The Colburn School’s 2024-25 season presents an exciting lineup showcasing extraordinary young musicians, classical music stars, and world-renowned conductors. Ensure you never miss a beat by subscribing to one of our Early Access Subscription Packages, which include:
The Colburn Orchestra is the renowned flagship ensemble of the Colburn Conservatory of Music, presenting exhilarating performances from some of the world’s best young classical musicians, led by internationally celebrated conductors. This package includes premium tickets to the Orchestra’s entire season at Pasadena’s Ambassador Auditorium.
The Colburn Orchestra is generously underwritten by Eva and Marc Stern.
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Carlos Miguel Prieto, Conductor Bence Bubreg, Clarinet
WAGNER Prelude from Tristan und Isolde NIELSEN Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra BRAHMS Symphony No. 3
The season opens with an evening of soulful masterworks rife with musical and emotional turmoil. The ever-shifting textures and styles of Nielson’s single-movement clarinet concerto are paired with Brahms’s Third Symphony, which exudes the composer’s characteristic angst as it alternates between major and minor. The moody prelude to Wagner’s opera Tristan and Isolde rounds out the program.
Lidiya Yankovskaya, Conductor Eugene Lin, Cello
STRAUSS Don Quixote ESMAIL RE|Member DEBUSSY La mer (The sea)
Immerse yourself in musical imagery that paints vivid pictures of literature and life. The journey of errant knight Don Quixote is depicted through solo instruments in Strauss’s tone poem of the same name. Debussy brings an undulating seascape to life in his famous La mer, and a piece by Renee Esmail uses a unique oboe duet to capture the uncertainty felt in concert halls in 2021.
Yehuda Gilad, Conductor Duncan McDougall, Violin
SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 6 TCHAIKOVSKY Violin Concerto
The two critically-panned works on this program have since become audience favorites. Shostakovich’s Sixth starts with an achingly emotional slow movement before plunging toward a fast and fiery finish. In Tchaikovsky’s lively Violin Concerto, the virtuosic demands made on the soloist never fail to leave audiences awestruck.
This performance is generously supported by Beverly C. Marksbury.
See some of the world’s most distinguished chamber musicians perform with talented Conservatory of Music students and faculty in the intimate setting of Zipper Hall. This package includes premium tickets to all of this season’s Chamber Music Society performances.
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MISSY MAZZOLI Lies You Can Believe In for String Trio NINA YOUNG Spero Lucem for Piano Quartet FAURE Piano Quartet No. 1 in C Minor SCHUMANN Piano Quartet in E-flat Major
A multifaceted artist with a passion for new music, violinist Jennifer Koh continually enchants audiences with her virtuosity and technical prowess. She takes the Colburn stage for a program blending classic and contemporary.
This concert is generously supported by the Jackson family, in memory of Adrian Daly for his angelic mentorship to students in the Colburn Academy and beyond.
SAINT-SAËNS Caprice sur des airs danois et russes for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, and Piano FAURÉ Piano Quartet No. 2 ROUSSEL Divertissement for Winds and Piano HAHN Piano Quintet
Celebrated for his passionate playing and unique musical interpretations, award-winning French-Canadian pianist Louis Lortie boasts an impressive career as a soloist, chamber musician, and recording artist. He takes the stage for a program of innovative chamber works by French contemporaries Saint-Saen, Fauré, Roussel, and Hahn.
CARLOS SIMON be still and know for Piano Trio COLERIDGE-TAYLOR Clarinet Quintet WAGNER Lohengrin Prelude for Cello Quartet MOZART Horn Quintet BRITTEN Sinfonietta for Wind and String Quintets
Cellist Paul Watkins’s remarkable artistic resume includes membership in the famed Emerson String Quartet, eight concerto appearances at the BBC Proms, and regular performances with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. He curates a program sure to excite both wind and string lovers alike with its unique instrumental combinations.
This residency is generously supported by The Geeting Family.
MOZART String Quartet No. 1 in G Major STEVE REICH Different Trains for String Quartet and Tape SCHOENBERG Verklärte Nacht for String Sextet
Violist Jonathan Brown, Colburn’s newly appointed professor of chamber music, is a longtime member of the acclaimed Cuarteto Casals. With the quartet, he has performed in major concert halls across the globe and amassed a robust library of recordings. For his Colburn debut, Brown pairs Mozart’s charming String Quartet No. 1 with eclectic works by Schoenberg and Steve Reich.
PENDERECKI Quartet for Clarinet and Strings VILLA-LOBOS Quintette en forme de chôros BRAHMS Clarinet Quintet in B Minor
Cleveland Orchestra principal clarinet Afendi Yusuf has become an in-demand soloist and chamber musician thanks to his “clear, liquid tone, pitch-perfect intonation, and effortless technique” (Chicago Classical Review). The Conservatory alumnus returns to the Colburn stage for a program of quartets and quintets by Brahms, Villa-Lobos, and Penderecki.
Colburn is thrilled to welcome the renowned Calidore String Quartet to the Colburn stage for two concerts this season, including a performance with award-winning Colburn Chamber Ensemble-in-Residence Quartet Integra. Globally acclaimed pianist and Colburn Faculty Fabio Bidini will also take the stage with Quartet Integra. These performances are sure to sell out, so secure your tickets early.
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KORNGOLD String Quartet No. 1 in A Major KORNGOLD String Quartet No. 2 in E-flat Major KORNGOLD String Quartet No. 3 in D Major
The acclaimed Calidore String Quartet returns to its alma mater to perform the complete cycle of Korngold’s String Quartets. Winner of BBC Music Magazine’s 2024 Chamber Award, Calidore has been praised for its “deep reserves of virtuosity and irrepressible dramatic instinct” (New York Times). Korngold’s three string quartets are technically challenging, with melodies that harken to the composer’s successful film music career and vastly different styles and textures.
The Calidore String Quartet’s 2024 Colburn School residency is generously supported by Dot and Rick Nelson.
WYNTON MARSALIS Selections from String Quartet No. 1 (“At the Octoroon Balls”) KORNGOLD String Sextet MENDELSSOHN String Octet in E-flat Major
The acclaimed Calidore String Quartet continues its week-long residency with a program of eclectic works for four, six, and eight string instruments. Winner of BBC Music Magazine’s 2024 Chamber Award, Calidore has been praised for its “deep reserves of virtuosity and irrepressible dramatic instinct” (New York Times). Following Wynton Marsalis’s New Orleans-inspired string quartet, the group is joined by Quartet Integra, Colburn’s ensemble-in-residence, for works by Korngold and Mendelssohn.
SCHUMANN Piano Quintet in E-flat Major BRAHMS Piano Quintet in F Minor
Delight in an evening of masterworks performed by Van Cliburn-winning pianist Fabio Bidini and Quartet Integra, Colburn’s ensemble-in-residence. These talented musicians will bring to life Brahms’s and Schumann’s only piano quintets, two of the most popular in the genre.
Can’t choose a subscription package? Then the Season Sampler subscription is for you! This package includes one Colburn Orchestra performance, one Chamber Music Society Performance, and one Quartet Collection performance of your choice.
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