The Colburn School is a private

music school A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger in ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

with a focus on music and dance. It consists of four divisions: the Conservatory of Music, Music Academy, Community School of Performing Arts and the Dance Academy. It is located adjacent to the

Museum of Contemporary Art Museum of Contemporary Art (often abbreviated to MCA, MoCA or MOCA) may refer to: Africa * Museum of Contemporary Art (Tangier), Morocco, officially le Galerie d'Art Contemporain Mohamed Drissi Asia East Asia * Museum of Contemporary Art Shangha ...

and across the street from the

Walt Disney Concert Hall The Walt Disney Concert Hall at 111 South Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles, California, is the fourth hall of the Los Angeles Music Center and was designed by Frank Gehry. It was opened on October 24, 2003. Bounded by Hope Street, Grand A ...

History

The school was established in 1950 as a preparatory arm of the USC Thornton School of Music. It was originally located across the street from the

Shrine Auditorium The Shrine Auditorium is a landmark large-event venue in Los Angeles, California. It is also the headquarters of the Al Malaikah Temple, a division of the Shriners. It was designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument (No. 139) in 1975, and ...

, in a warehouse that had been converted into extra USC practice rooms, rehearsal halls, and dance studios. It later broadened its mission and changed its name to the Community School of Performing Arts. In 1980, it finalized its split with USC and branched out on its own. In 1985, the school received a significant endowment from Richard D. Colburn and was subsequently renamed in his honor. The school moved from its original location near the USC campus to its current location in downtown Los Angeles in 1998. Five years later, the Colburn Conservatory of Music was established to provide tertiary music education with a unique all-scholarship model. In 2010, the school opened the Colburn Music Academy, a highly selective program designed for young pre-collegiate musicians. In 2014, the Colburn Dance Academy was launched as the pre-professional ballet program of the Trudl Zipper Dance Institute. Former

New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company' ...

principal dancer Jenifer Ringer was appointed as dean and

Benjamin Millepied Benjamin Millepied (; born 10 June 1977) is a French dancer and choreographer, who has lived and worked in the United States since joining the New York City Ballet in 1995, where he became a soloist in 1998 and a principal in 2002. He has als ...

was made artistic advisor. The same year, pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet became the school’s first

Artist-in-Residence Artist-in-residence, or artist residencies, encompass a wide spectrum of artistic programs which involve a collaboration between artists and hosting organisations, institutions, or communities. They are programs which provide artists with space a ...

Programs

The Conservatory of Music currently offers a

Bachelor of Music Bachelor of Music (BM or BMus) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. In the United States, it is a professional degree, and the majority of work consists of presc ...

degree, a Master of Music degree, a Performance Diploma, an Artist Diploma, and a Professional Studies Certificate to students. All students at the Conservatory receive full scholarship including housing and stipends. The Dean of the Conservatory is Lee Cioppa. The Conservatory is also home to the Negaunee Conducting Program. Led by conductor and composer

Esa-Pekka Salonen Esa-Pekka Salonen (; born 30 June 1958) is a Finnish orchestral conductor and composer. He is principal conductor and artistic advisor of the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, conductor laureate of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and music dir ...

, fellows of the program pursue either undergraduate or graduate conducting diplomas. Apart from working with various ensembles at Colburn, they gain significant real-world experience from assisting Salonen at the San Francisco Symphony and serving as assistant conductors for his engagements internationally. The Music Academy offers a comprehensive curriculum of courses, which include music theory, ear training, singing and a vigorous chamber music program for gifted young musicians. The Dean of the Academy is Adrian Daly. The Community School of Performing Arts serves children in the community through to age 18 and offers classes for several disciplines: Ensembles, Jazz, Music Theory, Piano, Strings, Voice and Choir, Woodwinds, Brass, Percussion and Drama. The Dean of the Community School is Susan Cook. The Dance Academy offers a rigorous program for dancers between the ages of 14 and 19 to prepare them for a professional career. The curriculum has a focus on classical ballet while also providing instruction for other styles. The Dean of the Dance Academy is Silas Farley.

Admission

In an unidentified year, 500 applicants applied to the Colburn School's Conservatory of Music and 26 were accepted for a 5% acceptance rate. Approximately 110 students attend the Conservatory of Music, and more than 1,500 students are enrolled in classes at the Community School of Performing Arts.

Facilities and architecture

The Colburn School's main building was designed by the architectural firm Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates. It includes the Lloyd Wright designed studio of Jascha Heifetz. Originally situated in Heifetz's backyard, it was saved from demolition and rebuilt on the second floor of the school's Grand Avenue building. Also located in the building is Zipper Hall, a concert venue that hosts both professional and student performances throughout the year. The

Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic, commonly referred to as the LA Phil, is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at th ...

and Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra have both performed chamber music concerts at the venue. In 2016, the Colburn School bought an outdoor parking lot on the corner of 2nd and Olive Streets for $33 million. In 2022, it announced plans to build a

Frank Gehry Frank Owen Gehry, , FAIA (; ; born ) is a Canadian-born American architect and designer. A number of his buildings, including his private residence in Santa Monica, California, have become world-renowned attractions. His works are considere ...

designed 1,000-seat concert hall along with several dance studios and a performance plaza on the site.

Notable faculty

* Ted Atkatz - percussion *

Andrew Bain Andrew Bain may refer to: * Andrew Bain (horn player), horn player with the Los Angeles Philharmonic *Andrew Bain (singer), British singing dentist *Andrew Bain (drummer) Andrew Bain is a Scottish drummer and music educator. He is Head of Jazz at ...

- horn * Martin Beaver - chamber music and violin *

Fabio Bidini Fabio Bidini (born in Arezzo on 11 June 1968) is an Italian pianist. He was a finalist at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth in 1993. He teaches at the Colburn School in Los Angeles, where he holds a piano chair endowed b ...

- piano *

Paul Coletti Paul Coletti (born 1959 in Edinburgh) is a Scottish viola soloist and chamber musician. He has performed throughout the world, making solo appearances at the Sydney Opera House, Queen Elizabeth Hall (London) and Teatro Colón (Buenos Aires). H ...

- viola * Silas Farley - dance * Yehuda Gilad - clarinet * Thomas Kotcheff - ear training and music theory * Mark Lawrence - trombone * Ronald Leonard - cello *

Teng Li Teng Li (born in Nanjing, China) is a Chinese-Canadian violist. She is currently the principal violist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. From 2004 to 2018, she was the principal violist of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. She is also the Artisti ...

- viola * Robert Lipsett - violin * Tatjana Masurenko - viola * Norman Pearson - tuba *

- conducting * Ory Shihor - piano * Arnold Steinhardt - violin *

JoAnn Turovsky JoAnn Turovsky is a harp teacher in Los Angeles, California. She is an adjunct professor of harp at the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California, and at Colburn School of Performing Arts. She performs with the Los Angeles ...

- harp * Jim Walker - flute

Notable alumni

* Kris Bowers - composer and pianist *

Calder Quartet The Calder Quartet (CQ) is a string quartet based in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1998 at the University of Southern California, the group takes its name from American sculptor Alexander Calder. The ensemble is currently composed of i ...

- ensemble * Calidore String Quartet - ensemble *

Robert Chen Robert Chen () is a Taiwanese-born violinist who is the Concertmaster of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He received Bachelor's and Master's of Music degrees from the Juilliard School, where he studied with Dorothy DeLay and Masao Kawasaki. Ca ...

- violinist * Danielle de Niese - soprano *

Jennifer Frautschi Jennifer Frautschi (; born 1973) is an American violinist. A recipient of an Avery Fisher Career Grant, she is currently Artist-in-Residence at Stony Brook University. She plays a 1722 Antonio Stradivari violin known as the " ex-Cadiz," on loan f ...

- violinist *

David Fung David Fung (born August 17, 1988) is a concert pianist. Fung was born in Sydney, Australia. Early life and education Fung attended James Ruse Agricultural High School in Sydney, where he received the James Ruse Medal for Dux and the Medal for Musi ...

- pianist * Leila Josefowicz - violinist * Tamaki Kawakubo - violinist * Anne Akiko Meyers - violinist * Blake Pouliot - violinist *

Eric Reed Eric Reed may refer to: *Eric Reed (musician) (born 1970), American jazz pianist and composer *Eric Reed (baseball) (born 1980), American outfielder *Eric Reed (soccer) (born 1983), American goalkeeper *Eric Reed (horse trainer), American horse tra ...

- jazz pianist * Albert Cano Smit - pianist *

Mikyung Sung Mikyung Sung (Korean Language, Korean: , sometimes spelled Mikyung Soung, born September 1, 1993 in Seoul, South Korea) is a classical double bass player. Education Born into a musical family, Mikyung Sung first studied piano and cello, then sta ...

- double bassist * Michael Tilson Thomas - conductor

References

External links

Official website
{{Coord, 34, 3, 15, N, 118, 14, 59, W, region:US-CA_type:edu, display=title Music schools in California Schools in Los Angeles Schools of the performing arts in the United States Performing arts education in the United States Educational institutions established in 1950 1950 establishments in California Bunker Hill, Los Angeles