..........Initiated in 2001, the Youth Enrichment Program was comprised of two special daytime concerts designed for students in grades 4 to 12 in the Norwalk La Mirada School District. Included was the outstanding opportunity for young musicians from the District’s Middle School Honor Bands to perform compositions with the La Mirada Symphony Orchestra on stage.

..........Added in 2002 was the selection of especially talented young musicians to perform solo at the youth concerts to inspire the student audience. The young musicians chosen are awarded U.S. Savings Bonds and certificates of accomplishment as encouragement to continue to develop their exceptional talents. The selection process will continue to grow with the addition of formal rules of competition. The program is funded through the Association’s Blanche Nissim Memorial Fund.

..........Growing each year is the agenda of Ensemble Visits to Schools. In a concentrated effort to help enhance the music curriculum, orchestra musicians visit classrooms to introduce various instruments and to inspire the young audiences with the joys of music in their lives.

 ..........Aristotle said, “Music has the power of producing a certain effect on the moral character of the soul, and if it has the power to do this, it is clear that the young must be directed to music and must be educated in it.”