We are grateful to our donors, contractors, neighbors, faculty, staff, and community members, all of whom have participated in their own ways to this success of Building Our Future. Our core mission of educating the next generation of performing artists is unchanged. Above all, we are a school, and all we do serves an educational purpose─for students, their families, and audiences. This project amplifies this work, providing unmatched resources for our community on campus and all around us. There have been countless milestones since the purchase of the land in 2016. Below, we highlight a curated selection of key moments along our journey. Thank you for joining us!
Legend:
⌂ Construction, ◊ Major Campaign Gift, ☑ Certification
DESIGN AND PLANNING (2018-JANUARY 2023)
⌂ JANUARY 2018
Frank Gehry selected as project architect along with world-class team of supporting contractors, many of whom worked on Walt Disney Concert Hall. Design phase of the project commences.
⌂ DECEMBER 2018
A study conducted with leadership of 23 local performing arts institutions revealed that 95% of participants strongly desired opportunities to perform in a major concert hall and that such a space would be actively booked year-round by community partners. This informed the School’s vision for what the buildings could become. Frank Gehry incorporated this community use program in the designs.
⌂ JULY 2021
Frank Gehry completes design development phase of the project, providing the School with initial design elements and architectural vision.
◊ AUGUST 2021
Principal gift made to launch the quiet phase of the campaign and inspire campaign leadership gifts in the subsequent months.
◊ SEPTEMBER 2021
Concertmaster Dressing Room named in honor of Charles Hamlen by Cathy and Peter Halstead via the Sidney E. Frank Foundation.
The Henry Family Fund names the Warner Henry Family Artist Lounge.
◊ NOVEMBER 2021
The flagship ensemble of the Colburn Conservatory of Music, the Colburn Orchestra, is generously underwritten by Eva and Marc Stern.
◊ DECEMBER 2021
Leadership gift received from Terri and Jerry Kohl to name the in-the-round concert hall with a full-sized 70-musician orchestra pit, and stage that can accommodate up to 120 musicians, and up to 96 choral performers.
◊ FEBRUARY 2022
Ann Moore names the Denise Scheerer Tap Studio.
⌂ MARCH 2022
Frank Gehry design press reveal launches the public Building Our Future Campaign with $270M in secured funding.
⌂ AUGUST 2022
McCarthy Building Companies selected as the contractor for the project due to their extensive experience with high-profile projects, performance halls, and the educational sector.
☑ AUGUST 25, 2022
Construction documents officially submitted to Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety.
◊ OCTOBER 2022
Henry and Queence Choi name the Choi Family Garden, the verdant public gathering space outside the 2nd and Hill Street entrance.
◊ DECEMBER 2022
The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation makes the first institutional campaign gift.
◊ JANUARY 2023
Peter and Merle Mullin name the rooftop garden the Mullin Family Garden of Thoughts and Dreams.
SITE PREP (FEBRUARY 2023-APRIL 2024)
◊ APRIL 2023
The Ahmanson Foundation commits a significant investment to the campaign, awarded upon the beginning of vertical construction.
☑ JUNE 2023
Letter of determination granted. This is the first round of jurisdictional approvals that allow the construction project to proceed.
◊ AUGUST 2023
Richard Fiock establishes the Fiock Family Fund for Excellence to support faculty recruitment and academic excellence of the Colburn School.
◊ SEPTEMBER 2023
Jennifer Diener pledges her support and names the Diener Barre in the concert hall lobby Promenade.
T. Robert Greene Foundationestablishesthe Maestro Ernst H. Katz Chair of Conducting Studies, currently held by Esa-Pekka Salonen.
◊ DECEMBER 2023
The David Kobrin Fund for Dance Excellence is established to ensure that dancers have access to the most inspiring and confidence-building learning and performance spaces in the world.
⌂ JANUARY 2024
The iconic Gehry Cloud Ceiling design and engineering is finalized, with 20 clouds in total. Alyce Williamson, the Broad Foundation, and Diane Naegele have dedicated clouds in this acoustically vital artistic masterpiece.
☑ FEBRUARY 2024
Shoring and Grading Permits are approved by the City of Los Angeles allowing initial site preparation.
⌂ MARCH 1, 2024
Mobilization begins for demolition and excavation of the building site, which has been an undeveloped surface parking lot for decades.
⌂ APRIL 2024
Name Your Seat campaign launches with the opportunities to dedicate seats in the future Terri and Jerry Kohl Hall and Dance Studio Theater as well as existing beloved venues of Zipper Hall and Thayer Hall.
www.colburncenter.org/seat
⌂ APRIL 5, 2024
Groundbreaking Ceremonies
CONCRETE (APRIL 2024-APRIL 2025)
☑ JUNE 2024
Foundation permit issued for drilling caissons and piers and foundation walls and slabs to support the project.
◊ JUNE 2024
Tom and Judy Beckmen name the Judith and Thomas Beckmen Stage of Terri and Jerry Kohl Hall.
Max H. Gluck Foundation Conservatory Scholarship Fund, established to support the Campaign, supports the core vision of access to excellence through scholarships.
The Ward Family establishes a youth ensemble performance fund to support Community School ensembles performing in campus venues including Terri and Jerry Kohl Hall.
Judith Mishkin supports the campaign by naming the Harp Faculty Studio in memory of her teacher, Marcel Grandjany.
⌂ JULY 2024
First rebar installed for Terri and Jerry Kohl Hall.
☑ AUGUST 2024
New Building Construction Permit issued for full 6-story performing arts complex including concert hall and dance studios.
⌂ OCTOBER 2024
Underground water collection cisterns are installed.
◊ DECEMBER 2024
W.M. Keck Foundation makes a leadership gift to name the previously-established youth ensemble performance fund the Keck Youth Performance Fund.
⌂ DECEMBER 2024
Foundation walls poured for Thomas and Judith Beckmen Stage.
Prototypes of Poltrona Frau concert hall seating, clad in samples of custom Frank Gehry-designed fabric, are delivered to Colburn.
◊ APRIL 2025
Rafael & Luisa de Machena-Huyke Foundation name the Director of Bands position in the Community School, currently held by Eleanor Núñez.
⌂ APRIL 2025
Significant concrete milestone reached with approximately 200 concrete trucks delivering concrete for the main Level 3 pour.
A specialty 40-ton crawler crane is installed on site to facilitate vertical construction.
STEEL (APRIL 2025 TO PRESENT)
⌂ JULY 2025
Offsite mock-up construction begins to test all finishes and building joints.
⌂ JULY 25, 2025
Steel Topping-Out Celebration welcomes skilled tradespeople, local government and city leaders, media, as well as Colburn students, faculty, donors, and community to watch the final steel beam be mounted on Terri and Jerry Kohl concert hall.
⌂ SEPTEMBER 2025
Concrete slabs are poured for the rooftop garden, the porch, and all seating sections in Terri and Jerri Kohl Hall, marking the final placement of over 14M cubic yards of concrete on the project.
⌂ OCTOBER 2025
Exterior glazing enclosure begins for Dance School.
◊ OCTOBER 13, 2025
Founders Circle Inaugural Celebration. To join Founders Circle, visit www.colburncenter.org/make-a-gift
FUTURE
⌂ Fall 2027 Grand Opening Festival.
Visit colburncenter.org for project updates and more information.
PROJECT METRICS AS OF JULY 2025
3,340,000 lbs of steel in over 2,500 individual pieces
3,881,061 lbs of rebar (equivalent to the weight of 750+ F150 trucks or five 747-100 airplanes)
24,000 cubic yards of dirt excavated (would fill more than half the auditorium of Walt Disney Concert Hall)
535 workers have contributed to date over 105,700 hours of work (equivalent to one person working 8 hours a day for over 36 years)
12,830 cubic yards of concrete have been placed (would fill nearly four Olympic-size swimming pools). Over 14,000 cubic yards expected by end of September 2025
20 acoustical clouds with each cloud containing 30-50 individual plates welded together and finished with sound-specific coating