The Los Angeles County High School for the Arts (LACHSA), known for launching the careers of stars like Josh Groban and Phoebe Bridgers, is celebrating its 40th anniversary with a fundraising concert at the Greek Theatre on May 30.
Star-Studded Celebration
Dubbed LACHSAPalooza, the event will be hosted by Anthony Anderson and feature performances by Ozomatli and Fitz and the Tantrums. Anderson, part of LACHSA's class of 1985, shared, "This school is special. LACHSA helped me in my transformation to becoming an artist in a way I’d always envisioned since I was young."
Fundraising for the Future
As a public, tuition-free school, LACHSA aims to raise $2.5 million through the event to support its programs amidst ongoing challenges in public arts education. "Public education in general in the state of California hasn’t been fully funded in 50 years," said Trena Pitchford, executive director of the LACHSA Foundation. "It is incumbent on us now to take responsibility for LACHSA and to bring it to a place of abundance for the next 40 years."
Impact on Alumni
LACHSA's unique arts-focused curriculum has made it one of the top performing arts programs in the U.S., alongside New York’s LaGuardia High and Michigan’s Interlochen Arts Camp. Alumni like Taran Killam recall the impact of LACHSA's training: "That type of training and exposure demystifies the idea of doing this as a career." Zoey Deutch, who attended in the 2010s, emphasized, "It wasn’t just a school, it was a space where being an artist is taken seriously."
Challenges Ahead
Despite a supportive alumni network, LACHSA faces financial strains similar to many arts programs nationwide. "Public education today, the struggles are real," Pitchford noted, citing donor fatigue due to recent disasters. Anderson stressed the importance of such schools: "Everyone I know in this world uses the arts to escape. Schools like LACHSA are important not only to young artists, but to our society."
Source: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/local-news/lachsapalooza-lachsa-fundraising-effort-1236602932/
