In March, Colburn presents a compelling series of performances featuring acclaimed conductor James Conlon, Sphinx Virtuosi, violinist Randall Goosby, and Colburn’s exceptional students and faculty.
From Czech masterworks and symphonic showpieces to visionary music and dance collaborations, these concerts span centuries, cultures, and styles.
Each program reflects the depth, diversity, and excellence of Colburn’s artistic community. Experience the best of Colburn this season and join us in the concert hall.
Music Restored: Exploring Czech Masterworks
Saturday, March 7 at 7 pm
Zipper Hall
Tickets: $18, $35, $45
James Conlon, Conductor
Music Restored Ensemble
James Conlon, one of today’s most versatile and respected conductors, leads the Music Restored Ensemble in a love letter to Bohemian melodies. The program begins with a piece from the godfather of Czech music himself. Dvořák’s serene Nocturne in B Major is a short lyrical work with hypnotic orchestration. The concert then turns to two 20th-century Czech composers whose personal and professional relationship often inspired each other’s work. In her tragically short career, Vítězslava Kaprálová wrote nearly 50 compositions brimming with humor, energy, and warmth—one of her most inspired works being the spirited piano concerto on this program. The concert concludes with an orchestral tour de force by Bohuslav Martinů, Kaprálová’s mentor, friend, and lover.
Presented as part of Music Restored: The Ziering-Conlon Center for Exiled and Suppressed Composers, which encourages greater awareness and more frequent performances of music by composers whose careers and lives were tragically cut short by the Nazi regime. Music Restored is made possible through the generous support of Marilyn Ziering and the Emma and Adam Zhu Foundation, alongside the many donors who are inspired by this important work.
Counterpointe
Sunday, March 15 at 2 pm
2245. LA Dance Project’s studio and performance space
Tickets $35
Music Academy and Dance Academy students perform celebrated choreography paired with musical masterworks. The performance will also feature original works created by Dance Academy artists that showcase the improvisation and composition skills essential for a professional career in dance.
Sphinx Virtuosi: Visions of Peace
Featuring Randall Goosby, Violin
Sunday, March 15 at 3 pm
Zipper Hall
Tickets $30, $40, $50
This inspiring program weaves together powerful voices from around the world, celebrating the strength of the human spirit and our shared hope for harmony. Hear works by William Grant Still, José White, Jessie Montgomery, and Quenton Blache, alongside Prokofiev’s dramatic “Stalingrad” Sonata and Ginastera’s triumphant Concerto for Strings. From stirring melodies to bold new sounds, this concert is a moving journey through conflict, perseverance, and the pursuit of peace.
Orchestral Constellations: Strauss, Bruch, and Moussa
Sunday, March 29 at 7:30 pm
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Tickets: $22–$60
Colburn Orchestra
Earl Lee, Conductor
Eunice Lee, Violin
Following last season’s powerful performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, the Colburn Orchestra and conductor Earl Lee return to Walt Disney Concert Hall with another larger-than-life program. Two atmospheric works—Samy Moussa’s 2021 work Elysium and Richard Strauss’s famous symphonic poem Also sprach Zarathustra, best known for its use in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey—bookend the concert with soaring melodies and theatrical tone shifts. In between, the lush orchestration and sparkling virtuosity of Max Bruch’s violin concerto provide a break from the musical theatrics.
The Colburn Orchestra is generously underwritten by Eva and Marc Stern.