The Colburn School is thrilled to welcome renowned artists from the worlds of classical music and dance who give insight into their creative processes with public master classes, guest-conduct the Colburn Orchestra, perform with Conservatory of Music students in our Colburn Chamber Music Society concerts, and perform for the LA community in our concert halls.
This season, our guest artists include Steven Isserlis and Connie Shih, Jennifer Koh, Calidore Quartet, and many more.
A multifaceted artist with a passion for new music, violinist Jennifer Koh continually enchants audiences with her virtuosity and technical prowess.
Master Class: Jennifer Koh, Violin
Master Class: Jennifer Koh, Chamber Music
Colburn Chamber Music Society: Jennifer Koh, Violin
Canada’s Grammy-nominated ARC Ensemble (Artists of The Royal Conservatory), are a group dedicated to the recovery of suppressed and lost 20th century music. They will perform at Colburn as part of the Recovered Voices program, which 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.
Recovered Voices: ARC Ensemble
Juho Pohjonen is regarded as one of today’s most exciting and unique instrumentalists. The Finnish pianist performs widely in Europe, Asia, and North America, collaborating with symphony orchestras and playing in recital and chamber settings. An ardent exponent of Scandinavian music, Pohjonen’s growing discography offers a showcase of music by Finnish compatriots such as Esa-Pekka Salonen, Kaija Saariaho, and Jean Sibelius.
He will give an insight into his creative processes through a Master Class with Colburn students.
Master Class: Friday September 27. Further details to be announced soon.
Known for his charisma and expressive interpretations, Mexican conductor Carlos Miguel Prieto has established himself not just as a major figure in the orchestra world but also as an influential cultural leader, educator, and a champion of new music. He will conduct the Colburn Orchestra in a performance of Brahms’s triumphant Third Symphony and Nielsen’s Clarinet Concerto.
Colburn Orchestra: Brahms’s Symphony No. 3
Celebrated for his passionate playing and unique musical interpretations, award-winning French-Canadian pianist Louis Lortie boasts an impressive career as a soloist, chamber musician, and recording artist. He will present two public master classes, before joining students for a Colburn Chamber Music Society performance of innovative chamber works by French contemporaries Saint-Saen, Fauré, Roussel, and Hahn.
Master Class: Tuesday, October 8 at 4 pm, Zipper Hall. Details to be announced shortly. Master Class: Wednesday October 9 at 4 pm, Zipper Hall. Details to be announced shortly.
Colburn Chamber Music Society: Louis Lortie, Piano
Noted for his captivating performances, storytelling quality and nuanced musicality, Colburn Alumni and First Prize winner of the 2019 Young Concert Artists International Auditions, Albert Cano Smit has appeared as a soloist with the San Diego, Seattle, Montreal, Colorado Music Festival, Las Vegas, Manchester, and Barcelona symphony orchestras, amongst others.
Hailed as a “brilliant virtuoso…a standout” (The Dallas Morning News), the riveting American violinist William Hagen has appeared as a soloist with many of the world’s great orchestras including the Chicago Symphony, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, San Francisco Symphony, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, and many more.
This dynamic alumni duo return to Colburn with a program of Dvořák, Schumann, Bartok, and Ravel.
Colburn Presents: William Hagen, Violin, and Albert Cano Smit, Piano
Cellist Paul Watkins’s remarkable artistic resume includes membership in the famed Emerson String Quartet, eight concerto appearances at the BBC Proms, and regular performances with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. He will present two public master classes, before taking to the stage with Conservatory of Music students in a Chamber performance featuring Wagner, Mozart, Britten, Coleridge-Taylor, and Carlos Simon.
Cello Master Class: November 7 at 11:30 am, Thayer Hall. Details to be announced shortly. Chamber Music Master Class: November 8 at 4 pm, Thayer Hall. Details to be announced shortly.
Colburn Chamber Music Society: Paul Watkins, Cello
The acclaimed Calidore String Quartet returns to its alma mater for a week of intimate performances and master classes. Winner of BBC Music Magazine’s 2024 Chamber Award, Calidore has been praised for its “deep reserves of virtuosity and irrepressible dramatic instinct” (New York Times). Since its founding at the Colburn School in 2010, the group has enjoyed performances and residencies in the world’s major venues and festivals, released multiple critically acclaimed recordings, and won numerous awards.
Calidore String Quartet: Korngold’s Complete String Quartets
Calidore String Quartet and Quartet Integra: Mendelssohn Octet
Conductor Lidiya Yankovskaya is a fiercely committed advocate for Slavic masterpieces, operatic rarities, and contemporary works on the leading edge of classical music. She has conducted more than 40 world premieres, including 17 operas, and her strength as a visionary collaborator has guided new perspectives on staged and symphonic repertoire from Carmen and Queen of Spades to Price and Prokofiev. She will conduct the Colburn Orchestra in a performance of Strauss’s Don Quixote, Debussy’s La mer, and Esmail’s RE|Member.
Colburn Orchestra: Debussy’s La mer
Pianist Alon Goldstein is one of the most original and sensitive pianists of his generation, admired for his musical intelligence, dynamic personality, artistic vision, and innovative programming. His artistic vision and innovative programming have made him a favorite with audiences and critics alike throughout the United States, Europe, and Israel.
Piano Master Class: February 4 at 10 am, Thayer Hall. Details to be announced shortly. Piano Master Class: February 4 at 2 pm, Thayer Hall. Details to be announced shortly.
Winner of the 2023 Guitar Foundation of America International Concert Artist Competition, Marko Topchii is an active soloist, recitalist, and teacher. He has performed guitar concertos with top orchestras and has accumulated a robust collection of awards.
Colburn Presents: Marko Topchii, Guitar
Guitar Master Class: February 8 at 11 am, Thayer Hall. Details to be announced. shortly.
Acclaimed worldwide for his profound musicianship and technical mastery, British cellist Steven Isserlis enjoys a unique and distinguished career as a soloist, chamber musician, educator, author, and broadcaster. He appears with the world’s leading orchestras and conductors and gives recitals in major musical centers.
He will come to Colburn for two master classes and a special duo recital with longtime collaborator Connie Shih on piano. “A musical force to be reckoned with” (Toronto Star), the pair brings a program of virtuoso cello sonatas by Beethoven, Martinů, and Grieg, plus a short piece by Nadia Boulanger. This “musical collaboration of rare intensity” (Bachtrack) is not to be missed!
Master Class: February 13 at 10 am, Mayman Hall. Details to be announced shortly. Master Class: February 13 at 1 pm, Mayman Hall. Details to be announced shortly.
Colburn Presents: Steven Isserlis, Cello, and Connie Shih, Piano
Canadian pianist Connie Shih is repeatedly considered to be one of Canada’s most outstanding artists. In 1993, she was awarded the Sylva Gelber Award for most outstanding classical artist under age 30. To critical acclaim, she regularly appears in recitals with cellist Steven Isserlis. Connie will come to Colburn for two master classes and a special duo recital with longtime collaborator Steven Isserlis on cello. “A musical force to be reckoned with” (Toronto Star), the pair brings a program of virtuoso cello sonatas by Beethoven, Martinů, and Grieg, plus a short piece by Nadia Boulanger. This “musical collaboration of rare intensity” (Bachtrack) is not to be missed!
Colburn’s Emmy-winning Director of Choral Programs Adrian Dunn, is a critically acclaimed singer, composer, and conductor. The Adrian Dunn Singers will return to Colburn for the third year running for a concert in celebration of Black History Month. Made up of 12 professional singers of diverse musical backgrounds based in Chicago, members of the group have trained at some of the top conservatories and Universities in America. They recently were featured on the PBS WTTW special Emancipation featuring The Adrian Dunn Singers and Rize Orchestra.
Colburn Presents: Adrian Dunn Singers
Since launching onto the international stage after winning the prestigious Naumburg International Piano Competition in 1992 and receiving a 1994 Avery Fisher Career Grant, Awadagin Pratt has received acclaim for delivering “forceful, imaginative, and precisely tinted” performances (Washington Post) and is hailed as “one of the great and distinctive American pianists and conductors of our time” (WGBH). He will give an insight into his creative processes through a Master Class with Colburn students.
Master Class. Friday, March 14. Details to be announced shortly.
Cleveland Orchestra principal clarinet Afendi Yusuf has become an in-demand soloist and chamber musician thanks to his “clear, liquid tone, pitch-perfect intonation, and effortless technique” (Chicago Classical Review). The Conservatory alumnus returns to the Colburn stage for a program of quartets and quintets by Brahms, Villa-Lobos, and Penderecki.
Master Class: March 25 at 4 pm, Thayer Hall. Details to be announced shortly.
Colburn Chamber Music Society: Afendi Yusuf, Clarinet
Kerson Leong has been described as “not just one of Canada’s greatest violinists but one of the greatest violinists, period” (Toronto Star). Forging a unique path since his First Prize win at the International Yehudi Menuhin Violin Competition in 2010, he continues to win over colleagues and audiences alike with “a mixture of spontaneity and mastery, elegance, fantasy, intensity that makes his sound recognizable from the first notes” (Le Monde).
Colburn Presents: Kerson Leong, Violin
Violin Master Class: March 29 at 11 am, Thayer Hall. Details to be announced shortly.
Stéphane Denève is Music Director of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Artistic Director of the New World Symphony, and Principal Guest Conductor of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic. He recently concluded terms as Principal Guest Conductor of The Philadelphia Orchestra and Chief Conductor of the Brussels Philharmonic, and previously served as Chief Conductor of Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra (SWR) and Music Director of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.
He will conduct the Colburn Orchestra in a performance of Dvořák’s Symphony No. 8 at The Soraya.
Colburn Orchestra: Dvořák Symphony No. 8