Students from the Colburn School’s School of Dance and students from the School of Music performed at the groundbreaking ceremony. The Colburn School, an internationally renowned school for music, dance education and performance, broke ground on Friday, April 5, 2024, on a 100,000-square-foot Frank Gehry-designed renovation and expansion. The new building, known as the Colburn Center, will be located near the Colburn Grand Avenue campus in downtown Los Angeles. Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
On Friday, April 5, the Colburn School of Performing Arts broke ground on a 100,000-square-foot campus expansion designed by renowned architect Frank Gehry in downtown Los Angeles. during a celebration featuring student brass musicians and tap dancers.
The new Colburn Center complex will include a 1,000-seat concert hall, four professional-sized dance studios and a 100-seat studio theater. It will be located on Bunker Hill, adding to Los Angeles’ already vibrant cultural and arts district, which is home to another Gehry-designed landmark, the famed Walt Disney Concert Hall.
“We have long dreamed of providing a larger performance venue for our (program) because performance is truly the pinnacle of the educational experience,” Sel Kardan, principal and CEO of Colburn School explain. “It will provide a larger platform and space for our students to experiment, learn, rehearse, perform, but it is also a space for the community.”
Colburn School has approximately 2,000 students ranging in age from early childhood to high school. The youngest students strengthen their motor skills through Music Movement classes, while older students study a variety of performing arts subjects such as string instruments and drama.
Cardin said the Colburn Center is expected to be substantially complete by early 2027, and the school hopes to host performances in the new venue during the 2027-28 school year. The complex will be “a vibrant space from morning to night,” he said.
“You can see the idea of interaction between performers and audience, and there are some very unique features,” Cardin said of Gehry’s design for the complex.
The Colburn School, an internationally renowned school for music, dance education and performance, broke ground on Friday, April 5, 2024, on a 100,000-square-foot Frank Gehry-designed renovation and expansion. The new building, known as the Colburn Center, will be located near the Colburn Grand Avenue campus in downtown Los Angeles. Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Colburn School Principal and CEO Sel Kardan spoke to guests at the groundbreaking ceremony. The Colburn School, an internationally renowned school for music, dance education and performance, broke ground on Friday, April 5, 2024, on a 100,000-square-foot Frank Gehry-designed renovation and expansion. The new building, known as the Colburn Center, will be located near the Colburn Grand Avenue campus in downtown Los Angeles. Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
The Colburn School, an internationally renowned school for music, dance education and performance, broke ground on Friday, April 5, 2024, on a 100,000-square-foot Frank Gehry-designed renovation and expansion. The new building, known as the Colburn Center, will be located near the Colburn Grand Avenue campus in downtown Los Angeles. Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Colburn School Principal and CEO Sel Kardan addressed the audience at the groundbreaking ceremony. The Colburn School, an internationally renowned school for music, dance education and performance, broke ground on Friday, April 5, 2024, on a 100,000-square-foot Frank Gehry-designed renovation and expansion. The new building, known as the Colburn Center, will be located near the Colburn Grand Avenue campus in downtown Los Angeles. Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Carol Colburn Grigor, life chair emeritus of the Colburn School Board, addressed the audience at the groundbreaking ceremony. The Colburn School, an internationally renowned school for music, dance education and performance, broke ground on Friday, April 5, 2024, on a 100,000-square-foot Frank Gehry-designed renovation and expansion. The new building, known as the Colburn Center, will be located near the Colburn Grand Avenue campus in downtown Los Angeles. Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
The Colburn School of Music Drum Band, directed by Aleksandra Melaniuk, performed at the groundbreaking ceremony. The Colburn School, an internationally renowned school for music, dance education and performance, broke ground on Friday, April 5, 2024, on a 100,000-square-foot Frank Gehry-designed renovation and expansion. The new building, known as the Colburn Center, will be located near the Colburn Grand Avenue campus in downtown Los Angeles. Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Colburn School Board Chairman Andrew Milstein addressed the audience at the groundbreaking ceremony. The Colburn School, an internationally renowned school for music, dance education and performance, broke ground on Friday, April 5, 2024, on a 100,000-square-foot Frank Gehry-designed renovation and expansion. The new building, known as the Colburn Center, will be located near the Colburn Grand Avenue campus in downtown Los Angeles. Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Philanthropist Jerry Cole addressed the audience at the groundbreaking ceremony. The Colburn School, an internationally renowned school for music, dance education and performance, broke ground on Friday, April 5, 2024, on a 100,000-square-foot Frank Gehry-designed renovation and expansion. The new building, known as the Colburn Center, will be located near the Colburn Grand Avenue campus in downtown Los Angeles. Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
The Grand, a $1 billion mixed-use development designed by Frank Gehry in downtown Los Angeles, will include 176,000 square feet of retail and a 20-story, 309-room hotel, as well as 12,000 square feet of meeting space and banquet hall. Another 27,000 square feet will house restaurants, lounges and other amenities. (Photo provided by Shanda)
A view from the stage of the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, 2003, from under an acoustic sphere designed by Frank Gehry. (Photo by Robert Millard)
New children’s college Watts campus designed by Frank Gehry. (Courtesy of Children’s Research Institute)
The Seattle Monorail passes through a tunnel through the Frank Gehry-designed Museum of Pop Culture. (Photo by David Allen)
These features include a wall-hung seating structure called a “floating balcony” and a cloud-like sculpture that rises to the concert hall’s ceiling.
The project will also include rooftop gardens, outdoor plazas and access to nearby public transport stations. The Colburn Center will face the Grand Avenue Arts/Bunker Hill bus stop instead of Grand Avenue, encouraging people to use the subway.
Colburn officials said the school’s $400 million fundraising campaign has raised about $315 million for the project, led by donations from Pasadena philanthropists Terri and Jerry Kohl, whose fortune comes from popular jewelry and accessories businesses Brighton Collectibles. Jerry Kohl founded the company in 1991 and is headquartered in City of Industry.
The expanded 1,000-seat concert hall will be decorated with the Cole brothers’ names.
Cardin said breaking ground is an exciting step toward completion of the project.
“It was a wonderful event with so many friends and leaders of Los Angeles’ cultural institutions,” Cardin said. “So, it’s not only a celebration of this new building, but it’s also a celebration of art and arts education in Los Angeles.”
“This is an exciting contribution to the cultural and civic life of downtown Los Angeles,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement. “Colburn is committed to making education accessible to youth of all ages. “Through programs like this and Colburn’s commitment, Grand Avenue will continue to develop into a vibrant cultural district while creating more opportunities to work with established local and touring artists.”