Fortissima is an artistic and leadership development program at the Colburn School for high school age young women from underrepresented minorities in classical music. Fortissima’s innovative leadership curriculum, paired with rigorous artistic development and one-on-one mentorship, is designed to inspire, equip, and empower young women from underrepresented minorities in classical music to pursue professional training and careers in the field.
I Care If You Listen│July 16, 2024 With Fortissima, Young Women of Color Are Reminded They Are Not Alone in Classical Music
“Fortissima tackles classical music’s diversity problem from a unique angle, catching musicians at the pivotal pre-college level and fortifying them with the means to be successful both on and offstage.” Read more
Dates Fortissima 2025
Information Sessions:
November 6th at 7pm EST / 4pm PST Register Here
December 10th at 7pm EST / 4pm PST Register Here
For questions about auditions and repertoire, please contact Jannina Norpoth, Fortissima Artistic Director, at jnorpoth@colburnschool.edu.
For all other questions, please contact Laia Pujol, Assistant Director, Center for Innovation and Community Impact at the Colburn School at lpujol@colburnschool.edu.
Fortissima has opened my eyes to so many possibilities for me and other people of color in music. Through all of our various sessions and workshops, I have gotten the opportunity to see new ways I can fit in and excel in the classical music industry. Fortissima local pilot participant, 2019
Fortissima has opened my eyes to so many possibilities for me and other people of color in music. Through all of our various sessions and workshops, I have gotten the opportunity to see new ways I can fit in and excel in the classical music industry.
Fortissima began as a local pilot program in 2017 and featured a cohort of six young women from Los Angeles. Those young women are now pursuing studies in music and other disciplines in schools such as Oberlin, Stanford, and UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. Findings from the pilot program informed the new model which expanded the program to recruit from across the country and serve more students each year.
Now a national model, Fortissima is a six-month experience for up to 8 young women that includes mentorship, virtual engagement, and a weeklong residential intensive at the Colburn School. All participants receive full scholarships which cover tuition as well as room and board while on campus.
Grammy-nominated violinist Jannina Norpoth made her debut as a soloist with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra at age 14. Since then she has built a career as an innovative collaborative artist with a passion for contemporary music, genre bending and improvisation, a sought after arranger and orchestrator, and an advocate for a more inclusive and versatile landscape in classical music.
Her string quartet, PUBLIQuartet, is recognized for unique and genre inclusive programming, earning them the 2019 Visionary Artist Award from Chamber Music America, 2015 Adventurous Programming Award from ASCAP and Chamber Music America and New Music/ New Places Prize at the 2013 Concert Artist’s Guild Competition.
Ms. Norpoth has performed internationally, including appearances at the Women of the World Festival at The Apollo Theater, Detroit Art X Festival, Montreux Detroit Jazz Festival, Mostly Mozart Festival, Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, Saturday Night Live, VH1’s Save the Music, IFC’s Dinner with the Band, and Ecstatic Music Festival at Merkin Hall. As a soloist she has performed with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Birmingham Bloomfield Symphony, Casalmaggiore International Chamber Ensemble, Ensemble 212, and Bachanalia Chamber Orchestra. Most recently during COVID-19 she has been a featured virtual performer for digital performances from The Kennedy Center, The Library of Congress and Living Music with Nadia Sirota.
She has been a featured performer alongside such acclaimed musicians as James Carter, Nadia Sirota, Regina Carter, Itzhak Perlman, Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR), Helga Davis, Marcus Belgrave, Dave Young, Mike Garson, A. Spencer Barefield, Jay – Z, Beyoncé, Anita Baker, Sheila E., Boys II Men, Dionne Warwick, My Brightest Diamond, Alexi Murdoch, and many others. Praised by Strad Magazine for her ability to write a transcription “so natural sounding that it could have been the composer’s original version.” Ms. Norpoth is a sought after arranger both in the classical and non-classical worlds. Recent commissions include Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, Sphinx Virtuosi, Trinity Wall Street and the Volcano Theatre Company’s new adaptation of Scott Joplin’s “Treemonisha”.
Ms. Norpoth lives in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, with her husband John-Paul and their puggle Vegas. Upcoming projects include the world premiere of a new adaptation of Scott Joplin’s Opera Treemonisha, featuring a collaborative orchestration with composer Jessie Montgomery and commissioned by Volcano: an experimental theatre company based in Toronto, as well as a duo recording of Prokofiev’s Sonatas for violin and piano with pianist Maria Meirelles.
Mentors for the 2025 program will be announced in spring 2025.
The program consists of two components: (1) online innovative leadership curriculum with one-on-one mentorship, and (2) a week-long residential intensive on the Colburn campus. The curriculum and mentorship are tailored to participants’ unique perspectives and provide specialized approaches to both personal and professional development. During their time on campus, these newly acquired skills are put into practice in a deeply engaging residency that provides opportunities to explore all facets of artistry, including performance, the conservatory experience, and career development.
From April 2025 to September 2025, participants will:
Participants will:
The Fortissima program is made possible through the generous support of The Tippet Rise Fund of the Sidney E. Frank Foundation, Visionary Women, Raulee Marcus, Beverly Ryder, and the many donors who support our Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion initiatives at the Colburn School. If you would like to learn more about supporting Fortissima or any of our community engagement programs, contact the Philanthropy Office at philanthropy@colburnschool.edu.