Curtis on Tour in Palm Beach, FL

Tzu-Yi Yu, from Taoyuan City, Taiwan, a student of Anthony McGill, is a Valerija and Ladislaus Medveckis Fellow and entered Curtis in 2022

Adrian Zaragoza, a distinguished pianist of South-American heritage from Davis, California, began his musical journey at the tender age of four. He currently holds the prestigious William A. Horn Fellowship at the Curtis Institute of Music, studying under the esteemed Professor Michelle Cann. His musical prowess has been shaped by the guidance of renowned mentors such as Professors Richard Cionco, John McCarthy, Lara Downes, and Marjorie McBee.

Mr. Zaragoza’s talent and dedication have earned him significant accolades, including being named a 2022 National YoungArts Finalist and securing top prizes in prominent international competitions such as the Singapore International Piano Competition, Nordic International Piano Competition, and Arthur Fraser International Piano Competition. His captivating performances have illuminated stages with the Central Texas Philharmonic, Golden State Youth Symphony Orchestra, UC Davis Symphony Orchestra, and the Solano Symphony Orchestra. He has also enchanted audiences through broadcasts on Philadelphia’s WRTI Classical Radio and Vienna Live with Simeon Morrow. In November 2023, Mr. Zaragoza made his much-anticipated debut at Geffen Hall in Lincoln Center, where he passionately showcased contemporary solo works.

Beyond his professional accomplishments, Mr. Zaragoza is dedicated to giving back to his community. He frequently performs at retirement homes and volunteers his time, all while cherishing the beauty of the outdoors. Adrian Zaragoza continues to inspire and captivate with his exceptional artistry and unwavering commitment to music.

Described as “bright” and “stylish” by Opera News, American soprano Sarah Fleiss joins the exclusive international Baroque touring ensemble, Le Jardin des Voix of Les Arts Florissants for the 2025–26 and 2026–27 season productions, where she performs in Les arts florissants and La Descente d’Orphée aux Enfers by Charpentier under William Christie and in Il giardino di rose by Scarlatti under Paul Agnew. In Summer 2025, she attends the Georg Solti Bel Canto Accademia in Tuscany. She also tours Latin America with Curtis on Tour during the 2025–26 season. During the 2024–25 season, Sarah performed the roles of Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro under the baton of Nicholas McGegan with Curtis Opera Theatre, the soprano soloist role in Handel’s Messiah with Hudson Baroque and the soprano soloist role in Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem with the Dalton Chorale in New York City. Previous role highlights include the title role in Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen, Ginevra in Handel’s Ariodante, and was a featured soloist in a staged production of Handel’s L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato. In concert, she performed as the soprano soloist in the Fauré Requiem with the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra and Poulenc’s Gloria and Dvořák’s Te Deum with the Wichita Symphony Orchestra. In 2024, Sarah was a Renée Fleming Arist at the Aspen Music Festival, covering Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro under conductor Nicholas McGegan. Sarah is the 2025 winner of the Arthur W. Foote Award from the Harvard Musical Association.

Sarah completed her Master of Music and Bachelor of Music degrees at Curtis Institute of Music. Prior to Curtis, Sarah attended Columbia University and its Juilliard exchange program.

Sarah Fleiss is on the roster of Curtis Artist Management. Find media and press on her artist profile.

A violist of international reputation, Roberto Díaz is president and CEO of the Curtis Institute of Music, following in the footsteps of renowned soloist/directors such as Josef Hofmann, Efrem Zimbalist, and Rudolf Serkin. As a teacher of viola at Curtis and former principal viola of the Philadelphia Orchestra, Mr. Díaz has already had a significant impact on American musical life and continues to do so in his dual roles as performer and educator.

As a soloist, Mr. Díaz collaborates with leading conductors of our time on stages throughout North and South America, Europe, and Asia.  He has also worked directly with important 20th- and 21st-century composers, including Krzysztof Penderecki—whose viola concerto he has performed many times with the composer on the podium and whose double concerto he premiered in the United States—as well as Edison Denisov, Jennifer Higdon, Ricardo Lorenz, Bright Sheng, and Roberto Sierra. His recording of Jennifer Higdon’s Viola Concerto won the Grammy for Best Contemporary Classical Composition in 2018.

As a frequent recitalist, Mr. Díaz enjoys collaborating with young pianists, bringing a fresh approach to the repertoire and providing invaluable opportunities to artists at the beginnings of their careers. In addition to performing with major string quartets and pianists in chamber music series and festivals worldwide, Mr. Díaz has toured Europe, Asia, and the Americas as a member of the Díaz Trio with violinist Andrés Cárdenes and cellist Andrés Díaz. The Díaz Trio has recorded for the Artek and Dorian labels.

Mr. Díaz’s recordings on the Naxos label with pianist Robert Koenig include the complete works for viola and piano by Henri Vieuxtemps and a Grammy-nominated disc of viola transcriptions by William Primrose. Also on Naxos are Brahms sonatas with pianist Jeremy Denk and Jonathan Leshnoff’s Double Concerto with violinist Charles Wetherbee and the Iris Chamber Orchestra led by Michael Stern. Mr. Díaz’s live performance of Jacob Druckman’s Viola Concerto with Wolfgang Sawallisch and the Philadelphia Orchestra is available on New World Records. He has also recorded the Walton Viola Concerto with William Boughton and the New Haven Symphony for Nimbus Records, and works for viola and orchestra by Peter Lieberson with Scott Yoo and the Odense Symphony Orchestra and for Bridge Records.

Since founding Curtis on Tour in 2007, Mr. Díaz has taken this successful initiative to North and South America, Europe, and Asia, performing chamber music side-by-side with Curtis students and other faculty and alumni of the school. His tenure as president of Curtis has also seen the construction of a significant new building which doubled the size of the school’s campus; the introduction of a classical guitar department and new conducting and string quartet programs; and the launch of Curtis Summerfest, summer courses open to the public. In the fall of 2013 Curtis became the first classical music conservatory to offer free online classes through Coursera.

Also under Mr. Díaz’s leadership, Curtis has developed lasting collaborations with other music and arts institutions in Philadelphia and throughout the world and established a dynamic social entrepreneurship curriculum, supported by a prestigious Advancement Grant from The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage. Designed to develop the entrepreneurial and advocacy skills of young musicians, this curriculum includes the project-based Community Artist Program (CAP) and the post-graduate Community Artist Fellowship program, which gives recent Curtis graduates the opportunity to dedicate a year of arts-based service to the community.

Mr. Díaz received an honorary doctorate from Bowdoin College and was awarded an honorary membership by the National Board of the American Viola Society. In 2013 he became a member of the prestigious American Philosophical Society founded by Benjamin Franklin. As a member of the Philadelphia Orchestra, he was selected by then-music director Christoph Eschenbach to receive the C. Hartman Kuhn Award, given annually to “the member of the Philadelphia Orchestra who has shown ability and enterprise of such character as to enhance the standards and the reputation of the Philadelphia Orchestra.” He received a bachelor’s degree from the New England Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Burton Fine; and a diploma from the Curtis Institute of Music, where his teacher was his predecessor at the Philadelphia Orchestra, Joseph de Pasquale. Mr. Díaz also holds a degree in industrial design.

In addition to his decade-long tenure as principal viola of the Philadelphia Orchestra, where he performed the entire standard viola concerto repertoire and gave a number of Philadelphia Orchestra premieres, Mr. Díaz was principal viola of the National Symphony under Mstislav Rostropovich, a member of the Boston Symphony under Seiji Ozawa, and a member of the Minnesota Orchestra under Sir Neville Marriner. He plays the ex-Primrose Amati viola.