Season Sampler

Saturday, September 27 at 7 pm
Zipper Hall

Nicholas McGegan, Conductor
Minkyung Chu, Clarinet 

The season kicks off with three iconic orchestral works from classical music’s founding fathers. Opening the program is Bach’s beloved Orchestral Suite No. 3, which features one of the Baroque era’s most famous melodies: “Air on a G String.” Next, the rich sound of the clarinet takes centerstage in a lyrical concerto by Mozart, his only one written for the instrument. Ending the concert with a bang are the percussive marches and trumpet fanfares of Haydn’s energetic “Military” Symphony. 

Program Information
BACH  Orchestral  Suite No. 3 in D Major
MOZART  Clarinet  Concerto in A Major
HAYDN  Symphony  No. 100 in G Major, “Military” 

Thursday, October 2 at 7 pm
Thayer Hall 

Composer, pianist, and organist George Walker, the first African American to win a Pulitzer Prize for Music, has a robust catalogue of brilliant and technically challenging pieces that are rarely performed. After falling in love with Walker’s music at first listen, Steinway Artist Alexandre Dossin began a passion project to record the composer’s complete collection of piano works. Hear these heartfelt interpretations of Walker’s music as Dossin plays selections from his critically acclaimed albums.  

Program Information
WALKER  Prelude and Caprice
WALKER  Variations on a Kentucky Folk Song
WALKER  Piano Sonata No. 2
WALKER  Spatials
WALKER  Spektra
WALKER  Piano Sonata No. 3
WALKER  Guido’s Hand
WALKER  Piano Sonata No. 5 

Featuring Jonathan Brown, Viola; Margaret Batjer, Violin; and Tatjana Masurenko, Viola

Sunday, October 12 at 4 pm
Thayer Hall 

This intimate afternoon concert explores the delicate balance of voices found in chamber music. The centerpiece of the program is Bach’s The Art of the Fugue, in which each instrument’s interpretation of the theme is expertly woven together into a kaleidoscopic masterwork. Interspersed between these dazzling dialogues are short pieces exploring Bach’s music through a contemporary lens. The second half of the concert continues the conversation between past and present when Schumann’s imaginative “Fairy Tale Pictures” is paired with György Kurtág’s late 20th century response—a work using the same instrumentation and heavily referencing Schumann’s compositional style. Beethoven’s complex Grosse Fuge closes the performance.   

Program Information
BACH  Art of the Fugue, No. 1
GYÖRGY KURTÁG  Aus der Ferne III
BACH  Art of the Fugue, No. 7
SHULAMIT RAN   Bach-Shards
BACH  Art of the Fugue, No. 10 
GUBAIDULINA  Reflections on the Theme B-A-C-H
BACH  Art of the Fugue, No. 14
FANNY MENDELSSOHN  Trio for Violin, Cello, and Piano
SCHUMANN  Märchenbilder (“Fairy Tale Pictures”) for Clarinet, Viola, and Piano
GYÖRGY KURTÁG  Hommage a R. Schumann for Clarinet, Viola, and Piano
BEETHOVEN  Grosse Fuge for String Quartet 

Sunday, October 19 at 3 pm
Thayer Hall 

Take a six-string world tour with Puerto Rican guitarist Leonela Alejandro, winner of the 2024 Guitar Foundation of America International Concert Artist Competition. Delight in her endearingly powerful and energetic stage presence as she performs solo guitar works featuring Brazilian beats, laidback jazz club vibes, and everything in between. 

Program Information
CASTELNUOVO-TEDESCO  Tre Preludi mediterranei
PAULO  BELLINATI  Coco de Alagoas (commissioned by the Augustine Foundation)
PAULO  BELLINATI  Um Amor de Valsa  
RONALDO MIRANDA  Appassionata 
TAKEMITSU  Equinox          
EGÚRBIDA  Vals en la menor   
JUAN SORROCHE  Romanza ERNESTO CORDERO  Pregunta              
REINHARDT  Nuages (arr. Roland Dyens)                     
LEO BROUWER  Variations on a Theme of Django Reinhardt 

Saturday, November 1 at 7 pm
Zipper Hall

Trudl Zipper Dance Institute Artistic Director Janie Taylor is joined by New York City Ballet principal dancer Sara Mearns for an evening that illuminates the creative process. The pair, alongside Colburn’s exceptional Dance Academy students, will dance and discuss Sonata for Saras, a piece they created together from different cities and premiered on the LA Dance Project digital platform. Talented young artists from the Colburn Conservatory will perform the accompanying music: Sonata for Piano and Clarinet by Olga Harris. 

Sunday, November 16 at 3 pm
Thayer Hall  

Enjoy an evening of chamber music masterworks in which the rich, dark sound of the viola plays a central role. Directed by renowned violist Tatjana Masurenko, Viola Plus returns with another rousing program featuring Tatjana herself, Colburn faculty and students, and special guests. 

Featuring Clive Greensmith, Cello; Demarre McGill, Flute; and Martin Beaver, Violin

Sunday, November 23 at 4 pm
Thayer Hall 

Travel across the centuries in this program of vibrant chamber works rooted in the rich Austro-Hungarian musical tradition. First, Haydn’s “Quinten” string quartet masterfully darts from major to minor as each movement transforms and embellishes the central theme. The winds then take center stage for Ligeti’s whimsical Six Bagatelles, a piece saturated with Hungarian folk melodies, before two violins, two violas, and a cello close out the concert with Brahms’s radiant and warm String Quintet No. 1. 

Program Information
HAYDN  String Quartet Op. 76, No. 2
LIGETI  Six Bagatelles for Wind Quintet
BRAHMS  String Quintet No. 1 in F Major 

Tuesday, December 9 at 7 pm
Zipper Hall 

This holiday season, the Canadian Brass will be decking the halls in DTLA. A beloved tradition for 50 years and counting, the Grammy-winning ensemble’s joyful holiday program is a must-see for music lovers of all ages. This showstopping concert is filled with playful arrangements of festive favorites, heartwarming holiday hijinks, and bold brass sounds. Experience Canadian Brass’s “unbeatable blend of virtuosity, spontaneity, and humor” (Washington Post) as they celebrate the season in LA’s favorite hall for chamber music. 

Featuring Jonathan Brown, Viola

Sunday, February 8 at 4 pm 
Thayer Hall 

This colorful program highlighting a variety of music styles features the work of two influential French composers. César Franck’s expressive and fiery piano quintet will be performed alongside Claude Debussy’s only string quartet, an avant-garde tapestry of textures infused with the compositional stylings of Franck. Special guest Blake Pouliot, a Colburn alumnus beloved for his “immaculate, at once refined and impassioned” playing (ArtsATL), joins Colburn students for both works. Rounding out the program is a fugal masterwork by Mozart showcasing the bass and an innovative contemporary work by Tōru Takemitsu that blends Eastern and Western sounds. 

Program Information
MOZART  Adagio and Fugue for String Quartet and Bass
FRANCK  Piano Quintet in F Minor
TAKEMITSU  Bryce for Flute, Harp, Marimba, and Percussion
DEBUSSY  String Quartet in G Minor 

Sunday, February 15 at 3 pm
Zipper Hall 

This intimate concert by award-winning pianist Paul Lewis, who’s been praised for his “impeccable technique and subtle artistry” (Boston Classical Review), features a series of Mozart and Poulenc pairings. The first half of this charming program includes Mozart’s energetic 10th piano sonata as well as excerpts from Poulenc’s Improvisations, a series of 15 short and diverse solo piano tunes. After intermission, Lewis performs the remaining Improvisations before concluding with Mozart’s turbulent Piano Sonata No. 14. L’isle Joyeuse (“Joyous Island”) by Claude Debussy divides the Mozart/Poulenc double feature. 

Program Information
MOZART  Piano Sonata No. 10 in C Major
POULENC  Improvisations Nos. 7–12
DEBUSSY  L’isle Joyeuse
POULENC  Improvisations Nos. 1–6 and 13–15
MOZART  Piano Sonata No. 14 in C Minor 

Saturday, February 21 at 7 pm
Zipper Hall

Stars from the world of tap dance are joined by Colburn Dance students and faculty for an inspired performance showcasing the dynamism and vitality of the art form. 

Friday, February 27 at 7 pm
Zipper Hall

Aleksandra Melaniuk, Conductor, Salonen Conducting Fellow
Mert Yalniz, Conductor, Salonen Conducting Fellow   

Under the batons of Salonen Fellows Mert Yalniz and Aleksandra Melaniuk, the Colburn Orchestra spotlights the next generation of virtuoso soloists in a program of vibrant and varied concerto works. The talent demonstrated by the conservatory-trained musicians in this ensemble—soloists and conductors included—indicates that the future of classical music is bright. Be among the first to experience their artistry! 

Saturday, March 7 at 7 pm
Zipper Hall

James Conlon, Conductor
RVC Ensemble   

James Conlon, one of today’s most versatile and respected conductors, leads the RVC Ensemble (Recovered Voices at Colburn 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. 

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. 

Program Information
DVOŘÁK  Nocturne in B Major
KAPRÁLOVÁ  Partita for Piano and Strings
MARTINŮ  Double Concerto for Two String Orchestras, Piano, and Timpani 

Friday, April 24 at 7 pm
Thayer Hall 

MacArthur Genius Grant-winning pianist Jeremy Denk is considered “among the most entertaining of concert pianists… insightful in his interpretations, entertaining to watch, and engaging in his stage banter” (Star Tribune). Experience his talent and charm firsthand as he leads a dynamic exploration of Beethoven’s last sonata, written at the height of his deafness. Part performance and part discussion, this engaging examination of Piano Sonata No. 32 will delve into work’s boundary-pushing orchestration, innovative musical structure, and vivid emotions.  

Program Information
BEETHOVEN  Piano Sonata No. 32 

Featuring William May, Bassoon

Sunday, April 26 at 4 pm
Thayer Hall 

Jeremy Denk, a MacArthur Genius Grant-winning pianist that “you want to hear no matter what he performs” (New York Times), joins Colburn faculty and students in this program of electric quintets. Opening the concert is Mozart’s Quintet for Piano and Winds, a work that masterfully balances the piano against oboe, clarinet, horn, and bassoon in what the composer described as “the best thing I have written in my life.” Edward Elgar’s Piano Quintet, composed in 1918 in the shadow of World War I, starts on an eerie tone before modulating towards a brighter, more symphonic end. In between these masterworks is Valerie Coleman’s Tzigane, a “passionate journey through woodwind virtuosity” inspired by Ravel’s similarly named Hungarian rhapsody for violin. 

Program Information
MOZART  Quintet in E-flat Major for Piano and Winds
VALERIE COLEMAN  Tzigane for Wind Quintet
ELGAR  Quintet in A Minor for Piano and String Quartet