Join us as we confer degrees at the Conservatory of Music's 2023 Commencement. The ceremony will feature a keynote address by violinist and Colburn School alumna Anne Akiko Meyers.
(Friday, April 19, 2024, Los Angeles) – The Colburn School and the American Viola Society today announced the 24 live round competitors for the 2024 Primrose International Viola Competition. The 24 live round competitors were chosen from a pool of 156 applications received during the pre-screening round that closed in January 2024. The 2024 Primrose International Viola Competition will take place at the Colburn School, June 17-22, 2024.
The 24 live round competitors come from all over the world, representing 12 countries. The average age of participants is 24, with the youngest aged 16 and the oldest 30.
“The Primrose Competition is not just a showcase of exceptional talent, but a celebration of the viola’s unique voice, highlighting its depth, richness, and versatility in the world of classical music,” said Colburn School President and CEO Sel Kardan. “We are excited to host the live round competitors at Colburn in collaboration with the American Viola Society, along with hundreds of violists from around the world attending the 2024 American Viola Society Festival. This will be a week filled with inspiring music and celebrations that recognize the next generation of rising stars in classical music.”
“The American Viola Society takes great pride in the remarkable legacy of the Primrose Competition and its laureates, and is honored to co-present this year’s competition with our wonderful partners at the Colburn School,” remarked AVS President Ames Asbell. “Alongside this year’s competition, the AVS is thrilled to present our biennial American Viola Society Festival – a four-day celebration of the viola filled with performances, lectures, workshops, and much more. The combined PIVC and AVS Festival events ensure a can’t-miss experience for violists of all ages.”
Each of the live-round participants will compete in the Quarter-Final Round on June 17 and 18, and eight competitors will advance to the Semi-Final Round, taking place on June 19. During the Quarter-Final Round, competitors will perform works that demonstrate the musical and virtuosic strengths of the competitor, including the performance of one piece for solo viola or for viola and piano by a BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) composer. During the Semi-Final Round, competitors will perform any two contrasting movements of a solo work by Johann Sebastian Bach, a complete major work for viola and piano, and a commissioned work for viola and piano by Nokuthula Ngwenyama written in memory of Dr. David Dalton.
During the first of two Final Rounds, the final three competitors will perform Claude Debussy’s Trio for Flute, Viola and Pedal Harp (1915) on June 21. The following day, June 22, the competitors will perform either Bela Bartók’s Viola Concerto (ed. Serly) or William Walton’s Viola Concerto with orchestra led by Elias Peter Brown, a Salonen Fellow in the Negaunee Conducting Program at the Colburn Conservatory.
The winner will be announced during the awards ceremony held shortly after the June 22 Final Round. The first prize winner will receive $15,000; the second prize winner will receive $10,000; the third prize winner will receive $5,000; the Transcriptions Prize winner will receive $1,000; and the Illumination Prize winner, for best performance of a work by an underrepresented composer demographic, will receive $1,000. The first-prize winner will perform at the 2026 American Viola Society Festival and receive an invitation to the semi-finals of the Concert Artists Guild Competition.
The live round competition jury includes Tim Frederiksen (Jury Chairman, Denmark), Atar Arad (United States, Israel), Cathy Basrak (United States), Ensik Choi (South Korea), Steven Dann (Canada), Ayane Kozasa (United States), and Geraldine Walther (United States). For full biographies, please visit https://www.primrosecompetition.org/2024-jury/.
All live rounds will be streamed on The Violin Channel.
As one of the most renowned string instrument competitions in the world, the Primrose International Viola Competition features the world’s best and most promising young violists. The Competition offers southern California one week of exceptional international competition, exquisite music, and an exhilarating finish. All rounds are open to the public, and audiences can expect to hear a broad survey of the viola repertoire.
The 2024 competition is dedicated to the memory of Dr. David Dalton, who was one of the world’s greatest champions of the viola, and a former student and friend of William Primrose. Dr. Dalton was professor emeritus of viola at Brigham Young University, and earned his B.M. and M.M. degrees in violin at the Eastman School of Music. After meeting William Primrose, he switched to viola and received his doctorate in performance at Indiana University. Dalton collaborated with Primrose in writing his memoir, “Walk on the North Side and Playing the Viola: Conversations with William Primrose” and produced two documentaries, “A Violist’s Legacy,” and “William Primrose, Violist.” Primrose and he were co‐founders of the Primrose International Viola Archive (PIVA) at BYU, the largest and most important repository of materials related to the instrument. Dr. Dalton served as president of the American and International Viola Societies, as well as editor of the Journal of the American Viola Society. In 2013 in Krakow, Poland, the International Viola Society awarded Dr. Dalton the “Golden Viola Clef,” the Society’s highest honor for his distinguished and unique contributions to the viola.
In conjunction with the Primrose International Viola Competition, the American Viola Society will host its 2024 Festival taking place at the Colburn School on June 19-22, 2024. Recital performances, lectures, presentations, masterclasses, youth competitions, and exhibits will be scheduled around the competition Semi-Final and Final rounds. More information is available at americanviolasociety.org/avs-festival.
The Colburn School will also present a performance by celebrated chamber musician, soloist, and Colburn faculty member Tatjana Masurenko on June 20 and a recital by the distinguished members of the Primrose International Viola Competition Jury on June 21.
Founded in 1979 by the American Viola Society as the first international competition solely for violists, the Primrose International Viola Competition is proud of the rich history and legacy of excellence it promotes. For over 40 years, the Competition has continued to attract distinguished jurors and talented participants worldwide, serving as an inspiration to young artists across the globe. The Competition has an international reputation for identifying the talent of tomorrow and is respected for its artistic and professional integrity. Its laureates occupy principal seats of major symphony orchestras, act as professors in major centers of education, and have achieved critical acclaim as international soloists.
For more information about the Primrose Competition, please visit http://www.primrosecompetition.org/.
List of live round competitors:
All ages below as of April 2024.
Please click here to read the bios of each competitor.
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 Center, designed by Frank Gehry, is 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. The Colburn School broke ground on the Colburn Center on April 5, 2024. The completed project will join Gehry’s Walt Disney Concert Hall and The Grand complex to create the largest concentration of buildings designed by the architect in the world.
About the American Viola Society Founded in 1971, the American Viola Society inspires excellence and builds community through viola study, performance, research, composition, and lutherie. The AVS provides support and resources for a global community of violists and viola enthusiasts with online resources, live events, competitions, scholarships, online series, funding opportunities, and the Journal of the American Viola Society.
Contact: Lisa Bellamore lbellamore@gmail.com 323-500-3071
Jennifer Kallend jkallend@colburnschool.edu 215-622-6195
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Ziqi (Flavia) Jin, Cello
Born in Shanghai, China, Ziqi began receiving formal cello lessons when she was 7 years old. She studied at the Music Middle School affiliated with Shanghai Conservatory of Music from 2020 to 2023. She is a Kohl Scholar and has been studying with Clive Greensmith at the Colburn Music Academy since 2023.
She has been a laureate of various music competitions, such as the Melbourne International Piano and Stings Competition, the Bellagrande International Music Competition, the France Music Competition, the Manhattan Music Competition, the Gustav Mahler International Cello Competition, and the Zodiac International Music Competition.
In 2021, Ziqi successfully performed the Davidoff Cello Concerto, Op. 5, No. 1 with the Shanghai Opera House Symphony Orchestra conducted by renowned Chinese conductor Maestro Muhai Tang at Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra Concert Hall with over 1,200 people in attendance. It was the first time that the Davidoff Cello Concerto had been performed publicly with a professional symphony orchestra in China.
She also won a full scholarship for the 26th and 27th Morningside Music Bridge Program held at New England Conservatory. Besides playing the cello, Ziqi likes outdoor sports such as badminton, hiking, and bicycling. She also likes reading and painting.
Caden Lin, Piano
Caden Lin grew up in Los Angeles, California and started learning piano at age of 6. Currently, he is a sophomore in Venice Senior High and he studies with Fabio Bidini, HyeJin Kim, and Rodolfo Leone at Colburn’s Music Academy. He has won first prize in the 2024 Marine Band Concerto Competition in Washington D.C, 2023 Colburn Academy Concerto Competition, 2020 Steinway Virtual Piano Competition (Southern California), Aloha International Piano Competition in Honolulu, Oahu in 2018, and was awarded at the Southwestern Youth Music Festival, Alice Kitchen Memorial Scholarship Competition, and the Los Angeles International Piano Competition in 2016. He was a finalist in NPR’s “From the Top” in 2020 and 2021 for his solo piano as well as piano duo performances. Caden was invited to the 2023 Hilton Head International Junior Piano Competition and 2023 Aarhus International Piano Competition in Denmark.
Also, an active chamber musician, Caden and his piano trio performed at the Thacher School in Ojai for a charitable Kronberg Academy project of the “Quartet of Hope” under the auspices of the ROME foundation Gottingen-Germany. The trio is invited to the Fishoff National Chamber Competition in May 2024. He has participated in masterclasses with Yoheved Kaplinsky, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, and Jerome Rose. Caden has performed in Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York, Orvis Auditorium at University of Hawaii, and he was a soloist in Zipper Hall performing the Mozart Triple Concerto with pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet and the Academy Virtuosi at the 2022 Colburn Gala Concert. He will be performing with the United States President’s Own Marine Chamber Orchestra in Alexandria, Virginia in April 2024. Along with music, Caden enjoys spending time with his friends and exploring nature in the California National Parks.
Margaret Batjer, Director, Academy Virtuosi
Margaret Batjer has served as concertmaster of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra since 1998. She is also renowned as a violin soloist, chamber musician, and teacher, and has established herself as a versatile and respected artist worldwide.
Batjer has appeared as soloist with America’s leading orchestras including the Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Symphony Orchestra, and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Batjer has also performed with leading European ensembles such as the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, the Prague Chamber Orchestra, the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra (of Ireland), Berlin Symphony Orchestra and the Hallé Orchestra. She has performed at many of the great halls across the continents such as La Scala, Carnegie Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, and Suntory Hall.
An esteemed chamber musician, Batjer was a longtime participant at the Marlboro Music Festival, and has often performed on tours with Musicians From Marlboro. Summers have found her performing in the La Jolla SummerFest, the Sarasota Music Festival, Vancouver Chamber Music Festival, Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival and abroad at the Naples, Cremona and the Salzburg Festival.
Ms. Batjer also serves as Director of Chamber Music for the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra establishing two series, Westside Connections and In Focus, over the last decade. Among Batjer’s most noteworthy performances have been traversals of the complete Beethoven and Brahms violin sonata cycles in partnership with pianist Jeffrey Kahane, at Zipper Hall in Los Angeles. Batjer has collaborated with such notables as Chris Thile, Salvatore Accardo, Maurizio Pollini, Radu Lupu, Peter Serkin, Wu Han, and David Finckel. In 2020, she formed the Los Angeles Piano Trio with colleagues pianist, Fabio Bidini and cellist, Andrew Shulman.
Ms. Batjer has had an extensive recording career over the last several decades. Her most recent recording with the LA Chamber Orchestra includes the live premiere of the Pierre Jalbert Violin Concerto, and works by Bach, Pärt, and Vasks released on the BIS label She recorded the Bach Concerto for Two Violins with Salvatore Accardo and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe for the Philips label, and later a 2003 Deutsche Grammophon recording pairing Batjer and Hilary Hahn as soloists with Jeffrey Kahane conducting the LA Chamber Orchestra. She has also made numerous chamber music recordings on the EMI, Nuova Era and BMG labels.
Batjer is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, where she studied with Ivan Galamian and David Cerone. She joined the faculty of the USC, Thornton School of Music in 2005, and the Colburn Music Academy in 2014, where she teaches violin and directs the Academy Virtuosi.
Bio and photo TK
James Birch is a 17-year-old Australian/British violinist. He was born in Sydney, Australia, to an English father and Chinese mother. He began playing the violin at the age of four and a half and piano at five. He relocated to England with his family in 2019 to further his musical studies.
James is currently a full-time student at the Colburn Music Academy in Los Angeles, California, studying with Robert Lipsett. While in England, he was granted an exceptional scholarship to the Junior Guildhall School of Music & Drama. Here, by special arrangement, he studied under the renowned Professor David Takeno, becoming his youngest student. He also studied with So-Ock Kim from the Royal Academy of Music and was mentored by Nicola Benedetti, Rachel Podger, Shlomo Mintz. In Australia, he was a scholar in the Rising Stars program at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, where he studied under Dr. Evgeny Sorkin and was mentored by Simon James.
Competition accolades include the 2019 Zhuhai International Mozart competition, the First Prize at the 2020 London Grand Prize Virtuoso International Music Competition, New Talent Award at the 2021 British International Youth Music Competition & Festival, First Prize Winner at the 2022 ISA Young Musician of the Year, and the Hattori Foundation 2022 and 2023 Junior Award Winner.
A 10th grader at the Stanford Online High School, David started piano lessons at age five. He made his solo debut at the Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall in New York. A student at the Colburn Music Academy, David currently studies with HyeJin Kim. Prior to that, he studied with Dr. Alex McDonald from 2017 to 2021.
Recently, he has received many accolades, such as being selected as one of five finalists in the 2023 Hilton Head International Piano Competition, First Place in the 2022 Piano Star International Competition, Second Place and Best Baroque Prize in the 2022 Spotlight International Piano Competition, First Place in the 2022 Colburn Piano Seminar Competition, and Second Place in the 2022 Edith Knox Performance Competition. He was also the Gold Medalist in the 2021 Vancouver Symphony Orchestra Young Artist Competition, where he made his orchestral debut with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra under Maestro Salvador Brotons in January 2022.
In addition, David was the Junior National winner of the 2021 MTNA Competition and placed first in the 2021 Texas Music Teachers Association Piano Competition, the 2021 Vernell Gregg Young Artists Competition, the 2020 Memphis International Piano Festival and Competition, the 2019 Collin County Young Artists Competition, the 2019 University of Texas Arlington Keyboard Competition, and the 2019 Texas A&M Commerce Youth Piano Competition.
Over the summers, David has attended music camps such as the Texas State International Piano Festival, the Southeastern Piano Festival, and the Colburn Piano Seminar. Besides playing piano, David enjoys playing basketball, video games, and the violin.
The Colburn School is grateful to Terri and Jerry Kohl for their remarkable support of students, faculty, and programming.
PROGRAM INFORMATION
DEBUSSY String Quartet in G Minor, Op. 10, L.91 MOZART Violin Concerto No. 4 in D Major, K. 218 GRANADOS Goyescas, H. 64 FAURE Violin Sonata in A Major, Op. 13, No. 1 MOZART Piano Quartet No. 2 In E-Flat Major, 493
Angie Wang
Angie was born in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, and started studying violin at age six. She went to Kaohsiung St. Paul’s High School and studied violin with C. Nanette Chen. She currently studies with Margaret Batjer at the Colburn Music Academy. In 2018 she won 2nd place in the violin solo, Taiwan National Student Music Competition. She participated in filming the promotion video for Kaohsiung Children’s Summer Mad Art Festival and performed at its press conference. In 2019, she performed with the Salut Taiwan Chamber Ensemble at the New Taipei City Hakka Culture Museum. In 2021, she won a Gold Award in the 7th Singapore Raffles International Music Festival violin solo competition.
Angie was accepted into the Juilliard School, the Colburn Conservatory, the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music, and the New England Conservatory. She plans to attend the Juilliard School on a full-tuition scholarship studying with Catherine Cho.
Muyang Wu
Muyang Wu was born in 2006 and studied at the Music Middle School Affiliated to the Shanghai Conservatory of Music until 2021. Currently, Muyang studies with Margaret Batjer in the Colburn Music Academy as a Kohl Scholar. Muyang has been a prize winner in several awards, including 3rd Prize in the 2019 Zhuhai Mozart Competition and the Special Prize in the Young Artists Award in Singapore Violin Festival Competition. Muyang has performed as a soloist with Salzburg Chamber Orchestra and Shanghai Opera Symphony Orchestra.
Muyang plans to attend the Juilliard School studying with Catherine Cho on a full tuition scholarship.
Samuel Tatsuki
Samuel Tatsuki is a freshman at California School of the Arts in Los Angeles. He started playing the violin at age 4 and switched to viola at age 7 while studying with his mother, Hanna Tatsuki, up until age 12. He currently studies with Michael Larco and studies the Alexander Technique with Eddy Malave.
In the summer of 2022, he attended Boston University’s Tanglewood Institute’s Viola Workshop and the Young Artists Orchestra where he served as principal viola. This summer he will be attending the Perlman Music Program.
He has won numerous prizes for his viola performance, including the Southern California Viola Society Youth Competition, Bach Festival, and the Pasadena Showcase.
In 2021, Sam and his friends co-founded a non-profit organization “ARCK Chamber” that connects musicians to communities that aren’t exposed to live music. In his free time, Sam enjoys listening to music and playing piano.
Mira Kardan
Mira has studied at the Colburn School for 15 years and has been in the Music Academy for the past 4. Mira’s experience at Colburn has been incomparable, and she is so grateful for the lifelong friends she has made, Ms. Batjer’s Virtuosi rehearsals, Mr. Greensmith’s push and pull, and the opportunity to perform with her olives. Mira would especially like to thank her beautiful parents.
Mira will attend The Glenn Gould School of The Royal Conservatory as a recipient of the Temerty Foundation Scholarship, a full-tuition scholarship, to study with Hans Jorgen Jensen and Andres Diaz.
Kailey Yun
Kailey Yun is 17 years old and currently studying with Ms. Margaret Batjer at the Colburn School of Music. Some of her achievements include having the honor of playing as a soloist with the Bellflower Orchestra in 2019, the Southern California Philharmonic in 2020, and the Orchestra Collective of Orange County Orchestra in 2021.
She was a state finalist for the ASTA (American String Teachers’ Association) competition as well as a grand prize winner in the Satori International Summer Music Festival and the Los Angeles International Music competition, among numerous other music awards.
She is the first violinist of the Evie Quartet, the recipient of the first prize and grand prize of the 10th Annual Coltman National Chamber Music Competition in 2023 as well as the bronze medal in the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. She is actively participating in the Honors Chamber Music program at Colburn under the guidance of Moni Simeonov. The Evie Quartet received master classes from names such as Midori, Teng Li, Andrew Shulman, and Philip Setzer.
The Evie Quartet will be broadcast on KMFA 89.5 and perform in the Lincoln Center in New York in 2024.
Kailey will attend the University of Southern California in the Fall 2024.
Lindsey Yang
18-year-old Lindsey Yang began her study at the age of five and is currently studying with Professor Fabio Bidini and Hyejin Kim. She has won prizes and made appearances in various competitions, including the Cooper International Competition, Hilton Head International Competition, and Gina Bachauer Junior International Competition, among others.
Lindsey took part in the concerti-focused masterclasses with LA Opera Music Director Maestro James Conlon at the 2022 Colburn Piano Seminar and has participated in masterclasses with renowned pianists, including Yoheved Kaplinsky, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Ilana Vered, and Douglas Humphreys.
Lindsey plans to attend a Conservatory in the Fall 2024.
James Birch
Henry Woodruff
16-year-old violist Henry Woodruff was born and raised in Solvang, California, and just finished his freshman year of high school at the Colburn Music Academy. When he was three years old, he began studies on the piano and on the violin under his mother, Mary Beth Rhodes-Woodruff. He attended Suzuki festivals in Utah, Colorado, and California and was a prize winner, on piano, at the Southern California Bach Festival. As he continued his studies, he began to show a particular interest in and love for the viola. At the age of 14, he switched to the viola and began studies at the Colburn Music Academy, in the studio of Teng Li.
Beyond music, Henry has a number of hobbies and interests. He loves to play tennis, has a fascination with treehouses, and enjoys nothing more than a good piece of filet mignon. He attended summer festivals of the Interlochen Center for the Arts, the Tanglewood Institute, and the Westmont Academy for Young Artists. He has performed in masterclass for Ray Chen, Leila Josefowicz, Steven Ansell, Fabio Bidini, Julia Fischer, and members of ‘A Far Cry’. He has served as principal violist of Santa Barbara Strings, a string orchestra and chamber music training program in Central California. He has been a scholarship recipient from the Interlochen Center for the Arts, the Tanglewood Institute, the Colburn School, and the Santa Barbara Music Club. As Henry looks towards the future, he has ambitious goals for his career as a violist and hopes to continue his studies at a top conservatory to pursue a career as soloist, chamber, and orchestral musician.
Shinah (Sheena) Youn
Shinah is an 11th grader at the Colburn School Music Academy and studies with Clive Greensmith. Shinah made her solo concert debut at age 13 at a Prodigy Series Concert sponsored by the Kumho Asiana Cultural Foundation. At age nine, Shinah made her orchestral debut with the Seoul Orchestra, the Prime Philharmonic Orchestra, and the New Jersey Camerata Orchestra. Shinah also won 1st Prize at numerous prestigious International Competitions in Korea and the U.S.
David Choi
At the Colburn School, we are proud to offer over $9 million of scholarship support annually for more than 900 students from the Community School of Performing Arts, the Conservatory of Music, the Trudl Zipper Dance Institute, and the Music Academy. This is made possible in partnership with our generous donor community, whose philanthropy pays for over 75% of the Colburn experience.
The Music Academy is proud to award approximately $400,000 in scholarships each year to more than half of our enrolled students, with awards ranging from $2,000 to $32,750. In lieu of a ticket cost for this evening, which was generously underwritten by Terri and Jerry Kohl, together, we ask you to make a contribution to increase our scholarship fund for the incoming class of Music Academy students.
Make my gift
On a Saturday in February, Ismerai Calcaneo Lopez, a junior at Roosevelt High School and saxophone student at the Colburn Community School of Performing Arts (CSPA), joined a group of friends to clean out a garage as an odd job. There was nothing out of the ordinary about the afternoon, until she received a text message saying, “Congrats! You’re going to the Oscars.”
Calcaneo Lopez was one of several Colburn students featured in The Last Repair Shop, which won this year’s Academy Award for Best Documentary—Short Film. Community School students Dominic An, Genesis Garay, Esteban Lindo, and Amanda Nova were also featured in the film.
“I’m still amazed,” she says. “I remember being a fifth grader in the rooms of Colburn and Dr. John Hallberg teaching me ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb,’ and then here I was at the Academy Awards. It was crazy.”
The Last Repair Shop was directed and produced by Kris Bowers and Ben Proudfoot, and co-distributed by LA Times Studios and Searchlight. It tells the story of four employees of the Los Angeles Unified School District’s (LAUSD) musical instrument repair program. For 65 years, LAUSD artisan technicians have repaired thousands of horns, violins, cellos, woodwinds, percussion instruments, pianos, and more, all at no cost to students. Bowers, a CSPA alum and Grammy-nominated composer and pianist, was one of those students.
“I spent every moment I could with the school’s piano. There, I found a safe place, and I found my voice. Those were the foundational moments that propelled me into the school band. To Juilliard. To the Oscars,” he penned in a letter to The Los Angeles Times last November. “The one person I never got to meet was the man who tuned that school piano.”
That changed when he and Proudfoot met the shop’s supervisor, Steve Bagmanyan, to discuss their project. It turns out, Bagmanyan was that piano tuner years ago.
“When I stepped inside the Los Angeles Unified School District’s central instrument shop four years ago, I was surrounded by incredible cinematic imagery: cascading ribbons of sawdust, blazing torches soldering brass, the grand choreography of the thousands of tiny pieces that magically coalesce inside a piano. I expected that. But what I didn’t expect was that every one of the technicians’ life stories would break my heart and put it back together again,” Bowers wrote.
Indeed, the filmmakers discovered music has impacted each technician’s life in profound and personal ways. And now, they find satisfaction by enabling new generations of artists to experience the myriad benefits of playing an instrument. The Last Repair Shop delivers on that note, too.
“I‘ve always been a kid who gets distracted easily,” says Calcaneo Lopez, who has been attending Colburn for seven years. “When I got the opportunity to play the alto sax, I had something to focus on. I learned time management. I learned more discipline. When playing music, you have to be on time, be presentable, and do the best you can.”
“Music is a big part of my life. I listen to it every day and it helps me get through my life. It also makes me feel like I’m part of a community,” adds Dominic An, a Community School violin student who was also featured in the documentary.
The Colburn students in the documentary were recommended by Susan Cook, Dean of the Community School. They auditioned for Bowers and Proudfoot via Zoom during the pandemic. Months later some of them received an invitation to be interviewed and filmed in Colburn’s Zipper Hall. Months after that, they were asked to perform with the LAUSD Alumni band to record a song written by Bowers for the film’s score.
“That was a wonderful experience, to interact with the composer and be a part of history,” says An.
Of course, one of the pinnacle moments for Calcaneo Lopez was attending the 96th Academy Awards ceremony on March 10th. While most stars arrive at the event via limousines, she and the other cast members drove up to the red carpet in a traditional yellow school bus.
“We were representing who we are. We were representing our community and what the film meant to us,” says Calcaneo Lopez.
And for this saxophonist, being a part of The Last Repair Shop has meant gaining a greater respect for the people music has brought into her life.
“The whole experience helped me see Colburn School from another point of view,” she explains. “I’m grateful Colburn is not just a music school, but a family you create.”
The Last Repair Shop is available for viewing on Disney+ and at latimes.com .
Lee Secard, Chair, Colburn Jazz Workshop, and Dr. Walter Simonsen, Assistant Director, Big Band, lead three of the Community School’s jazz ensembles in a concert at the Catalina Jazz Club.
Salonen Conducting Fellow Aleksandra Melaniuk conducts students of the Colburn Conservatory in a program of 20th century works inspired by folk music. Featuring Khatchaturian's Violin Concerto, performed by Alena Hove, and Kodaly's Dances of Galánta.
KHATCHATURIAN Violin Concerto KODÀLY Dances of Galánta
(Monday, February 12, Los Angeles) – The Board of Directors of the Colburn School announces the election of four new board members: Bethany Coffee, Linda Curtis, Juan Carlos Gonzalez, and Allan Marks.
Chaired by Andrew Millstein, the Colburn Board of Directors supports the School’s mission to provide the highest quality music and dance education at all levels of development and provide access to the performing arts. “It is an incredibly rewarding experience to serve as Chairman of Colburn School’s Board of Directors and observe the transformative impact that the Colburn School has on students and the community. Guided by the principle of ‘access to excellence’ Colburn provides the finest faculty and robust scholarship support to students, as well as active community engagement programs and a busy schedule of performances,” says Millstein. “We are truly privileged to welcome our newest Board members—Bethany Coffee, Linda Curtis, Juan Carlos Gonzalez, and Allan Marks—who share our passionate commitment to ensuring the performing arts are accessible to all.”
An internationally renowned performing arts school located in the cultural corridor of downtown Los Angeles, The Colburn School provides the highest quality music and dance education to students at all levels of development, from children as young as 7 months old to those about to embark on professional careers. Each year, 2,000 students from around the world study in one of the School’s four academic units—the Community School of Performing Arts, Conservatory of Music, Music Academy, and Trudl Zipper Dance Institute. Serving all units of the School, the Center for Innovation and Community Impact prepares students for sustainable careers and nurtures the passion and ability to serve their communities. Performances in the community and on campus develop young artists and welcome audiences with over 350 free and low-cost performances annually.
Bethany Coffee has worked in the healthcare industry for over 20 years. She served as Director of Therapy Rehabilitation in addition to her own business as an occupational therapist to address not only the physical needs of people but also their emotional and psychological well-being. During her career she implemented several new programs in the workplace. Bethany has been a part of the Colburn community for nine years. Her two children attend classes at Colburn, one in music and one in ballet. Bethany has been a part of several programs during that time including musical theater, instrumental, vocal training, dance, among others. She personally shares that Colburn has changed the direction of her family’s lives, and that she is fiercely committed to this close-knit community. She has been a board member of Kusewera, a nonprofit that empowers and educates children through active and creative play programs, since 2012. As a member of the board, Bethany has planned fundraising events, developed new programs, such as the Girl Power Initiative, and hosted events promoting the organization’s mission.
Linda Curtis is a partner in Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP in Los Angeles. She is co-chair of the firm’s Global Finance Practice Group. Her practice focuses on all aspects of corporate finance, including leveraged financings—with a specific focus in recent years on acquisition financings, real estate financings, and investment fund financings. She also represents clients in debt capital markets transactions and has experience in debt restructurings. Linda’s clients include public and private companies in a variety of industries, private equity funds, and commercial lenders. In 1987, Linda received her Juris Doctor from Stanford Law School and her Master of Business Administration degree from Stanford Business School. Prior to her graduate work at Stanford, Linda received a Bachelor of Arts in Jurisprudence from Oxford University, and an A.B. in public affairs/economics from Princeton University. After graduating from Stanford, she clerked for the Honorable Robert F. Peckham, who was then Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. In addition to her support of the Colburn School, Linda has supported the San Francisco Symphony and New Village Academy. Linda and her husband have five children, who all attended Colburn’s Community School.
Juan Carlos Gonzalez is a bilingual licensed attorney in California and a veteran neutral in Labor Relations since 2000. As a Commissioner of Mediation for the Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service from 2000 to 2012, Juan Carlos mediated over 600 cases mediating collective bargaining contract negotiations, initial contracts, strikes, lockouts, grievances, EEOC charges, and supervisor discipline cases. From 2012 to the present, Juan Carlos has served as a Labor Arbitrator sitting on various panels in the hotel/stadium, college education, entertainment, and medical industries as well as a member of the National Academy of Arbitrators. Juan Carlos was Executive Director of the Southern California Labor & Employment Relations Association (LERA) from 2019 to 2022 as well as President of Orange County LERA in 2016 and a board member from 2014-2019. Since 2019, Juan Carlos has been the President of the Rafael and Luisa De Marchena-Huyke Foundation providing funds to support various initiatives such as inner-city youth access to education, music and the arts and resources for the poor. Juan Carlos has an LLM in Tax Law and a master’s degree in Psychology. He has also been an adjunct professor for the Straus Institute of Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine Law School and California State University Fullerton, teaching mediation and labor relations.
Allan Marks is an attorney and partner at Milbank LLP, based in Los Angeles. He advises developers, sponsors, banks, institutional investors, private equity and infrastructure funds, and corporations on a range of complex transactions. He covers project development, construction and finance, joint ventures and acquisitions, capital markets transactions, acquisitions, and restructurings. He has worked on energy and infrastructure projects around the world, with special expertise in power and renewable energy, water, transportation, biofuels, telecommunications, airports, rail, and ports. Allan created and hosts the Law, Policy & Markets podcast and speaks and publishes frequently on risk management, sustainability, infrastructure, renewable energy, cross-border transactions, public-private partnerships, and economic and regulatory policy. He is a regular contributor to Forbes and served as an editorial board member of Law360 for Project Finance. Allan is ranked as one of the world’s leading project finance lawyers by Chambers, the IFLR1000, and other legal publications and was named one of California’s “Top 50 Development Lawyers” by the Daily Journal. Allan also serves as an Adjunct Lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley, both at the Law School and (previously) the Haas School of Business. He is a member of the Pacific Council on International Policy and was the founding co-chair of the State Bar of California Real Estate Sub-Section on Public-Private Infrastructure. Allan has served on various nonprofit and civic boards and currently serves as a director of Street Symphony, among other organizations, and as a member of the Executive Leadership Board of MoveLA. Allan earned his J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley Law School and his B.A. in International Studies from The Johns Hopkins University.
Please click here for a complete list of members of Colburn School’s Board of Directors.
The diploma- and degree-granting Conservatory of Music is distinguished by a unique all-scholarship model, renowned faculty, and outstanding performance opportunities. It prepares the very highest level of collegiate musicians for professional careers.
The Music Academy is a highly selective training program for gifted young pre-collegiate musicians, designed to prepare students for conservatory study and performing careers at the highest levels of achievement. This program offers residential options and balances performance, musical instruction, and academics.
The Community School of Performing Arts welcomes students of all ages, from seven months old to adults. It offers more than 120 classes each year in orchestral instruments, piano, guitar, voice, jazz, music theory, drama, and ensembles including orchestra, choir, and chamber music.
The Trudl Zipper Dance Institute develops performers of all levels, from aspiring professionals in the Dance Academy to beginners starting in Youth Dance. Students of all levels receive training in ballet, tap, musical theater, and modern genres as part of a comprehensive dance education.
Created to serve all units of the School, the Center for Innovation and Community Impact empowers the musical and dance leaders of tomorrow by nurturing students’ passion and ability to serve their communities, preparing them for sustainable careers, and embracing the development of new ideas. The Center embodies Colburn’s commitment to developing young artists with the curiosity, skills, and commitment to make a difference in their field.
The Colburn Center, designed by Frank Gehry, is 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
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