colburn center

Celebrating 25 years on Grand Avenue, the Colburn School has been a driving force in the revitalization of Downtown Los Angeles. Soon, Colburn will add a remarkable Frank Gehry-designed building to the artistic heart of Los Angeles. A 100,000 square-foot addition will spark collaboration and interdisciplinary educational partnerships across the region.

In planning for these spaces, we are connecting with presenters and creators throughout Los Angeles who are enthusiastic about calling the new Colburn expansion a home away from home. The 1,000 seat Terri and Jerry Kohl Hall, along with state-of-the-art dance studios and performance space, will be a destination for Los Angeles artists as well as for the world’s greatest performers—and enthusiastic audiences longing to welcome them to LA.

Since selecting McCarthy Building Companies as our general contractor, we look forward to further planning the project with the City of Los Angeles and working towards groundbreaking in the next year. In tandem, we continue to refine aesthetics of the new building with Gehry Partners and are excited to share details on the iconic paint coating that will define Terri and Jerry Kohl Hall amidst all of the other architecture on Bunker Hill.

“Pink Kandi,” the unique coating responsible for the hall’s vibrant glow, was developed in collaboration between Gehry Partners and Sherwin-Williams Coil Coating division. The color was inspired by Kandy paint, a high-gloss metallic color process used on automobiles. Specifically developed for its weatherability, UV and graffiti resistance, and superior gloss levels, Pink Kandi is sure to make Kohl Hall stand out amongst its neighbors on Bunker Hill as the building’s façade shimmers against the sunlight.

Leadership support from our generous community has provided $285 million to date, over 70% of the Building Our Future campaign goal.

Most recently, we are pleased to announce that both of the beautiful gardens incorporated into the building plans have been named.

The public garden, named the Choi Family Garden, is located on the ground level of the Dance School and will welcome students and families to gather, study, and converse in this outdoor environment. The rooftop garden, named the Mullin Family Garden of Thoughts and Dreams, is located on the fourth level of the building and will serve as a versatile space to host outdoor performances and gatherings and promote an even stronger sense of belonging amongst our community.

colburnschool.edu/future

Performances And Partnerships

Colburn School serves as a vibrant, longstanding anchor of the cultural corridor in Downtown Los Angeles, but its influence is felt throughout the city and beyond. More than 300 public music and dance performances take place each year. With superb venues, low ticket prices, and world-renowned guest artists performing alongside our high-caliber student artists, the benefits of performance reach beyond our students to our patrons. These performances in the community, on campus, and online develop the next generation of audiences.

Featured Guest Artists

Colburn’s emphasis on performance-centered education takes center stage with more than 300 public music and dance events every year. A full calendar and low ticket prices, along with streaming opportunities, welcome longtime patrons and newcomers to enjoy the arts from a variety of perspectives. Students showcase their artistry in solo and chamber music performances and Colburn Orchestra concerts. Members of our extraordinary faculty delight audiences and many of the world’s most influential names in classical music and dance come to Colburn.

This season featured the following guest artists:

Andy Akiho, Colburn Chamber Music Society

James Conlon, Colburn Orchestra

Marc Coppey, Colburn Chamber Music Society

Stéphane Denève, Colburn Orchestra

DuoSkope, Next Up Series

Karina González, See the Music, Hear the Dance

Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Colburn Orchestra

Sang Yoon Kim, Colburn Chamber Music Society

Jon Kimura Parker, Colburn Chamber Music Society

Alonzo King, Amplify Series

Tessa Lark, Colburn Chamber Music Society

Courtney Lewis, Colburn Orchestra

Leo Manzari, Tap Fest

Simone Menezes, Colburn Orchestra

Thomas Mesa, Amplify Series

Ruth Reinhardt, Colburn Orchestra

David Rejano, Colburn Chamber Music Society

Jason Rodgers, Tap Fest

Karissa Royster, Tap Fest

SAKURA Cello Quintet, Next Up Series

Joseph Wiggan, Tap Fest

Harper Watters, See the Music, Hear the Dance

Kileigh Williams, Tap Fest

Master Classes

Off stage, visiting artists share their expertise and experience through interactive master classes. This season, Colburn students heard from some of the top names in classical music, including Lang Lang, Gil Shaham, Emmanuel Ax, Stephen Kovacevich, Midori, and Ray Chen. Master classes in dance were led by Karissa Royster, Melinda Sullivan, Johnnie Hobbs III, Leo Manazari, Susan Jaffe, Michael Bearden, Janie Taylor, Stephanie Saland, Silas Riener, Kyle Abraham, Joshua Beamish, Jenifer Ringer, Olivier Pardina, and Alonzo King.

Celebrating Years

Colburn’s beloved Zipper Hall continues to be a favorite venue for artists and audiences alike, and readers of SF Classical Voice named Zipper Hall “Best Small Venue” last year. In addition to hosting multiple Colburn performances, Zipper is the venue of choice for other LA performing arts organizations. This season, the LA Opera presented Benjamin Britten’s 1946 chamber opera, The Rape of Lucretia, featuring Resident Conductor Lina González-Granados and a cast from the Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program. Zipper Hall also hosted an evening with LA Opera Artist-in-Residence Russell Thomas and a one-night-only occasion with Isabel Leonard and Pablo Sáinz-Villegas.

Bringing the performing arts to the larger Southern California community has always been a key pillar of the Colburn mission, and this year saw students traveling to a variety of locations.

Discovering Debussy

Colburn joined in a unique citywide celebration of Claude Debussy in March, collaborating with several of the city’s preeminent performing arts institutions. Directed and curated by LA Opera Music Director James Conlon, Discovering Debussy explored the life and legacy of the French composer, who is considered the founder of Impressionist music and one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. The celebration was anchored by LA Opera’s production of Pelléas et Mélisande , which returned to the LA Opera stage for the first time in over 25 years.

discovering debussy partner organizations

Hammer Museum

LA Opera

Opera League of Los Angeles

Norton Simon Museum

New And Continuing Partnerships

The Colburn School partners with several organizations throughout Southern California to provide performance opportunities for the next generation of artists and to introduce audiences to varied programming.

La Jolla Music Society

Fans of the Musical Preludes series were treated to the high-caliber skills and artistry of Conservatory and Music Academy students.

From the Top

The popular national radio broadcast came back to Colburn to record performances featuring students from the Music Academy and Community School of Performing Arts.

USC Brain and Creativity Institute

This association enables 20 students from Colburn’s partner schools to benefit from weekly group instruction along with private lessons from Conservatory students.

Chamber Music LA

As a member of Chamber Music LA, Colburn helps build a thriving chamber music community in Southern California. This fall, Chamber Music LA presented its first-ever live concert, dedicated to the memory of founder Warner Henry.

LA Violin Shop

Colburn partnered with LA Violin Shop to establish on-campus repair services, ensuring the instruments of our string students of all levels remain in top condition.

Philharmonic Society of Orange County

The Colburn Orchestra performs regularly on concert series presented by the Philharmonic Society of Orange County, Orange County’s oldest and most recognized music organization.

International Connections

Colburn continues to forge relationships with prestigious and historic institutions around the globe, giving students access to exchange programs and touring opportunities. Livestreaming from our home venues also invites international audiences to enjoy our numerous events.

May 2023 Chamber Music Tour

current exchange programs include:

Sibelius Academy in Finland

La Saline Royale in France

Conservatory students joined Colburn School Artist-in-Residence Jean-Yves Thibaudet and faculty members Clive Greensmith and Tatjana Masurenko on a European tour this spring. The group presented chamber music concerts and master classes in collaboration with the Royal College of Music in London, the Royal Irish Academy of Music in Dublin, the Barenboim-Said Akademie in Berlin, and performed at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris.

Livestreaming

Our livestreams have been embraced by music patrons from all corners of the world. Since the beginning of the fall semester, Colburn livestreams were viewed more than 74,000 times.

top-viewing countries:

United States

South Korea

Japan

Taiwan

United Kingdom

Germany