About
Harmony Project offers a wide range of music activities, including musicianship classes, music production courses, band, orchestras, wind ensembles, string ensembles, choirs, and instrumental music classes. Students can take beginning band, intermediate band, beginning winds classes, intro to violin and violin classes, drumline group classes, mariachi group classes, piano classes, guitar lessons, percussion lessons, orchestral lessons, and instruction in wind instruments such as flute, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, and trombone, as well as string orchestral instrument instruction on violin, viola, cello, and bass. The program also includes Mariachi Ensembles, Latin Rock Ensembles, an advanced chamber group, after-school drumline, mentorship opportunities, and workshops for parents.
• Ages: 5–18 years old
Harmony Project’s mission is to harness the transformative power of music to increase access to higher education for underserved students by removing systemic barriers to achievement through academic and social support. The program uses culturally responsive pedagogy in group classes and ensembles and offers a holistic approach through comprehensive music instruction and social service offerings. It provides mentorship opportunities and workshops for parents as part of its programming.
Harmony Project began in 2001 in Hollywood, California, with co-founder Margaret Martin serving as the first executive director. In 2002, Phoenix Delgado became executive director and founded the Summer Festival Orchestras, and in 2006, Myka Miller, a trained professional musician who spent several years playing in orchestras in Mexico, became the new executive director. Since 2021, Harmony Project has been under the leadership of Executive Director Natalie Jackson, who previously served as associate director in 2012. Founders include Bob Forst, Margaret Martin, Howard Banchik, Susan Plutsky, Tony Silbert, and Tim Smoot.
Professional instructors and dedicated professional teaching artists, including professional musicians who are equally passionate about music education as they are about their performance careers, lead group classes and ensembles. Over more than 25 years, Harmony Project has become Los Angeles’ largest music education organization dedicated exclusively to youth from low-income families and under-resourced communities and is recognized as one of the most effective arts-based, youth development programs in the nation.
Harmony Project has 4,103 active participants and 48 student ensembles, orchestras, and bands, and has grown from 250 students to over 4,103 students served across Los Angeles. It has 56 partnerships with schools and community organizations, including cost-sharing partnerships with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Unified School District, LA City College, the Sheriff’s Foundation, and many other community organizations and school districts. Its partnerships include the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s EXPO Center Youth Orchestra as part of Youth Orchestra LA (YOLA), the Crenshaw Band Program, the Department of Housing and Urban Development in Lynwood, and a collaborative effort with Paramount Unified School District. Harmony Project also has nationwide campaign partnerships with Levi’s and The Hershey Company.
Several regional programs have specific focuses. The Compton program was initiated in 2017 and provides musicianship classes at the Compton Sheriff’s Youth Activities League (YAL) as the inaugural music program there. The EXPO Park program serves the South Los Angeles area. The La Habra Music Community, the only Harmony Project site in Orange County, began in 2018 with an inspired local resident providing free music lessons from his home and now hosts weekly rehearsals for Mariachi and Latin Rock Ensembles. The Lynwood program began in 2018 through a partnership with the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Lennox Regional Youth Orchestra provides musical instruction based on community requests, expanding its mariachi band and introducing popular music to its repertoire. The Pasadena Youth Orchestra (PASYO), established in 2014, includes ensembles such as drumline, mariachi, and an advanced chamber group, and offers a music program specifically designed for kindergarten students. The Lawndale program combines four elementary choirs for the first Harmony Project at Lawndale Elementary School District Choir, and the San Fernando Valley program supports both after-school and in-school drumline to ensure students experience the full energy of a unified drumline. Programming promotes healthy youth development and builds strong communities through music-making experiences, and Harmony Project empowers students in under-resourced communities through comprehensive music instruction and social service offerings.
Student voices describe their experiences in the program. Luis, age 12, says, “I feel lucky because it’s a free program and you get to experience music. Music makes someone relax and forget about the troubles in their life.” Kevin, age 16, shares, “Harmony Project believed I could achieve anything, so now I believe that too.” Jennifer, age 17, says, “I learned how to be a mentor and leader for the other kids in the program. I also learned how to be confident in myself.” Sophia, age 14, explains, “I want to experience making beautiful music with all sorts of instruments from all different backgrounds and cultures.”
Last updated July 5, 2026.
• Ages: 5–18 years old
Harmony Project’s mission is to harness the transformative power of music to increase access to higher education for underserved students by removing systemic barriers to achievement through academic and social support. The program uses culturally responsive pedagogy in group classes and ensembles and offers a holistic approach through comprehensive music instruction and social service offerings. It provides mentorship opportunities and workshops for parents as part of its programming.
Harmony Project began in 2001 in Hollywood, California, with co-founder Margaret Martin serving as the first executive director. In 2002, Phoenix Delgado became executive director and founded the Summer Festival Orchestras, and in 2006, Myka Miller, a trained professional musician who spent several years playing in orchestras in Mexico, became the new executive director. Since 2021, Harmony Project has been under the leadership of Executive Director Natalie Jackson, who previously served as associate director in 2012. Founders include Bob Forst, Margaret Martin, Howard Banchik, Susan Plutsky, Tony Silbert, and Tim Smoot.
Professional instructors and dedicated professional teaching artists, including professional musicians who are equally passionate about music education as they are about their performance careers, lead group classes and ensembles. Over more than 25 years, Harmony Project has become Los Angeles’ largest music education organization dedicated exclusively to youth from low-income families and under-resourced communities and is recognized as one of the most effective arts-based, youth development programs in the nation.
Harmony Project has 4,103 active participants and 48 student ensembles, orchestras, and bands, and has grown from 250 students to over 4,103 students served across Los Angeles. It has 56 partnerships with schools and community organizations, including cost-sharing partnerships with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Unified School District, LA City College, the Sheriff’s Foundation, and many other community organizations and school districts. Its partnerships include the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s EXPO Center Youth Orchestra as part of Youth Orchestra LA (YOLA), the Crenshaw Band Program, the Department of Housing and Urban Development in Lynwood, and a collaborative effort with Paramount Unified School District. Harmony Project also has nationwide campaign partnerships with Levi’s and The Hershey Company.
Several regional programs have specific focuses. The Compton program was initiated in 2017 and provides musicianship classes at the Compton Sheriff’s Youth Activities League (YAL) as the inaugural music program there. The EXPO Park program serves the South Los Angeles area. The La Habra Music Community, the only Harmony Project site in Orange County, began in 2018 with an inspired local resident providing free music lessons from his home and now hosts weekly rehearsals for Mariachi and Latin Rock Ensembles. The Lynwood program began in 2018 through a partnership with the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Lennox Regional Youth Orchestra provides musical instruction based on community requests, expanding its mariachi band and introducing popular music to its repertoire. The Pasadena Youth Orchestra (PASYO), established in 2014, includes ensembles such as drumline, mariachi, and an advanced chamber group, and offers a music program specifically designed for kindergarten students. The Lawndale program combines four elementary choirs for the first Harmony Project at Lawndale Elementary School District Choir, and the San Fernando Valley program supports both after-school and in-school drumline to ensure students experience the full energy of a unified drumline. Programming promotes healthy youth development and builds strong communities through music-making experiences, and Harmony Project empowers students in under-resourced communities through comprehensive music instruction and social service offerings.
Student voices describe their experiences in the program. Luis, age 12, says, “I feel lucky because it’s a free program and you get to experience music. Music makes someone relax and forget about the troubles in their life.” Kevin, age 16, shares, “Harmony Project believed I could achieve anything, so now I believe that too.” Jennifer, age 17, says, “I learned how to be a mentor and leader for the other kids in the program. I also learned how to be confident in myself.” Sophia, age 14, explains, “I want to experience making beautiful music with all sorts of instruments from all different backgrounds and cultures.”
Last updated July 5, 2026.
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