Colburn School Announces 2017-2018 Season

Colburn School Announces 2017-2018 Concerts and Events. Highlights include:

Acclaimed cellist Lynn Harrell kicks off the Colburn Chamber Music Society series with a program of Beethoven, Handel, and Mendelssohn.

The first of six concerts in Zipper Hall featuring Colburn Conservatory of Music students, faculty, and internationally acclaimed guest artists, September 17.

Courtney Lewis opens the Colburn Orchestra season with a program of Salonen, Walton, and Elgar.

Music Director of the Jacksonville Symphony and former Assistant Conductor of the New York Philharmonic conducts at the Ambassador Auditorium in a concert that also features cellist and Colburn Conservatory Concerto Competition winner Youna Choi, September 23

Calidore String Quartet

The celebrated quartet of Colburn School alumni perform a program of Shostakovich, Bruckner, Janá?ek, and Brahms in Zipper Hall as part of the Colburn Chamber Music Society series, October 1

Edo de Waart conducts Adams and Dvo?ák

Music Director of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Music Director of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, and Conductor Laureate of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra conducts the Colburn Orchestra at the Ambassador Auditorium in a program that includes John Adams' Harmonielehre, and Dvo?ák's Violin Concerto, featuring Presidential Scholar and Colburn student Aubree Oliverson, October 21

Members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Brass

Colburn Chamber Music Society performance in Zipper Hall, December 3

Music Director Yehuda Gilad conducts double bill of Rachmaninoff, and program of

Nielsen and Beethoven

Colburn Orchestra performs Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 at the Valley Performing Arts Center with pianist HyeJin Kim, December 10; and Nielsen's Flute Concerto at The Broad Stage and Ambassador Auditorium with flute soloist Joachim Becerra Thomsen,

March 1 (Broad Stage) and March 3 (Ambassador)

Emanuel Ax

Famed pianist gives first ever performance at Colburn School on the Colburn Chamber Music Society series with a performance in Zipper Hall, January 18

Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Artist-in-Residence

The 2017-2018 season marks the fourth year of Thibaudet's residency at the Colburn School, which will feature a performance at Zipper Hall, March 7

Simone Porter in Los Angeles Recital Debut

Special off-campus performance as part of the Colburn School's partnership with The Broad Stage, March 10

Los Angeles, CA (July 25, 2017) -The 2017-2018 academic year at the Colburn School brings together today's greatest artists from all over the world with extraordinary faculty and Colburn students in varied programs on the school's flagship Colburn Orchestra and Colburn Chamber Music Society series, as well as the free Gibson Dunn Rush Hour concert series and special engagements. Concerts are held on campus in the intimate Zipper Hall, Pasadena's Ambassador Auditorium, and throughout Los Angeles.

"The Colburn School continues to provide the highest quality performing arts education for passionate students of all ages and abilities with a new academic season that cultivates artistry and learning from the classroom to the stage," says CEO Sel Kardan. "Being a student at the Colburn School means being part of a greater community, one that reaches beyond the campus, to venues throughout our hometown of Los Angeles, and throughout the industry at large, including collaborations with the distinguished special guests joining us this year. We hope people enjoy the many inspiring programs we are excited to offer."

2017-18 Season Highlights Details

Courtney Lewis, Music Director of the Jacksonville Symphony and former Assistant Conductor of the New York Philharmonic, kicks off the Colburn Orchestra season at the Ambassador Auditorium with cellist Youna Choi, who performs William Walton's virtuosic cello concerto. Choi won the 2017 Colburn School Concerto Competition. Lewis opens the program with Esa-Pekka Salonen's LA Variations and concludes the program with British composer Sir Edward Elgar's popular Enigma variations.

Edo de Waart, Music Director of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Music Director of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, and Conductor Laureate of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, leads the Colburn Orchestra at the Ambassador Auditorium in a program of Mozart's Overture to The Marriage of Figaro, John Adams's Harmonielehre, and Dvo?ák's Violin Concerto featuring Colburn Conservatory of Music violinist Aubree Oliverson. In 2016, Oliverson was awarded a Presidential Scholarship. She has been a fellow at the Aspen Music Festival as well as a national finalist in the 2016 YoungArts Competition.

The Colburn Chamber Music Society series features internationally renowned guest artists The Calidore String Quartet, Emanuel Ax, Lynn Harrell and more in intimate performances in Zipper Hall.

The Calidore String Quartet's "deep reserves of virtuosity and irrepressible dramatic instinct" (New York Times) and "balance of intellect and expression" (Los Angeles Times) has won them accolades across the globe and firmly established them as one of the finest chamber music ensembles performing today. The Calidore String Quartet - Colburn alumni violinists Jeffrey Myers and Ryan Meehan, violist Jeremy Berry, and cellist Estelle Choi - made international headlines as the winner of the $100,000 Grand Prize of the inaugural M-Prize International Chamber Music Competition, the largest prize for chamber music in the world, in 2016. In March 2017, the Calidore was honored with the Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Award, and is currently a member of Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Two.

Seven-time Grammy Award-winner Emanuel Ax, "among the most highly-sought-after pianists globally" (Los Angeles Times), takes the stage in a program of Bach, Mozart, and Dvo?ák.

"The dean of American cellists" (Washington Post), Lynn Harrell performs a program of Beethoven, Handel, and Mendelssohn. Harrell is a frequent guest of many leading orchestras including Boston, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Ottawa, Pittsburgh, and the National Symphony. He partners with the orchestras of London, Munich, Berlin, Tonhalle and Israel.

World-renowned pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, who renewed his position as Colburn's Artist-in-Residence through the 2019-20 academic year, performs at Zipper Hall in a very special concert that features students from Colburn's Music Academy, Conservatory of Music, and Community School. As part of his residency, Thibaudet performs alongside Colburn students, leads Master Classes and teaches private lessons.

Colburn Off Campus

Music Director Yehuda Gilad brings the Colburn Orchestra to the The Broad Stage and Ambassador Auditorium with flutist Joachim Becerra Thomsen, who is pursuing a Professional Studies Certificate at the Colburn School. He was named LACO Principal Flute in October 2016 and is the youngest musician appointed to a Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra principal chair.

In an all-Rachmaninoff program, Gilad leads the Colburn Orchestra and piano soloist HyeJin Kim at Valley Performing Arts Center in the composer's legendary Piano Concerto No. 3. Praised by critics for her, "passionate ... polished and expressive," performances, pianist Hyejin Kim is one of South Korea's most thrilling young classical stars. HyeJin is in her second year of the Artist Diploma program at Colburn School.

Violinist Simone Porter has been recognized as an emerging artist of impassioned energy, musical integrity, and vibrant sound. Declared "on the cusp of a major career" by the Los Angeles Times, the Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient makes her Broad Stage solo recital debut, in partnership with the Colburn School. Simone graduated with a Performance Diploma, and is in her first year of the Professional Studies Certificate program at Colburn School.

In collaboration with the Soka Performing Arts Center in Aliso Viejo, the new Artist on the Rise recital series features outstanding young soloists and chamber ensembles, specially chosen by the Colburn faculty for their artistry and professional potential. Artists to be announced.

The Colburn Community School's long-running participation in LACMA's Sundays Live series continues. These free programs feature professional and emerging musicians in a one hour performance on the stage of LACMA's Leo S. Bing Theater. Each concert is streamed live at lacma.org and can be heard as a podcast on kusc.org.

2017-18 Season by Series or Category

Colburn Orchestra

Under the batons of Music Director and Conductor Yehuda Gilad and a roster of notable guest conductors, the Colburn Orchestra season brings the ensemble to Pasadena's Ambassador Auditorium for a four-concert series, and venues around the greater Los Angeles area.

September 23, 7:30 pm | Ambassador Auditorium

Courtney Lewis, guest conductor

Youna Choi, cello

SALONEN: LA Variations (1997)

WALTON: Cello Concerto

ELGAR: Variations on an Original Theme "Enigma," Op. 36

Courtney Lewis, Music Director of the Jacksonville Symphony and former Assistant Conductor of the New York Philharmonic, kicks off the Colburn Orchestra season with a special work inspired by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Esa-Pekka Salonen's LA Variations. Colburn School concerto competition winner Youna Choi performs William Walton's virtuosic Cello Concerto, and the program concludes with British composer Sir Edward Elgar's popular Enigma variations, which has delighted audiences since its 1899 premiere.

October 21, 7:30 pm | Ambassador Auditorium

Edo de Waart, guest conductor

Aubree Oliverson, violin

MOZART: Overture to The Marriage of Figaro

DVO?ÁK: Violin Concerto in A Minor, Op. 53

ADAMS: Harmonielehre

Renowned conductor Edo de Waart leads a program of Dvo?ák and Mahler, featuring violinist Aubree Oliverson. In 2016, Oliverson was awarded a Presidential Scholarship, and has been a fellow at the Aspen Music Festival as well as a national finalist in the 2016 YoungArts Competition. The Guardian refers to Harmonielehre as " ... one of the most significant and sophisticated commentaries on and embodiments of symphonic thinking of the late 20th century."

December 10, 3 pm | Valley Performing Arts Center

Yehuda Gilad, Music Director and Conductor

HyeJin Kim, piano

RACHMANINOFF: Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30

RACHMANINOFF: Symphony No. 2, Op. 27

In an all-Rachmaninoff program, Music Director Yehuda Gilad leads the Colburn Orchestra and pianist HyeJin Kim, one of South Korea's most thrilling young classical stars, in the legendary "Rach 3," one of the most technically challenging piano concertos in the standard classical repertoire. Kim has previously recorded both Rachmaninoff's Piano Concertos No. 1 and No. 2 for Sony Classical. The program concludes with the composer's triumphant Second Symphony.

February 3, 7:30 pm | Ambassador Auditorium

Thierry Fischer, guest conductor

Hao Zhou, violin

SAINT-SAËNS: Danse Macabre

DUTILLEUX: L'arbre des songes (1985)

BERLIOZ: Queen Mab Scherzo from Romeo and Juliet

MENDELSSOHN: Selections from A Midsummer Night's Dream

Thierry Fischer, Music Director of the Utah Symphony Orchestra, leads the Colburn Orchestra in Dutilleux's violin concerto, L'arbre des songes, with Hao Zhou on violin. As a member of the Viano Quartet, Zhou won third place in the Osaka International Chamber Music Competition.

March 1, 7:30 pm | The Broad Stage

March 3, 7:30 pm | Ambassador Auditorium

Yehuda Gilad, Music Director and Conductor

Joachim Becerra Thomsen, flute

ROSSINI: L'Italiana in Algeri Overture

NIELSEN: Flute Concerto

BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 3, "Eroica"

GALA CONCERT

April 22, 7 pm | Walt Disney Concert Hall

Program details for Colburn's Annual Gala and fundraiser to be announced.

Colburn Chamber Music Society

Conservatory students perform with a roster of today's most compelling artists on this series of intimate ensemble performances.

September 17, 3 pm | Zipper Hall

Lynn Harrell, cello

BEETHOVEN: Duo for Viola and Cello in E-flat, WoO 32 "Duet with 2 obbligato eyeglasses"

HANDEL/HALVORSEN: Passacaglia for Violin and Cello

BEETHOVEN: Piano Trio in C Minor, Op. 1, No. 3

MENDELSSOHN: Octet in E-flat Major, Op. 20

A consummate soloist, chamber musician, recitalist, conductor, and teacher, Harrell's work throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia has placed him in the highest echelon of today's performing artists. He gives a chamber music performance in a program of Beethoven, Handel, and Mendelssohn.

October 1, 3 pm | Zipper Hall

Calidore String Quartet

SHOSTAKOVICH: 2 Pieces for String Octet, Op. 11

BRUCKNER: Quintet in F Major, WAB 112 (III. Adagio)

JANÁ?EK: String Quartet No. 1, "Kreutzer Sonata"

BRAHMS: Sextet No. 2 in G Major, Op. 36

The Calidore String Quartet - Colburn alumni violinists Jeffrey Myers and Ryan Meehan, violist Jeremy Berry, and cellist Estelle Choi - is one of the finest chamber music ensembles performing today. The group made international headlines as the winner of the $100,000 Grand-Prize of the inaugural M-Prize International Chamber Music Competition, the largest prize for chamber music in the world, in 2016. In March 2017, the Calidore was honored with the Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Award, and is currently a member of Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Two.

December 3, 7:30 pm | Zipper Hall

Members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Brass

Tom Hooten, trumpet

Jim Wilt, trumpet

Andrew Bain, french horn

Greg Roosa, french horn

David Rejano Cantero, trombone

James Miller, trombone

Norm Pearson, tuba

Mark Lawrence, curator and conductor

Works by Bach, Elgar, Shostakovich, Forbes, Gabrieli, Holst, Mouret, and Scheidt

January 18, 7:30 pm | Zipper Hall

Emanuel Ax, piano

BACH: Partita No. 5 in G Major (solo piano)

MOZART: Quintet in E-flat Major for Piano and Winds, K. 452

DVO?ÁK: Piano Quintet No. 2, Op. 81

Emanuel Ax, whose playing is "always thoughtful, lyrical, [and] lustrous" (Washington Post) performs for the first time ever at Colburn School in a program of Bach, Mozart and Dvo?ák.

February 11, 3 pm | Zipper Hall

Andrew Marriner, clarinet

STRAUSS: Serenade in E-flat Major, Op. 7

DVO?ÁK: Serenade for Woodwinds, Op. 44

BRAHMS: Clarinet Quintet, Op. 115

Andrew Marriner, principal clarinet in the London Symphony Orchestra since 1986, has maintained a presence on the worldwide solo concert platform, in the field of chamber music, and as a teacher. Highlights of his career include many performances over the years with his father, Sir Neville Marriner, both as soloist and as a member of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. In his debut appearance at Zipper Hall, Marriner performs Brahms's Clarinet Quintet, one of the composer's final works, and one of the greatest chamber music masterpieces ever composed.

March 25, 3 pm | Zipper Hall

Anthony Marwood, violin

MOZART: Piano Trio in G Major, K. 496

SCHULHOFF: String Sextet

DVO?ÁK: Quintet in E-flat Major, Op. 97

British violinist Anthony Marwood is known worldwide as an artist of exceptional expressive force, with an effortless technique and beautiful tone. His energetic and collaborative nature places him in great demand as soloist and director with chamber orchestras worldwide. He is Principal Artistic Partner of Les Violons du Roy, the celebrated Canadian chamber orchestra of New York City, a post he took up in 2015.

April 8, 3 pm | Zipper Hall

Martin Beaver, violin

Clive Greensmith, cello

HAYDN: String Quartet in G Major, Op. 77, No. 1

KURTÁG: Twelve Microludes for String Quartet (1978)

DVO?ÁK: String Sextet, Op. 48

Prior to joining the Colburn School, Martin Beaver and Clive Greensmith were members of the world-renowned Tokyo String Quartet. Beaver, one of Canada's violin ambassadors to international concert stages, is on faculty at the Colburn School as Co-Director of the String Chamber Music Studies Program and Professor of Violin. Greensmith, one of the most successful British cellists of his generation, joined the Colburn School in 2013 as a cello faculty member and Co-Director of the String Chamber Music Studies Program.

Faculty Recitals

All concerts are free

Sunday, October 15, 2017 at 3 pm | Zipper Hall

Community School of Performing Arts Faculty Showcase

Program to be announced

Friday, October 20 at 8 pm | Thayer Hall

Aimée Kreston, Violin

Elizabeth Hedman, Violin*

Andrew Picken, Viola

George Kim Scholes, Cello*

Celebrated performing artist Aimée Kreston is joined by musical friends in this faculty recital featuring works by Brahms and Hugo Wolf.

* not on faculty at Colburn School

Monday, October 23, 8 pm | Zipper Hall

Andrew Bain, Horn

Horn professor and Principal Horn of the Los Angeles Philharmonic performs works by Richard Strauss and Franz Strauss.

Friday, November 3 at 8 pm | Thayer Hall

Peter Lloyd, Double Bass

Double bass professor performs works by Mozart, Brahms, and Edgar Meyer.

Friday, November 10 at 8 pm |Thayer Hall

Martin Beaver, Violin

Fabio Bidini, Piano
Clive Greensmith, Cello

Martin Beaver, violin professor and co-director of the string chamber music program, performs works by Prokofiev, Beethoven, and Strauss, joined by members Fabio Bidini, piano, and Clive Greensmith, cello.

Friday, January 12 at 8 pm | Thayer Hall

Clive Greensmith, Cello

Fabio Bidini, Piano

Cello faculty and co-director of the strings chamber music program Clive Greensmith is joined by piano faculty Fabio Bidini for works by Prokofiev and Rachmaninoff.

Saturday, February 24 at 8 pm | Thayer Hall

Marina Ensemble

Andrea Sanderson, Violin*

Michael McLean, Viola

Nancy Yamagata, Cello

Rae Kate Shen, Piano*

Special guests

Can Canbolat, Violin

David Young, Double Bass

Kenton Youngstrom, Guitar

Works by Boccherini, Schubert, and Piazzolla

* not on faculty at Colburn School

Sunday, March 11 at 3 pm | Thayer Hall

Kenneth McGrath, Percussion

Vanessa Fadial, Piano

Hui Wu, Piano

Works by Berio and Brad Lubman

Saturday, March 17 at 8 pm | Thayer Hall

Rose Beattie, mezzo-soprano

Inga Kapouler Gartner, piano

Kenton Youngstrom, guitar

Program to be announced

Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Artist-in-Residence

Colburn School Artist-in-Residence Jean-Yves Thibaudet continues to captivate audiences with his thrilling performances, profound artistry, poetic musicality, and dazzling technical prowess. The 2017-2018 season marks the fourth year of his residency at the Colburn School, during which he will teach master classes and perform with conservatory students.

March 7, 7:30pm | Zipper Hall

An Evening with Jean-Yves Thibaudet

Program to be announced

Date TBD

Master Class

Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano

Concerto Showcase

Soloists from the Colburn Conservatory of Music perform concertos under the baton of Maxim Eshkenazy.

October 6, 7:30 pm | Zipper Hall

Colburn Orchestra

Program to be announced

Gibson Dunn Rush Hour

All shows on Thursdays at 6 pm at Thayer Hall

September 28

Hosted by Robert Lipsett

Top soloists from the Conservatory of Music's weekly Performance Forum series take the stage for this celebratory performance.

November 2

Hosted by Clive Greensmith

String chamber music ensembles from the Conservatory of Music perform.

November 30

Hosted by Ian Pritchard

Small ensembles from the Conservatory of Music present Baroque masterworks

January 25

Hosted by Richard Beene

Wind students from the Conservatory of Music perform.

February 22

Hosted by Lee Secard

Award-winning musicians from the Community School of Performing Arts' Colburn Jazz Workshop will perform original compositions and favorite standards.

March 15

Hosted by Margaret Batjer

Colburn Music Academy students perform.

Grand Performances Series Concert

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra

September 22, 8 pm | California Plaza

Carlos Izcaray, conductor

Cristina Mateo Sáez, clarinet

Kevin Miura, violin

MOZART: Overture to The Marriage of Figaro, K. 492

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