Colburn School Honors Valery Gergiev, Elizabeth Segerstrom And Yasuhisa Toyota At Celebrate Colburn Gala

At its gala event, Celebrate Colburn, the Colburn School will honor renowned conductor Valery Gergiev, philanthropist Elizabeth Segerstrom, and acoustician Yasuhisa Toyota with the Richard D. Colburn award for their exemplary achievements and contributions to classical music and the performing arts in Los Angeles and throughout the world. Celebrate Colburn takes place at Walt Disney Concert Hall on Tuesday, October 23, 2018, at 7 p.m., followed by a post-performance dinner hosted at the School.

Gergiev, Artistic and General Director of the Mariinsky Theatre and chief conductor of the Munich Philharmonic, will conduct the Colburn Orchestra, pianist and Colburn Conservatory student Dominic Cheli, and singers from the Atkins Young Artists Program Fellowship at the Mariinsky Theatre in selections from Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin, Prokoviev's Piano Concerto No. 3, and Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4. Applauded by MusicWeb International for his "splendid playing...great skill and technical prowess," pianist Dominic Cheli took First Prize in the 2017 Concert Artists Guild Competition.

"As this year marks the Colburn School's 20th anniversary, it is especially meaningful to recognize our gala honorees - enduring classical music icon Maestro Valery Gergiev, visionary acoustician Yasuhisa Toyota, and civic leader and philanthropist Elizabeth Segerstrom." said Colburn School President and CEO Sel Kardan. "Thanks to their combined contributions and legacies, the future of the performing arts is brighter than ever."

In addition to his leadership roles at the Mariinsky Theatre and Munich Philharmonic, Valery Gergiev serves as Principal Conductor of the World Orchestra for Peace, Honorary President of the Edinburgh International Festival, and Dean of the Faculty of Arts at the St. Petersburg State University. Gergiev is also Chair of the Organizational Committee of the International Tchaikovsky Competition, which will hold its 16th edition in June 2019. This major event in the international music community is recognized both as an essential initiative for bringing important new talents to light and as one element of Gergiev's commitment to nurturing young musicians. The Mariinsky Orchestra is currently on a tour across the US, performing at venues from Segerstrom Center for the Arts to Carnegie Hall, thanks in large part to support by Gergiev's co-honoree Elizabeth Segerstrom.

Elizabeth Segerstrom is a co-managing partner at South Coast Plaza, the renowned international shopping and dining destination in Costa Mesa, California. She shared a passion for the arts with her late husband Henry T. Segerstrom, with whom she helped build their crowning achievement - the Segerstrom Center for the Arts and the Center's Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. Today, continuing to uphold and expand a profound legacy of philanthropy in the arts, she is deeply involved with other major institutions in California and throughout the world, including Carnegie Hall, American Ballet Theatre, American Friends of Versailles, American Friends of the Louvre, Lang Lang Foundation, the education programs of Turnaround Arts California, and more.

Yasuhisa Toyota is an international authority in the field of concert hall acoustical design. He is currently collaborating with architect Frank Gehry on the Colburn School's campus expansion, including the building of an 1100-seat concert hall-the Colburn School's first venue for full-scale orchestra performances-a 600-seat theater for dance and vocal performance, an outdoor performance venue, and a dance rehearsal center. Some of his best-known projects include the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, the Mariinsky Theatre Concert Hall in St. Petersburg, the Danish Radio Concert Hall in Copenhagen, and the New World Center in Miami.

The Atkins Young Artists Program Fellowship at the Mariinsky Theatre is a highly distinctive, career-launching program for gifted singers. The program's goal is to support, enhance, and develop young vocalists with extraordinary potential as they transition to working performers. The Atkins Young Artists Program is generously supported by Mrs. Veronica Atkins (USA) with Valery Gergiev as its Artistic Director.

This concert is part of the LA Phil's Sounds About Town series. Tickets start at $15.

Please click here for table and ticket information.

Gala concert and dinner tickets start at $1,000

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