Negaunee Foundation Endows Colburn School Conducting Program With $16.6 Million Gift

The Colburn School received a $16.6 million gift from The Negaunee Foundation to endow in perpetuity the Conservatory of Music’s Negaunee Conducting Program, led by world-renowned composer and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen, who holds the Maestro Ernst H. Katz Chair of Conducting Studies at the School.

This landmark gift ensures the Negaunee Conducting Program’s continuity, providing exceptional ongoing training for aspiring young conductors under Salonen’s direct mentorship, both on campus and throughout the world. The $16.6 million gift is the largest ever made to a California institution by The Negaunee Foundation, which is based in Illinois.

"The Colburn School is honored to receive The Negaunee Foundation's transformative $16.6 million gift, endowing our Conservatory of Music’s conducting program,” said Colburn President and CEO Sel Kardan. “This extraordinarily generous contribution underscores Colburn School’s commitment to providing unparalleled educational opportunities. The program, led by the esteemed Esa-Pekka Salonen, ensures that aspiring conductors receive exceptional training and mentorship, both academically and through real-world experiences.”

The Negaunee Conducting Program, established in Fall 2018 with an initial gift from The Negaunee Foundation, enables a small, select group of students known as Salonen Fellows to nurture their craft and prepare for careers on the world's most prestigious stages, under Salonen's guidance. In the 2024-25 season, fellows will collaborate with the San Francisco Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Additionally, fellows have worked with the New York Philharmonic, NDR Elbphilharmonie, Philharmonia Orchestra, National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the Berlin Philharmonic.

“For generations, artists and artisans have learned through apprenticeship, committing themselves to their craft for years at a time in order to learn through direct experience and mentorship. In doing so, they become part of a lineage of masters, each with their own schools of thought and repertoire of techniques,” said Salonen. “Those distinct artistic lineages in turn ensure a diversity of expression, and with it an assurance that their field remains in a constant state of vibrant evolution. The conservatory is one of the few places where this sort of artistic mentorship is still possible, and it was something that absolutely shaped me in my youth and continues to guide me today. I am deeply grateful to The Negaunee Foundation for supporting this program from the very beginning. With this new and generous gift, we hope to make the Negaunee Conducting Program into the foremost conducting apprenticeship, finding talented individuals, regardless of their age or where they are in their studies, and nurturing that talent to share with the world.”

The Colburn School will also become the home to Salonen’s extensive score collection, which includes more than 1,400 annotated orchestra scores from his career, including works by contemporary composers and his original compositions. This score collection will serve as a valuable resource for the Salonen Fellows and other students.

“The Conservatory’s Negaunee Conducting Program provides a unique opportunity for young conductors to be mentored by one of today’s foremost artists,” said Conservatory Dean Lee Cioppa.

“The Salonen Fellows’ education is not limited to the Colburn campus but extends around the world as they travel with Esa-Pekka and gain first-hand experience. The gift from The Negaunee Foundation ensures that these immensely valuable educational opportunities will continue to be available to our students. In addition, Esa-Pekka’s decision to entrust his extensive score collection to Colburn reflects his deep dedication to our institution, enriching the educational experience for generations to come."

The Fellows have already achieved notable accomplishments and are advancing their studies through prestigious fellowship opportunities and appointments.

• Inaugural Salonen Fellow, British conductor and pianist Angus Webster, leads orchestras all over the world, including the Ulster Orchestra, Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra, Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra NOSPR, Philharmonia Orchestra, and more. He is on the IMG roster.

• Inaugural Salonen Fellow, Finnish-British conductor Ross Jamie Collins, was a 2023-24 Dudamel Fellow, working alongside Dudamel and musicians of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He has been appointed Conductor-in-Residence of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and is a 2024 Tanglewood Conducting Fellow. He will make his debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra this Fall. He is on the HarrisonParrott roster.

• Kyle Dickson, a Salonen Fellow from the class of 2021-22, was named Assistant Conductor of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra and Conductor of the Memphis Youth Symphony. He is on the Concert Artists Guild roster.

• Molly Turner, also a Salonen Fellow from the class of 2021-22, is currently the Conducting Fellow at the New World Symphony, where she leads the orchestra in subscription, family, education, and holiday concerts. She has also been selected as a 2024-25 Dudamel Fellow.

• Elias Peter Brown, a Salonen Fellow from the class of 2023-24, will serve as assistant conductor to Salonen with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra at the Helsinki Festival, Baltic Sea Festival, and the Salzburg Easter Festival this coming season. He also led the world premiere of Baldwin Giang’s Scenes from the Post-Diaspora with the Ensemble Garage & New European Ensemble at the Spoleto Festival dei Due Mondi in Italy this summer. He is a 2024 recipient of the Solti Foundation US Career Assistance Award.

• Aleksandra Melaniuk, current Salonen Fellow, will serve as assistant conductor at the San Francisco Symphony and continue her studies with Salonen at the Colburn School. She will appear on the Colburn Orchestra’s season-opening performance on September 28, conducting Wagner’s Prelude to Tristan and Isolde.

This season, Mert Yalniz joins Aleksandra Melaniuk as a 2024-25 Salonen Fellow at the Colburn School and a member of the San Francisco Symphony conducting staff, as an extension of their work as Salonen Fellows. He will also join Melaniuk on the roster of Colburn Artists, a unique in-house management program for Colburn students on the cusp of professional careers.

“The mentorship of world-class maestro Esa-Pekka Salonen is the foundation of the program,” said former Salonen Fellow Molly Turner. “Having Esa-Pekka represent me as a young conductor has broadened my learning opportunities, expanded my connections, and opened many doors. The networking opportunities are unmatched, and there is no other conducting program in the U.S. that has the international reach of Colburn School’s Negaunee Conducting Program. As a composer myself, having a mentor who can speak more about conducting was invaluable because we were able to have deeper musical explorations. Colburn School also has some of the highest-level musicians in the country, and leading and learning with students of that caliber is invaluable.”

“As I was finishing high school in Finland, I discovered the Negaunee Conducting Program through an online ad,” said former Salonen Fellow Ross Collins. “I applied, and as part of the live auditions, I had the opportunity to conduct the Philharmonia Orchestra in Santa Barbara. It was already a life-changing experience.”

Collins continued, “Colburn School is a very special place where you make lifelong connections and friends. You spend time in an environment that takes music-making and creativity seriously, pushing you forward. The conducting program is exceptional in how it caters to a conductor’s specific needs while fostering a close relationship with Esa-Pekka Salonen, who is open and willing to answer any question, often casually mentioning insights that change your entire outlook. Salonen always makes you feel like an important part of the team, and his mentorship and support continue long after the program ends.”

The Salonen Fellows study directly with Salonen and serve as preparatory conductors for the flagship Colburn Orchestra. They also conduct and curate programs for the Zipper Outreach Orchestra, Colburn’s performing ensemble for its community engagement activities, and the Concerto Forum Showcase, an annual public concert that features soloists from the Conservatory of Music. In keeping with the Colburn School Conservatory model, students receive full scholarships to cover tuition, room, and board.

Salonen Fellows also join the roster of Colburn Artists. Designed to prepare students to work with industry leaders and artist managers, the Colburn Artists program provides guidance and support during the critical transition from studying to touring. In a supportive atmosphere linked closely with their individual performance studies, they receive personalized career advice and training, including guidance on building relationships with presenters, orchestras, and professional musicians; developing repertoire; interview preparation; and creating a professional image and online presence.

About Mert Yalniz

Turkish-German conductor, pianist, and composer Mert Yalniz has been described as “extremely individual, charismatic and convincing” (Osthessen News), his piano playing as “passionate, enthusiastic and highly virtuosic” (Braunschweig Newspaper), and his compositions as a “statement from the new generation” (Heidelberger Frühling). This season, Yalniz will make his debut with the NDR Radiophilharmonie in Hanover, where he will conduct Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with pianist Igor Levit, Weber‘s Clarinet Concertino, Chausson‘s Poème, and Wagner‘s Wesendonck Lieder. Yalniz will also become a Salonen Fellow in the Negaunee Conducting Program at the Colburn School and on the conducting staff of the San Francisco Symphony, assisting  Esa-Pekka Salonen internationally.

Recent performances include Grieg’s Piano Concerto with the Uniorchester Leibniz and Braunschweiger Kammerorchester; Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Göttinger Symphonieorchester and Deutsches Juristenorchester, Bach’s Concerto in D Minor and Joaquín Turina’s Rapsodia Sinfonica with the Beethoven Orchester Hessen, and Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue with the chamber orchestra La Tempesta. Yalniz made his debut at the international music festival Heidelberger Frühling, performing excerpts from Frederic Rzewski’s The People United Will Never Be Defeated! and conducting and playing in his nearly 45-minute long composition People-Fantasy for chamber ensemble. In 2023, Yalniz debuted at the KKL as part of the Lucerne Piano Fest and played his first concerts in the United States at the Soundboard Institute, performing classical repertoire, his own compositions, and improvisation. He also participated in the festival Ouvertüre of the Heidelberger Frühling and worked with the Ballet of Difference and its director Richard Siegal on their production based on Rzewski’s The People United Will Never Be Defeated! variations, which he performed in full alongside the choreography.

Yalniz has regularly attended the Panula Academy of maestro Jorma Panula in Finland and worked with several orchestras on various repertoire, such as Mendelssohn‘s “Hebrides” Overture with the Theater für Niedersachsen Philharmonie, Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 with the Philharmonisches Kammerorchester Wernigerode, and Ravel‘s Ma Mère l‘Oye and Bizet‘s Carmen Suite No. 1 with the Pori Sinfonietta. He also attended conducting masterclasses with Joana Mallwitz and the International Conducting Workshop & Academy (ICWA) led by Matthias Bamert and Ken Lam.

Yalniz has won first prizes as a pianist in the national music competition Jugend musiziert as well as the Eduard Söring Prize, a highly regarded special prize from the Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben, and the NDR Kultur-Förderpreis. In 2015 and 2017, he was a prize winner at the International Grotrian-Steinweg Competition in Braunschweig and received a scholarship from the Louis Spohr Gesellschaft. In 2016, Yalniz won the 1st prize at the International Music Competition for Young Talents in Istanbul and was awarded the special award for Best Musical Interpretation. Additionally, Yalniz won the first prize at the Hamburg Instrumental Competition and received the Trübger Special Prize for Young Pianists which provided him a debut recital at the Laeiszhalle in Hamburg. In 2022, Yalniz received both the jury prize and the audience prize at the international competition of the 15th Pianale Piano Festival in Fulda. Yalniz has been part of the Yehudi Menuhin Live Music Now Hannover program, which brings performances to people with reduced access to live music, in care homes, schools, hospitals, hospices, and community settings.

Yalniz has attended piano masterclasses with Bernd Goetzke, Jacques Ammon, Konstanze Eickhorst, Francesco Libetta, Gülsin Onay, Igor Levit, Uta Weyand, Matti Raekallio, William Fong, Markus Schirmer, Filippo Gamba, and Roland Krüger.In 2022, he began studying piano with Igor Levit at the Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media (HMTMH).

Mert Yalniz is a Colburn Artist.

About the Colburn School

A performing arts institution located in the heart of Los Angeles, the Colburn School trains students from beginners to those about to embark on professional careers. The academic units of the School provide a complete spectrum of music and dance education united by a single philosophy: that all who desire to study music or dance should have access to top-level instruction.

• The diploma- and degree-granting Conservatory of Music is distinguished by a unique all-scholarship model, renowned faculty, and outstanding performance opportunities. It prepares the very highest level of collegiate musicians for professional careers.
• The Music Academy is a highly selective training program for gifted young pre-collegiate musicians, designed to prepare students for conservatory study and performing careers at the highest levels of achievement. This program offers residential options and balances performance, musical instruction, and academics.
• The Community School of Performing Arts welcomes students of all ages, from seven months old to adults. It offers more than 120 classes each year in orchestral instruments, piano, guitar, voice, jazz, music theory, drama, and ensembles including orchestra, choir, and chamber music.
• The Trudl Zipper Dance Institute develops performers of all levels, from aspiring professionals in the Dance Academy to beginners starting in Youth Dance. Students of all levels receive training in ballet, tap, musical theater, and modern genres as part of a comprehensive dance education.
• Created to serve all units of the School, the Center for Innovation and Community Impact prepares the musical and dance leaders of tomorrow by nurturing students’ passion and ability to serve their communities, preparing them for sustainable careers, and embracing the development of new ideas. The Center embodies Colburn’s commitment to developing young artists with the curiosity, skills, and commitment to make a difference in their field.

Each year, more than 2,000 students from around the world come to Colburn to benefit from the renowned faculty, exceptional facilities, and focus on excellence that unites the community.

The Colburn Center, designed by Frank Gehry, is a multi-faceted campus expansion of the Colburn School. Located across the street from the School’s existing campus at the intersection of Olive and Second Streets, the Colburn Center will enable the School to expand its mission of presenting programs for the public. Gehry’s design includes a 1,000-seat in-the-round concert hall named Terri and Jerry Kohl Hall, five professional-sized dance studios including a 100-seat studio theater, and gardens that bring fresh air and green spaces to the downtown landscape. The Colburn School broke ground on the Colburn Center on April 5, 2024. The completed project will join Gehry’s Walt Disney Concert Hall and The Grand complex to create the largest concentration of buildings designed by the architect in the world.

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