabriela Lena Frank, along with the world premiere of Atlácatl by LA Phil Composer Fellow Kevin Rodriguez. The evening opens with the inaugural performance of the YOLA National Symphony Chamber Music Program.
Sessions:
Session 1 (July 28 – August 5): Symphony Orchestra and Overture Chamber Music
Session 2 (August 5 – August 13): Overture Orchestra and Symphony Chamber Music
ABOUT THE LA PHIL
Under the leadership of Music & Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel, the LA Phil offers live performances, media initiatives and learning programs that inspire and strengthen communities in Los Angeles and beyond. The Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra is the foundation of the LA Phil’s offerings, which also include a multi-genre, multidisciplinary presenting program and such youth development programs as YOLA (Youth Orchestra Los Angeles). Performances are offered on four historic stages—Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, The Ford, and Beckmen YOLA Center—as well as through a variety of media platforms. In all its endeavors, the LA Phil seeks to enrich the lives of individuals and communities through musical, artistic and learning experiences that resonate in our world today.
ABOUT GUSTAVO DUDAMEL
Gustavo Dudamel is committed to creating a better world through music. Guided by an unwavering belief in the power of art to inspire and transform lives, he has worked tirelessly to expand education and access for underserved communities around the world, and to broaden the impact of classical music to new and ever-larger audiences. His rise, from humble beginnings as a child in Venezuela to an unparalleled career of artistic and social achievements, offers living proof that culture can bring meaning to the life of an individual and greater harmony to the world at large. He currently serves as the Music & Artistic Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Simón Bolivar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela, and in 2026 he becomes the Music and Artistic Director of the New York Philharmonic, continuing a legacy that includes Gustav Mahler, Arturo Toscanini, and Leonard Bernstein. Throughout 2025, Dudamel will celebrate the 50th anniversary of El Sistema, honoring the global impact of Jose Antonio Abreu’s visionary education program across five generations, and acknowledging the vital importance of arts education.
Leah Price, leah.price@laphil.org