Kids' Orchestra

Founded in 2010, Kids’ Orchestra (KO) has dedicated over 15 years of service to providing accessible music education, academic enrichment, social and emotional learning, and a hot supper to at-risk students in South Louisiana. Today, Kids’ Orchestra has 11 board and advisory members, eight full-time staff, and over 90 part-time staff running day-to-day operations. In the 2024-2025 school year, KO provided 2,015 music lessons across 18 afterschool sites and community classes for over 52,830 hours of individual instruction.

KO prioritizes serving students and schools with the most need, and, through private and public funding, can offer tuition on a sliding scale based off family income, with 88% of students receiving scholarships to participate. Students meet twice per week afterschool with local, professional Teaching Artists, receive an instrument for the year, free of charge, and have the opportunity to perform in at least 2 community concerts each year.