Colburn’s 2026-27 Season: Guest Conductors and Acclaimed Ensembles Lead LA Performances

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Jane Glover, JoAnn Falletta, and Jonathan Biss headline the Los Angeles institution's upcoming programming.

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Colburn, the world-renowned institute for music and dance, today announced its 2026–27 season of orchestral, chamber, recital and dance performances showcasing the exceptional artistry of Colburn students, many of whom are on the cusp of launching professional careers.

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Presented on the Colburn campus and throughout Los Angeles, performances are free of charge or offered at low cost, reflecting Colburn's commitment to expanding access to the arts for audiences across Los Angeles.

The 2026–27 season marks Colburn's final season before the opening of its transformational 100,000-square-foot campus expansion designed by Frank Gehry which will significantly increase Colburn's world-class training and performance facilities for music and dance. At its heart will be the 1,000-seat Terri and Jerry Kohl Hall, a much-needed in-the-round mid-sized performance space. When completed in fall 2027, the expansion will create the largest concentration of Gehry-designed buildings in the world.

“As Colburn prepares to open its Frank Gehry -designed campus expansion in September 2027, we are poised to enter an inspiring new chapter in our history and reach an important milestone in our evolution on Grand Avenue,” said President and CEO Sel Kardan. “The 2026-27 season continues to showcase our extraordinary students and faculty and welcome acclaimed guest artists from around the world. Our campus expansion will embody the same spirit of excellence, curiosity, and creativity that defines the Colburn experience today.”

Colburn's signature performances return in the 2026-27 season, including the Colburn Orchestra series, featuring the flagship ensemble of Colburn's Conservatory of Music, and the Colburn Chamber Players series, an exploration of chamber music in all its forms, with students performing alongside esteemed faculty and celebrated guest artists. Through Colburn Presents, acclaimed ensembles, soloists, and chamber musicians take the stage for special performances. Music Restored: The Ziering-Conlon Center for Exiled and Suppressed Composers continues its important work shining a light on composers whose lives and careers were destroyed or disrupted by the Nazi regime. The season also features performances by students of the Trudl Zipper Dance Institute, from tap and ballet to jazz and hip-hop.

Distinguished conductors leading the Colburn Orchestra include Mexican conductor, Grammy-winner, and North Carolina Symphony Music Director Carlos Miguel Prieto; British conductor and Music of the Baroque music director Dame Jane Glover; French conductor and Music Director of the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra Ludovic Morlot; Director of Conducting Studies, Distinguished Visiting Faculty at Julliard and former music director of St. Louis Symphony Orchestra David Robertson ; Grammy-winner and Music Director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra JoAnn Falletta; and Music Director of the Colburn Orchestra, Yehuda Gilad.

Salonen Fellow Mert Yalniz will share the podium with Prieto in October to conduct the Colburn Orchestra at The Soraya in a program of Arturo Márquez, Kevin Puts, and Manuel De Falla . Yalniz joined Colburn's Conservatory of Music's Negaunee Conducting Program in 2024. Led by Esa-Pekka Salonen, who holds the Maestro Ernst H. Katz Chair of Conducting Studies, the pre-professional program offers a unique opportunity for a select group of students, known as Salonen Fellows, to refine their craft and prepare for careers on the world's most prestigious stages under Salonen's guidance.

Esteemed faculty and guest artists appearing on the Colburn Chamber Players series include Brentano Quartet cellist Nina Lee; internationally in-demand pianist Jonathan Biss; Professor of Chamber Music for the Colburn Conservatory and renowned violist Jonathan Brown; leading violist and Richard D. Colburn Viola Chair Tatjana Masurenko; Colburn violin and chamber music faculty and former first violin of the world-renowned Tokyo String Quartet Martin Beaver; horn faculty and Principal Horn of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Andrew Bain; percussion faculty and Principal Percussionist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Matthew Howard; Principal Oboe of the San Francisco Symphony and Colburn faculty Eugene Izotov; and Piano Faculty and Carol Colburn Grigor Piano Chair Fabio Bidini.

Colburn Presents showcases performances by some of today's most celebrated soloists, chamber musicians, and ensembles, including a recital by guitarist and Winner of the 2025 Guitar Foundation of America International Concert Artists Competition Virgile Barthe; an immersive performance by cellist Karen Ouzounian and composer/pianist Lembit Beecher; a ViolaPlus recital; a holiday performance by Canadian Brass; a concert featuring Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center; a performance by the Adrian Dunn Singers; a presentation by the Galvin Cello Quartet; an exploration of contemporary music with Esa-Pekka Salonen; a recital by Trio Azura; a recital by pianist Jonathan Biss; and performances by cellist Jaemin Han with pianist and Colburn alumnus David Fung ; violinist Yu-Chien (Benny) Tsang with pianist Orion Weiss; and violinist and Colburn alumna Geneva Lewis with pianist Joshua Mhoon.

A special immersive musical experience, Mayrig: A Mother's Voice, by Karen Ouzounian and Lembit Beecher, explores themes of family, memory, resilience, and identity through the human voice. The work weaves together recordings of Ouzounian's mother and grandmother, Armenian melodies from Anatolia, songs and stories from their post-genocide Lebanese home, and music by Armenian singer-songwriter Charles Aznavour . In collaboration with Ravinia Festival 's Steans Institute.

The Colburn Chamber Players series offers an exploration of chamber music in all its forms, bringing together beloved Colburn Conservatory faculty, outstanding students, celebrated guest artists, and accomplished alumni in a unique meeting of generations.

Colburn Presents

Music Restored: The Ziering-Conlon Center for Exiled and Suppressed Composers is a unique Colburn resource that encourages greater awareness and more frequent performances of music by composers whose careers and lives were tragically cut short by the Nazi regime in Europe.

Music Restored is made possible through the generous support of Marilyn Ziering and the Emma and Adam Zhu Foundation, alongside the many donors who are inspired by this important work.

The Trudl Zipper Dance Institute is dedicated to developing the talent and ambitions of its students, from beginners starting in Youth Dance to aspiring professionals in the Dance Academy.

Students join together to perform in both chamber and larger ensemble settings at the Community School, where students of all ages and skill levels are welcome.

Colburn's Music Academy provides pre-college training essential for exceptional young performers who want to dedicate themselves to music with an eye on becoming a professional.

Tickets are on sale August 5, 2026. For all Colburn School events, reservations and tickets can be secured at colburnschool.edu/calendar . The Colburn School box office can be reached at boxoffice@colburnschool.edu or (213) 621-1050.

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.

In 2024, the Colburn School broke ground on a transformational campus expansion designed by Frank Gehry . Located across the street from the School's existing campus at the intersection of Olive and Second Streets, the building 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 for Terri and Jerry Kohl, 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 expansion will more than double the facilities for the School's Trudl Zipper Dance Institute, creating one of the most comprehensive dance education complexes in Southern California.

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/los-angeles/article/Colburn-to-Launch-2026-27-Season-With-Star-Guest-Conductors-and-Artists-20260610)._