Four Riverside Arts Academy students accepted into YOLA National Festival

Four students in the Riverside Arts Academy Music Project program have been accepted into the Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles (YOLA) National Festival, a summer music festival open to young musicians from around the country and abroad.

They are clarinetist Rebekah Campbell, a graduating senior at Canyon Springs High School in Moreno Valley; clarinetist Yunshu Zhang, a student at the Riverside STEM Academy in the Riverside UnifiedSchool District; flutist Aiden Co, a student at the California Virtual Academy at San Diego; and violinist Joseline Duarte, a student at River Springs Charter School in Riverside.

All four are enrolled in Riverside Arts Academy Music Project’s Youth Orchestra.

This is the second year in a row that Riverside Arts Academy Music Project students have applied for and been accepted into the YOLA National Festival, according to a news release. In 2020, three Riverside Arts Academy Music Project students were accepted into the YOLA, National Festival, which was all virtual because of the coronavirus pandemic.

When the festival is an in-person event, participating students perform at the Walt Disney Concert Hall with YOLA music director Gustavo Dudamel, who is also music and artistic director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Festival organizers hope to conduct an in-person program this summer, but YOLA is also offering online programs for musicians accepted into the national festival, building on last summer’s YOLA National at Home event, according to the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s website.

“YOLA is a tremendous opportunity for young musicians from around the world to come together in community, making music and learning more about the enculturation of the art form,” Gene Moon, music director of the Riverside Arts Academy, said in the news release.

“Our academy students will gain unique insight into music at a high level of performance while bringing home an enriching experience to share with their communities and school programs. It is with great pride that the Riverside Arts Academy is able to have our students accepted into this illustrious organization and its summer festival for two years in a row,” Moon said in the news release.

The Riverside Arts Academy is a nonprofit arts-based youth development program that partners with the Riverside and Alvord unified school districts.