(Monday, April 29, 2024, Los Angeles) – The Colburn School announced today that violist Jonathan William Brown will join the Conservatory of Music faculty as Professor of Chamber Music, beginning July 1, 2024. In this role, Brown will oversee a comprehensive strings and piano chamber music program, provide the vision and structure for sequential chamber music training at all levels, and oversee all chamber music performances. He also joins the chamber music and viola faculty in the Music Academy, Colburn’s highly selective training program for gifted young pre-collegiate musicians.
“I’m honored to join the Colburn School and contribute to its vibrant community,” said Brown. “It’s a privilege to further develop the rich legacy of chamber music education here, guiding students toward artistic growth and professional excellence. I look forward to collaborating with colleagues to cultivate a supportive environment where every student can thrive and fulfill their potential.”
Brown joins Colburn School’s esteemed Conservatory and Music Academy faculty following an international search. Since 2002, he has been the violist of the Cuarteto Casals, with whom he has performed in all of the major concert halls in Europe, North America, and Asia as well as making numerous recordings on the Harmonia Mundi label including repertoire ranging from Bach through Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven to Bartók, Ligeti and Shostakovich. As a guest violist, he has performed with the Tokyo, Jerusalem, Kuss, Marmen, Miro, Zemlinsky, Quiroga and Armida quartets and has been on the jury of international quartet competitions in London, Salzburg, Prague and Katowice. Brown has also been an artistic director of the Da Camara chamber orchestra, the contemporary ensemble FUNKTION, and Musethica Spain.
“Jonathan William Brown’s impressive background as a member of an acclaimed string quartet, an entrepreneurial artist, and gifted teacher and mentor makes him positioned to guide our students as they prepare for professional careers,” said Lee Cioppa, Dean of the Conservatory of Music. “With Jonathan as Professor of Chamber Music, we look forward to further nurturing our collaborative chamber music culture and having his unique voice contribute to the exceptional training provided at the Colburn School.”
Since 2003, Brown has been professor of viola and chamber music at ESMUC in Barcelona and since 2011 assistant professor of viola at the Escuela Reina Sofía in Madrid. Outside of these positions, he has given masterclasses in Köln, London, Aix-en-Provence, Den Haag, Weikersheim, Fiesole, Linz, Lübeck, Essen, Rotterdam, Los Angeles and Cleveland, among others. Originally from Chicago, Brown’s principal viola teachers were Martha Strongin Katz, Karen Tuttle, Heidi Castleman, Thomas Riebl and Veronika Hagen and he was deeply influenced by Ferenc Rados and György Kurtág.
The Colburn Conservatory of Music has earned a reputation for producing premier talent in chamber music. In the 20 years since the Conservatory was founded, it has produced the critically acclaimed Calidore Quartet, recognized as one of the world’s foremost interpreters of a vast repertory; the Calder Quartet, winners of the prestigious 2014 Avery Fisher Career Grant, widely known for the commissioning and recording of some of today’s best emerging composers; and the Viano Quartet, currently in residence at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Bowers Program from 2024 to 2027 and First Prize winner at the 2019 Banff International String Quartet Competition.
About the Colburn School
A performing arts institution located in the heart of Los Angeles, the Colburn School trains students from beginners to those about to embark on professional careers. The academic units of the School provide a complete spectrum of music and dance education united by a single philosophy: that all who desire to study music or dance should have access to top-level instruction.
Each year, more than 2,000 students from around the world come to Colburn to benefit from the renowned faculty, exceptional facilities, and focus on excellence that unites the community.
The Colburn School recently broke ground on the Frank Gehry-designed Colburn Center, a multi-faceted campus expansion of the Colburn School. Located across the street from the School’s existing campus at the intersection of Olive and Second Streets, the Colburn Center will enable the School to expand its mission of presenting programs for the public. Gehry’s design includes a 1,000-seat in-the-round concert hall named Terri and Jerry Kohl Hall, five professional-sized dance studios including a 100-seat studio theater, and gardens that bring fresh air and green spaces to the downtown landscape.
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Contact: Lisa Bellamore lbellamore@gmail.com 323-500-3071
Jennifer Kallend jkallend@colburnschool.edu 215-622-6195
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