About Upcoming Events Projects Impact
The 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 tragically cut short by the Nazi regime in Europe.
Undoing injustice, when and where one can, is a moral mandate for all citizens of a civilized world. James Conlon
Undoing injustice, when and where one can, is a moral mandate for all citizens of a civilized world.
James Conlon, 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. Inspired by LA Opera’s groundbreaking Recovered Voices project, and with the support of Los Angeles philanthropist Marilyn Ziering, the Colburn School and James Conlon established the Ziering-Conlon Initiative for Recovered Voices at the Colburn School. The Recovered Voices Initiative is grateful to Robert Elias for many years of critical support and to the individual philanthropists whose generous contributions have made it possible to bring this important repertory back to life for generations to come.
The Ziering-Conlon Initiative for Recovered Voices supports educational opportunities, programmatic representation in world-class performances, and competitions that inspire young musicians to not only learn about the artists but to return to their music throughout their career. This important works needs your support. Please make a gift to ensure the activities of Maestro Conlon, Mr. Elias, and the many interested musicians and audience members can continue undoing the injustice that was done.
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Support Recovered Voices with your gift to the Colburn School. Please indicate you would like your gift to go to the Ziering-Conlon Initiative for Recovered Voices.
Recovered Voices is trademarked and used with kind permission from LA Opera.
SEPT 17 · ARC Ensemble Canada’s Grammy-nominated ARC Ensemble (Artists of The Royal Conservatory), a group dedicated to the recovery of suppressed and lost 20th-century music, performs a program of rarely-heard works for clarinet, piano, and strings.
KAUFMANN Sonatina No. 12 for Clarinet and Piano KANITZ String Quartet in D Major BLOCK Suite for Clarinet and Piano LAKS Quintet for Piano and Strings
FEB 15, 2024 · Duo Recital Violinist Adam Millstein and pianist Dominic Cheli perform concert works by émigrés, many of whom made Los Angeles their home. The innovative creations of these composers influenced each other and profoundly impacted the trajectory of 20th-century music.
KAUDER Violin Sonata in A Minor KORNGOLD Marietta’s Lied KORNGOLD Serenade from Der Schneemann SCHOENBERG Phantasy ZEISL Brandeis Sonata
MARCH 15, 2025 · The Music of Poland Despite being a friend and contemporary of Shostakovich, the musical genius of Mieczysław Weinberg went unrecognized for much of the 20th century due to Soviet-Era suppression. This concert highlights three of Weinberg’s more than 150 works: a playful flute concerto, a concertino for violin and string orchestra, and a dramatic chamber symphony.
WEINBERG Concertino for Violin and String Orchestra WEINBERG Flute Concerto No. 1 WEINBERG Chamber Symphony No. 1
OCT 26, 2023 · Recovered Voices: Exiles in Hollywood Violinist Adam Millstein and pianist Dominic Cheli in recital, performing music by composers who shaped the sound of film music. All of the composers were from different parts of Europe and were forced into exile following the rise of the Third Reich due to their Jewish Heritage.
DEC 10, 2023 · Recovered Voices: Shostakovich and Weinberg, A Journey toward Hope In response to the sold-out performance of the Shostakovich and Weinberg Piano Trios last season, this recital paired the composers’ intimately connected piano quintets.
MAR 15, 2024 · Recovered Voices: The Music of Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco and Walter Arlen Dedicated to emigre, composer, and long-time Los Angeles resident Walter Arlen, this program featured premieres of works by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco and Walter Arlen, who both fled fascism and artistic repression in Europe and made their home in Los Angeles.
OCT 12, 2022 · Album Launch: Shapeshifter JAN 29, 2023 · Shostakovich and Weinberg: A Story of Loss and the Healing Power of Friendship APR 10 and 11, 2023 · The Mondavi Center presents Recovered Voices APR 12, 2023 · Recovered Voices: Colburn Orchestra
MAY 15, 2021 · Recovered Voices: The Music of Suppressed Composers of the 20th Century with Adam Millstein, Rebecca Stewart, and Shulamit Sarid MAY 23, 2021 · James Conlon and Musicians from The Colburn School at the Library of Congress MAY 24–28, 2021 · Recovered Voices Quartet at Nevada Chamber Music Festival MAY 29, 2021 · Recovered Voices Quartet perform Schulhoff 1st Quartet with Numi Opera and Gail Gordon at Broad Stage JUL 11–25, 2021 · Recovered Voices Quartet at Chigiana Chamber Festival in Siena, Italy
In Fall 2022, the James Conlon and the Colburn School released Shapeshifter, an album featuring the music of Erwin Schulhoff.
In 2021, The initiative presented a four-part online series which delved into the life and music of Erwin Schulhoff (1894–1942), a fascinating, prolific, and multi-faceted composer who embraced a full panoply of styles and influences from his era.