Register Now
12 pm PT Film Premiere 1 pm PT Q&A hosted by Chris Lee, senior reporter for Vulture/New York Magazine and featuring: Sel Kardan, Colburn President Hamid Shams, Director of The Way Forward Eric Whitacre, Composer and Conductor Danielle de Niese, Soprano Olivia Jacobus, Colburn Dance Academy Graduate
Join us for the world premiere of The Way Forward, a film that reimagines the concert-going experience for the digital age.
During a year when musicians and dancers needed to collaborate from afar, faculty, alumni, students, and friends of Colburn came together under the direction of filmmaker Hamid Shams to produce this celebration of creativity and connectivity.
Filmed remotely in Australia, Canada, Finland, England, Spain, and on the Colburn campus in Los Angeles, The Way Forward is a visually stunning narrative featuring ballet, classical music, jazz, opera, and Eric Whitacre’s Virtual Choir 6, with 17,572 singers from 129 countries.
Previewed to a donor audience in 2020, the film is now publicly available for free. A portrait of a community brimming with talent, energy, and passion, The Way Forward is a celebration of the drive to perform and the will to create.
Performances by Esa-Pekka Salonen, Danielle de Niese, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Kris Bowers, Fabio Bidini, Clive Greensmith, Calidore String Quartet and more, plus a special appearance by Academy Award-winner Christoph Waltz. View a complete list of performers and works featured in the film here.