This classical music concert collaboration between LA Opera Music Director James Conlon and musicians from the Colburn School explores masterworks of the classical repertoire from the Czech Republic, including Bohuslav Martinů's Three Madrigals for Violin and Viola, H. 313, Leos Janacek's String Quartet No. 2 (Intimate Letters), and Antonin Dvorak's String Quartet No. 13 in G Major, Op. 106.

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James Conlon is an esteemed and influential conductor whose work has shaped classical music life in the United States and Europe for more than five decades. Since his debut with the New York Philharmonic in 1974, he has led nearly every major American and European orchestra and appeared at many of the world’s leading opera houses. Through extensive touring, recordings, writings, and public lectures, he has become a prominent voice in the broader cultural conversation about music.

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Conlon serves as Music Director of LA Opera through the end of his 20th season in June 2026, by which time he will have conducted approximately 525 performances; he then becomes Conductor Laureate. He previously held leadership posts as Music Director of the Ravinia Festival, summer home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (2005–2015), and the Cincinnati May Festival (1979–2016). Since his 1976 debut, he has led more than 270 performances at the Metropolitan Opera. He was Principal Conductor of the Paris National Opera from 1995-2004, Music Director of the Gûrzenich Orchestra and Cologne Opera (1989-2002) and the Rotterdam Philharmonic 1983-1991, and Principal Conductor of the RAI National Symphony Orchestra (2016-2020).

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A noted advocate for composers suppressed by the Nazi regime, Conlon is also a champion of public scholarship and cultural institutions as forums for civic dialogue. His many honors include four Grammy Awards, France’s Légion d’Honneur, Italy’s Commendatore of the Order of Merit, and Austria’s Cross of Honor for Science and Art.
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The Colburn School’s philosophy is 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, unparalleled facilities, and focus on excellence that unites the community. Colburn traces its beginnings to a small preparatory school established by the University of Southern California in 1950 which offered piano lessons to school-aged children. In 1980, Richard D. Colburn’s California Foundation re-envisioned the school to further its efforts as an independent, not-for-profit institution. This created the Colburn Community School for Performing Arts, which ensured that children and adults throughout Los Angeles had an opportunity for exemplary performing arts education.

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The Colburn Conservatory of Music was created in 2003 with a unique all-scholarship model, attracting the highest level of talent from around the world. Each student is admitted on the basis of talent and potential alone, and given full scholarship for tuition, room, and board. Conservatory students graduate debt-free and ready to embark on professional careers. In 2010, The Colburn Music Academy was established as 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.