The Colburn Orchestra is the flagship ensemble of the Colburn Conservatory of Music, which was established in 2003 and currently offers degrees from a Bachelor of Music up through a Professional Studies Certificate. The Conservatory offers full scholarship, housing, and stipends to all its students; admittance is highly competitive. Since its inception, director Yehuda Gilad and the esteemed Colburn faculty have invited leading guest artists to perform with the Colburn Orchestra to mirror a professional orchestral experience. Previous visiting conductors have included James Conlon, Plácido Domingo, Gustavo Dudamel, Valery Gergiev, Sir Neville Marriner, Kurt Masur, Nicolas McGegan, Ludovic Morlot, Esa-Pekka Salonen, and Michael Tilson Thomas. Guest soloists include violinists Joshua Bell, Cho-Liang Lin, Elmar Oliveira, and Pinchas Zukerman; soprano Elizabeth Hynes; mezzo-sopranos Sasha Cooke and Michelle DeYoung; pianist Vladimir Feltsman; and saxophonist Claude Delangle.