Colburn School Announces 2024–25 Season

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Colburn School Announces 2024–25 Roster for its Esteemed Colburn Artists Management Program

(Tuesday, October 1, 2024. Los Angeles) – Colburn School today announced the roster of Colburn Artists for the 2024-25 season, featuring five remarkable young artists embarking on careers as soloists, chamber musicians, and conductors. The 2024-25 roster includes string quartet Quartet Integra, violinist and pianist Ray Ushikubo, conductors Aleksandra Melaniuk and Mert Yalniz, and pianist Ryota Yamazaki. Established in 2012, Colburn Artists is a unique in-house management program for Colburn Conservatory students on the cusp of professional careers. Created in order to provide guidance and support during the critical transition from the conservatory environment to a performance career, the Colburn Artists program is designed to prepare students to work with industry leaders and artist managers. In a supportive atmosphere linked closely with their individual performance studies, they receive personalized career advice and training, including guidance on building relationships with presenters, orchestras, and world-class musicians; developing repertoire; interview preparation; and creating a polished image and online presence.

Colburn students are chosen to join Colburn Artists by a faculty committee and teacher nomination process. Faculty observe student’s growth through on-and-off campus performances, chamber music coaching, and individual instruction to evaluate their artistic achievements and personal artistic goals.

“Being selected for the Colburn Artists management program is an acknowledgement of the exceptional talent and dedication of these musicians,” said Colburn School President and CEO Sel Kardan. “Their inclusion in this roster signifies a significant milestone in their journey, posed to enhance their careers as soloists and chamber musicians. The Colburn Artists program is unique in its comprehensive approach, combining individualized career development with unparalleled performance opportunities. Our program not only nurtures exceptional musical talent but also equips artists with the professional skills needed to thrive in today’s competitive landscape.”

Polish conductor Aleksandra Melaniuk is one of the leading young conductors of her generation. She has worked with the London Symphony Orchestra as a semi-finalist of the 17th Donatella Flick Conducting Competition, and is one of the winners of the 2023 Das Kritische Orchester, led by Forum Dirigieren. Raised between Warsaw and Edinburgh, Melaniuk was a Britten-Pears Young Artist for the 2023–24 season and a Salonen Fellow in the Negaunee Conducting Program at Colburn Conservatory and the San Francisco Symphony, where she assisted Esa-Pekka Salonen internationally. Despite her young age, Melaniuk has already conducted numerous orchestras in Europe, including the Flanders Symphony Orchestra, Stavanger Symfoniorkester, Baltic Sea Philharmonic, Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra, Moravska Filharmonie Olomouc, Lower Silesian Philharmonic Orchestra or the Orchestra of the Grand Theatre in Poznan. She made her professional debut with the Silesian Philharmonic in their ‘For the Young’ concert series.

Described as having “an enormous wealth of colors… and sparkling rhythms,” (All News Press), Quartet Integra are quickly developing a reputation of international prestige. In 2022, the Quartet won Second Prize and the coveted Audience Award at the 2022 ARD International Music Competition, First Prize at the 2021 Bartók World Competition, and First Prize and the Prize of Beethoven and Grand Prix Award at the 2019 Akiyoshidai Music Competition. Upcoming performances include over twenty performances throughout Japan including the Kanazawa, Hukuyama and Takefu International Festivals and at venues such as Tokyo Opera City, Toppan Hall, and Suntory Hall, among others. Additionally, they have performances planned as part of the Discovery Series at the La Jolla Music Society, the California Club in Los Angeles and Thayer and Zipper Halls at the Colburn School.

Known for his “disciplined focus and clarity… and marvelous dynamic nuance” (Arts Knoxville), Ray Ushikubo is a twenty-one-year-old Japanese-American pianist and violinist who has performed on the stages of Carnegie Hall and Walt Disney Concert Hall, and appeared on NBC’s The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Ushikubo made his orchestral debut at age ten with the Young Musicians Foundation Orchestra in Los Angeles’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion with Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 alongside conductor Teddy Abrams. A recipient of the prestigious Davidson Fellow Laureate Award in 2014, Ushikubo was named a Young Steinway Artist and won the 2017 Hilton Head International Piano Competition and the 2016 Piano Concerto Competition at the Aspen Music Festival and School. Ushikubo was featured as a Young Artist-in-Residence of the national radio broadcast Performance Today with host Fred Child and he has been featured on NPR’s From the Top where he was named a Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist.

Turkish-German conductor, pianist, and composer Mert Yalniz has been described as “extremely individual, charismatic and convincing” (Osthessen News), his piano playing as “passionate, enthusiastic and highly virtuosic” (Braunschweig Newspaper), and his compositions as a “statement from the new generation” (Heidelberger Frühling). This season, Yalniz will make his debut with the NDR Radiophilharmonie in Hanover, where he will conduct Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with pianist Igor Levit, Weber‘s Clarinet Concertino, Chausson‘s Poème, and Wagner‘s Wesendonck Lieder. Recent performances include Grieg’s Piano Concerto with the Uniorchester Leibniz and Braunschweiger Kammerorchester; Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Göttinger Symphonieorchester and Deutsches Juristenorchester, Bach’s Concerto in D Minor and Joaquín Turina’s Rapsodia Sinfonica with the Beethoven Orchester Hessen, and Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue with the chamber orchestra La Tempesta. Yalniz made his debut at the international music festival Heidelberger Frühling, performing excerpts from Frederic Rzewski’s The People United Will Never Be Defeated! and conducting and playing in his nearly 45-minute long composition People-Fantasy for chamber ensemble.

Japanese pianist Ryota Yamazaki is emerging as one of this generation’s finest musicians, both sensitive and commanding at the keyboard. A recent third prize and junior jury prize winner of the 64th Busoni International Piano Competition, Yamazaki’s prowess and “his flawless technique produced some fine pianistic fireworks” (Cleveland Classical). Yamazaki has performed with orchestras all over the world, performing Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with conductor Jahja Ling and the Cleveland Orchestra, Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with Chikara Iwamoto and the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra and again with Takeshi Oi and the Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra, Liszt’s Piano Concerto No.1 with Joseph Stepec and the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra, and Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with Daiki Omori and the Virtuoso Youth Orchestra, among others.

All Colburn Artists will perform in Colburn School concerts, and are actively engaged in performances across the country and around the world. Aleksandra Melaniuk will lead the opening work of the Colburn Orchestra concert on September 28, 2024, conducting Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde Prelude. Aleksandra will also conduct a Recovered Voices concert, “Music of Poland,” at Zipper Hall on March 15, 2025. Both Aleksandra and Mert Yalniz and will lead the Colburn Orchestra and soloists from the Conservatory of Music in a Concerto Forum concert on March 22, 2025.

Quartet Integra will tour in Japan in September 2024, and will appear on the Colburn Presents series throughout the year in performances with the Calidore Quartet on November 15, 2024 and pianist Fabio Bidini on February 9, 2025. Ray Ushikubo will perform the Sibelius Violin Concerto under the baton of Esa-Pekka Salonen with the Colburn Orchestra at Walt Disney Concert Hall on October 26, 2024. Ryota will participate in Rob Kapilow’s ‘What Makes it Great’ Series in February 2025. For programming details and additional tour dates, please visit colburnschool.edu/colburn-artists/.

Colburn Artist alumni have achieved prestigious and prosperous careers, and have secured representation by the world’s leading arts management companies.

Colburn Artist alumni include:

• James Baik, Cello (2022–2024) | Young Concert Artists, Galvin Cello Quartet
• Ross Jamie Collins, Conductor (2019-2023) | HarrisonParrott, Iceland Symphony Orchestra Conductor-in-Residence, Los Angeles Philharmonic Dudamel Fellow
• Molly Turner, Conductor (2021-2023) | New World Symphony Conducting Fellow, Los Angeles Philharmonic Dudamel Fellow
• Vijay Venkatesh, Piano (2020-2023) Soloist and Recording Artist
• Aubree Oliverson, Violin (2019–2022) | Askonas Holt
• Viano String Quartet (2018–2021) | Opus 3 Artists
• Faktura Piano Trio (2017–2019)
• Rodolfo Leone, Piano (2017–2019) | MKI Artists
• Blake Pouliot, Violin (2015–2018) | Opus 3 Artists
• William Hagen, Violin (2014–2017) | MKI Artists
• Simone Porter, Violin (2012–2015) | Opus 3 Artists
• Calidore String Quartet (2012–2014) | IMG Artists
• Sang Yoon Kim, Clarinet (2012–2014) | Principal Clarinet, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra
• Nigel Armstrong, Violin (2012–2013) | Soloist and Recording Artist

About the Colburn School

A performing arts institution located in the heart of Los Angeles, the Colburn School trains students from beginners to those about to embark on professional careers. The academic units of the School provide a complete spectrum of music and dance education united by a single philosophy: that all who desire to study music or dance should have access to top-level instruction.

• The diploma- and degree-granting Conservatory of Music is distinguished by a unique all-scholarship model, renowned faculty, and outstanding performance opportunities. It prepares the very highest level of collegiate musicians for professional careers.
• The Music Academy is a highly selective training program for gifted young pre-collegiate musicians, designed to prepare students for conservatory study and performing careers at the highest levels of achievement. This program offers residential options and balances performance, musical instruction, and academics.
• The Community School of Performing Arts welcomes students of all ages, from seven months old to adults. It offers more than 120 classes each year in orchestral instruments, piano, guitar, voice, jazz, music theory, drama, and ensembles including orchestra, choir, and chamber music.
• The Trudl Zipper Dance Institute develops performers of all levels, from aspiring professionals in the Dance Academy to beginners starting in Youth Dance. Students of all levels receive training in ballet, tap, musical theater, and modern genres as part of a comprehensive dance education.
• Created to serve all units of the School, the Center for Innovation and Community Impact empowers the musical and dance leaders of tomorrow by nurturing students’ passion and ability to serve their communities, preparing them for sustainable careers, and embracing the development of new ideas. The Center embodies Colburn’s commitment to developing young artists with the curiosity, skills, and commitment to make a difference in their field.

Each year, more than 2,000 students from around the world come to Colburn to benefit from the renowned faculty, exceptional facilities, and focus on excellence that unites the community.

The Colburn Center, designed by Frank Gehry, is a multi-faceted campus expansion of the Colburn School. Located across the street from the School’s existing campus at the intersection of Olive and Second Streets, the Colburn Center will enable the School to expand its mission of presenting programs for the public. Gehry’s design includes a 1,000-seat in-the-round concert hall named Terri and Jerry Kohl Hall, five professional-sized dance studios including a 100-seat studio theater, and gardens that bring fresh air and green spaces to the downtown landscape. The Colburn School broke ground on the Colburn Center on April 5, 2024. The completed project will join Gehry’s Walt Disney Concert Hall and The Grand complex to create the largest concentration of buildings designed by the architect in the world.

Contact:
Jennifer Kallend
jkallend@colburnschool.edu
215-622-6195

Lisa Bellamore
lbellamore@gmail.com
323-500-3071

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Negaunee Foundation Endows Colburn School’s Acclaimed Conducting Program led by Esa-Pekka Salonen

Landmark $16.6 Million Gift Fortifies Exceptional Ongoing Training for Young Conductors

Colburn School to Become Home to Salonen’s Score Collection

Mert Yalniz Selected as 2024-25 Salonen Fellow

(August 12, 2024, Los Angeles) – The Colburn School, one of the world’s preeminent schools for music and dance, received a $16.6 million gift from The Negaunee Foundation to endow 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. This landmark gift ensures the Negaunee Conducting Program’s continuity, providing exceptional ongoing training for aspiring young conductors under Salonen’s direct mentorship, both on campus and throughout the world. The $16.6 million gift is the largest ever made to a California institution by The Negaunee Foundation, which is based in Illinois.

“The Colburn School is honored to receive The Negaunee Foundation’s transformative $16.6 million gift, endowing our Conservatory of Music’s conducting program,” said Colburn President and CEO Sel Kardan. “This extraordinarily generous contribution underscores Colburn School’s commitment to providing unparalleled educational opportunities. The program, led by the esteemed Esa-Pekka Salonen, ensures that aspiring conductors receive exceptional training and mentorship, both academically and through real-world experiences.”

The Negaunee Conducting Program, established in Fall 2018 with an initial gift from The Negaunee Foundation, enables a small, select group of students known as Salonen Fellows to nurture their craft and prepare for careers on the world’s most prestigious stages, under Salonen’s guidance. In the 2024-25 season, fellows will collaborate with the San Francisco Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Additionally, fellows have worked with the New York Philharmonic, NDR Elbphilharmonie, Philharmonia Orchestra, National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the Berlin Philharmonic.

“For generations, artists and artisans have learned through apprenticeship, committing themselves to their craft for years at a time in order to learn through direct experience and mentorship. In doing so, they become part of a lineage of masters, each with their own schools of thought and repertoire of techniques,” said Salonen. “Those distinct artistic lineages in turn ensure a diversity of expression, and with it an assurance that their field remains in a constant state of vibrant evolution. The conservatory is one of the few places where this sort of artistic mentorship is still possible, and it was something that absolutely shaped me in my youth and continues to guide me today. I am deeply grateful to The Negaunee Foundation for supporting this program from the very beginning. With this new and generous gift, we hope to make the Negaunee Conducting Program into the foremost conducting apprenticeship, finding talented individuals, regardless of their age or where they are in their studies, and nurturing that talent to share with the world.”

The Colburn School will also become the home to Salonen’s extensive score collection, which includes more than 1,400 annotated orchestra scores from his career, including works by contemporary composers and his original compositions. This score collection will serve as a valuable resource for the Salonen Fellows and other students.

“The Conservatory’s Negaunee Conducting Program provides a unique opportunity for young conductors to be mentored by one of today’s foremost artists,” said Conservatory Dean Lee Cioppa. “The Salonen Fellows’ education is not limited to the Colburn campus but extends around the world as they travel with Esa-Pekka and gain first-hand experience. The gift from The Negaunee Foundation ensures that these immensely valuable educational opportunities will continue to be available to our students. In addition, Esa-Pekka’s decision to entrust his extensive score collection to Colburn reflects his deep dedication to our institution, enriching the educational experience for generations to come.”

The Fellows have already achieved notable accomplishments and are advancing their studies through prestigious fellowship opportunities and appointments.

• Inaugural Salonen Fellow, British conductor and pianist Angus Webster, leads orchestras all over the world, including the Ulster Orchestra, Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra, Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra NOSPR, Philharmonia Orchestra, and more. He is on the IMG roster.

• Inaugural Salonen Fellow, Finnish-British conductor Ross Jamie Collins, was a 2023-24 Dudamel Fellow, working alongside Dudamel and musicians of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He has been appointed Conductor-in-Residence of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and is a 2024 Tanglewood Conducting Fellow. He will make his debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra this Fall. He is on the HarrisonParrott roster.

• Kyle Dickson, a Salonen Fellow from the class of 2021-22, was named Assistant Conductor of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra and Conductor of the Memphis Youth Symphony. He is on the Concert Artists Guild roster.

• Molly Turner, also a Salonen Fellow from the class of 2021-22, is currently the Conducting Fellow at the New World Symphony, where she leads the orchestra in subscription, family, education, and holiday concerts. She has also been selected as a 2024-25 Dudamel Fellow.

• Elias Peter Brown, a Salonen Fellow from the class of 2023-24, will serve as assistant conductor to Salonen with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra at the Helsinki Festival, Baltic Sea Festival, and the Salzburg Easter Festival this coming season. He also led the world premiere of Baldwin Giang’s Scenes from the Post-Diaspora with the Ensemble Garage & New European Ensemble at the Spoleto Festival dei Due Mondi in Italy this summer. He is a 2024 recipient of the Solti Foundation US Career Assistance Award.

• Aleksandra Melaniuk, current Salonen Fellow, will serve as assistant conductor at the San Francisco Symphony and continue her studies with Salonen at the Colburn School. She will appear on the Colburn Orchestra’s season-opening performance on September 28, conducting Wagner’s Prelude to Tristan and Isolde.

This season, Mert Yalniz joins Aleksandra Melaniuk as a 2024-25 Salonen Fellow at the Colburn School and a member of the San Francisco Symphony conducting staff, as an extension of their work as Salonen Fellows. He will also join Melaniuk on the roster of Colburn Artists, a unique in-house management program for Colburn students on the cusp of professional careers.

“The mentorship of world-class maestro Esa-Pekka Salonen is the foundation of the program,” said former Salonen Fellow Molly Turner. “Having Esa-Pekka represent me as a young conductor has broadened my learning opportunities, expanded my connections, and opened many doors. The networking opportunities are unmatched, and there is no other conducting program in the U.S. that has the international reach of Colburn School’s Negaunee Conducting Program. As a composer myself, having a mentor who can speak more about conducting was invaluable because we were able to have deeper musical explorations. Colburn School also has some of the highest-level musicians in the country, and leading and learning with students of that caliber is invaluable.”

“As I was finishing high school in Finland, I discovered the Negaunee Conducting Program through an online ad,” said former Salonen Fellow Ross Collins. “I applied, and as part of the live auditions, I had the opportunity to conduct the Philharmonia Orchestra in Santa Barbara. It was already a life-changing experience.”

Collins continued, “Colburn School is a very special place where you make lifelong connections and friends. You spend time in an environment that takes music-making and creativity seriously, pushing you forward. The conducting program is exceptional in how it caters to a conductor’s specific needs while fostering a close relationship with Esa-Pekka Salonen, who is open and willing to answer any question, often casually mentioning insights that change your entire outlook. Salonen always makes you feel like an important part of the team, and his mentorship and support continue long after the program ends.”

The Salonen Fellows study directly with Salonen and serve as preparatory conductors for the flagship Colburn Orchestra. They also conduct and curate programs for the Zipper Outreach Orchestra, Colburn’s performing ensemble for its community engagement activities, and the Concerto Forum Showcase, an annual public concert that features soloists from the Conservatory of Music. In keeping with the Colburn School Conservatory model, students receive full scholarships to cover tuition, room, and board.

Salonen Fellows also join the roster of Colburn Artists. Designed to prepare students to work with industry leaders and artist managers, the Colburn Artists program provides guidance and support during the critical transition from studying to touring. In a supportive atmosphere linked closely with their individual performance studies, they receive personalized career advice and training, including guidance on building relationships with presenters, orchestras, and professional musicians; developing repertoire; interview preparation; and creating a professional image and online presence.

About Mert Yalniz

Turkish-German conductor, pianist, and composer Mert Yalniz has been described as “extremely individual, charismatic and convincing” (Osthessen News), his piano playing as “passionate, enthusiastic and highly virtuosic” (Braunschweig Newspaper), and his compositions as a “statement from the new generation” (Heidelberger Frühling). This season, Yalniz will make his debut with the NDR Radiophilharmonie in Hanover, where he will conduct Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with pianist Igor Levit, Weber‘s Clarinet Concertino, Chausson‘s Poème, and Wagner‘s Wesendonck Lieder. Yalniz will also become a Salonen Fellow in the Negaunee Conducting Program at the Colburn School and on the conducting staff of the San Francisco Symphony, assisting  Esa-Pekka Salonen internationally.

Recent performances include Grieg’s Piano Concerto with the Uniorchester Leibniz and Braunschweiger Kammerorchester; Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Göttinger Symphonieorchester and Deutsches Juristenorchester, Bach’s Concerto in D Minor and Joaquín Turina’s Rapsodia Sinfonica with the Beethoven Orchester Hessen, and Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue with the chamber orchestra La Tempesta. Yalniz made his debut at the international music festival Heidelberger Frühling, performing excerpts from Frederic Rzewski’s The People United Will Never Be Defeated! and conducting and playing in his nearly 45-minute long composition People-Fantasy for chamber ensemble. In 2023, Yalniz debuted at the KKL as part of the Lucerne Piano Fest and played his first concerts in the United States at the Soundboard Institute, performing classical repertoire, his own compositions, and improvisation. He also participated in the festival Ouvertüre of the Heidelberger Frühling and worked with the Ballet of Difference and its director Richard Siegal on their production based on Rzewski’s The People United Will Never Be Defeated! variations, which he performed in full alongside the choreography.

Yalniz has regularly attended the Panula Academy of maestro Jorma Panula in Finland and worked with several orchestras on various repertoire, such as Mendelssohn‘s “Hebrides” Overture with the Theater für Niedersachsen Philharmonie, Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 with the Philharmonisches Kammerorchester Wernigerode, and Ravel‘s Ma Mère l‘Oye and Bizet‘s Carmen Suite No. 1 with the Pori Sinfonietta. He also attended conducting masterclasses with Joana Mallwitz and the International Conducting Workshop & Academy (ICWA) led by Matthias Bamert and Ken Lam.

Yalniz has won first prizes as a pianist in the national music competition Jugend musiziert as well as the Eduard Söring Prize, a highly regarded special prize from the Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben, and the NDR Kultur-Förderpreis. In 2015 and 2017, he was a prize winner at the International Grotrian-Steinweg Competition in Braunschweig and received a scholarship from the Louis Spohr Gesellschaft. In 2016, Yalniz won the 1st prize at the International Music Competition for Young Talents in Istanbul and was awarded the special award for Best Musical Interpretation. Additionally, Yalniz won the first prize at the Hamburg Instrumental Competition and received the Trübger Special Prize for Young Pianists which provided him a debut recital at the Laeiszhalle in Hamburg. In 2022, Yalniz received both the jury prize and the audience prize at the international competition of the 15th Pianale Piano Festival in Fulda. Yalniz has been part of the Yehudi Menuhin Live Music Now Hannover program, which brings performances to people with reduced access to live music, in care homes, schools, hospitals, hospices, and community settings.

Yalniz has attended piano masterclasses with Bernd Goetzke, Jacques Ammon, Konstanze Eickhorst, Francesco Libetta, Gülsin Onay, Igor Levit, Uta Weyand, Matti Raekallio, William Fong, Markus Schirmer, Filippo Gamba, and Roland Krüger.In 2022, he began studying piano with Igor Levit at the Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media (HMTMH).

Mert Yalniz is a Colburn Artist.

About the Colburn School
A performing arts institution located in the heart of Los Angeles, the Colburn School trains students from beginners to those about to embark on professional careers. The academic units of the School provide a complete spectrum of music and dance education united by a single philosophy: that all who desire to study music or dance should have access to top-level instruction.

• The diploma- and degree-granting Conservatory of Music is distinguished by a unique all-scholarship model, renowned faculty, and outstanding performance opportunities. It prepares the very highest level of collegiate musicians for professional careers.
• The Music Academy is a highly selective training program for gifted young pre-collegiate musicians, designed to prepare students for conservatory study and performing careers at the highest levels of achievement. This program offers residential options and balances performance, musical instruction, and academics.
• The Community School of Performing Arts welcomes students of all ages, from seven months old to adults. It offers more than 120 classes each year in orchestral instruments, piano, guitar, voice, jazz, music theory, drama, and ensembles including orchestra, choir, and chamber music.
• The Trudl Zipper Dance Institute develops performers of all levels, from aspiring professionals in the Dance Academy to beginners starting in Youth Dance. Students of all levels receive training in ballet, tap, musical theater, and modern genres as part of a comprehensive dance education.
• Created to serve all units of the School, the Center for Innovation and Community Impact prepares the musical and dance leaders of tomorrow by nurturing students’ passion and ability to serve their communities, preparing them for sustainable careers, and embracing the development of new ideas. The Center embodies Colburn’s commitment to developing young artists with the curiosity, skills, and commitment to make a difference in their field.

Each year, more than 2,000 students from around the world come to Colburn to benefit from the renowned faculty, exceptional facilities, and focus on excellence that unites the community.

The Colburn Center, designed by Frank Gehry, is a multi-faceted campus expansion of the Colburn School. Located across the street from the School’s existing campus at the intersection of Olive and Second Streets, the Colburn Center will enable the School to expand its mission of presenting programs for the public. Gehry’s design includes a 1,000-seat in-the-round concert hall named Terri and Jerry Kohl Hall, five professional-sized dance studios including a 100-seat studio theater, and gardens that bring fresh air and green spaces to the downtown landscape. The Colburn School broke ground on the Colburn Center on April 5, 2024. The completed project will join Gehry’s Walt Disney Concert Hall and The Grand complex to create the largest concentration of buildings designed by the architect in the world.

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Celebrated Violinist Margaret Batjer Appointed Director of Colburn School’s Music Academy and Joins Conservatory of Music Violin Faculty

(Friday, July 26, Los Angeles) – The Colburn School announced today that violinist Margaret Batjer has been appointed Director of the School’s Music Academy, a program dedicated to training exceptional pre-college classical musicians from around the world for careers in music. Batjer, a member of the Music Academy faculty since 2015, also joins the School’s Conservatory of Music faculty.

CONTACTS:
Jennifer Kallend
jkallend@colburnschool.edu
215-622-6195

Lisa Bellamore
lbellamore@gmail.com
323-500-3071

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Chelsea Tanner

Chelsea has previously served on the faculties of SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music and Penn State University. In the Spring of 2020, Chelsea graduated with her Doctor of Musical Arts from The University of Texas at Austin. Chelsea held the position of Second Flute in the Central Texas Philharmonic from 2016-2019. Her career as a performer has led her to perform in festivals such as the Aspen Music Festival, the National Repertory Orchestra, and the Round Top Festival Institute.

​As the creator of two online programs for young musicians, Chelsea is dedicated to the growth and development of young musicians. Through her programs, Flute Boot Camp and her 30-Day Mindset Reset, she helps young people empower themselves through music and mindset work. As a certified mindset coach, Chelsea’s mission is to help musicians find satisfaction in their lives and careers.

​Chelsea has been active in competitions across the country.  She has been a finalist in the Flute Society of Greater Philadelphia Young Artist Competition, the Mid-Atlantic Flute Society Young Artist Competition, the National Society of Arts and Letters National Woodwind Competition, and a quarterfinalist in the National Flute Association Young Artist Competition. She was the winner of the Central Ohio Flute Association Collegiate Competition, the Women in Music Scholarship Auditions, and the Ohio State University Concerto Competition.

Chelsea received her Artist Diploma from The University of Texas at Austin studying with Marianne Gedigian. She earned her Master of Music from Carnegie Mellon University studying with Jeanne Baxtresser, and her Bachelor of Music from The Ohio State University with Katherine Borst Jones.

​Chelsea is an active member of the Emissary Quartet, a long-distance flute quartet dedicated to the development of flute quartet repertoire. (emissaryquartet.com)

Colburn School and Violinist Ray Chen to Host Inaugural TonicCon, Uniting Global Tonic App Music Community In-Person for the First Time

LOS ANGELES (Monday, July 8, 2024) – The Colburn School, in partnership with violinist and entrepreneur Ray Chen, will host TonicCon on October 10 & 11, 2024, the first ever in-person event bringing together musicians of all levels who have formed a vibrant virtual community on the Tonic app. Launched by Ray Chen, and cofounder Rose Xi in February 2023, the Tonic app was designed to foster connection and community, transforming the often solitary experience of practicing an instrument.

TonicCon is a cross between a concert and convention, with two days of events where attendees can sign up to perform, casually mingle and play music together, and attend masterclasses and panels featuring Colburn faculty and guest artists, highlighting the breadth of the School’s educational programs.

“The idea for the Tonic app was born during the pandemic when people had an immense desire to connect,” said Ray Chen. “At its core, music is meant to be shared, and being part of a community makes the practice experience more enjoyable, keeps you motivated, and reminds you of your purpose. It even helps with practice anxiety. Tonic was created for the 99%, opening up the world of classical music for everyone who wants to explore and learn, at any level.”

This sense of community and commitment to accessibility is a shared value between Tonic and the Colburn School, which both support musicians of all levels of development. Colburn’s Community School of Performing Arts welcomes individuals of all ages—from seven months to adults—who are passionate and curious about music. The Music Academy prepares pre-collegiate musicians for conservatory study and professional careers, while the Trudl Zipper Dance Institute nurtures dancers of all levels, from beginners in Youth Dance to aspiring professionals in the Dance Academy. The Conservatory of Music prepares the very highest level of collegiate musicians to excel in their professional careers.

“Rarely do we see something thrive online and blossom even more in person,” said Sel Kardan. “There’s a place for everyone at both Tonic and Colburn, whether you’re aiming for the pinnacle or pursuing personal growth. We are excited to host the inaugural TonicCon, and unite the Colburn School community with the inspiring Tonic community that Ray has fostered.”

Ray Chen, and Tonic app cofounder Rose Xi, have long standing connections with Colburn School. Ray has shared a close bond with Robert Lipsett, Colburn School’s Violin Faculty and Jascha Heifetz Distinguished Violin Chair, for nearly two decades. Reflecting on their connection, Ray said, “In 2006, during the Encore School for Strings’ summer camp, I first experienced the profound sense of community that musicians can create together. Mr. Lipsett welcomed his students like family, and I immediately wanted to be a part of it. Almost a year later, I gathered the courage to perform for Mr. Lipsett, and he graciously welcomed me into his studio. The rest, as they say, is history.”

Earlier this year, Ray partnered with Colburn School for his Kennedy Violins Challenge, where 100 violins were given away as part of a fun competition hosted at the school and on the Tonic app, challenging participants to outplay Ray on the violin. Rose studied piano at Colburn’s Community School of Performing Arts from 2008 – 2011, and her brother Anthony played violin in the Colburn Orchestra from 2014-2018.

TonicCon attendees will be coming from all around the globe, from Europe, Asia, the U.S. and more.

“The decision to hold the inaugural TonicCon at Colburn School was clear, given the deep history and personal connection that Rose and I have with the institution. And Los Angeles offers an unparalleled cultural scene,” said Ray. “In a sense, TonicCon is about giving back—building on the supportive community that has bolstered my career and now extending that sense of community to others.”

Registration and tickets

• Please download the Tonic app for priority access to purchase tickets. Users who sign up for Tonic and are actively practicing and supporting others will get first access to TonicCon tickets when they are released on July 29.
• General public tickets are on sale August 9.
• Ticket prices start at $45 for single day participation, and up to $225 for 2-day Diamond Tier packages, that includes tickets to the evening concerts, early entry to events, early access to masterclasses and open classes, and exclusive merchandise.

Please visit https://www.tonic-con.com/ for more information.

About Ray Chen

https://www.raychenviolin.com

Social media

Twitter/IG/TikTok/YouTube/FB: @raychenviolin

About Tonic

In 2020, Ray began working on a project close to his heart. Being involved in and passionate about the development of young musicians, he observed that practice—despite being an essential element of study—was the biggest obstacle in the journey to success. Through his own experience, he found that the best motivators for regular music practice were supportive friends and peers who could relate to and encourage the musician. Ray founded Tonic to address that need, for the benefit of the music community.

Tonic is an innovative music practice platform designed to make classical music accessible, connected and fun for a global community of musicians and learners. Focused on improving the detached experience of practice, Tonic motivates people on their musical journey and gives access to allow everyone to enjoy the best parts of being a musician: to play & share.

In the Tonic app, users can open live Studios for their practice sessions and play for a supportive audience of peers. Users set their own schedule, keep track of practice time to stay on track for their goals and earn Badges and other rewards for their efforts. Tonic also offers community events such as Challenges and Leagues which are supported by partnerships with established brands in the music industry. Social features such as Groups and Studio invitations help users build and maintain deeper friendships through the app.

Tonic began in 2020 as a pandemic passion project, but has since had over 1 million live Studios created. Users in over 130 countries love the platform and contribute to its community with creativity and openness. Built by music lovers for music lovers, it is a home and a haven for those who want to see the joy of music come alive through community.

Website

https://www.jointonic.com/

Social Media

https://www.instagram.com/tonicmusicapp

About The Colburn School

A performing arts institution located in the heart of Los Angeles, the Colburn School trains students from beginners to those about to embark on professional careers. The academic units of the School provide a complete spectrum of music and dance education united by a single philosophy: that all who desire to study music or dance should have access to top-level instruction.

• The diploma- and degree-granting Conservatory of Music is distinguished by a unique all-scholarship model, renowned faculty, and outstanding performance opportunities. It prepares the very highest level of collegiate musicians for professional careers.
• The Music Academy is a highly selective training program for gifted young pre-collegiate musicians, designed to prepare students for conservatory study and performing careers at the highest levels of achievement. This program offers residential options and balances performance, musical instruction, and academics.
• The Community School of Performing Arts welcomes students of all ages, from seven months old to adults. It offers over 120 classes each year in orchestral instruments, piano, guitar, voice, jazz, music theory, drama, and ensembles including orchestra, choir, and chamber music.
• The Trudl Zipper Dance Institute develops performers of all levels, from aspiring professionals in the Dance Academy to beginners starting in Youth Dance. Students of all levels receive training in ballet, tap, musical theater, and modern genres as part of a comprehensive dance education.
• Created to serve all units of the School, the Center for Innovation and Community Impact empowers the musical and dance leaders of tomorrow by nurturing students’ passion and ability to serve their communities, preparing them for sustainable careers, and embracing the development of new ideas. The Center embodies Colburn’s commitment to developing young artists with the curiosity, skills, and commitment to make a difference in their field.

Each year, more than 2,000 students from around the world come to Colburn to benefit from the renowned faculty, exceptional facilities, and focus on excellence that unites the community.

The Colburn Center, designed by Frank Gehry, is a multi-faceted campus expansion of the Colburn School. Located across the street from the School’s existing campus at the intersection of Olive and Second Streets, the Colburn Center will enable the School to expand its mission of presenting programs for the public. Gehry’s design includes a 1,000-seat in-the-round concert hall named Terri and Jerry Kohl Hall, five professional-sized dance studios including a 100-seat studio theater, and gardens that bring fresh air and green spaces to the downtown landscape. The Colburn School broke ground on the Colburn Center on April 5, 2024. The completed project will join Gehry’s Walt Disney Concert Hall and The Grand complex to create the largest concentration of buildings designed by the architect in the world.

Learn more at www.colburnschool.edu.

Social Media

Facebook.com/colburnschool

Instagram and Twitter: @ColburnSchool

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/colburnschoollosangeles

Colburn School’s Annual Open House Invites All Ages and Ability Levels to Take a Class, Enjoy a Performance, and More

Saturday, July 20, 2024
10am – 4pm
FREE ALL-DAY FUN

WHAT: Enjoy a free family-friendly day of music and dance at the Colburn School’s annual open house on Saturday, July 20, 2024, from 10am to 4pm, and experience the vibrant community of one of the nation’s most distinguished performing arts institutions.

Whether it’s to belt out a tune like Celine Dion or twirl like Misty Copeland, The Colburn School invites you to experience the full spectrum of everything that Colburn’s Community School of Performing Arts and Trudl Zipper Dance Institute have to offer. Take a class, watch a performance, and meet the faculty who make the Colburn School a hub of artistic excellence.

Taught by Colburn School’s renowned faculty, open classes are a chance to experience the school’s diverse range of offerings, including:

• Band, Choir, Orchestra and Jazz Band
• Chamber Music
• Drama and Musical Theatre
• Early Childhood Music
• Group Piano and Guitar
• Instrumental and Vocal Lessons
• Ballet
• Tap
• Modern
• Jazz Dance
• Hip Hop
• And more!

Registration is encouraged as there are limited spots in each of the classes. On the day of the event, walk-ups will be accepted based on availability.

Colburn’s Open House will also feature KUSC’s Glissando listening experience. Geared toward curious kids aged 8 to 12, Glissando was created to provide an in-depth yet approachable introduction to classical music, no experience required! Kids and adults will have a chance to sample Glisssando’s combination of musical entertainment and storytelling dedicated to themes like Outer Space, Superheroes, Summer Olympics, Fantasylands, and Around the World. Glissando is hosted by Classical California KUSC radio host Suraj Partha, with voice appearances from young people across California.

Serving students of all ages from 7 months to adults, the Community School of Performing Arts and Trudl Zipper Dance Institute offer classes in music, drama, early childhood arts education, and dance. All programs are taught by acclaimed faculty committed to providing the highest quality of teaching while developing the individual gifts and talents of the students. The Colburn Community School of Performing Arts has been accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music since 1980 and is also a member of the National Guild for Community Arts Education. Colburn School’s dance program is the only program in California and one of only eight dance programs nationwide accredited by the prestigious Accrediting Commission for Community and precollegiate Arts Schools (ACCPAS), meeting the high standards of the commission. Each year, these two units of the Colburn School serve approximately 1,900 students.

Please visit https://www.colburnschool.edu/openhouse/ to register and view the full schedule of events.

WHEN:
Saturday, July 20, 2024
10 am – 4pm

WHERE:
Colburn School
200 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90012

TICKETS:
FREE

Registration is encouraged as there are limited spots available for each of the classes.

Please click here for directions and parking information.

Please click here for the complete event schedule.

CONTACTS:
Jennifer Kallend
jkallend@colburnschool.edu
215-622-6195

Lisa Bellamore
lbellamore@gmail.com
323-500-3071

Emad Zolfaghari Named First-Prize Winner in the 2024 Primrose International Viola Competition, held at the Colburn School

(Saturday, June 22, 2024, Los Angeles, CA) – The Colburn School today announced that Emad Zolfaghari has been named the first-prize winner in the 2024 Primrose International Viola Competition, which took place at the Colburn School, June 17-22, 2024. Kinga Wojdalska won second prize, and Andy Park won third prize. The Primrose International Viola Competition was co-presented by Colburn School and the American Viola Society.

Emad Zolfaghari has won $15,000, as well as an invitation to perform at the 2026 American Viola Society Festival and an invitation to participate in the semi-finals of the Concert Artists Guild Competition. Kinga Wojdalska has won $10,000, and Andy Park has won $5,000.

Canadian violist Emad Zolfaghari was accepted into the Curtis Institute of Music at age 16, where he currently studies with Hsin-Yun Huang. He is the first-prize winner of the Irving M. Klein International String Competition and the International Morningside Music Bridge Competition. He is the second-prize winner of the Johansen International String Competition and third-prize winner of the OSM String Competition. Zolfaghari has appeared as a soloist with several major symphony orchestras, including l’Orchestre Métropolitain under the baton of Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the Montreal Symphony, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, National Philharmonic, Oakville Chamber Orchestra, and National Metropolitan Philharmonic. His previous mentors include Theresa Rudolph, Caroline Coade, and Shanda Lowery-Sachs.

Zolfaghari has attended Morningside Music Bridge, the Center Stage Strings festival as a junior faculty member, the Perlman Music Program, and Music from Angel Fire. His other awards include grand prize at the OMNI Music Competition, first prize at the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra Competition, Guelph Symphony Orchestra Competition and Oakville Chamber Orchestra Competition, second prize at the Ronald Sachs International Music Competition and top and special prizes at the Shean Strings Competition.

Polish violist Kinga Wojdalska is an upcoming soloist and chamber musician known for her emotional performances. She premiered John Williams’ viola concerto in Europe with the Dohnanyi Budafok Orchestra in 2022. Ms. Wojdalska has won 22 competition awards, including the Karl Doctor Prize in the Lionel Tertis Competition 2019. She has received scholarships from the Hattori Foundation, Countess of Munster Musical Trust, and the Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship. A proud Varsovian, Ms. Wojdalska studied at the Zenon Brzewski Music School. Later, she completed her bachelor’s degree at the Royal College of Music in London and her master’s soloist diploma at the Zürcher Hochschule der Künste. Currently, she is continuing her education there under the direction of Lawrence Power and Sergey Malov. In the 2023–24 concert season, she was a member of the Basel Sinfonieorchester as part of the orchestra academy. Wojdalska has performed with acclaimed musicians and at prestigious venues, including Musikverein Vienna and Tonhalle Zurich. Chamber music is a significant part of her career. As a member of the Brompton Quartet, Ms. Wojdalska made her Wigmore Hall debut and recorded an album for Mathis Saunier and Noah Max. She co-founded the Polish ensemble Kameralna N – Harmonia and is a member of the Viktoria Mullova Ensemble. Wojdalska plays a modern viola by Jerzy Maślanka.

Andy Park, a senior at Yale University, is pursuing Bachelor of Arts/Master of Music dual degrees under the guidance of Ettore Causa. Before attending Yale, he attended Colburn School’s Community School of Performing Arts, studying with Andrew Picken and Gina Coletti, and attended Colburn School’s Music Academy, studying with Paul Coletti and Gina Coletti. He was a quarter finalist in the 2021 Primrose International Viola Competition and he was invited to the first round of the 2023 ARD International Music Competition. As an orchestra enthusiast, Park took part in the 2018 New York String Orchestra Seminar and has won principal viola positions in numerous orchestras. During previous summers, he actively participated in music festivals such as Music@Menlo and the Heifetz Ashkenasi/Kirshbaum Seminar. Park has performed alongside esteemed artists such as Joshua Bell, Nicholas Kitchen, Yeesun Kim, Yefim Bronfman, and Pamela Frank. He also participated in master classes led by Roberto Diaz, Karen Dreyfus, and Mr. Coletti. Mr. Park currently uses a bow and a viola graciously loaned by the Maestro Foundation.

Kinga Wojdalska also won the Transcriptions Prize and received $1,000, for her own transcription and performance of Grażyna Bacewicz’s Polish Capriccio, and Mao Konishi won the Illumination Prize for best performance of a work by an underrepresented composer demographic and received $1,000, for her performance of Akira Nishimura’s Sonata for Viola Solo No. 2 “Mantra on the C string.”

During the final competition round, Emad Zolfaghari performed Bela Bartók’s Viola Concerto (ed. Serly) and Kinga Wojdalska and Andy Park performed William Walton’s Viola Concerto with the Colburn Orchestra, led by Elias Peter Brown, a Salonen Fellow in the Negaunee Conducting Program at the Colburn Conservatory.

Members of the audience voted for their favorite competitor in the Final Round, and Emad Zolfaghari won the Audience Prize.

A total of 21 live round competitors from all over the world, representing 11 countries, participated in the 2024 Primrose International Viola Competition. The average age of participants was 24, with the youngest aged 16 and the oldest 30.

The live round competition jury included  Ayane Kozasa (Jury Chairman, United States), Atar Arad (United States, Israel), Cathy Basrak (United States), Ensik Choi (South Korea), Steven Dann (Canada), and Geraldine Walther (United States). For full biographies, please visit https://www.primrosecompetition.org/2024-jury/. Colburn Alumna and 1993 Primrose Competition winner Nokuthula Ngwenyama wrote “Remembrance,” a commissioned work for the 2024 competition in memory of Dr. David Dalton, and served as honorary chair.

As one of the most renowned string instrument competitions in the world, the Primrose International Viola Competition features the world’s best and most promising young violists. The Competition offers southern California one week of exceptional international competition, exquisite music, and an exhilarating finish. All rounds are open to the public, and audiences can expect to hear a broad survey of the viola repertoire.

The 2024 competition was dedicated to the memory of Dr. David Dalton, who was one of the world’s greatest champions of the viola, and a former student and friend of William Primrose. Dr. Dalton was professor emeritus of viola at Brigham Young University, and earned his B.M. and M.M. degrees in violin at the Eastman School of Music. After meeting William Primrose, he switched to viola and received his doctorate in performance at Indiana University. Dalton collaborated with Primrose in writing his memoir, “Walk on the North Side and Playing the Viola: Conversations with William Primrose” and produced two documentaries, “A Violist’s Legacy,” and “William Primrose, Violist.” Primrose and he were co‐founders of the Primrose International Viola Archive (PIVA) at BYU, the largest and most important repository of materials related to the instrument. Dr. Dalton served as president of the American and International Viola Societies, as well as editor of the Journal of the American Viola Society. In 2013 in Krakow, Poland, the International Viola Society awarded Dr. Dalton the “Golden Viola Clef,” the Society’s highest honor for his distinguished and unique contributions to the viola.

About the Colburn School
A performing arts institution located in the heart of Los Angeles, the Colburn School trains students from beginners to those about to embark on professional careers. The academic units of the School provide a complete spectrum of music and dance education united by a single philosophy: that all who desire to study music or dance should have access to top-level instruction.

• The diploma- and degree-granting Conservatory of Music is distinguished by a unique all-scholarship model, renowned faculty, and outstanding performance opportunities. It prepares the very highest level of collegiate musicians for professional careers.
• The Music Academy is a highly selective training program for gifted young pre-collegiate musicians, designed to prepare students for conservatory study and performing careers at the highest levels of achievement. This program offers residential options and balances performance, musical instruction, and academics.
• The Community School of Performing Arts welcomes students of all ages, from seven months old to adults. It offers more than 120 classes each year in orchestral instruments, piano, guitar, voice, jazz, music theory, drama, and ensembles including orchestra, choir, and chamber music.
• The Trudl Zipper Dance Institute develops performers of all levels, from aspiring professionals in the Dance Academy to beginners starting in Youth Dance. Students of all levels receive training in ballet, tap, musical theater, and modern genres as part of a comprehensive dance education.
• Created to serve all units of the School, the Center for Innovation and Community Impact empowers the musical and dance leaders of tomorrow by nurturing students’ passion and ability to serve their communities, preparing them for sustainable careers, and embracing the development of new ideas. The Center embodies Colburn’s commitment to developing young artists with the curiosity, skills, and commitment to make a difference in their field.

Each year, more than 2,000 students from around the world come to Colburn to benefit from the renowned faculty, exceptional facilities, and focus on excellence that unites the community.

The Colburn Center, designed by Frank Gehry, is a multi-faceted campus expansion of the Colburn School. Located across the street from the School’s existing campus at the intersection of Olive and Second Streets, the Colburn Center will enable the School to expand its mission of presenting programs for the public. Gehry’s design includes a 1,000-seat in-the-round concert hall named Terri and Jerry Kohl Hall, five professional-sized dance studios including a 100-seat studio theater, and gardens that bring fresh air and green spaces to the downtown landscape. The Colburn School broke ground on the Colburn Center on April 5, 2024. The completed project will join Gehry’s Walt Disney Concert Hall and The Grand complex to create the largest concentration of buildings designed by the architect in the world.

About the American Viola Society
Founded in 1971, the American Viola Society inspires excellence and builds community through viola study, performance, research, composition, and lutherie. The AVS provides support and resources for a global community of violists and viola enthusiasts with online resources, live events, competitions, scholarships, online series, funding opportunities, and the Journal of the American Viola Society.

Contact:
Lisa Bellamore
lbellamore@gmail.com
323-500-3071

Jennifer Kallend
jkallend@colburnschool.edu
215-622-6195

###

Janie Taylor Joins Colburn School Faculty as Artistic Director of the Trudl Zipper Dance Institute for the 2024-25 School Year

(Thursday, June 13, 2024, Los Angeles, CA) – The Colburn School is pleased to announce that Janie Taylor, a noted dancer, teacher, choreographer, and member of L.A. Dance Project, has been named Artistic Director of the Trudl Zipper Dance Institute (TZDI) for the 2024-25 school year. She will partner with longtime TZDI staff member Gavin Kelley, who will serve as Interim Administrative Director. Janie Taylor joins the Trudl Zipper Dance Institute following the departure of Dean Margaret Tracey, who left Colburn at the beginning of the month to take the role of Artistic Director of Canada’s National Ballet School. 

Janie Taylor has been affiliated with Colburn since 2016, both as a faculty member and a visiting artist. She recently choreographed Contour and Flight for the Dance Academy, a rigorous pre-professional ballet training program, which received its world premiere at Colburn’s Winter Dance Celebration in December 2023. She is a rehearsal director for L.A. Dance Project, where she also danced from 2016 to 2021. A former member of New York City Ballet’s corps de ballet, Janie was promoted to soloist in 2001 and principal dancer in 2005. During her career with NYCB she originated roles in ballets choreographed by Peter Martins, Benjamin Millepied, and Justin Peck, and performed featured roles in numerous ballets by George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins, as well as pieces by Lynne Taylor-Corbett, Christopher Wheeldon, Susan Stroman, Twyla Tharp, and Miriam Mahdaviani. Upon retiring from the New York City Ballet in 2014, Janie began working as a répétiteur setting works for Justin Peck and Benjamin Millepied at the Paris Opera Ballet and also started a career in costume design. She has set works for Miami City Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, Dutch National Ballet, Ballett Dortmund, and Ballet du Rhin, and her designs can be seen at the New York City Ballet, and L.A. Dance Project. 

As Artistic Director of the Trudl Zipper Dance Institute during the 2024-25 school year, Janie will shape the artistic and educational direction of Colburn School’s dance program, overseeing curriculum development, faculty recruitment, and student recruitment. With her multifaceted professional experience, she will foster a dynamic learning environment, promote artistic innovation, and cultivate the next generation of dance professionals at the Trudl Zipper Dance Institute.

“We are excited to welcome Janie Taylor as Artistic Director as she continues and expands her exceptional work with our students,” said President Sel Kardan. “Her decade-long commitment to dance in LA and breadth of artistic experience made her a natural fit for this position. She joins our distinguished artistic and administrative team, including faculty chairs Kelly Ann Sloan, Denise Scheerer, and Tamsin Carlson, ensuring strong ongoing leadership for the Trudl Zipper Dance Institute.” 

As Interim Administrative Director, Gavin Kelley will partner with Janie Taylor, providing vital support to the dance program. He will play a key role in ensuring the smooth and efficient functioning of all administrative and logistical aspects of the Trudl Zipper Dance Institute, liaise with faculty, staff, students, and parents, and coordinate events, performances, and initiatives. As a Colburn staff member for over 11 years, Gavin possesses a deep knowledge of the Colburn School and a commitment to the School’s mission of providing access to excellence in the performing arts.

About Janie Taylor

Janie Taylor was born in Houston, TX where she began her ballet training at age two with Gilbert Rome. She trained at the Giacobbe Academy of Dance in New Orleans from 1993–1996. After attending two years of the summer program at the School of American Ballet, she became a full-time student in the fall of 1996. While a student at SAB, she originated a featured role in Christopher Wheeldon’s Soirée Musicale for the spring workshop performance in June of 1998. She received the Mae L. Wien Award at the SAB Annual Workshop and was invited to become an apprentice with New York City Ballet. A month later, she became a member of NYCB’s corps de ballet. She was promoted to the rank of Soloist in February 2001 and to Principal Dancer in 2005. During her career with New York City Ballet she originated roles in ballets choreographed by Peter Martins, Benjamin Millepied, and Justin Peck. She also performed featured roles in numerous ballets by George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins, as well as pieces by Lynne Taylor-Corbett, Christopher Wheeldon, Susan Stroman, Twyla Tharp, and Miriam Mahdaviani. Ms. Taylor appeared in the film Center Stage directed by Nicholas Hytner which was released in 2000. She retired from the New York City Ballet on March 1, 2014 and began working as a répétiteur setting works for Justin Peck and Benjamin Millepied, and also started a career in costume design. Her designs can be seen at the New York City Ballet, and L.A. Dance Project. From 2014 -2016, Ms. Taylor relocated to Paris, France where she assisted Millepied with his new works at the Paris Opera Ballet. During this time, she also set works for Miami City Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, Dutch National Ballet, Ballett Dortmund, and Ballet du Rhin. She assisted Christopher Wheeldon with his work as Artistic Director for the Fashion Forward exhibition in Paris at  Musee des Arts Decoratif. Upon returning to the states in 2016, Ms. Taylor began teaching at the Colburn School in Los Angeles on faculty, and as a guest. She joined L.A. Dance Project as a dancer, dancing with the company through 2021. She is currently a rehearsal director for L.A. Dance Project. At the suggestion of Millepied, Ms. Taylor ventured into the world of choreography creating her first piece, Adagio in B Minor, in 2019 for L.A. Dance Project. She now has 4 works in the LADP repertoire.

About Gavin Kelley 

Gavin Kelley is a native of Altoona, PA, but grew up in Hiroshima, Japan where he attended Japanese and international schools, before moving to China and then back to the United States. Gavin began his career in the arts nonprofit sector in Los Angeles in 2005 as a Program Associate and Grants Manager for the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center (JACCC) under the mentorship of Hirokazu Kosaka. Gavin’s international background also created opportunities at the Rafu Shimpo newspaper, the Japan Foundation, the World Festival of Sacred Music, and The Getty Center. Prior to joining the Colburn School in 2012, he worked at the ReDiscover Center as the Grants and Programs Manager and was The Getty Center’s Multicultural Visual Arts Internship Hub Manager for the Downtown Los Angeles area in 2011 and 2012. During his tenure at the Colburn School’s Trudl Zipper Dance Institute, he assisted the inaugural Artistic Director Leslie Carothers-Aromaa and former Deans Bob McAllister, Jenifer Ringer, Silas Farley, and Margaret Tracey, working in close tandem with Dance Chairs Tamsin Carlson, Denise Scheerer, and Kelly Ann Sloan to expand the dance curriculum, class offerings, and recruitment. He was instrumental in the introduction of sequential learning and helped revamp the business practices of the Trudl Zipper Dance Institute. Additionally, Gavin supported Jenifer Ringer and James Fayette in the launching of the Colburn Dance Academy which just completed its first decade as a pre-professional training program.

About the Colburn School

A performing arts institution located in the heart of Los Angeles, the Colburn School trains students from beginners to those about to embark on professional careers. The academic units of the School provide a complete spectrum of music and dance education united by a single philosophy: that all who desire to study music or dance should have access to top-level instruction.

• The diploma- and degree-granting Conservatory of Music is distinguished by a unique all-scholarship model, renowned faculty, and outstanding performance opportunities. It prepares the very highest level of collegiate musicians for professional careers.

• The Music Academy is a highly selective training program for gifted young pre-collegiate musicians, designed to prepare students for conservatory study and performing careers at the highest levels of achievement. This program offers residential options and balances performance, musical instruction, and academics.

• The Community School of Performing Arts welcomes students of all ages, from seven months old to adults. It offers more than 120 classes each year in orchestral instruments, piano, guitar, voice, jazz, music theory, drama, and ensembles including orchestra, choir, and chamber music.

• The Trudl Zipper Dance Institute develops performers of all levels, from aspiring professionals in the Dance Academy to beginners starting in Youth Dance. Students of all levels receive training in ballet, tap, musical theater, and modern genres as part of a comprehensive dance education.

• Created to serve all units of the School, the Center for Innovation and Community Impact empowers the musical and dance leaders of tomorrow by nurturing students’ passion and ability to serve their communities, preparing them for sustainable careers, and embracing the development of new ideas. The Center embodies Colburn’s commitment to developing young artists with the curiosity, skills, and commitment to make a difference in their field. 

Each year, more than 2,000 students from around the world come to Colburn to benefit from the renowned faculty, exceptional facilities, and focus on excellence that unites the community.

The Colburn Center, designed by Frank Gehry, is a multi-faceted campus expansion of the Colburn School. Located across the street from the School’s existing campus at the intersection of Olive and Second Streets, the Colburn Center will enable the School to expand its mission of presenting programs for the public. Gehry’s design includes a 1,000-seat in-the-round concert hall named Terri and Jerry Kohl Hall, five professional-sized dance studios including a 100-seat studio theater, and gardens that bring fresh air and green spaces to the downtown landscape. The Colburn School broke ground on the Colburn Center on April 5, 2024. The completed project will join Gehry’s Walt Disney Concert Hall and The Grand complex to create the largest concentration of buildings designed by the architect in the world.

The dance spaces housing the Trudl Zipper Dance Institute will create the most comprehensive dance education complex in Downtown Los Angeles. Transparent walls of five oversized dance studios on the corner of 2nd and Hill streets provide a window into the beauty and hard work of dance training. The studio theater—the largest dance studio in the School—will be equipped to be used as a professional-level performance venue as well as a rehearsal studio. Seating platforms in the studio theater will offer approximately 100 seats while allowing for 30 feet of stage depth with scrims, and a cross-over lighting grid will allow refined lighting design for performance. These greatly expanded dance facilities will accommodate the School’s growing programs in classical ballet, tap, and modern dance.

Contact:
Jennifer Kallend
jkallend@colburnschool.edu
215-622-6195

Lisa Bellamore
lbellamore@gmail.com
323-500-3071

###

The Colburn School Launches Digital Archive of Music Pioneer and Holocaust Survivor, Herbert Zipper and Renowned Dancer and Teacher, Trudl Dubsky Zipper

Colburn School received the prestigious Save America’s Treasures federal grant to preserve and digitize the collection

(Thursday, June 27, 2024, Los Angeles, CA) – After an 18 month process, the Colburn School has launched the digital collection of the Herbert and Trudl Zipper Archives, available at zipperarchives.org. The digital collection, spearheaded by archivist Brendan Morris, involved meticulous organization and careful digitization of select materials from the archives that contains over 20,000 artifacts. Archival materials were chosen for digitization based on their significance and fragility, ensuring their preservation. 

Herbert Zipper, for whom Colburn’s Zipper Hall is named, was a conductor, composer, educator, and a pioneer of the community music movement and held a deep conviction that every student should be able to participate in the performing arts. Trudl Dubsky Zipper, for whom the Colburn School’s Dance Institute is named, was a gifted dancer, choreographer, costume designer, and artist. She was a member of the famed Bodenwieser Dance Group in the 1920s-30s and helped found expressionist dance—now considered modern dance.

Highlights of the digital collection include a touching handwritten letter from Herbert Zipper to Trudl while he was imprisoned in Manila during World War II, 1930s cabaret music written by Dr. Zipper, a 1929 newspaper clipping featuring a favorable review of a chamber concert conducted by Dr. Zipper, and a wealth of audiovisual materials. These materials include recordings of the Manila Symphony Orchestra conducted by Dr. Zipper and recordings of original compositions by Dr. Zipper. The collection also features the following: 

• Photograph slideshows featuring images from the Zipper’s lives Pre-WWII, in Manila, Brooklyn, Chicago, Los Angeles, trips to China, and with family and friends.

• Select scrapbook pages featuring materials from their early lives in Austria, Manila, Brooklyn, and Chicago with an emphasis on their professional exploits as artists and educators. 

• Art, posters, and objects created and collected by the Zippers. Of note is an original poster from the famous 1945 post-liberation concert held in Manila by Dr. Zipper and the Manila Symphony orchestra and two prestigious honorary medals bestowed upon Dr. Zipper by Vienna and Austria.

• Music manuscripts of original compositions by Dr. Zipper written from the 1930s-1994. This includes the original manuscript of “Dachau Lied” written by Dr. Zipper and Jura Soyfer while imprisoned in Dachau concentration camp.

The Zipper Archives also include materials collected by Trudl Dubsky Zipper. The digital collection includes some of Trudl’s watercolors, dance recital programs, newspaper clippings reviewing her performances, and dance photos from the 1930s. The website also features a timeline that highlights key moments in Herbert and Trudl Zipper’s lives.

The entirety of the physical archives date from approximately 1900-1997. In addition to materials collected and related to Herbert and Trudl Zipper, the archives contain materials from members of the immediate and extended Zipper family, including sister Hedwig “Hedy” Zipper Horwitz/Holt (1907-1989), and maternal uncle (by marriage) artist Arthur Paunzen (1890-1940). Most of the materials consist of the Zippers’ personal collection, but also include materials collected by Crossroads School and Herbert Zipper’s biographer Paul Cummins.

Reflecting on his history with Herbert Zipper, Paul Cummins said “It has been almost three decades now since Herbert Zipper passed (at age 93) and yet so many of those who knew him speak reverently and acknowledge the profound influence he had upon so many lives. Herbert was the soul of integrity. In a world where integrity often seems in short supply, Herbert was a model in all he did and the importance of doing your best and doing it with integrity.  His life story—from Vienna to Dachau/Buchenwald to Manila to the U.S.A.—was an extraordinary odyssey. I, for one, believe he was a great gift in the life of my family and me. Being allowed by Herbert to write his biography was one of the deep privileges of my life.” 

In 2019, the archives were donated to Colburn by Crossroads School and in 2022, the Colburn School was awarded a “Save America’s Treasures” grant by the National Park Service (NPS) in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services to preserve and make the archives accessible. Generous support from Ann Moore also made this important project possible.

The project began with the simultaneous physical organization of the collection and the digitization process, which involved using a flatbed scanner for certain items like papers and photographs and enlisting help from USC Digital Library and their overhead camera operated by a foot pedal for photographing high-resolution images of fragile and oversized materials such as scrapbooks and posters. Additionally, in order to digitize a selection of degrading audiocassettes, USC Digital Repository “baked” a number of cassettes. This process involves gently heating them up to alleviate “sticky shed syndrome,” a common issue in older media, to allow for the safe extraction of audio content. These digital surrogates ensure the preservation of the materials, so they can be studied and appreciated now and by future generations. 

Preservation of the Herbert and Trudl Zipper Archive underscores the Colburn School’s ongoing commitment to keeping alive the history and memory of those musical pioneers impacted by the Holocaust. The school’s Ziering-Conlon Initiative for Recovered Voices is a unique Colburn resource that encourages greater awareness and more frequent performances of music by composers whose careers and lives were destroyed by the Nazi regime in Europe. James Conlon, the Artistic Director of the Ziering-Conlon Initiative for Recovered Voices at the Colburn School, has long championed works by these composers and by so doing has drawn deserved attention to composers whose names and works had very nearly been eliminated from history.

The Colburn School also houses other important historical materials from renowned musical artists who lived in Los Angeles. It is home to the archives of cellist Gregor Piatigorsky, one of the great cellists of the 20th century, and the studio of legendary violinist Jascha Heifetz. Designed by Lloyd Wright, this historical landmark once sat in Heifetz’s backyard and was saved from demolition and rebuilt on Colburn’s campus.

About Herbert Zipper

Born in Vienna in 1904 to an assimilated Jewish family, Zipper studied at the Viennese Academy of Music and as the Nazi regime began to spread, he composed for underground theaters that had been banned by the new Austrian government. He befriended many leftist artists and musicians, including the writer Jura Soyfer, before being arrested by the Austrian police with his brother in 1938 and sent to Dachau, the first concentration camp built in Nazi Germany.

Music was, for Zipper, always a source of inspiration and resistance. One of the torture methods of the SS was to force the prisoners to sing on command, both individually and collectively. When he was commanded to sing, he chose to sing Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” in an attempt to comfort the other prisoners. 

When Zipper first arrived at Dachau, he was assigned the back-breaking job of being a “pack horse,” which meant pushing a cement truck around the camp. This had the advantage, however, of allowing him to talk to other prisoners while working; and it was here that he met up again with Soyfer. Reflecting on his time in Dachau, and this exhausting labor, he said: “I could endure running around with 100-kilogram bags of beans on my back. What I could not stand was the theft of my life.” It was this desire to maintain some semblance of life that drove him to begin to recite poetry for other prisoners. He got to know several other Jewish musicians; and persuaded some carpenters to build some string instruments with stolen wood. By the beginning of July, 1938 he had assembled 14 musicians, and initiated Sunday afternoon concerts. During these illegal concerts, the musicians performed well-known classical pieces, as well as music that Zipper composed for them in the evenings after his day’s work. 

Zipper also composed songs and poems together with Soyfer. One day he suggested that Soyfer compose a poem based on the infamous slogan of the camp, ‘Arbeit Macht Frei’ (Work will set you free). He memorized the poem that Soyfer recited to him a few days later, composed music to it in his head, and hummed it to some fellow prisoner-musicians. This became known as the “Dachau Lied.” Soon the musicians had spread the song throughout the camp, where its martial mood and rebellious lyrics made it extremely popular. Shortly after composing the song, in September 1938, Zipper was transferred to Buchenwald. Here he was assigned to cleaning out the latrine pits, a particularly odious and dangerous job. 

By this time, his parents had managed to flee to Paris, where they struggled desperately to get releases for him and his brother. In February 1939, he was informed that they were to be released. After a brief stay in Vienna they traveled to Paris, to be reunited with their family. As an enemy national, Zipper was briefly detained in a French internment camp. In May 1939, he received an invitation to be the founder and director of the Manila Symphony Orchestra. While there, he also succeeded in acquiring visas for his family to the U.S. Meanwhile, Japanese designs on the Philippines had been becoming increasingly clear, and on December 8, 1941, Japan attacked the tiny nation. In January, 1941, the Japanese army marched in, and Zipper was arrested because of his friendship with Americans in Manila. After a brief stay in jail, he was released in order to establish an orchestra intended to serve Japanese propaganda purposes. He successfully stalled on building such an orchestra, instead joining the underground resistance, as well as passing on important military information to the Americans. 

Following the end of the war, Zipper and his wife decided to join his family in the US, where he worked as a composer, conductor and teacher. He was the music director of several orchestras, including the Manila Symphony Orchestra, Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra, and Chicago Business Men’s Orchestra. Zipper became a friend and advisor to Richard Colburn, founder of The Colburn School, where he championed the notion that a performing arts education should be available to everyone, a view that influenced Mr. Colburn as he developed his vision for Colburn’s Community School. Dr. Zipper was active in music education until his death on April 21, 1997.

About Trudl Dubsky Zipper

Gertruda “Trudl” Dubsky born in Vienna, Austria on January 31, 1913, was a talented international dancer, choreographer, costume designer, artist, and teacher. In 1922, Dubsky began her formal training as a dancer at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna with Professor Gertrud Bodenwieser. Dubsky’s talent caught Bodenwieser’s eye, leading Dubsky to join her professor’s dance ensemble in 1925. Dubsky gained immediate recognition for her dynamic modern dancing and high acrobatic leaps. At the young age of 16, Dubsky performed a solo with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra at the Imperial Palace. In 1932 she joined with fellow Bodenwieser dancer, Jeannette Rutherston, to establish the Rutherston-Dubsky School of Dance in London and was well received by British audiences for her performances at venues like Rudolf Steiner Hall and Prince’s Hall. In the late 1920s, Dubsky formed a professional and personal relationship with the musician and conductor Herbert Zipper. Zipper would often accompany Dubsky’s performances on the piano, a sign of their artistic collaboration to come.

In 1937, Dubsky was invited to the Philippines to teach dance at the University of the Philippines. In addition to her duties at the University, Dubsky taught ballet/other forms of dance at the Kaethe Hauser School of Creative Dancing, and choreographed/performed in numerous recitals and ballets. Perhaps most importantly, Dubsky founded the Manila Ballet Moderne, a professional modern ballet which performed regularly for the people of Manila. Originally, Dubsky only planned to stay in the Philippines for 6 months, but Hitler’s invasion of Austria forced her to extend her stay. In 1939, Dr. Herbert Zipper joined her in the Philippines when he was invited to assume the role of Conductor of the Manila Symphony Orchestra. Herbert and Trudl Zipper were married in Manila on October 1, 1939. Trudl was also a talented artist, her watercolor paintings of Manila during the Imperial Japanese occupation during World War Two were published in Life Magazine, and later as a book of her collected works: Manila 1944-45: As Trudl Saw It. 

Even after the Zippers left Manila for Brooklyn, they would return every summer during the 1950s and 1960s to lead the Manila Symphony Orchestra and Manila Ballet Moderne’s summer programs. Their crowning achievement came in 1956 when the two organizations collaborated to perform Georges Bizet’s Carmen in the national language of the Philippines, Tagalog. 

Trudl continued as a teacher and choreography throughout her life. In New York, she was invited by actor/producer Erwin Piscator to teach in his workshop at the New School of Social Science’s Dramatic Workshop. After their time in Brooklyn the Zippers arrived in Chicago where Trudl taught at the Chicago Conservatory of Music and the Music Center of the North Shore. Herbert and Trudl then moved to Los Angeles where Trudl taught at the University of Southern California. Trudl Dubsky Zipper died on July 3, 1976 in Santa Monica, California. In 2008, the Colburn School’s Dance Institute was named the Trudl Zipper Dance in her honor.

About The Colburn School

A performing arts institution located in the heart of Los Angeles, the Colburn School trains students from beginners to those about to embark on professional careers. The academic units of the School provide a complete spectrum of music and dance education united by a single philosophy: that all who desire to study music or dance should have access to top-level instruction.

• The diploma- and degree-granting Conservatory of Music is distinguished by a unique all-scholarship model, renowned faculty, and outstanding performance opportunities. It prepares the very highest level of collegiate musicians for professional careers.

• The Music Academy is a highly selective training program for gifted young pre-collegiate musicians, designed to prepare students for conservatory study and performing careers at the highest levels of achievement. This program offers residential options and balances performance, musical instruction, and academics.

• The Community School of Performing Arts welcomes students of all ages, from seven months old to adults. It offers over 120 classes each year in orchestral instruments, piano, guitar, voice, jazz, music theory, drama, and ensembles including orchestra, choir, and chamber music.

• The Trudl Zipper Dance Institute develops performers of all levels, from aspiring professionals in the Dance Academy to beginners starting in Youth Dance. Students of all levels receive training in ballet, tap, musical theater, and modern genres as part of a comprehensive dance education.

• Created to serve all units of the School, the Center for Innovation and Community Impact empowers the musical and dance leaders of tomorrow by nurturing students’ passion and ability to serve their communities, preparing them for sustainable careers, and embracing the development of new ideas. The Center embodies Colburn’s commitment to developing young artists with the curiosity, skills, and commitment to make a difference in their field. 

Each year, more than 2,000 students from around the world come to Colburn to benefit from the renowned faculty, exceptional facilities, and focus on excellence that unites the community.

The Colburn Center, designed by Frank Gehry, is a multi-faceted campus expansion of the Colburn School. Located across the street from the School’s existing campus at the intersection of Olive and Second Streets, the Colburn Center will enable the School to expand its mission of presenting programs for the public. Gehry’s design includes a 1,000-seat in-the-round concert hall named Terri and Jerry Kohl Hall, five professional-sized dance studios including a 100-seat studio theater, and gardens that bring fresh air and green spaces to the downtown landscape. The Colburn School broke ground on the Colburn Center on April 5, 2024. The completed project will join Gehry’s Walt Disney Concert Hall and The Grand complex to create the largest concentration of buildings designed by the architect in the world.

Learn more at www.colburnschool.edu.

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