The Colburn School, Los Angeles’ prestigious music and dance conservatory, has received a $16.6 million gift from The Negaunee Foundation to endow in perpetuity the Negaunee Conducting Program.
The program is led by acclaimed composer and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen, the San Francisco Symphony’s outgoing music director, who holds the Maestro Ernst H. Katz Chair of Conducting Studies at Colburn. The gift is the largest ever made to a California institution by the Illinois-based foundation.
“The Colburn School is honored to receive [this] transformative $16.6 million gift,” said Colburn President and CEO Sel Kardan. “[The Negaunee Conducting Program] ensures that aspiring conductors receive exceptional training and mentorship, both academically and through real-world experiences.”
Established in 2018, the program, under Salonen’s guidance, enables a small group of students, known as Salonen Fellows, to nurture their craft and prepare for careers on the world’s most prestigious stages. Mert Yalniz, a Turkish-German conductor, pianist, and composer, has been selected as a 2024–2025 fellow, joining current fellow Aleksandra Melaniuk.
In the coming season, fellows will collaborate with, among others, the San Francisco Symphony, the Orchestre de Paris, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Additionally, fellows have worked with the New York Philharmonic, the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, London’s Philharmonia Orchestra, the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the Berlin Philharmonic.
“For generations, artists and artisans have learned through apprenticeship, committing themselves to their craft for years at a time in order to learn through direct experience and mentorship,” said Salonen. “In doing so, they become part of a lineage of masters, each with their own schools of thought and repertoire of techniques. Those distinct artistic lineages in turn ensure a diversity of expression, and with it an assurance that their field remains in a constant state of vibrant evolution. The conservatory is one of the few places where this sort of artistic mentorship is still possible, and it was something that absolutely shaped me in my youth and continues to guide me today.”
Colburn will also become the home for Salonen’s extensive score collection, which includes more than 1,400 annotated orchestral scores from his career, including works by contemporary composers and his original compositions.
On campus, the fellows study directly with Salonen and serve as preparatory conductors for the conservatory’s flagship Colburn Orchestra. They also conduct and curate programs for the Zipper Outreach Orchestra, Colburn’s ensemble for its community engagement activities, and the Concerto Forum, an annual public concert that features soloists from the conservatory. In keeping with the Colburn Conservatory model, fellows receive full scholarships to cover tuition, room, and board.
Yalniz and Melaniuk — the latter appearing on the Colburn Orchestra’s season-opening program on Sept. 28, conducting Richard Wagner’s Prelude to Tristan and Isolde — serve as members of the SF Symphony conducting staff as well. The two are also on the roster of Colburn Artists, a unique in-house management program for Colburn students on the cusp of professional careers.
