Violist Jonathan William Brown on Studying Chamber Music at the Colburn Conservatory

With applications due on December 3, we had a chance to learn more about the Ensemble-in-Residence program

Starting earlier this year, violist Jonathan William Brown is a Professor of Chamber Music for the Colburn Conservatory and on the chamber music and viola faculty for Colburn’s Music Academy.

Based in Los Angeles, the Colburn Conservatory of Music is now accepting applications from prospective students for its Bachelor of Music, Performance Diploma, Master of Music in Performance, Professional Studies Certificate, and Artist Diploma programs.

In addition to multiple instrumental openings, the school also has an opening for its Chamber Ensemble-in-Residence program — which is for pre-formed groups with significant experience and recognition as an ensemble. For more information and to apply, click here. The application deadline is December 3, 2024.

We talked with Jonathan to learn more!

What are you most excited about in your new position at Colburn?

What most excites me about Colburn is the people: the level of the students, the commitment of the faculty and from the administration down. The care everyone takes to make Colburn an incredible institution truly stands out. Chamber music is inherently collaborative, and its success depends on many elements, all of which must work together. Colburn provides the perfect situation in which chamber music can thrive.

The conservatory has a unique graduate program for Chamber Music. Can you tell us more about it?

Colburn offers its ensemble in residence, a unique opportunity to concentrate for two years exclusively on its artistic growth in a demanding yet supportive environment. The ensemble will have regular lessons with the Colburn faculty and will have the logistical and economic support to be able to rehearse constantly, perform often, and attend international competitions.

What performance opportunities do students have access to while studying at Colburn?

The ensemble in residence would give its own recital each year in Thayer Hall as well as performing on the St. Paul's, Performance and Chamber Forum series, all organized by Colburn. Furthermore, there are inevitably performances with fellow students, faculty, and visiting artists, in addition to performance opportunities in the Los Angeles community.

Outside of musical training, what skills do you want to instill in your students?

To be a successful chamber musician, students must learn how to respect and understand others' opinions, while not sacrificing their own core values and beliefs. In this sense, a chamber ensemble requires a certain 'social virtuosity' to maintain one's own voice while still allowing each other member of the group his or her space to grow.

Is there a specific repertoire that you like to encourage a string quartet to learn to help them grow as a group?

The only limit on an ensemble's repertoire is its own imagination and every group should find its own core repertoire. Having said that, the two high points of the trio and quartet literature are the First Viennese School of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert, and the 20^th-century masterworks from Debussy to Ligeti. The story of 21st Century music is yet to be written and it is paramount that every ensemble also work with living composers whose music speaks to their own age.

As the former violist for Cuarteto Casals, what advice do you give young chamber groups in sustaining a career as a group?

My advice would be to find a working structure that permits each member to fully express him or herself, without impinging on the ability of the other members to also voice their opinions and beliefs. An ensemble is like a living organism in that it is always evolving, it is critical that every member develops artistically and allows for his or her colleagues to do the same.

What qualities do you think make well-rounded chamber musicians?

Strong personal beliefs and feelings about music, curiosity, respect for others, discipline, imagination, the list goes on...