ARTICLES & NEWS

Passages and pathways out of prison

July 1, 2023
Spectrum NEWS 1 Downtown Los Angeles
By Chae Beech

LOS ANGELES — Words opened up a new world for Luis S. Garcia — one passage in particular from the book, “A Lesson Before Dying” by Ernest J. Gaines had a powerful impact.

LOCAL NEWS
Street Symphony hosts 7th annual Messiah Project, honoring those living on Skid Row

December 2, 2022 11:27 PM
CBS LOS ANGELES
By CBS LA STAFF

A group of some of Los Angeles’s most successful musicians gathered in Pasadena on Friday night as part of an annual concert that celebrates the resiliency of those living on Skid Row.

For the first time in the last two years, Street Symphony was able to hold their annual Messiah Project event, which they call a “celebration of the stories of the Skid Row community.”

Street symphony: Music healing people living on skid row

September 23, 2022
CBS NEWS Los Angeles

Leave it to violinist (and MacArthur genius) Vijay Gupta to take something traditional and old-fashioned and transform it into something urgent and relevant.

Violinist Vijay Gupta’s Skid Row ‘Schubertiade’

August 29, 2022 10:29 PM
Violinist.com
By Laurie Niles

Leave it to violinist (and MacArthur genius) Vijay Gupta to take something traditional and old-fashioned and transform it into something urgent and relevant.

STREET SYMPHONY PLAYS IN HARMONY WITH SKID ROW’S ‘SACRED SPACES’

June 27, 20225:00 AM ET
Heard on Morning Edition

Some of the most beautiful music being performed in Los Angeles right now is happening on Skid Row. Street Symphony is an organization bringing professional musicians to clinics, homeless shelters and jails clustered in and around one of the most devastating concentrations of urban poverty in the United States.

4 Minute Audio

Videos

2023 Youth Songwriting workshop

Featured musicians: Amy Fogerson, Alice Murray, and Saunder Choi and the student participants of Ms. Macks 4th grade class.

This workshop program involves weekly gatherings with a committed group of young students, staff, and teaching artists and musicians from Street Symphony. During the residency, Street Symphony Teaching Artist, Amy Fogerson, Alice Murray, and Saunder Choi leads the cohort of young participants in group songwriting, singing, and composing lessons. The residency concludes with a concert performance featuring an original artistic project co-created by 4th grade student participants and Street Symphony musicians.

Community Partner: Inner City Arts

Support Musical Workshops and celebrate the power of music to transform lives and build communities.

2022 Fall Midnight Strings Workshop

This program involves weekly gatherings with a committed group of residents, staff, and teaching artists and musicians from Street Symphony. During the residency, Street Symphony Teaching Artist Philip Graulty leads the cohort of participants in group guitar lessons. The workshop explores different genres and styles of guitar playing and features local guest guitarists. The residency concludes with a concert performance featuring an original artistic project co-created by The Midnight Mission participants and Street Symphony musicians.

Community Partner: The Midnight Mission
Street Symphony is supported in part by the Perenchio Foundation, LA Arts Recovery Fund, and The Conboy Foundation.

Featured musicians: Philip Graulty, Son California, La Marisoul, and participants of The Midnight Mission community.

Street Symphony is proud to release the debut video of the 2022 Fall Midnight Strings Workshop led by Teaching Artist Philip Graulty. The program was established in 2022 and creates opportunities for belonging, community, and storytelling. Support Musical Workshops and celebrate the power of music to transform lives and build communities.

Midnight Strings 2022: Street Symphony presents its first Midnight String 12-week workshop led by teaching artist, Philip Graulty. This program will involve weekly gatherings with a committed group of program residents, staff, and teaching artists and musicians from Street Symphony. During the residency, a Street Symphony teaching artist will lead participants in group guitar lessons for the cohort of participants. The workshop will explore different genres and styles of guitar playing, and will feature local guest guitars. The residency will conclude with a concert performed by The Midnight Mission participants and Street Symphony musicians and will include a co-created artistic project created by the teaching artist and participants.
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Street Symphony's 6th Annual Messiah Project 2021: Lift your voice for what you love. Lift your voice for what brings you life. Celebrating the 10th anniversary of Street Symphony! Over the last decade, our dedicated family of artists and supporters have brought over 1,000 events to shelters, recovery centers, clinics, and jails throughout Los Angeles, reaching people affected by homelessness, incarceration, addiction, and poverty. Over the last 10 years, Street Symphony has become a national model for how music can connect communities across vast divides. We have learned how to stand in the gap of all that is broken in our world. We have learned how to become human bridges through the offering of music and love.

Block Party 2019: Street Symphony presents its first annual Block party, an open air music festival in the heart of Skid Row showcasing local professional and community ensembles from Los Angeles. Presented in collaboration with The Midnight Mission, Street Symphony block party offers an afternoon of celebration through music, and also provides a meal service for over 1100 Skid Row residents.

Music For Change 2019: Launched in Spring of 2019, Music For Change is Street Symphony’s weekly musical process group convened with individuals currently in Re-Entry from incarceration, hosted at the Weingart Center. Through the convening powers of musical presentation, Music For Change cultivates deep community building among program participants, Weingart staff, and Street Symphony musicians.

Messiah 2019: Street Symphony presents its 5th annual Messiah Project at the Midnight Mission, with performed music and stories from the Skid Row community of downtown Los Angeles.The 5th annual Messiah Project dives deep into the relationships built through Street Symphony programming in Skid Row, including two Street Symphony community vocal fellows, and stories from individuals currently in re-entry from incarceration.

Messiah 2018: Street Symphony presents the 4th annual Messiah project at The Midnight Mission, with performed music and stories from the Skid Row community of downtown Los Angeles. The 2018 Messiah Project showcases the work and progress of its Daniel Chaney community fellows, and also showcases two new works by emerging composer Bethany Brown, and community composer-in-residence Benjamin Shirley.