FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Catherine Babcock or ;

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1 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Catherine Babcock or ; JAMES CONLON TO CONDUCT THE COLBURN ORCHESTRA IN MENAHEM PRESSLER S DEBUT AS SOLOIST AT WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL SUNDAY, APRIL 27, 2014 at 6:30 p.m. GALA DINNER FOLLOWS ON THE PLAZA OF THE COLBURN SCHOOL HONORING MARILYN ZIERING, MENAHEM PRESSLER AND WELLS FARGO Colburn Celebrates Courage, The Colburn School s annual gala, will be held on Sunday, April 27, 2014 at 6:30 p.m. Sel Kardan, Colburn s President and CEO announced that this year s event honors a trio of courageous leaders who represent the values of our founder, Richard D. Colburn and the entire School community. The Colburn School will honor legendary pianist Menahem Pressler for his irrepressible spirit and artistic excellence, philanthropist Marilyn Ziering for her passionate commitment to bringing to light music suppressed by the Third Reich at both LA Opera and the Colburn School, and Wells Fargo for their pioneering corporate philanthropy in Southern California. For the celebrations, Mr. Pressler, 90, will make his Walt Disney Concert Hall debut, with James Conlon conducting the Colburn Conservatory Orchestra in Mozart s Piano Concerto No. 17 in G major. The concert concludes with The Mermaid by Austrian composer Alexander Zemlinsky, a work that has great significance in James Conlon s Recovered Voices mission, both at LA Opera and at the Colburn School. The performance is part of the Los Angeles Philharmonic s Sounds About Town series. The musical program will be followed by a gala celebration dinner for patrons on the Plaza of The Colburn School. It is a particular pleasure for me to lead the Colburn Orchestra in Alexander Zemlinsky s Die Seejungfrau (The Mermaid) on this important occasion, James Conlon remarked. This is among core works of my mission, an endeavor that has been immeasurably enhanced by Marilyn Ziering. We honor her at this event for her constancy and commitment, which has made possible The Ziering-Conlon Initiative at The Colburn School. That we are joined on the program by

2 Menahem Pressler, one of world s most accomplished and revered musicians, and a friend and colleague of many years, adds immeasurably to the occasion. It is my hope that our performance of Zemlinsky s great tone poem will make the point more eloquently than words ever can; that the music of composers of two generations is deserving of its place on the world s concert stages. With these works in the hands, ears and hearts of The Colburn Conservatory s brilliant young musicians, the future is more assured that this music will find that place. Gala Co-chairs Carol Grigor and Andrew Millstein added, We are pleased that as the Colburn School celebrates courage, it does so by honoring two outstanding individuals and one vibrant community leader, all of whom have been devoted to music and musical education, and the impact both make in society. Mr. Pressler has stated, It is not only an honor but a privilege for me to come to The Colburn School, a school that has always stood for the best in music. It is for me, who has dedicated a long life to music, to be making my debut in Walt Disney Concert Hall in the name of this great school, a privilege that I m thrilled should happen to me. To everyone concerned with Colburn, from the founder, Richard Colburn, to the administration it now has, I thank everyone for being so wonderful to all the young people and to an old man such as myself. Marilyn Zeiring writes, "I am honored by this recognition from The Colburn School. Music and justice have been common threads in my commitment to the life of my community and the Recovered Voices Initiative brings those two threads together recognizing lost voices and introducing talented students to musical repertoire that has been little recognized. It is also an honor for me to be recognized with Mr. Pressler and Wells Fargo both of whom have been pillars in what they bring to the spirits of the audiences they serve so well. Jonathan Weedman, Senior Vice President: Wells Fargo is so proud to partner with the Colburn School and we are incredibly honored to be recognized for our work in the community. The Colburn School is one of those remarkable institutions that do so much to serve and enrich our community. We look forward to our continuing partnership and encourage others to get involved as well. The Colburn Celebrate Courage Gala proceeds will fund scholarships and performance opportunities for students throughout the Colburn community. Patron table prices range from $10,000 to $100,000. Individual tickets begin at $1,000 to $10,000 each.

3 For table and ticket information, please or telephone Concert Tickets price range from $17.50 to $45 and are available at: Photo by Steve Cohn Marilyn Zeiring is retired from her three-decade position as Senior Vice President of Diagnostic Products Corporation, a company she founded with her late husband Sigi Ziering. She is the founding President of the Women s Group at the Friends of Sheba Medical Center where she received the Woman of Achievement Award. As an active member of Temple Beth Am, she has chaired the Capital Campaign, served on the Board of Directors, was inducted into the Hall of Honor and she and her late husband are founders of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, served on the board of the Venice Family Clinic and is Chair Emeritus of the Board of Directors at the American Jewish University, where she spearheaded the creation of the Sigi Ziering Institute; a program that explores the ethical and religious implications of the Holocaust. She currently serves on the Board of the Los Angeles Opera where she endowed Recovered Voices; a multi-year project to perform the music of composers whose work was suppressed by the Nazis. In 2012 she received a Treasures of Los Angeles award from the Central City Association for bringing Recovered Voices to the stage of the Los Angeles Opera. She is the President of the Ziering Family Foundation and was recently honored in Israel by Chaim Sheba Medical Center for her support of the Sigi and Marilyn Ziering National Center for Newborn Screening; a program that will test every baby born in Israel for treatable genetic diseases, regardless of race or religion. She also serves on the Board of the American Friends of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and on the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

4 After earning her Master s degree from Syracuse University, she began her professional career as a speech pathologist at the Syracuse Cerebral Palsy Clinic. In 2005 she was honored with a Doctor of Humane Letters Honoris causa from the American Jewish University. Her greatest achievement to date, she asserts, is her four children and nine grandchildren. Photo by Marco Borggreve Menahem Pressler, founding member and pianist of the Beaux Arts Trio, has established himself among the world s most distinguished and honored musicians, with a career that spans almost six decades. Now, at 90 years old, he continues to captivate audiences throughout the world as performer and pedagogue, performing solo and chamber music recitals to great critical acclaim while maintaining a dedicated and robust teaching career. Born in Magdeburg, Germany in 1923, Pressler fled Nazi Germany in 1939 and emigrated to Israel. Pressler s world-renowned career was launched after he was awarded first prize at the Debussy International Piano Competition in San Francisco in This was followed by his successful American debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Eugene Ormandy. Since then, Pressler s extensive tours of North America and Europe have included performances with the orchestras of New York, Chicago, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Dallas, San Francisco, London, Paris, Brussels, Oslo, Helsinki and many others. After nearly a decade of an illustrious and praised solo career, the 1955 Berkshire Music Festival saw Menahem Pressler s debut as a chamber musician, where he appeared as pianist with the Beaux Arts Trio. This collaboration quickly established Pressler s reputation as one of the world s most revered chamber musicians. With Pressler at the Trio s helm as the only pianist for nearly 55 years, The New York Times described the Beaux Arts Trio as in a class by itself and the Washington Post exclaimed that since its founding more than 50 years ago, the Beaux Arts Trio has become the gold standard for trios throughout the world. The season was nothing short of bitter-sweet, as violinist Daniel Hope, cellist Antonio Meneses and Menahem Pressler took their final bows as The Beaux Arts Trio, which marked the end of one of the most celebrated and revered chamber music careers of all time. What saw the end of a one artistic legacy also witnessed the beginning of another, as Pressler continues to dazzle audiences throughout the world, both as piano soloist and collaborating

5 chamber musician, including performances with the Juilliard, Emerson, American, and Cleveland Quartets, among many others. Of his recent solo performance in Austria, Die Presse wrote: he struck a tone that was long believed lost already, a tone we perhaps last heard from Wilhelm Kempff. His recent solo engagements include performances with the Mariinsky Orchestra under Valery Gergiev, the Berlin Philharmonic under Simon Rattle, the Orchestra de Paris and the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra, and an 8-concert tour of Japan, among others. For nearly 60 years, Menahem Pressler has taught on the piano faculty at the world-renowned Indiana University Jacobs School of Music where he currently holds the rank of Distinguished Professor of Music as the Charles Webb Chair. Equally as illustrious as his performing career, Professor Pressler has been hailed as Master Pedagogue and has had prize-winning students in all of the major international piano competitions, including the Queen Elizabeth, Busoni, Rubenstein, Leeds and VanCliburn competitions among many others. His former students grace the faculties of prestigious schools of music across the world, and have become some of the most prominent and influential artist-teachers today. In addition to teaching his private students at Indiana University, he continuously presents master classes throughout the world, and continues to serve on the jury of many major international piano competitions. Among his numerous honors and awards, Pressler has received honorary doctorates from the Manhattan School of Music, the University of Nebraska, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the North Carolina School of the Arts, six Grammy nominations (including one in 2006), lifetime achievement awards from Gramophone magazine and the International Chamber Music Association, Chamber Music America s Distinguished Service Award, the Gold Medal of Merit from the National Society of Arts and Letters. He has also been awarded the German Critics Ehrenurkunde award, and election into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2007 Pressler was appointed as an Honorary Fellow of the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance in recognition of a lifetime of performance and leadership in music. In 2005 Pressler received two additional awards of international merit: the German President s Deutsche Bundesverdienstkreuz (German Cross of Merit) First Class, Germany s highest honor, and France s highest cultural honor, the Commandeur in the Order of Arts and Letters award. His more recent honors and awards include the prestigious Wigmore Medal (2011), the Menuhin Prize given by the Queen of Spain (2012), inductions into the American Classical Music and Gramophone Magazine Halls of Fame (2012), and the Music Teachers National Association Achievement Award. In addition to recording nearly the entire piano chamber repertoire with the Beaux Arts Trio on the Philips label, Menahem Pressler has compiled over thirty solo recordings, ranging from the works of Bach to Ben Haim. In 2013, La Dolce Volta released Menahem Pressler plays

6 Beethoven, Schubert and Chopin and BIS Records released Menahem Pressler: Schubert/Mozart/Beethoven. Photo by Chester Higgins James Conlon, one of today s preeminent conductors, has cultivated a vast symphonic, operatic and choral repertoire. Since his 1974 New York Philharmonic debut, he has been a guest conductor with virtually every major North American and European orchestra and a frequent guest conductor at the Metropolitan Opera, where he has conducted over 270 performances. In addition to being Richard Seaver Music Director of LA Opera, he is music director of both the Ravinia Festival, summer home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (since 2005), and the Cincinnati May Festival (since 1979). He was principal conductor of the Paris National Opera ( ); general music director of the City of Cologne ( ); and music director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic ( ). In an effort to raise public consciousness about composers suppressed by the Nazi regime in the 1930s and 1940s, he has devoted himself to extensive programming of their works in North America and Europe, establishing The OREL Foundation in 2008 ( He has been engaged in a three-year homage to Benjamin Britten in observation of the 2013 centenary of the composer s birth, conducting symphonic and choral works and six operas, including the Metropolitan Opera s October 2013 performances of A Midsummer Night s Dream, LA Opera s current production of Billy Budd, and a cycle of Britten s three church parables in collaboration with the Rome Opera. In recognition for his efforts in championing the works of composers suppressed by the Third Reich, Mr. Conlon received the Crystal Globe Award from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) in 2007, the 2012 Cohon Award in the Creative Arts field, and the 2013 Roger E. Joseph Prize from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR). In 1999, he received the Zemlinsky Prize, awarded only once before, for his efforts in bringing the composer s music to international attention. Named a Regents' Lecturer at UCLA for the Winter 2013 quarter, Mr. Conlon has made a number of public presentations on that campus, and in recent years has delivered public

7 lectures at Brandeis University, Syracuse University, University of Chicago, University of California at Davis, University of Southern California and Yale University. Mr. Conlon was awarded an honorary Doctor of Music degree by The Juilliard School in 2004, an honorary Doctor of Arts honoris causa by Chapman University in 2009 and an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Brandeis University, also in In 2002, he received France s highest distinction, the Légion d Honneur from then-president Jacques Chirac. The Colburn School is a world-class performing arts school located in the heart of downtown Los Angeles, neighboring the Music Center and its Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Broad Museum. Its distinguished faculty provides students with the highest quality performing arts education, which includes a multitude of performance opportunities in a state-of-the-art facility. More than 2000 students attend classes in the Conservatory of Music, the Community School of Performing Arts, Young Artist Academy, Adult Studies and the Trudl Zipper Dance Institute.