Administration
Roberto Díaz, president and CEO
Nina von Maltzahn President's Chair
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 around the world. 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; and Edison Denisov, who invited Mr. Díaz to Moscow to work on his viola concerto. Jennifer Higdon, Ricardo Lorenz, and Roberto Sierra have all written concertos for Mr. Díaz.
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 beginning of their careers. In addition to performing with major string quartets and pianists in chamber music series and festivals worldwide, he has toured Europe, Asia, and the Americas as a member of the Díaz Trio with violinist Andrés Cárdenes and cellist Andrés Díaz.
Since founding Curtis on Tour in 2008, Mr. Díaz has taken the hugely successful program 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 and spearheading the Curtis Symphony Orchestra's 2017 tour of Europe. 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; the launch of Curtis Summerfest, summer courses open to the public; and the debut of an online HD video channel featuring Curtis performances. 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 post-graduate Curtis Community Artist Fellowship Program.
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.
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. On the New World Records label is a live recording of Mr. Díaz's performance of Jacob Druckman's Viola Concerto with Wolfgang Sawallisch and the Philadelphia Orchestra. On the Nimbus label is a recording of the Walton Viola Concerto with the New Haven Symphony and William Boughton. On the Bridge Records label are works for viola and orchestra by Peter Lieberson with the Odense Symphony Orchestra and Scott Yoo. He has also recorded for the Artek and Dorian labels with the Díaz Trio.
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."
Mr. Díaz 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. He also holds a degree in industrial design. Mr. Díaz plays the ex-Primrose Amati viola.
Board of Trustees
The board of trustees of the Curtis Institute of Music has ultimate oversight and authority over the business and affairs of the school.
Officers
Mark E. Rubenstein, chair
Anthony B. Creamer III, vice chair
Deborah M. Fretz, vice chair
Edward A. Montgomery Jr., vice chair
Larry Bomback, treasurer
Cynthia Heininger, secretary
Trustees
Nina Baroness von Maltzahn, honorary chair
H. F. "Gerry" Lenfest, chairman emeritus
Frank S. Bayley
Victoria Bok
William R. Brody
Pauline Candaux, Friends trustee
Mia Chung
Roberto Díaz
Janellen Farmer, alumni trustee
Gordon Fowler
Bruce Jay Gould, M.D.
Andrew Jacobs
Linda E. Johnson
Harry T. Lee
Lisa Liem
Betty H. Matarese
Connie B. McCann
John H. McFadden
Frank J. Mechura
John J. Medveckis
Jennifer Montone
Alan Morrison
Robert H. Mundheim
Ranji Nagaswami
Roy Neff
C. Richard Neu
Eric Owens
William H. Roberts
Robert H. Rock
Brett Rubinson
Chiona Schwarz
William R. Stensrud
Jay H. Tolson
Elizabeth Vale
C. J. Walsh III, Crescendo Club trustee
Penelope P. Watkins
Betty Whelchel
Honorary Trustees
A. Margaret "Stormy" Bok
Milton L. Rock, Ph.D.†
Trustees Emeriti
Nina Albert†
Peter A. Benoliel
Sheldon M. Bonovitz
Luther W. Brady, M.D.
Carolyn S. Burger
Joseph M. Field
Alan R. Hirsig
Scott M. Jenkins
Bobby Ellen Kimbel, Ph.D.
James R. "Robin" Ledwith
Bong S. Lee, M.D.
Christina Weiss Lurie
David G. Marshall
John A. Nyheim
Albert E. Piscopo
Robert Pollack
Samuel R. Shipley III
Amanda W. Smoot
† deceased
The Mary Louise Curtis Bok Foundation Board of Directors
The Curtis Institute of Music receives annual operating support from the Mary Louise Curtis Bok Foundation, a not-for-profit corporation formed exclusively for charitable, scientific, and educational purposes, particularly the support of music and musical education. The foundation’s board of directors has determined that Curtis should be the sole recipient of financial support.
Bayard R. Fiechter, president
Victoria Bok, vice president
Joseph M. Field, secretary
Scott M. Jenkins, treasurer
A. Margaret "Stormy" Bok
Tomas J. Bok, Ph.D.
Gary Graffman
James R. "Robin" Ledwith
Milton L. Rock, Ph.D.†
Samuel R. Shipley III
† deceased
Staff
Larry Bomback, senior vice president of administration
Cynthia Heininger, executive assistant and board liaison
Chris Hodges, director of admissions
Kristen B. Loden, senior vice president of advancement
Anusha Bala, executive assistant and donor relations coordinator
Fundraising, (215) 717-3131
Erin Sammis, director of development
Karen Shore Barnosky, institutional giving coordinator
Anthony J. Brown, senior individual giving officer
David Carpenter, advancement data specialist
Adriane Fink, director of institutional giving
Jessica Gockley, director of advancement services
Filiz Leigh, associate director of individual giving
Anna Matheson, director of special events
Kelly McFarland, advancement research manager
Charles Sterne III, director of principal gifts and planned giving
Jason Bennett Ward, director of alumni and parent relations
External Affairs and Patron Engagement
Media Inquiries (215) 717-3129
Patron Services Office (215) 893-7902
Recital Hotline (215) 893-5261
Jennifer Kallend, managing director of communications
Nurit Bloom, director of marketing
Victoria Koursaros, graphic and visual assets designer
Thomas Oltarzewski, digital content producer
Erica Warburg, patron services manager
Diana Wensley, communications manager
Melinda Whiting, senior editor
Jason Bennett Ward, director of alumni and parent relations
David Ludwig, Gie and Lisa Liem Artistic Advisor to the President
Lourdes Starr Demers, senior vice president of artistic operations, (215) 717-3192
Matthew Barker, director of recitals and master classes, (215) 717-3178
Catelyn Cohen, manager of touring, (215) 717-3143
Hannah Horine, artistic programs coordinator, (215) 717-3197
Jonathan Hummel, director of orchestral operations, (215) 717-3191
Mary Wheelock Javian, chair of career studies, (215) 717-3149
Andrew Lane, managing director of Curtis On Tour, (215) 717-3124
Elaine Li, orchestra librarian, (215) 717-3189
Belmary Lorcas, Summerfest assistant, (215) 717-3167
Adam Pangburn, coordinator of community performances, (215) 875-4208
Annie Sarachan, Summerfest manager, (215) 717-3193
Drew Schlegel, director of audio engineering, (215) 717-3101
Greg Sharrow, Field-McFadden Chair in Audio-Visual Arts, (215) 875-4204
Grace Smith, production assistant, (215) 717-3174
Mickey Welde, assistant editor and audio-visual arts coordinator
David Reinhardt, senior controller
Audrey Deuel, senior accountant
Michelle Lawrence Holmes, bookkeeper
Patricia Carpino, director of human resources
Angela McCormick, staff accountant
Nan Alderson, senior director of facility operations
Patricia Carpino, director of human resources
Kayla Dredden, human resources associate
Jungeun Kim, director of instrumental accompaniment, (215) 717-3105
Michelle Oswell, library director
Barbara Benedett, digital archivist
Emily Butler Waters, assistant librarian
Darryl Hartshorne, circulation manager
Molly O'Brien, media and metadata librarian
Kristina Wilson, archivist
Jonathan Coopersmith, chair of musical studies
Jon Guenther, chief piano technician
Scott Jones, piano technician
Roberto Díaz, president and chief executive officer
Lissy Madden, executive assistant
Mary Wheelock Javian, chair of career studies
1726 Locust Street, (215) 717-3112
1616 Locust Street, Lenfest Hall, (215) 875-4200
Laurel Grady, associate dean of student life and international student affairs, (215) 717-3165
Maggie Holroyd, director of residence life, (215) 875-4256
Darin Kelly, registrar, (215) 717-3108
Veronica McAuley, director of student financial assistance, (215) 717-3188
Dan McDougall, associate dean of student and academic affairs, (215) 717-3160
Ralph Batman, managing director, vocal studies and the Curtis Opera Theatre
Work at Curtis
