access to excellence

Located in the cultural corridor of downtown Los Angeles, the Colburn School provides the highest quality music and dance education to 2,000 students in a typical year. The School’s founding principle of “access to excellence” provides a performance-centered education with unparalleled faculty and facilities for all stages of development. Robust scholarship support for students levels the playing field in arts education.

Units Of The Colburn School

Community School of Performing Arts

From humble beginnings as a small music preparatory school, the Community School of Performing Arts now serves approximately 1,700 students and offers private lessons and group instruction in classical music, jazz, drama, and music theory, as well as early childhood classes.

Conservatory of Music

The diploma- and degree-granting Conservatory of Music is distinguished by a unique all-scholarship model, renowned faculty, and outstanding performance opportunities. It prepares the very highest level of collegiate musicians for professional careers.

Music Academy

The Music Academy offers pre-collegiate students a conservatory-style experience, balancing performance, musical instruction, and academics. Now in its second decade, the Music Academy has quickly developed an international reputation for developing young talent during students’ most formative years.

Trudl Zipper Dance Institute

The Trudl Zipper Dance Institute nurtures younger students through the Youth Dance program, as well as more seasoned pre-professional dancers in the Dance Academy. In addition to performance, the curriculum includes opportunities to learn about dance history, choreography, artistic inquiry, and more.

Center for Innovation and Community Impact

Created to serve all units of the School, the Center for Innovation and Community Impact empowers the music and dance leaders of tomorrow by nurturing students’ passion and ability to serve their communities, preparing them for sustainable careers, and embracing the development of new ideas. The Center for Innovation and Community Impact embodies Colburn’s commitment to developing young artists with the curiosity, skills, and desire to make a difference in their field.