Curtis Institute of Music

The Curtis Institute of Music is a conservatory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that offers courses of study leading to a performance Diploma, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in Opera, and Professional Studies Certificate in Opera. It is considered to be one of the leading musical institutions in the world.

It was originally established in 1924 by Mary Louise Curtis Bok, and was named in honor of Cyrus Curtis. It has served as a training ground for orchestral players to fill the ranks of the Philadelphia Orchestra, much like the Vienna Hochschule fur Musik (University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna) and the Vienna Philharmonic or the New England Conservatory and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, although pianists, singers, organists and composers are offered courses of study as well.

All pupils attend on full scholarship, but admission is extremely competitive. Besides singers, pianists, organists, conductors and composers, only enough students are admitted to fill a single orchestra. Accordingly, enrollment is in the range of 150 to 170 students.

Past directors

Past directors of Curtis have included pianist Józef Hofmann, composer Randall Thompson, violinist Efrem Zimbalist, Sr., pianist Rudolph Serkin, John de Lancie, Sr. (principal oboe of the Philadelphia Orchestra for many years), and Gary Graffman, who was appointed in 1995 and retired at the end of the 2005-2006 school year, continuing on the piano faculty. The current president/director is Roberto Diaz, principal violist of the Philadelphia Orchestra until 2006 and member of the Diaz Trio; Diaz is also a Curtis alumnus and faculty member. The current conductor of the Curtis Symphony Orchestra is Otto-Werner Mueller.

Distinguished alumni

Many of its alumni have gone on to distinguished careers. Among them are:

• Joseph Alessi, principal trombonist of the New York Philharmonic
• Shmuel Ashkenasi, First Violinist of the Vermeer Quartet
• Samuel Barber, American composer
• Harold Bennett, former principal flutist of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra
• Leonard Bernstein, composer and conductor
• Jonathan Biss, American pianist
• Jorge Bolet, Cuban-American pianist
• Anshel Brusilow, Violinist, Conductor
• Jesse Ceci, Violinist
• Shura Cherkassky, pianist
• Katherine Ciesinski, mezzo soprano
• Timothy Cobb, current principal bassist with the Metropolitan Opera
• Juan Diego Flórez, tenor
• Frank Guarrera, baritone
• Anthony Gigliotti, clarinetist, former principal of the Philadelphia Orchestra
• Alan Gilbert, conductor, music director of the New York Philharmonic
• Richard Goode, pianist
• Stewart Goodyear, Canadian pianist
• Daron Hagen, American composer
• Hilary Hahn, violinist
• Burt Hara, clarinetist, Principal of the Minnesota Orchestra
• Shuler Hensley, singer and actor
• Jennifer Higdon, American composer
• Lee Hoiby, American composer
• Stanley Hollingsworth, American composer
• David Horne, Scottish composer and pianist
• David N. Johnson, American composer, organist, and professor
• Arnold Jacobs former tubist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and influential teacher of brass pedagogy (deceased)
• Paul Jacobs, organist, Professor of Organ at the Juilliard School
• Leila Josefowicz, American violinist
• Loren Kitt, clarinetist, principal of the National Symphony Orchestra
• Jennifer Koh, American violinist
• Lang Lang, pianist
• Mark Lawrence, principal trombone of the San Francisco Symphony
• Peter Lloyd, former principal bassist with the Minnesota Orchestra, professor of double bass at Northwestern University
• David Ludwig, American composer
• John Mack, American Oboist
• Nadina Mackie Jackson, Canadian Bassoonist
• Monte Maxwell, Chapel Organist at the United States Naval Academy
• Jeremy McCoy, current assistant principal bassist with the Metropolitan Opera
• Anthony McGill, principal clarinetist, The Metropolitan Opera
• Gian Carlo Menotti, American composer
• Frank Miller, cellist
• Leon McCawley, pianist
• Virginia MacWatters, soprano
• Anna Moffo, soprano
• Alan Morrison, American organist, Faculty, The Curtis Institute of Music
• Lorne Munroe, cellist, former principal of the New York Philharmonic and Philadelphia Orchestra
• Sean Osborn, clarinet soloist, formerly with the Metropolitan Opera
• Elizabeth Ostling, flutist, Boston Symphony Orchestra
• Janet Perry, soprano
• Vincent Persichetti, American composer
• Luis Prado, Puerto-Rican composer
• Gianna Rolandi, soprano, director of the Lyric Opera of Chicago's Ryan Opera Center
• Ned Rorem, American composer
• Nino Rota, Italian composer and film composer
• Michael Rusinek, clarinetist, Principal of the Pittsburgh Symphony
• Peter Serkin, pianist
• Rinat Shaham, mezzo-soprano
• Yevgeniy Sharlat, Russian-American composer, professor at University of Texas at Austin
• David Shiffrin, clarinet soloist, professor at Yale School of Music
• Jacques Singer, conductor
• Ignat Solzhenitsyn, music director of the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia
• Susan Starr, American pianist
• Arnold Steinhardt, violinist
• Michael Stern, music director and lead conductor of the Kansas City Symphony
• Michael Strauss, violist
• Jennifer Stumm, violist
• Hidetaro Suzuki, violinist, conductor
• Benita Valente, soprano
• Yuja Wang, pianist
• Wendy Warner, American cellist
• Andrius Zlabys, Lithuanian pianist

The Curtis Institute of Music is a conservatory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that offers courses of study leading to a performance Diploma, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in Opera, and Professional Studies Certificate in Opera. It is considered to be one of the leading musical institutions in the world.