Violinist and Colburn School alumna Anne Akiko Meyers will be the featured keynote speaker on May 1 at the 2023 Conservatory of Music Commencement, where she will be awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the School. One of the world’s most esteemed violinists, Anne regularly performs around the world as soloist with leading orchestras, in recital, and as a prolific recording artist with more than 40 releases. She is one of today’s greatest champions of living composers, having commissioned and premiered important new works to massive critical and audience acclaim.
A native of Southern California, Anne’s early training was at Colburn’s Community School with Alice and Eleonore Schoenfeld. She later attended the Juilliard School where she studied with the legendary Dorothy DeLay, Masao Kawasaki, and Felix Galimir, and signed with management at 16 years old to launch her international performing and recording career. She has been awarded the Avery Fisher Career Grant and the Distinguished Alumna Award from the Colburn School, and is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Juilliard School.
Anne Akiko Meyers will address the graduating class of the Colburn Conservatory of Music alongside student speakers Aubree Oliverson and Ross Jamie Collins. 61 students will graduate in 2023, the largest in the Conservatory’s history, and will go on to positions with the Atlanta Symphony, Charlotte Symphony, Florida Symphony, New World Symphony, North Carolina Symphony, Pacific Symphony, Pershing’s Own United States Army Band, San Diego Symphony, and Victoria Symphony, among others. Conservatory Commencement is open to the public, and tickets are not required.
About Anne Akiko Meyers
Anne Akiko Meyers is one of today’s most important violinists. Her current season includes appearances with the Los Angeles, National, Albany, Detroit, Nashville, Princeton, San Diego, San Jose, Tucson, and Wichita Symphony Orchestras. She recently released Mysterium, a recording of newly imagined violin/choral music by J.S. Bach and Morten Lauridsen, with Grant Gershon and the Los Angeles Master Chorale and Shining Night, her 40th recording, recorded at Zipper Hall, featuring world premieres and new arrangements by J.S. Bach, Brouwer, Corelli, Ellington, Piazzolla, Ponce, and Lauridsen, with pianist Fabio Bidini (the Carol Colburn Grigor Chair of Piano at the Colburn School), and guitarist Jason Vieaux.
Anne has premiered new music with the symphony orchestras of Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, Nashville, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, San Diego, Seattle, Washington D.C., Helsinki, Hyogo, Leipzig, London, Lyon, and New Zealand, among others. She has worked closely with Arvo Pärt (Estonian Lullaby), Einojuhani Rautavaara (Fantasia, his final complete work), John Corigliano (cadenzas for the Beethoven Violin Concerto; Lullaby for Natalie), Arturo Márquez (Fandango), Michael Daugherty (Blue Electra), Mason Bates and Adam Schoenberg (violin concertos), Jakub Ciupiński, Jennifer Higdon, Samuel Jones, Morten Lauridsen, Wynton Marsalis, Akira Miyoshi, Somei Satoh, and Joseph Schwantner.
Anne’s television appearances include The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, Evening At Pops with John Williams, CBS Sunday Morning, Countdown with Keith Olbermann, The Emmy Awards and The View. John Williams personally chose Anne to perform “Schindler’s List” for a Great Performances PBS telecast and the iconic Estonian composer Arvo Pärt invited her to perform the opening concerts of his new centre and concert hall in Laulasmaa, Estonia. Anne premiered Samuel Jones’s Violin Concerto with the All-Star Orchestra led by Gerard Schwarz in a nationwide PBS broadcast special and a Naxos DVD release. Her recording of Somei Satoh’s Birds in Warped Time II was used by architect Michael Arad for his award-winning design submission which today has become the World Trade Center Memorial in lower Manhattan. Other highlights include a performance of the Barber Violin Concerto at the Australian Bicentennial Concert in Sydney Harbour for an audience of 750,000; and appearances for the Emperor and Empress Akihito of Japan; Queen Máxima of the Netherlands in a Museumplein Concert with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra; and capacity crowds before baseball games at T-Mobile Park in Seattle and Dodger Stadium.
Anne has been featured in commercials and advertising campaigns including Anne Klein, shot by legendary photographer, Annie Leibovitz, J. Jill, Northwest Airlines, DDI Japan, and TDK and was the inspiration for the main character’s career path in the novel The Engagements written by popular author, J. Courtney Sullivan. She performs on the Ex-Vieuxtemps Guarneri del Gesù, dated 1741, considered by many to be the finest sounding violin in existence. Visit www.anneakikomeyers.com for more info.
Listen to Anne’s interview on Colburn’s alumni podcast, So How’s That Going? In this episode she shares her perspective on emerging from COVID, her earliest days at Colburn, and being tenacious.
This March and April, a series of performances and events across Los Angeles explore the music of Claude Debussy. Curated and directed by LA Opera Music Director James Conlon, “Discovering Debussy” includes events presented by the Colburn School, the Hammer Museum, LA Opera, Norton Simon Museum, the Opera League of Los Angeles, and the Ebell of Los Angeles.
The exploration of the life and legacy of this influential French composer is anchored by LA Opera’s eagerly awaited production of Pelléas et Mélisande. Originally scheduled for May 2020, the production was cancelled due to COVID. Beginning March 25, the landmark 20th-century opera makes its long-awaited return. David McVicar’s production marks the opera’s first time onstage at LA Opera for over 25 years.
In a letter drafted in 2020, Maestro Conlon recounts his lifelong fascination with the opera, which he has called “one of those rare works that can be counted on the fingers of one hand, for which there is no substitute.” As we read his letter today, we remember the sense of uncertainty which permeated those days and feel deep gratitude that music has returned to our stages.
James Conlon on Pelléas and Mélisande Written for LA Opera, Spring 2020
Teach us to care and not to care. Teach us to sit still. “Ash Wednesday” T.S. Eliot (1930)
On the eve of what would have been the LA Opera opening of Claude Debussy’s magnum opus, Pelléas et Mélisande, I am sitting still, caring and trying not to care.
Long overdue, the work was to have returned to the stage of LA Opera for the first time after 25 years. I have been yearning to conduct it once again for almost as long. It has been 23 years since my last time around.
The notion of “favorite” would be misplaced in this love affirmation. It is one of those works that can be counted on the fingers of one hand, for which there is no substitute. If it has possessed you, as it has me from the time of my adolescence, you are always possessed. While you are caught in its spell, no other music exists. The missed opportunity to share it with our public is painful. Its magic is irreplaceable, its embrace so personal, almost private, that words are inadequate. I would have liked to introduce many new listeners to its addictive power, that they might feel as I do. For now, we must sit still.
I was very fortunate to have stumbled over Pelléas early. I no longer can remember how old I was, 15 or maybe 16. Was it Destiny, an essential word from the world of Maurice Maeterlinck? I remember that its dark mysteries and haunting beauty captivated me. My customary refuge, the New York Public Library, provided me with opportunity to hear recordings. I remembered being mesmerized by the anguished voice of George London’s Golaud, a torment I knew from his renditions of Boris Godunov, Wotan, and the Flying Dutchman.
I never saw Pelléas until the New York City Opera produced it in 1970, and then I saw it several times. Two years later, the Metropolitan Opera staged it (after a hiatus of 12 years), and again I went to as many performances as possible. That production came back repeatedly over the next decades, and I attended it every time I was in New York.
I was also privileged to have studied conducting with Jean Morel, at the Juilliard School, from the time I was 18. Destiny again? A French expatriate, he was an extraordinary musician, a ferociously demanding teacher, and an enormous inspiration. He was quintessentially French, having been born into the world of Debussy, less than a year after the premiere of Pelléas. We systematically studied the symphonic repertory in class, including a significant dose of the French literature. I asked him if the class could study Carmen (of which I still have his handwritten notes) and Pelléas. As it was not possible in class, he offered to work with me privately, and accorded me the time to do so.
And then, for a long time, I had to sit still with it all. Throughout the next 20 years, it followed me, and I, it. There was a long gestation period of two decades, years in which I spent much time in France. And then, to my good fortune, between 1992 and 1997, I conducted five separate series of Pelléas in three different new productions: directed by Harry Kupfer at the Cologne Opera, Frank Galati at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Robert Wilson at the Paris National Opera. After that, rather than feeling that I had had enough, I couldn’t wait for more.
Subsequently, I have waited, and will wait again. I have decided, despite the cancellation of the current production, to pass my time in its presence. Every day, whenever I can, I spend time with Pelléas. In a monastic routine, I pore over my score, with all of the markings and (unprinted) changes from Debussy that I had received from Jean Morel and Pierre Boulez. I have listened to recordings, with which I was unacquainted, on iTunes and YouTube, including a Met broadcast from 1954 conducted by my teacher.
I am writing in my studio, surrounded by ten books on Debussy, five on Pelléas, and three editions of Maeterlinck’s original play. I have various program books from productions I have seen in Europe, replete with articles. The most precious possession among them is a study and analysis published in 1926 by Maurice Emmanuel, a contemporary and colleague of Debussy. My teacher had lent this small book to me before he passed away. It bears his signature. I have kept it all these years as a memento.
Now, instead of rehearsing and performing Pelléas, I am living it, spiritually, at home, sitting still. It is no less beautiful and captivating, whether reading and writing about it, listening to it, playing it at the piano, or just thinking about it. When these months have passed, I will not have been deprived of the time I would have spent with Debussy and Maeterlinck.
Teach us to care? I have been taught. I have not yet, however, learned not to care. I must sit still. I live with the same hope and desire with which I exited the stage door of the Palais Garnier in 1997, after my last performance of Pelléas. The identical thought is on my mind now, as was that night: I hope it is not too long before I conduct it again.
LA Opera presents Pelléas et Mélisande March 25–April 16, 2023. Learn more about additional Discovering Debussy events throughout Los Angeles
The Community School of Performing Arts and Music Academy are proud to announce the selection of our students in the YoungArts 2023 National Arts Competition. This year, fourteen Community School students and three Music Academy students have been selected for this prestigious honor.
Every year thousands of performing, visual and literary artists age 15–18 apply to YoungArts through their national competition. Finalists attend National YoungArts Week to collaborate with peers and develop their crafts with internationally recognized leaders in their fields. Finalists in their senior year are further eligible for nomination as a U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts—one of the nation’s highest honors for high school students.
All award winners—including Finalist, Merit and Honorable Mention award levels—receive mentorship and financial awards; gain access to a lifetime of creative, professional development, and funding opportunities; and become part of an uplifting, inter-generational community that helps artists connect, create, and collaborate.
Congratulations to both these students and their respective teachers on this outstanding achievement!
Nikka Gershman-Pepper, Flute+ Cosmo Lieberman, Jazz Alto Saxophone*
Arlo Erwin, Jazz Composition* Anaïs Feller, Violin+ Jack Lieberman, Jazz Alto Saxophone* Joseph Mintz, Jazz Percussion* William Schwartzman, Jazz Piano Kuper Walker, Popular Voice*
Michael Blasi, Jazz Trombone* Alexis Cai, Classical Flute* Madeline Cheng, Classical Composition* Joaquin Garde, Jazz Guitar* Marvel Roth, Classical Composition* Luciano Soriano, Jazz Composition and Jazz Trombone* Stellan Swanlund, Jazz Piano* Nathaniel Yue, Classical Cello* Chunyi Zhou, Violin+
* Community School of Performing Arts student + Music Academy student
Katalin La Favre describes herself as “a classically trained percussionist on a non-traditional path.” Having studied with Jack Van Geem at Colburn’s Conservatory, she graduated in 2012 with a bachelor’s in percussion. Thereafter, she received a Fulbright Grant to study with percussionist Jean Geoffroy in Lyon, France at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Lyon (CNSMDL) and continued to live in France for almost a decade, only recently returning to the U.S. a year ago.
Katalin speaks of the support she received from Colburn in making her studies abroad happen. Katalin worked with Library Director Deborah Smith to write her grant proposal for the Fulbright Scholarship. Aiding in her efforts, Colburn faculty Jack Van Geem and Doug Dutton also provided integral recommendations to secure her selection. Katalin received her master’s and artist diploma at the CNSMDL, followed by acquiring a degree in instrumental pedagogy at CEFEDEM Auvergne Rhône-Alpes also in Lyon.
Colburn’s care didn’t end once Katalin arrived in France. Noting that she is “very impressed by Colburn’s alumni support,” she shares that Colburn sponsored her to perform at the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh in 2013, with incredible support from Daniel Bee, Laura Liepins, Susannah Ramshaw, Montana Graboyes, and Carol Colburn Grigor. “That was an amazing experience. And Colburn arranged everything: booked the venue, did the marketing, arranged somewhere for me to stay, rented my instruments, and also supported me bringing somebody to help me with the lighting and moving equipment. And it was incredible …. That Colburn did that for me was marvelous.” Katalin further notes that the program was based on her Colburn senior recital and that she had an additional three performances in Scotland.
Another alumni offering that Katalin speaks highly of is the New Venture Competition hosted by the Center of Innovation and Community Impact. The New Venture Competition is a philanthropically funded opportunity for alumni to test the entrepreneurial waters and gain valuable knowledge and experience for real-world ideas and project development and pitching. “You need to be your own advocate if you want to make certain things happen. So New Venture was a great way to, in a safe environment, try out pitching and get feedback,” says Katalin. She further shares that the program is “really amazing and provides support both in terms of financial and guidance. And that even 10 years after graduating, there is always someone there providing support.” This latter statement is a shout-out to Dean Zeisler for his availability to provide guidance with her materials and address questions. Acquiring this knowledge and developing these entrepreneurial skills is “as important as playing your instrument,” states Katalin. “Students should really take advantage of these opportunities. It’s crucial.”
One of these opportunities, the Center of Innovation and Community Impact’s Teaching Fellows program, which is generously supported by the Max H. Gluck Foundation, is identified as an experience that “planted the seed” for her pedagogical studies and later motivated her music curriculum project for the New Venture Competition. The project is called Storytelling Through Music and was created for public school kindergartens and first grades. Her inspiration for the project is also connected to a childhood experience where she was supposed to read her favorite story but instead, she created a new story based on the illustrations in the book. She recalls being “really excited to share my story with the class … because I wasn’t always given an opportunity to do what I was really good at, which was to create things. So I really wanted to create something for the child version of me. I would’ve loved something like this when I was a kid.”
Storytelling Through Music is a curriculum within common core guidelines that intentionally incorporates creativity components. “I want students to be able to create; listen to music and use their imaginations in a space where there are no right or wrong answers. I also want to get more music into the classroom.” The project includes musical compositions by Katalin and illustrations by Jessica Sunderhaft and is set up in a series of four chapters. The introduction chapter includes a story developed with a musical accompaniment that the students listen to and then they create a sequel based on a musical track. The lesson plan includes discussion points for the teacher to engage the students with the material, such as conducting a simple analysis of the music. For example, “Is it slow or fast? What kind of instruments do you hear? And then how to apply those answers to create a story.” Other chapters include building upon story parts such as characters and settings with a musical connection. Common core elements are interwoven through discussion verifying students’ listening comprehension, practicing narration of sequential events, and being able to communicate their ideas clearly. The final chapter culminates in the full story creation based on musical tracks heard by the students to develop a beginning, middle, and end narrative. The students also provide illustrations and present their stories to their classmates.
Katalin is targeting an early 2023 release of the Storytelling Through Music curriculum that will be available on www.teacherspayteachers.com.
In a final reflection, Katalin shares that “Being at Colburn provided a real openness and freedom for me to do a lot of things. Not just because of the financial support, which of course is huge, but also because of the personal support of the teachers and the staff.” Evidence of this freedom to explore was Jack Van Geem’s encouragement in the percussion studio to create the Smoke and Mirrors Percussion Ensemble. Additionally, Katalin and another percussion student, Joe Beribak, helped establish the Colburn Contemporary Players with the support of Doug Dutton and Richard Beene. “A school that allows students to propose ideas like this and help make them a reality is really incredible. And that intimacy of Colburn where students can really have a big voice and get attention is huge. I miss having that artist community sometimes as a professional; it was so great as a student to have that support.”
In addition to co-authoring a book with a group of former students and colleagues on former Colburn Conservatory faculty Jack Van Geem, Katalin has several other projects in the works. Learn more about Katalin and her various events and projects here.
If you are interested in providing funding for the New Venture Competition or getting involved as a mentor for future student projects, please send an email to Dean Nathaniel Zeisler at nzeisler@colburnschool.edu.
When the Colburn School’s Grand Avenue building was designed more than 25 years ago, deliberate thought went into how the architecture could enhance the performing arts education for students and their families as well as create a welcoming environment for audiences and visitors. When Toby Mayman, former executive director (1980–1999) and lifetime honorary board member, walked through the freshly painted halls, she recognized yet another opportunity. The bare walls were blank canvases waiting to be adorned.
“I was highly motivated to blur the space between the performing arts and visual arts. I feel they are part of the same creative effort, creative inspirations for students,” she recalls.
Mayman and then-Dean Joseph Thayer visited several Los Angeles galleries to pitch the idea of local artists volunteering their works to be displayed on Colburn’s walls for an entire school year. Peter Shire, who had been commissioned to create the chandelier hanging above the main staircase, was the inaugural featured artist. Year after year, the School connected with various galleries to showcase multiple mediums and stylings.
“It grew organically into the annual art installation. The faculty, staff, as well as students and parents looked forward to new installations. We usually scheduled a new art opening with a performance, too,” says Mayman.
Former board chairperson Wendy Kelman took up the mission of fostering relationships with LA painters, photographers, and artists, too. She introduced StudioEleven, an artist cooperative established in the StudioEleven Art Gallery that supports members through multiple efforts, including educational experiences and exhibitions. Almost immediately, members were keen on building a collaboration. Their first installation, titled Coda at Colburn, was on display for the 2015–16 academic year.
“The first year with StudioEleven was such a success that it led to another year and another year—their output is prodigious. That morphed naturally into the current relationship that seems to make everyone happy,” says Mayman.
Indeed, after a few years of submitting rotating collections, Colburn and StudioEleven agreed to an exclusive arrangement that the group would supply each year’s art installation on display from fall through summer. And now as a tradition, Colburn students typically perform in conjunction with each collection’s debut.
“Prior to that, we would seek out individuals, but now they are basically the resident rotating studio. The artists of StudioEleven are very passionate and they like the idea of integrating their art with the performing arts, students, families, and faculty,” says Randy Osherow, special assistant to Colburn School President and CEO Sel Kardan. As a trained visual artist, she also oversees the art installations on campus.
Each year’s collection illustrates a theme, oftentimes reflecting events impacting the city. So naturally when COVID-19 shut down classrooms and people were asked to work and learn from home, the artists expressed their reactions through their unique perspectives. The 2021 installation was called Lockdown Art: Reflection of StudioEleven Practices. Although the pieces found their home on the Colburn campus as planned, the pandemic forced the debut celebration to be postponed until January 2022.
“The artists were ecstatic when we finally held the event. They were able to revisit the work as if it was the first time, and it was wonderful,” says Osherow. “Also, I was surprised by how optimistic the work was. I think they came up with an amazing connection to the resurgence from COVID.
“The show that just opened this fall, called Cultivation, contains pieces by 25 artists and is an explosion of optimism, with every medium represented,” she adds. “From a visual point of view, the halls are alive with art designs in various colors, textures, and content. It is wonderful to share that forum with students, faculty, and families.”
“We are so grateful for the beautiful art displays around our campus. We encourage our dance students to take time to pause, reflect on the artwork, read who the work was created by, and allow it to inspire their own creative process as they develop themselves as young artists,” says Darleen Callaghan, associate dean for the Trudl Zipper Dance Institute.
Also gracing the campus halls, offices, and walls are black-and-white photographs courtesy of James Arkatov and the Arkatov family.
“The Arkatov collection harkens back to the friendship of Richard D. Colburn and James Arkatov. They were both lovers of classical music and they were both integral in founding the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra,” notes Mayman.
Born in Russia, young James and his family immigrated to the United States in 1925, where he began playing the cello at age nine. By age 18, he was invited to join the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. He also became principal cellist for the San Francisco and Indianapolis symphonies.
Upon moving to Southern California, Arkatov landed work as a studio musician for film and recording artists, including legends Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra. Still, he never lost a passion for classical music, and in 1968, Arkatov became the founder of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.
Arkatov was also a talented photographer, first as a hobby inspired by his father and later as a secondary career. For decades, he captured the essence of musicians and artists in portraits, including Isaac Stern (a childhood friend), Igor Stravinsky, Sir Thomas Beecham, Gregor Piatigorsky, and Yo-Yo Ma, among hundreds more. He also memorialized rehearsals and performances with both still photos and video recordings and published two books: Masters of Music and Artists: The Creative Personality.
Arkatov’s photos have been exhibited in several museums and collections have been archived by renowned institutions, such as the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, USC Libraries, and UCLA’s Ethnomusicology department. However, he personally gifted the Colburn School two collections of photos in 2001 and 2008.
“Photos from the first gifts were installed in what I call the artery of the School, the floor where all the students walk through to and from classes, so it was a perfect place,” says Osherow.
After his death in 2019, Arkatov’s wife, Salome, a UCLA emerita piano faculty member and documentary filmmaker, and his children presented the School with another permanent gift of more than 300 photos.
“For the most recent exhibit, I looked for what Mr. Arkatov touched and selected. Both of the earlier gifts, he personally selected, and of the 300, approximately 100 were already matted, so that told me he held particular interest in them,” Osherow explains. “My job was to represent these arrangements on campus to inform students. The floor that is home to the conducting program, composing areas, the piano chair, and faculty members with studios has images everyone on that floor could relate to. On the floors with faculty in jazz, wind, and percussion, I curated images for those disciplines.”
The common theme throughout each collection is the hope that all who see them will find inspiration and feel a connection to the photographer and his subjects.
“We were united in that the goal was to have the art up on the walls. It was always the family’s wish that the photos be accessible and inform new generations of the performing arts. Students and families see the milestone musicians of previous generations,” says Osherow.
“We chose the Colburn School to have a permanent collection of my father’s photographs, because of the great admiration and affection my parents have always had for the Colburn family, and for the exceptional impact that the School has had on the gifted students and the communities it so proudly serves. We chose photographs that we thought would complement and amplify their unique location—on the walls directly outside of the Colburn faculty and practice studios on the fourth and fifth floors of the Olive Building—by providing an insider’s look at the behind-the-scenes preparation of the world’s great artists,” says Alan Arkatov. “The extraordinary collection of photographs that now lines the walls of the Colburn School are a testament to my father’s passions and interdisciplinary talents, and the importance of what the arts bring to individuals and society.”
“I find the Arkatov collection incredibly inspiring. The expressions of musical life of those fantastic musicians is making any artist richer and having a deeper contact with what real music making is. As music is a life-changing experience for everyone, so is the Arkatov collection, able to make music through his eyes and poetic portraits. Colburn is extremely lucky to have the chance to expose this profound way to ‘see’ music,” says Fabio Bidini, the Carol Grigor Colburn Piano Chair at the Colburn Conservatory.
“It is an invaluable resource and inspiration to the faculty and the students, especially those in the Conservatory. For me, it’s a reminder of the School’s growth and history,” says Mayman.
This interview has been lightly edited for style, content, and clarity.
How did you start singing? I’ve been singing pretty much all of my life. When I was younger, I was really extroverted. I would sing in front of people and I would do concerts. I started taking voice lessons with Debbie Lewis when I was doing a lot of musical theater. I sang with 5-Star Theatricals, and I would do theater productions with them as well as perform in their kids’ program. I fell in love with performing; I was obsessed! I just continued doing it and I wanted to grow. I discovered classical opera when I started studying at the Colburn Community School of Performing Arts.
What music do you like to sing? I love singing classical opera. I’ve kind of stopped with my musical theater singing, but classical music—I love arias. I perform masses with my choir each year during school. I love anything in a higher range, anything challenging.
Has there been a composer that’s found a place in your heart? Bach, Schubert—I’m working on a piece by him—Bach’s Ave Maria is gorgeous too. And just for fun, Taylor Swift, a hundred percent.
You’ve sung in all kinds of groups; do you have a preference of singing in groups or alone? I love the harmonizing of a choir. I love how that can sound and give you goosebumps. I think that’s amazing. But I love singing individually because I feel [that enables] you to improve your own technique and figure out what you enjoy. Singing is just really important to me.
Would you talk a little bit about how you came to Colburn? I believe I started two years ago in 2020. Jim Walker is friends with my dad, who’s a musician and a composer. Jim is a flutist, and he teaches at Colburn and recommended that I begin this journey, and I’m really grateful for that.
How has your experience been here at Colburn? It’s amazing. I have the best teachers, and from every lesson, I’m improving. I’ve joined the Colburn Concert Choir here too. The people are really nice—everyone sounds amazing and there’s so much talent surrounding me. I just want to keep growing with them.
Would you talk about what it’s like studying with each of your teachers? Michael Stevens is my vocal teacher; I love him so much. I think he’s one of my favorite teachers just in general, including school, and he is just so diverse and knows so much. He’s so fun, and he makes me want to keep improving. He’s just a really great teacher. I started studying music theory with Kathy Sawada in 2022, and it feels so good to get her satisfaction—I care about her opinion so much. I’m always wanting to impress her. She’s really sweet too. And then Adrian Dunn the Choral Director is just so fun! Everybody loves him and I love him. He is really upbeat, and he includes everybody. He treats his class like a college-level course. We can just speak out loud, and so it’s so interesting.
Is there anything you’re really looking forward to? I’m really looking forward to improving with my music theory, and singing-wise, improving my technique because my voice is changing. I really want to figure out my favorite genres, as well as what I enjoy singing to start building my repertoire a bit more. I definitely want to perform at the Friday Night Recitals.
What do you hope for your musical future? I would really like to continue singing classical opera and continue improving my technique. I would like to continue studying [voice] in college, maybe Colburn, maybe Juilliard. And then I want to start entering competitions. I really want to begin doing more performances because that was hard to do at times during COVID. So this year I want to focus on performing. My dad and I were thinking about making something—recording covers of pieces, making an album—for college, but it would also just be for us.
The Herbert Zipper Scholars program offers highly motivated, deserving students the opportunity to engage in comprehensive music education at Colburn, one of the nation’s premier arts organizations. Herbert Zipper Scholars receive instruction in music theory, private lessons, and ensemble participation, among many other academic and performance opportunities.
It’s hard to imagine more idyllic settings for live performance than the stunning wineries, abbey, and historic chapel that were home to this year’s Festival Musique et Vin au Clos Vougeot, held every summer in Burgundy, France. Helmed by Colburn’s Artist-in-Residence Jean-Yves Thibaudet and festival Co-Artistic Director Gautier Capuçon, this weeklong festival boasts international stars and the very best wine that Burgundy has to offer. Each evening, guests enjoy a wine tasting featuring upwards of 20 different regional labels, with the winemakers themselves often pouring. Then on to a concert, perhaps in a sprawling garden or cobblestone courtyard, featuring superstars from around the world. The evening concludes with a truly spectacular dinner prepared by some of the world’s finest chefs, and, of course, more wine. It’s a special festival, to be sure.
This year, it was made even more special by Colburn Conservatory student Sam Glicklich who was the Festival’s Young Talent scholarship recipient, and invited guest artist. Sam performed on three programs throughout the week as a soloist, as well as with Gautier Capuçon and with two vocalists. His performances were simply outstanding, met with immense appreciation from the sophisticated audience. The proverbial cherry on top of this incredible week for Sam was turning 22 and hearing 200 people sing Happy Birthday to him in the expansive dining room of the Château du Clos de Vougeot. Even he admits, it will be very hard to top that celebration or the entire experience.
Everyone has been so incredible and so generous with their time and their talents. It’s a completely unique community, and you can tell how much people love and care about this Festival. It’s really magical to be a part of it. I feel so honored just to be here! Conservatory student Sam Glicklich
Everyone has been so incredible and so generous with their time and their talents. It’s a completely unique community, and you can tell how much people love and care about this Festival. It’s really magical to be a part of it. I feel so honored just to be here!
Sam is a student of Fabio Bidini and is mentored by Jean-Yves Thibaudet as Colburn’s Artist-in-Residence. Now in its fourteenth year, the Festival has welcomed leading artists including Yo-Yo Ma, Menahem Pressler, Lisa Batiashvilli, and many others. The prestigious Young Talent scholarship is awarded to college-age students studying music and is generously supported by individual donors and the annual wine auction held after the closing concert of each Festival. Colburn is immensely grateful to Jean-Yves Thibaudet for his tireless advocacy for our students and for his personal commitment to their artistic development.
Congratulations to Sam on a memorable, remarkable, and thrilling week.
Conservatory, Austin Brown, flute, won Associate Principal Flute for the Pittsburgh Symphony .
Conservatory, Ben Cornavaca, percussion, won a fellowship with the New World Symphony.
Music Academy, Nikka Gershman-Pepper, flute, one of 12 musicians worldwide to be selected to perform in the Vienna Konzerthaus in June 2023 as a Classicalia competition finalist.
Conservatory, Forrest Johnston, trumpet, won Assistant Principal/Second Trumpet with the Naples Phil.
Conservatory, Vivian Kukiel, violin, won the International Stepping Stone at the Canadian Music Competition.
Conservatory, Davi Martinelli de Lira, percussion, won first place in the Sphinx Competition.
Conservatory, Justin Ochoa, percussion, won a fellowship with the LA Phil.
Conservatory, Jenny Marasti, percussion, won a fellowship with the New World Symphony.
The Colburn School is pleased to announce that Tatjana Masurenko, one of today’s foremost violists and pedagogues, will join the Colburn School faculty, beginning July 2022. Masurenko will teach viola and coach chamber music in the Colburn School’s renowned full scholarship diploma- and degree-granting Conservatory of Music as well as its Music Academy for gifted pre-college musicians.
The Conservatory of Music and Music Academy are among the most important and selective global performance training programs for classical musicians. Graduates pursue careers at the highest levels of accomplishment as soloists, chamber musicians, orchestral musicians, conductors, and teachers. The small program size and unique resident faculty model create a tailored educational experience, allowing each student to reach their fullest potential.
“Teaching excellence has been a hallmark of the Colburn School since our founding.” stated Colburn School President and CEO, Sel Kardan. “Following an extensive international search, we are delighted to have Tatjana Masurenko, one of the world’s greatest violists, join our artist faculty of virtuoso performers and pedagogues.”
Conservatory Dean Lee Cioppa added: “It is a tremendous pleasure to welcome Tatjana Masurenko to the Colburn School. She models extraordinary artistry as a soloist and chamber musician, as well as a dedication to teaching and fostering future generations of transformative artists. Her presence on the faculty will enrich not just her students, but the entire Colburn School community.”
“To join the Colburn School is to be a part of a passionate and nurturing community,” says Masurenko. “I’m so grateful for this opportunity. I cannot wait to work with the school’s exceptional students and collaborate alongside the school’s esteemed faculty.”
Tatjana Masurenko is one of the leading viola players of our time. Her distinctive style is shaped by her expressive playing and her thorough and intensive musical studies. Dedicated to promoting young musicians, she has been professor of viola at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater “Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy” Leipzig since 2002, and in the same position at the Haute Ecole de Musique de Lausanne in Sion, Switzerland, since 2019. She gives master classes in Europe and America and is artistic director of the International Viola Camp in Iznik (Turkey).
Masurenko grew up in a family of Russian academics and jazz musicians. Her musical path began in St. Petersburg where she was able to benefit from the traditional St Petersburg school with the best teachers of her time. She continued her musical studies in Germany with Kim Kashkashian and Nobuko Imai. Her search for new forms of expression on the viola and new techniques and tonal concepts were encouraged and influenced by encounters with figures including Boris Pergamenschikow, György Kurtág, Brigitte Fassbaender and Herbert Blomstedt.
For some years now, Tatjana Masurenko’s major objective in her musical career has been the further development of the viola as a solo instrument which also explains her commitment to contemporary music. She has given numerous first performances of new compositions, many of which are dedicated to her and originated on her initiative. She has worked with composers such as the recently deceased Gladys Krenek, Moritz von Gagern, Dimitri Terzakis, Wolfgang Rihm, Hans-Christian Bartel, Luca Lombardi and Nejat Başeğmezler. She is also intensively dedicated to historical performance practice and especially to 19th century playing and the romantic repertoire.
Many of Masurenko’s students have built successful careers and travel the world as soloists, professors, principal violists in major orchestras and as chamber musicians.
Her teaching style is built on the St. Petersburg tradition of the 19th/early 20th century and merges with the new ideas and sensibilities of the 20th/21st century, especially in the interpretation of Baroque and Classical music.
Community School, Esteban Lindo Benevides, string bass, received scholarship admission to Peabody Conservatory.
Community School, Kristina Brick, piano, received an honorable mention in category I of the California Association of Professional Music Teachers Romantic/Impressionistic Competition. She also was a Southern California Junior Bach Festival Region IV winner.
Conservatory, Isabella Brown, violin, received an honorable mention by the 2022 Yamaha Young Performing Artists program.
Community School, Ryan Chun, piano, Southern California Junior Bach Festival, medal winner.
Community School, Lillian Feng, piano, took first place in category II of the California Association of Professional Music Teachers Romantic/Impressionistic Competition. She also was a Southern California Junior Bach Festival Region IV winner.
Community School, Giovane Quartet (Andres Engleman, violin, Scarlett Chen, violin, Irene Choung, cello, and Yiting Han, piano), a part of the Ed and Mari Edelman Chamber Music Institute of the Community, competed in the Fischoff Competition.
Community School, Sophia Glicklich, piano, is a medal winner at the Southern California Junior Bach Festival and received the Music Teachers’ Association of California Certificate of Merit and earned state honors by passing advanced level.
Conservatory, Victor Díaz Guerra, clarinet, won Principal Clarinet of the Orquesta de la Comunidad de Madrid, Spain.
Community School, Elysia Han, viola, advanced to compete in the California American Strings Teachers Association state competition after securing the second position in the Bowed Strings Solo Competition Junior I level.
Community School, Elizabeth Johnstone, piano, winner of Southern California Junior Bach Festival regional competition.
Music Academy, Angeline Kiang, cello, won the Pinehurst Bronze Medal with a cash prize in the Stulberg International String Competition and will give a performance with the Kalamazoo Junior Symphony Orchestra.
Community School, Trevor King, trumpet, was accepted with a scholarship to the Eastman School of Music. Also offered scholarships at New England Conservatory and Arizona State University.
Community School, Olivia Larco, piano, was accepted as a Lang Lang Scholar, a mentorship program for talented young pianists 16 and younger.
Community School, Skyler Lee, violin, was a finalist in the Henry Schwab Violin and Viola Competition.
Conservatory, Ángel Martín Mora, clarinet, is a 2022 Yamaha Young Performing Artists winner.
Conservatory, Gerbrich Meijer, clarinet, received the Buffet Special Prize at the Nielsen International Clarinet Competition.
Community School, Narayan Neti, piano, Music Teachers’ Association of California, certificate of merit, passed level 5 and awarded state honors.
Community School, Amanda Nova, piano, placed second in the Sonata Festival (Category IV), Music Teachers’ Association of California, Los Angeles Branch.
Community School, NTH Trio (Holly Lacey, violin, Nathaniel Yue, cello, and Qiao (Tiger) Zhang, piano) were semi-finalists in the Junior String Division of the Fischoff Competition. The NTH Trio part of the Ed and Mari Edelman Chamber Music Institute of the Community School.
Music Academy, The Olive Trio (Anaïs Feller, violin; Mira Kardan, cello; Daniel Wang, piano) takes the gold medal in the Junior String Division at the Fischoff Competition.
Conservatory, Max Opferkuch, clarinet, won second clarinet in the San Diego Symphony.
Community School, Leilani Patao, voice, received a scholarship Award from Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation for Musical Theater Performance and acceptance and scholarship to NYU-Tish where she will go to pursue musical theater performance and composition.
Community School, Lucas Peters, piano, took second place in category III of the California Association of Professional Music Teachers Romantic/Impressionistic Competition.
Community School, Aviv Pilipski, viola, advanced to compete in the California American Strings Teachers Association state competition after securing the first position in the Bowed Strings Solo Competition, Junior I level.
Community School, Emmanuel Ree, piano, placed second in the Sonata Festival (Category II), Music Teachers’ Association of California, Los Angeles Branch.
Conservatory, Arin Sarkissian, flute, won Principal Flute of the Victoria Symphony and won first place in the San Diego Flute Guild Young Artist Competition. Arin also is a 2022 Yamaha Young Performing Artists winner.
Conservatory, Sonarsix Sextet (Martha Chan, flute; Victor Díaz Guerra, clarinet; Eder Rivera Acosta, oboe; Christopher Chung, bassoon; Elizabeth Linares Montero, horn; Bogang Hwang, piano; received the bronze medal in the Senior Wind Division at the Fischoff Competition.
Community School, Kaito le Tenoux, piano, is a Southern California Junior Bach Festival region IV winner and took third place in the category II of the California Association of Professional Music Teachers Romantic/Impressionistic Competition.
Community School, Ashot Ter-Martirosyan, piano, is Grand (London) prize winner’s rectal at The Edgar’s Room at Albert’s Hall in London, England.
Conservatory, Chi Ting, flute, won third place in the San Diego Flute Guild Young Artist Competition.
Community School, Cassidy Walther, cello, took first place in the 9th/10th Grade Division Kiwanis String Competition.
Community School, GengJin Edward Wu, piano, won second prize in the California Association of Professional Music Teachers Sonata/Sonatina Competition.
Community School, Evan Xiong, piano, winner of Southern California Junior Bach Festival regional competition.
Community School, Iris Xiong, piano, Southern California Junior Bach Festival regional winner.
Community School, Gavin Yang, violin, winner of Southern California Junior Bach Festival for All Branch String Regional 2022.
Community School, Simon Yao, piano, won the Glendale Music Teachers’ Association of California Concerto Competition and will be performing with orchestra on Sunday, June 5.
Community School, Jayden Yeung, violin, Performed Bruch Concerto 3rd movement with Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra in Segerstrom Hall.
Community School, Echo Zhang, piano, took third prize at the California Association of Professional Music Teachers Concerto Competition South.
Community School, Tiger Zhang, piano, won the Glendale Music Teachers’ Association of California Concerto Competition and will be performing with orchestra on Sunday, June 5.
Community School, Iris Zhou, piano, Music Teachers’ Association of California, certificate of merit, passed level 4 and awarded state honors.
Community School, Isabella Zhou, violin, took first prize winner for Music Teachers’ Association of California, Glendale Branch Concerto Competition, and will be performing the Bach Concerto in A Minor with the orchestra on June 5. She is also the winner of the Southern California Junior Bach Festival for All Branch String Regional 2022.