Colburn School

For the Massachusetts historic school, see Colburn School (Lowell, Massachusetts).

The Colburn School is a private performing arts school in Los Angeles with a focus on music and dance. It consists of four divisions: the Conservatory of Music, Music Academy, Community School of Performing Arts and the Trudl Zipper Dance Institute. Founded in 1950, the school is named after its principal benefactor, Richard D. Colburn.^[2]

Colburn School

Type	Private
Established	1950; 75 years ago (1950)
Accreditation	NASM[1]
President	Sel Kardan
Location	Los Angeles , California , United States 34°03′14″N 118°14′59″W
Campus	Urban
Website	colburnschool.edu

History

The school was established in 1950 as a preparatory arm of the USC Thornton School of Music. It was originally located across the street from the Shrine Auditorium, in a warehouse that had been converted into extra USC practice rooms, rehearsal halls, and dance studios. It later broadened its mission and changed its name to the Community School of Performing Arts. In 1980, it finalized its split with USC and branched out on its own.

The Colburn School in 2007

In 1985, the school received a significant endowment from Richard D. Colburn and was subsequently renamed in his honor.^[3] The school moved from its original location near the USC campus to its current location in downtown Los Angeles in 1998.^[4] Five years later, the Colburn Conservatory of Music was established to provide tertiary music education with a unique all-scholarship model.^[5] In 2010, the school opened the Colburn Music Academy, a highly selective program designed for young pre-collegiate musicians.^[6]

In 2014, the Colburn Dance Academy was launched as the pre-professional ballet program of the Trudl Zipper Dance Institute. Former New York City Ballet principal dancer Jenifer Ringer was appointed as dean and Benjamin Millepied was made artistic advisor.^[7] The same year, pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet became the school's first Artist-in-Residence.^[8]

In 2019, the Colburn School instituted the Negaunee Conducting Program and appointed conductor and composer, Esa-Pekka Salonen to lead it.^[9] In 2024, the Negaunee Foundation made a $16.6 million donation in perpetuity to endow the program.^[10][11][12]

Programs

The Conservatory of Music provides tertiary level degree programs to students. Currently, degrees offered are Bachelor of Music, Master of Music, Performance Diploma, Artist Diploma and Professional Studies Certificate. All students receive full scholarship including housing and stipends.^[13] The Dean of the Conservatory is Lee Cioppa.

The Conservatory is also home to the Negaunee Conducting Program. Led by Esa-Pekka Salonen, the program offers either undergraduate or graduate conducting diplomas. In addition to working with various ensembles within the school, fellows join the conducting staff at the San Francisco Symphony and serve as assistant conductors to Salonen for his international engagements.^[14]

The Music Academy is the Colburn School's pre-collegiate division and teaches gifted students between the ages of 14 and 18. The program's curriculum includes music theory, ear training, music history and chamber music.^[15]

The Community School of Performing Arts serves all ages through to 18 and offers classes for piano, strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion, jazz, voice and choir, ensembles, and drama among other disciplines.^[16] The Dean of the Community School is Susan Cook.

The Dance Academy is the flagship program of the Trudl Zipper Dance Institute and is designed to prepare dancers between the ages of 14 and 19 for professional careers.^[17] The curriculum has a focus on classical ballet while also providing instruction for other styles. The Dean of the Dance Academy is Margaret Tracey.^[18]

Admission

Admission to the Colburn Conservatory of Music is highly competitive. In an unidentified year, 26 were accepted from 500 applicants for a 5% acceptance rate.^[19] Approximately 120 students attend the Conservatory of Music and more than 1,700 are enrolled in classes at the Community School of Performing Arts.^[20][21] Around 50 students study at the Music Academy and 25 in the Dance Academy.^[22][23]

Campus

Zipper Hall

The Colburn School's main building was designed by the architectural firm Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates. It includes the Lloyd Wright designed studio of Jascha Heifetz. Originally situated in Heifetz's backyard, it was saved from demolition and rebuilt on the second floor of the school's Grand Avenue building.^[24] Also located in the building is Zipper Hall, a concert venue that hosts both professional and student performances throughout the year. The Los Angeles Philharmonic and Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra have both performed chamber music concerts at the venue.^[25]

In 2016, the Colburn School bought an outdoor parking lot on the corner of 2nd and Olive Streets for $33 million.^[26] In 2022, plans were announced to build the Colburn Center on the site.^[27][28] Designed by Frank Gehry, the center will include a 1,000-seat concert hall with acoustics by Yasuhisa Toyota, and a 100-seat theater along with several dance studios.^[29] The project broke ground in April 2024 and is estimated to be completed in 2027.^[30][31]

Notable people

Alumni

• Kris Bowers – composer and jazz pianist
• Calder Quartet – ensemble
• Calidore String Quartet – ensemble
• Robert Chen – violinist
• Billy Childs – composer and jazz pianist
• Danielle de Niese – soprano
• Lindsay Deutsch – violinist
• Tim Fain – violinist
• Aubrey Foard – tubist
• Grace Fong – pianist
• Jennifer Frautschi – violinist
• David Fung – pianist
• Anthony Gonzalez – actor
• José González Granero – clarinetist
• William Hagen – violinist
• Burt Hara – clarinetist
• Leila Josefowicz – violinist
• Tamaki Kawakubo – violinist
• Fabiola Kim – violinist
• Larry Klein – producer, songwriter and jazz bassist
• Amadéus Leopold – violinist
• Geneva Lewis – violinist
• Anne Akiko Meyers – violinist
• Miles Mosley – jazz bassist
• Nokuthula Ngwenyama – violist
• Blake Pouliot – violinist
• Eric Reed – jazz pianist
• Patrice Rushen – jazz pianist and R&B singer^[32]
• Julian Schwarz – cellist
• Albert Cano Smit – pianist
• Mikyung Sung – double bassist
• Thundercat – bassist and songwriter^[33]
• Michael Tilson Thomas – conductor^[34]
• Donald Vega – jazz pianist
• Viano Quartet – ensemble
• Paul Wiancko – composer and cellist

Faculty

• Ted Atkatz – percussion
• Andrew Bain – horn
• Harold Battiste – jazz^[35]
• Martin Beaver – violin and chamber music
• Fabio Bidini – piano
• Helen Callus – viola
• Paul Coletti – viola
• Alan de Veritch – viola
• Paul Ellison – double bass
• Silas Farley – dance
• Ariana Ghez – oboe
• Yehuda Gilad – clarinet
• Eugene Izotov – oboe
• Carla Körbes – dance
• Thomas Kotcheff – ear training and music theory
• Mark Lawrence – trombone
• Ronald Leonard – cello
• Ida Levin – chamber music
• Daniel Lewis - conducting
• Teng Li – viola
• Robert Lipsett – violin
• Tatjana Masurenko – viola
• Demarre McGill – flute
• Norman Pearson – tuba
• Elizabeth Pitcairn – violin
• Jenifer Ringer – dance
• Esa-Pekka Salonen – conducting
• Eleonore Schoenfeld – cello
• Ory Shihor – piano
• Scott St. John – chamber music
• Arnold Steinhardt – violin
• Janie Taylor – dance
• Margaret Tracey – dance
• JoAnn Turovsky – harp
• Donald Vega – jazz
• Allan Vogel – oboe
• Jim Walker – flute
• Geraldine Walther – chamber music