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The Young Audiences Charter Schools (YACS) High School Student Jazz Combo is a testament to the power of passion and dedication. Under the guidance of their long-time teacher, Matt Bruzzi, these young musicians have honed their skills and developed a deep love for jazz.

YALA is delighted to announce a generous gift of $50,000 from the Genesis Inspiration Foundation. This significant contribution will directly support the expansion of our arts integration and education programs, fostering creativity and innovation in students we serve in our region.

This summer, Young Audiences of Louisiana (YALA) is thrilled to celebrate the graduation of eight talented artists from our transformative Teaching Artist Institute (TAI)! We explored the intensive training program in our Spring Newsletter ( YALA Celebrates Teaching Artist Institute ), and now we witness the fruits of their labor.

Watch art students from Young Artist Charter Schools, Lincoln Elementary School for the Arts, and West Jefferson High School pair up with professional New Orleans artists Soraya Jean-Louis, Jennifer Lindsley, Emre Karaoglu, and Josh Wingerter. Art lovers of all ages are welcome to join the festivities, scheduled to take place on Sunday, April 21, 2024 from 2:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. at Urban South Brewery,1645 Tchoupitoulas Street.

Teaching artists aren’t just born, they are trained. YALA trains a dozen or so professional artists to become teaching artists each year in a 2 day workshop for their Teaching Artist Institute Training and Residency program.

Following its original intention of providing meaningful activities for youth through the arts, in addition to theater productions, the Anthony Bean Community Theater continues since 2000 to train New Orleans actors for stage and film, including careers in set design and theater management.

Open to professional artists  of all teaching experience levels, the workshop will provide strategies to employ the artistic talents of participants in the  instruction of core academic content alongside classroom teachers. After successfully completing  an  intensive two-day  seminar conducted  by  arts  integration  and  child  development  experts,  each  teaching artist will be placed in a classroom to conduct a five-day residency.