Meet the Team Behind: Street Symphony

Street Symphony brings the healing power of music to communities impacted by homelessness and incarceration—creating moments of connection, dignity, and hope through live performances and arts programs. Learn more here! 

Can you tell me about your mission? 

Since 2011, Street Symphony has been dedicated to using music as a bridge between worlds that rarely meet. Our artists have presented more than 3,000 performances and workshops in shelters, jails, transitional housing sites, and community centers. We’ve brought live music, human connection, and creative community to our neighbors experiencing homelessness, incarceration, addiction, and recovery in Skid Row. What began as a single act of service has grown into a sustained movement built on trust, artistic excellence, and the belief that everyone deserves access to beauty and belonging through music.

What do your programs entail? 

Our flagship initiative, the Messiah Project, gathers hundreds of musicians and residents from Skid Row to perform Handel’s Messiah together in Los Angeles. Music With A Mission is a free concert series featuring world class ensembles performing directly for residents and the surrounding community, and Midnight Strings is our dedicated 12-week guitar workshop and performance residency. The RE/Sound Festival is an annual one-day event that combines live music, resource services, community vendors, and volunteer-driven outreach. Women’s Voices is a 12-week songwriting and performance residency designed and led entirely by women, for women, and we also offer meditative musical offerings at the Downtown Women’s Center. 

What makes your programs different? 

Street Symphony musicians are trained to uphold the highest artistic standards while practicing humility, adaptability, and care. Street Symphony’s programs are rooted in long-term partnership rather than one-time outreach. Our musicians return to the same sites month after month, building genuine relationships with participants and staff. We work collaboratively with service organizations to design musical experiences that respond to each community’s needs. Performances are conversational and participatory, encouraging audiences to share songs, reflections, and memories. The result is not entertainment offered from a distance, but connection created in real time. Our guiding values are clear and consistent.

Can you tell me about your impact? 

We’ve served the Los Angeles community for over 11 years, reaching over 10,000 people through performances, workshops, and community programs. Our 5 long-standing monthly programs connect us with partners in the community. We have over 200 artists in our Street Symphony creative community and have delivered over 1,000 live music events in Skid Row. We’ve spent over a decade healing the community through the power of music!