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Youth Orchestra Los Angeles to perform at Super Bowl halftime show
LA Philharmonic's music and artistic director Gustavo Dudamel conducts a rehearsal at Tokyo's Suntory Hall with an orchestra comprised of children from Youth Orchestra L.A. (YOLA) and from the El Sistema orchestra in Soma, Japan. Members of YOLA will be performing at the Super Bowl 50 halftime show on Sunday, Feb. 7.
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(C) FESJ/2015/Koichiro Kitashita
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Youth Orchestra Los Angeles, the ensemble founded and directed by Los Angeles Philharmonic music director Gustavo Dudamel, is headed to the Super Bowl.
The philharmonic announced Thursday that students of its EXPO Center program in South Los Angeles will perform alongside the band Coldplay at the Super Bowl 50 halftime show on Feb. 7 in Santa Clara.
“This is a wonderful honor and an extraordinary showcase for YOLA, as well as a tribute to youth orchestras worldwide,” said Dudamel in a statement. “When we play, it will be for the youth of the world so they can be inspired to create both a better life for themselves and a better future.”
Youth Orchestra Los Angeles was founded in 2007 and now serves more than 700 students in the Los Angeles area. Kids between the ages of 6 and 18 take lessons, participate in orchestral ensembles and receive mentoring and academic tutoring at sites in South Los Angeles, the Rampart District and East Los Angeles. The program also supplies free instruments to students who participate.
More than 118 million people watched last year's Super Bowl halftime show.
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