Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
The Youth Orchestra of Palm Beach County (YOPBC) is a non-profit arts organization that provides youth, ages six to 22, from all backgrounds, with programming that supports the notion that “Music Changes Lives.” Benefiting in multiple ways from instruction, rehearsal, and the thrill of performing orchestral music as a unified whole, the student musicians who make up the YOPBC membership have through the YOPBC program the chance to gain self-esteem, improve academic performance, learn how to meet self-directed goals, build socialization skills, and serve the community through the arts.
Since its founding in 1993, YOPBC as an organization, has consistently held fast to a strong belief in the tenets of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Conductors, staff, board members, volunteers, and of course the YOPBC members themselves represent all ages, religions, national origins, ethnicities, races, genders, sexual orientation, physical abilities, and socio-economic backgrounds.
In abiding by the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion, YOPBC strives to make its program accessible to a diverse sampling of student musicians from all over Palm Beach and surrounding counties. No child is ever turned away because of an inability to pay.
YOPBC concerts are designed to appeal to a wide audience including those audience members with cognitive and emotional disabilities who maybe disenfranchised. By making concert tickets reasonably priced, the entire community can afford to attend performances of orchestral music performed by enthusiastic young talent. By doing this, YOPBC typifies the spirit of making the arts inclusive and equitable to all.
Celebrating individuality, the creative process, and how the arts strengthen the foundations of social justice, YOPBC helps to build a stronger, more compassionate and joyful world through the beauty of orchestral music played by rising young talent.