Colburn at a Glance

An internationally renowned performing arts school located in the cultural corridor of downtown Los Angeles, the Colburn School provides the highest quality music and dance education to students at all levels of development, from beginners to those about to embark on professional careers.

Fast Facts

• $15.2 million in scholarship support is awarded annually to Colburn students.
• 100% of Conservatory students receive full scholarships to cover tuition plus room and board.
• 350+ public music and dance performances take place each year on Colburn’s campus.
• 55% of students in the Music Academy and Conservatory of Music are international.
• 6,800 Title I public school students participate in Colburn’s community programming each year.
• 77% of the School’s operating budget is made possible by philanthropy.

Student Achievements and Careers

• Graduates of the Community School of Performing Arts go on to top music programs, Ivy League universities, and the best universities in the nation, including the Eastman School of Music, Harvard University, the Juilliard School, New England Conservatory, Johns Hopkins University, Princeton University, and the Colburn Conservatory.
• Music Academy students graduating in 2024 were accepted to prestigious conservatories and music programs, including the Colburn Conservatory, Juilliard, Cleveland Institute of Music, and the Royal Conservatory of Music. Since the Music Academy was founded, 23% of graduates have gone on to the Colburn Conservatory.
• Over 140 Conservatory of Music alumni hold professional orchestra positions, and graduates also form internationally renowned chamber ensembles, teach at distinguished conservatories and universities, and enter top post-graduate programs around the country.
• Graduates of the Dance Academy perform across the globe in ballet companies including the New York City Ballet, Royal New Zealand Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and National Ballet of Canada.

Alumni Snapshot

• Kris Bowers (Community School ’06), Oscar-nominated and Emmy Award-winning composer and pianist
• Anne Akiko Meyers (Community School ’83), internationally renowned violinist
• Lauren Collet (Dance Academy ’16), corps de ballet at the New York City Ballet
• Kevin Lin (Conservatory ’15), concertmaster at the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra
• Nicholas Podany (Trudl Zipper Dance Institute ’12), lead role in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway
• Anthony Gonzalez (Community School), star of the Disney animated film Coco
• Viano String Quartet (Conservatory ’21), recently signed to Opus 3 Artists roster, Curtis Institute of Music string quartet-in-residence

Faculty Snapshot

• Martin Beaver and Clive Greensmith, members of the world-renowned Tokyo String Quartet
• Melinda Sullivan, dancer, choreographer, and actress featured in film and television (La La Land, So You Think You Can Dance)
• Fabio Bidini, sought-after chamber musician and soloist who has performed with the most prominent orchestras worldwide
• Lee Secard, recipient of Downbeat’s prestigious Jazz Education Achievement Award
• Colburn faculty are members of the LA Phil, LA Opera orchestra, and Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra

2024 Highlights

• Colburn Breaks Ground on Frank Gehry-Designed Campus Expansion
  In April 2024, The Colburn School broke ground on a transformational 100,000-square-foot expansion designed by Frank Gehry, one of the world’s most distinguished architects. The new building will be located adjacent to Colburn’s Grand Avenue campus in Downtown Los Angeles, and will dramatically increase the school’s world-class training and performance facilities for music and dance.
• Negaunee Foundation Endows Colburn School’s Acclaimed Conducting Program led by Esa-Pekka Salonen
  A $16.6 million gift from The Negaunee Foundation endowed in perpetuity the Conservatory of Music’s Negaunee Conducting Program, led by world-renowned composer and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen, who holds the Maestro Ernst H. Katz Chair of Conducting Studies at the School.
• Conservatory Ensemble Trio Azura Wins Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition Grand Prize Medal
  Conservatory of Music students Duncan McDougall, violin, Yejin Hong, cello, and Yanfeng (Tony) Bai, piano won the Grand Prize Medal ($15,000 award) in the 51st annual Fischoff Competition. They also won the Gold Medal ($5,000 award) in the Senior String Division, the Lift Every Voice Prize ($1,500) for the best performance of a work by a historically underrepresented composer within the chamber music world, and the Horszowski Trio Prize for Piano Trio ($600 award), Senior Division.
• Colburn School and Violinist Ray Chen to Host Inaugural TonicCon, Uniting Global Tonic App Music Community In-Person for the First Time
  In October, the Colburn School, in partnership with violinist and entrepreneur Ray Chen, hosted TonicCon, the first ever in-person event bringing together musicians of all levels who have formed a vibrant virtual community on the Tonic app.