{"id":48112,"date":"2024-10-09T17:25:55","date_gmt":"2024-10-09T15:25:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/8dcd1b16-0a5e-4b21-8baa-8e4a1c5c4f8c"},"modified":"2024-10-09T18:07:18","modified_gmt":"2024-10-09T16:07:18","slug":"curtis-institute-of-music-the-american-music-school-that-creates-the-worlds-top-performers","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/rss_feed\/curtis-institute-of-music-the-american-music-school-that-creates-the-worlds-top-performers\/","title":{"rendered":"Curtis Institute of Music: the American music school that creates the world’s top performers"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Charlotte Smith\n <\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 09 October 2024 at 15:25 PM<\/p>

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Read on to discover why the Curtis Institute of Music produces today’s top musical performers…<\/strong><\/p>

Curtis Institute of Music… an incredible success rate<\/h2>
Several years ago, I noticed an interesting phenomenon. In my previous role as editor of The Strad<\/em>, I attended many of the world\u2019s top string competitions. Perusing the biographies of the incredibly talented finalists, one educational establishment figured again and again \u2013 the Curtis Institute of Music. What was it about this small conservatory, based in Philadelphia, that enabled it to compete with \u2013 even outgun \u2013 its much larger US rivals? So, with the school\u2019s 100th anniversary approaching in October 2024, I was keen to visit its campus \u2013 the perfect opportunity to get to the heart of such\u00a0a\u00a0phenomenal success rate.\u00a0<\/p>
A quick scan of statistics quoted on the school\u2019s website provided telling clues. Not only were its students excelling on the competition circuit, but the number of distinguished alumni \u2013 including Leonard Bernstein<\/a><\/strong>, Samuel Barber<\/a><\/strong>, George Walker<\/a><\/strong>, Lang Lang<\/a><\/strong>, Yuja Wang<\/a><\/strong> and Ray Chen<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 not to mention the number of former students occupying principal chairs at top US orchestras, spoke for itself.<\/p>
<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Violinist Ray Chen talks about the Curtis Institute and takes a tour<\/figcaption><\/figure><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/news\/curtis-institute-launches-label\">Curtis Institute launches its own label<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Building top performers… ‘learn by doing’<\/h2><p>And little wonder. With just 160 students at any one time, and a staggeringly low acceptance rate of four per cent, Curtis is surely one of the world\u2019s most elite music institutions. But more than that, its talented cohort benefits from an incredibly personal approach, with a ratio of students to its 113 teachers of four to three. Even more surprising is that all student places are funded by full-tuition scholarships, no matter the student\u2019s nationality or background, and as a result, \u2018talent and artistic promise\u2019 are the only considerations for admission.\u00a0<\/p><p>A further important piece of the puzzle is Curtis\u2019s \u2018learn by doing\u2019 mantra, encapsulated in an enormous number of performance opportunities throughout the year \u2013 more than 200 <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/what-instruments-make-up-an-orchestra\">orchestra<\/a><\/strong>l, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/what-language-is-opera\">opera<\/a><\/strong>, solo and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/musical-terms\/difference-chamber-music-orchestral-music\">chamber<\/a><\/strong> music concerts. When the stage is your second home, those pesky nerves \u2013 the bane of even the most wonderful musicians \u2013 are given short shrift.\u00a0<\/p><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/what-are-the-best-music-colleges-and-conservatoires-in-the-world\">These are the best music colleges and conservatoires in the world<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The history of the Curtis Institute<\/h2><p>These values have been central to the Curtis ethos since its founding by Mary Louise Curtis Bok \u2013 the only child of wealthy publishers Louisa Knapp and Cyrus Curtis \u2013 in 1924. In addition to publishing such magazines as <em>Ladies\u2019 Home Journal <\/em>and<em> The Saturday Evening Post<\/em>, Curtis Bok worked with underprivileged children at the Settlement Music School in South Philadelphia, many of whom were talented enough for professional careers. <\/p><p>Her Curtis Institute of Music was duly established in two connected mansions at 1726 Locust Street, \u2018to train exceptionally gifted musicians for careers as performing artists on the highest professional level\u2019 under the guidance of pianist Josef Hofmann and conductor Leopold Stokowski. The latter predicted that Curtis would become \u2018the most important musical institution of our\u00a0country, perhaps the world\u2019.<\/p><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/the-juilliard-school-history-and-famous-alumni\">The Juilliard School: when it was founded, who its’ named after and some of its most famous alumni<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">President Roberto D\u00edaz: ‘Interesting people make interesting artists’<\/h2><p>Today, the school\u2019s president is Roberto D\u00edaz, a distinguished viola soloist and himself a Curtis graduate, who presides over expanded premises also taking in 1616 and 1720 Locust Street. D\u00edaz remains 100 per cent dedicated to Stokowski\u2019s ambitions. \u2018Our job is to make some of the world\u2019s greatest performers, and artist citizens,\u2019 he says. \u2018As performers, how people behave on stage is the ultimate measure. You could be the best soccer player in the world, but if you can\u2019t handle the pressure of the big game then you will not perform at your best. We help our students learn to cope with performing pressure by ensuring they are constantly performing.\u2019\u00a0<\/p><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/instruments\/how-to-return-to-practice\">Hate music practice? How to learn to love your instrument again in 100 days<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>D\u00edaz is also dedicated to nurturing intellectual curiosity. Far from spending all their time in the practice room, Curtis students are encouraged to think of their roles as musicians within wider artistic and social contexts. Annual \u2018all-school projects\u2019 \u2013 much like programming themes at some of the more forward-thinking summer festivals \u2013 provide the opportunity to explore topics in detail, and to become better educated artists in the process. After all, D\u00edaz tells me, \u2018Interesting people make interesting artists.\u2019<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Curtis Institute – nurturing tomorrow’s composers<\/h2><p>Nick Di Berardino, provost and dean, and chair of composition studies, agrees. \u2018I was accepted to Curtis as a graduate student between 2015 and \u201918 and I came in thinking it would be a school full of very young prodigies, as it was so selective,\u2019 he says. <\/p><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/the-best-living-composers\">The best living composers<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>\u2018But the first concert I heard here was entirely comprised of world premieres by the Curtis composers. And it was standing room only! Everyone was there to hear these pieces. Whatever I had believed about this place \u2013 that maybe they\u2019re just playing Brahms and traditional repertoire \u2013 was entirely wrong. Here, all our student composers\u2019 pieces are performed, which is so essential and exciting.\u2019\u00a0<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Auditioning for the Curtis Institute<\/h2><p>To ensure that Curtis finds the right performers and thinkers, the audition process must necessarily be thorough, explains Ed Gazouleas of the viola faculty. To that end, the whole faculty in any given department sits in on live auditions, following an initial taped screening process. Considering Curtis accepts students at any age \u2013 at the time of my visit the youngest student was 11 \u2013 and on numerous study pathways (including diplomas, bachelor\u2019s and master\u2019s degrees), what qualities are the faculty looking for? <\/p><ul><li>1<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/musical-prodigies\">0 great musical prodigies and the parenting tactics that shaped them<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>\u2018Obviously, these kids are all phenomenal,\u2019 he tells me. \u2018And you need a particular level of technical skill and musicianship from the outset. But the next thing you look at is potential, and the sense of the student as a performer \u2013 someone who wants to be on the stage, and who thrives on the stage. Sometimes you see that they\u2019re nervous, but you can always tell if they are natural performers. And that\u2019s the thing about Curtis\u2026 everybody here, whether they become concert soloists or not, are cultivated performers, not scholars, even though they\u2019re all bright. That\u2019s not to say that we don\u2019t educate the whole person \u2013 we always try to do that, which is why there\u2019s such a big ratio of faculty to students.\u2019<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">One student, many teachers…<\/h2><p>Indeed, the educational mission is taken so seriously that any one Curtis student might benefit from the wisdom of the entire faculty in their discipline \u2013 so each <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/instruments\/viola-how-to-play-tune-clean-beginners\">viola<\/a><\/strong> student, for example, could have three or four viola teachers. I express my doubts that different teachers, with conflicting ideas about interpretation and technique, could work together harmoniously. But Gazouleas is unequivocal. <\/p><p>\u2018Anywhere else, in my experience, it would not work,\u2019 he agrees. \u2018But it has to do with the culture of the place. In the traditional school culture, the clich\u00e9 of the all-powerful teacher prevails. You don\u2019t play for someone else, as that\u2019s a betrayal! But within the viola faculty we generally divide the repertoire, so that I might teach <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/johann-sebastian-bach\">Bach<\/a><\/strong> and more fundamental technique, while Roberto D\u00edaz takes the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/musical-terms\/what-concerto\">concerto<\/a><\/strong> repertoire, as that\u2019s his area of expertise.\u2019\u00a0<\/p><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/five-music-teachers-who-changed-the-face-of-western-classical-music\">Five music teachers who changed the face of western classical music<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Curtis Institute… a chamber music culture<\/h2><p>That teachers feel able to work together is perhaps down to the school\u2019s chamber culture \u2013 both in the literal sense that all instrumental students perform in chamber groups, and in the sense of a personal contribution to the collective, at any level and in any field.\u00a0<\/p><p>The <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/news\/dover-quartet-names-julianne-lee-as-new-violist\">Dover Quartet<\/a><\/strong>, winner of the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.banffcentre.ca\/bisqc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Banff International String Quartet Competition<\/a><\/strong> in 2013, is currently Penelope P. Watkins Ensemble in Residence at the Curtis Institute, a role that encompasses teaching, mentorship of the ensemble selected for the school\u2019s Nina von Maltzahn String Quartet Program, and an extensive international touring schedule. That the quartet formed at\u00a0Curtis is no accident.<\/p><p>\u2018Of course, it\u2019s obvious which people are more into chamber music playing than others,\u2019 the Dover players tell me. \u2018And once it became obvious that we were very serious about it, we started playing for a lot of the faculty, who were extremely supportive. But there\u2019s also a chamber approach here. So even those students who are more interested in solo or orchestral playing have a lot of chamber experience. We always felt that even the Curtis orchestra was more like a big chamber group. It was a unifying bond, a paradigm of viewing music and the world.\u2019<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Maurice Ravel: Daphnis et Chlo\u00e9, Suite No. 2\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/spnoQsJnkQE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Curtis Symphony Orchestra performs Ravel’s <em>Daphnis et Chlo\u00e9<\/em>, Suite No. 2 under conductor Yannick N\u00e9zet-S\u00e9guin<\/figcaption><\/figure><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Curtis Institute… a sense of camaraderie<\/h2><p>That sense of camaraderie, of working together rather than in competition, was very evident at the joint Curtis Symphony Orchestra-Opera Theatre concert I attended at Philadelphia\u2019s <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ensembleartsphilly.org\/plan-your-visit\/our-venues\/kimmel-center\/marian-anderson-hall\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Marian Anderson Hall<\/a><\/strong> during my visit. Though principally led by Yannick N\u00e9zet-S\u00e9guin, who serves as head of conducting for the school, the event also showcased the talents of conducting fellow Jacob Niemann, alongside numerous student singers in operatic excerpts\u00a0 and, of course, the delightfully energetic Curtis Symphony. The level of enthusiastic peer-to-peer support was palpable \u2013 hardly the cut-throat stereotype of an elite organisation.\u00a0<\/p><p>And in the end, that might be the single most important aspect of Curtis\u2019s fabulous reputation. \u2018We want people \u2013 both students and teachers \u2013 who radiate a love of music,\u2019 D\u00edaz tells me. \u2018And to raise these wonderful musicians who will be an advocate of the art form, it takes a village. As teachers and students, we all have a\u00a0responsibility for our peers.’<\/p><p><strong>Full info: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.curtis.edu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">curtis.edu<\/a><\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Charlotte Smith Published: Wednesday, 09 October 2024 at 15:25 PM Read on to discover why the Curtis Institute of Music produces today’s top musical performers… Curtis Institute of Music… an incredible success rate Several years ago, I noticed an interesting phenomenon. 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