Modern dancer Leilana Majri rehearses Offenbach’s Les Larmes de Jacqueline with the Colburn Chamber Orchestra
Each year, orchestral musicians, singers, and dancers from our Community School and Trudl Zipper Dance Institute come together to perform in one spectacular concert. The Collaboration Concert has become a beloved tradition for our students, giving them an opportunity to learn about different art forms and work with artists from across the school.
On Sunday, the Colburn Concert Choir, Young Men’s Chorus, Colburn Youth Ballet, and Colburn Youth Modern will join the Colburn Youth Orchestra and Colburn Chamber Orchestra in performing masterworks by Mozart, Verdi, Pergolesi, and more at the Alex Theatre in Glendale.
This year, the choir will also have the opportunity to sing an additional piece of music with the Colburn Youth Orchestra. Colburn Concert Choir member Julia Timmons looks forward to performing selections from Mozart’s Requiem. “These pieces are marvelous when done with an orchestra the size and stature of the Colburn Youth Orchestra.”
Colburn Chamber Orchestra concertmaster Jailynh Yeo’s favorite piece is Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater because of the dramatic range of emotion it portrays. The first movement, Stabat Mater, describes a crying woman, and the second movement, Inflammatus, is more upbeat. “It starts out slow, and when I play it I feel like I can hear the woman crying. The second movement makes me really happy. It’s a good transition from the sad first movement,” she explains.
The Chamber Orchestra will also perform Offenbach’s Les Larmes de Jacqueline with dancers from Colburn Youth Modern. “I think it’s about life, and the sadness and the joy in this world. There are some fast parts, which are like the happier moments in life, and then the slow parts, which are going through the ick and the mud and working through problems,” explains dancer Poppy Miller.
The annual Collaboration Concert is the only opportunity for so many disparate departments to join forces and work towards one goal. Each student comes away with a different lesson based on their own artistic experiences. “I think it’s great for us because as musicians we’re just training to produce a good sound. But being able to hear that, and also see the dancers’ physical interpretations is crazy to me. I feel like after seeing them I know a little bit more about how I should be moving when I play from watching them,” says Jailynh.
For many students, this concert is the highlight of their year at Colburn. Students love not only seeing what each group has been working on, but also interacting with different artists than they are used to. “This performance is so much fun, and I love that Colburn promotes collaboration. I have always believed that it is important for my growth as a musician and collaborative artist,” says Julia.
This Sunday, the students will be proud to show off the final product of their hard work. “People should come because Colburn is amazing and has so many talented people. There’s just so much talent in one room that it just blows people’s minds, especially since we’re all teenagers,” says Poppy. “I think it will really inspire people,” adds Jailynh.