Artist’s rendering of the interior of the concert hall at the Colburn School in Los Angeles. Image courtesy of Frank O. Gehry & Gehry Partners.
In Wednesday’s (8/14) Violin Channel, an unsigned report states, “Los Angeles’ Colburn School has received a $16.6 million gift in perpetuity from The Negaunee Foundation to endow the Negaunee Conducting Program. The program is led by renowned composer and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen, who is Colburn School’s Chair of Conducting Studies. This is the largest gift ever made to a California institution by The Negaunee Foundation. The funding will support the continuity of the Negaunee Conducting Program, which was founded in 2018 to provide a select group of students known as Salonen Fellows to prepare for international careers with Salonen’s direct mentorship. Additionally, Mert Yalniz has been selected as a 2024/25 Salonen Fellow, joining current Fellow Aleksandra Melaniuk, as well as the roster of Colburn Artists—an in-house management program for Colburn students beginning their professional careers…. The Colburn School will now house and make available to its fellows and students Salonen’s extensive score collection, which includes over 1,400 annotated orchestra scores from his career, including works by contemporary composers and his original compositions.”
In March, the Negaunee Foundation made a $21 million gift to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association. One of the largest commitments in the CSOA’s history, the gift builds on decades of giving by the Negaunee Foundation to support long-term financial stability for CSOA programs including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Chicago Symphony Chorus, Negaunee Music Institute, and Symphony Center Presents.
