Who We Are
We are artists and educators.
Learn more. Watch “Get to Know YALA: About Young Audiences of Louisiana.”
Young Audiences of Louisiana (YALA) was founded in 1962 to bring chamber musicians into local classrooms. Over the years YALA has adapted and evolved to meet the ever-changing needs of youth throughout the state, becoming the leading provider of arts education and integration programs in the state of Louisiana. We offer a comprehensive and creative approach to educating children.
Fortified with 60 years of experience, we draw upon our region’s strong culture to provide young people with tools to impact their worlds using art. Through our school performances, arts-integrated residencies, extended learning programs, community workshops, and professional learning for teachers and teaching artists, we not only impact the children of New Orleans, but make intentional contact with the influential adults in their lives.
Mission
Inspiring, engaging, and uniting children and communities through arts, education, and culture.
Vision
Engage the arts to spark lifelong curiosity and build an expectation of joyful effective learning for every child.
Values
The Arts. We sincerely believe in the arts as an indispensable part of the human experience. Connecting to the arts allows us to better reflect and connect to the those around us; think deeply and critically; and promotes a lifelong devotion to the practice of learning in the world's classroom.
Joy. Joy can be defined as a feeling of great delight or happiness. Authentic joy is a product of our arts education work.
Curiosity. We protect and nurture the spirit of inquiry, because curiosity brings joy to the life experience and it is the foundation for self-discipline and motivated learning necessary to change the world.
Humanity. The qualities that make us human unite us. Every person we encounter in our work is worthy of being treated with respect and dignity.
Collective Voice. We are committed to hearing all the voices at the table and leaving space for additional voices who wish to join. Every member of our community knows something we don’t—we can learn from one another. Collaboration must be equitable and change-oriented if we are to dismantle harmful structures and build a liberated future. The more we share power, the better the outcome for all.
Our History
Visit our interactive timeline.
While Young Audiences of Louisiana works across the state of Louisiana as the leading provider of arts education services, our nonprofit’s story began as a humble pilot program of New Orleans Friends of Music. Upon the overwhelming response from the community, YALA was founded on October 18, 1962 with one simple goal: bring chamber music to New Orleans children in order to expand access to the arts. For decades that is just what we did and sixty years later, YALA is still working to increase student connection to the arts, but in a variety of ways and through multiple art forms.
Our Networks
In addition to working with community partners, YALA is an affiliate of Young Audiences Arts for Learning Network and the Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts Network, allowing us to share best practices with educators and artists across the country.
Young Audiences Arts for Learning
Founded in 1952, Young Audiences Arts for Learning is the nation’s largest arts in education network, serving more than 5 million young people each year. Young Audiences works to support its diverse network of affiliated organizations that are each dedicated to playing a decisive role in young people’s personal, artistic, and educational development. Learn more about Young Audiences and its mission to inspire young people and expand their learning through the arts at www.youngaudiences.org.
Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts
The Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts™ is an internationally respected program that provides innovative arts-based teaching strategies and services to early childhood teachers, caregivers, parents, and their children from 0 to 5 through the disciplines of drama, music, and movement.
Each year, the Wolf Trap Institute's local, regional, national, and international programs provide educational services for more than 55,000 young children, their parents, educators, and teaching artists.
Professional Development Workshops for teachers, Classroom Residencies, and other collaborations between performing artists and early childhood professionals serve to: enrich and motivate the teacher's professional development; engage young children in active, creative learning experiences; energize efforts to bring parents and caregivers together into the classroom; and enliven the classroom environment. As Wolf Trap Institute activities are woven into the curriculum, the arts become a new way of teaching, learning, and knowing. The Institute employs Teaching Artists—professional actors, dancers, storytellers, and musicians—to provide services to the early childhood community.
