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.

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

Roberto Díaz

Janellen Farmer, Alumni trustee

Gordon Fowler

Bruce Jay Gould, M.D.

Andrew Jacobs

Linda E. Johnson

Harry T. Lee

Lisa Liem

Yuen Sung “Y.S.” Liu

David Ludwig

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 Trustee

A. Margaret "Stormy" Bok

 

Trustees Emeriti

Peter A. Benoliel

Sheldon M. Bonovitz

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

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.^†

Robert H. Rock

Samuel R. Shipley III

† deceased

Mikael Eliasen, artistic director, Curtis Opera Theatre

Ralph Batman, managing director, vocal studies and the Curtis Opera Theatre

Andrew Lane, managing director of Curtis on Tour, (215) 717-3124

Catelyn Cohen, manager of touring, (215) 717-3143

Chris Hodges, director of admissions

Michelle Oswell, library director 

Barbara Benedett, digital archivist

Suzanne Bratt, library intern

Emily Butler Waters, assistant librarian

Darryl Hartshorne, circulation manager

Peter Williams, media and metadata librarian

Kristina Wilson, archivist

Jon Guenther, chief piano technician

Scott Jones, piano technician

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

Nicholas Alton Lewis, associate dean of student and academic affairs, (215) 717-3160

Veronica McAuley, director of student financial assistance, (215) 717-3188

Matthew Barker, director of recitals and master classes, (215) 717-3178

Hannah Horine, artistic programs coordinator, (215) 717-3197

Grace Smith, production coordinator, (215) 717-3174

Jonathan Hummel, director of orchestral operations, (215) 717-3191

Elaine Li, orchestra librarian, (215) 717-3189

Adam Pangburn, coordinator of community performances, (215) 875-4208

Belmary Lorcas, Summerfest assistant, (215) 717-3167

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

Mickey Welde, assistant editor and audio-visual arts coordinator

Karen Shore Barnosky, manager of institutional giving and special projects

Anthony J. Brown, senior individual giving officer

David Carpenter, advancement data specialist

Jeanette Cerula, office administrator

Filiz Leigh, associate director of individual giving

Kelly McFarland, manager of major gifts

Charles Sterne III, director of principal gifts and planned giving

Erica Warburg, associate director of performances and events

Media Inquiries (215) 717-3129

Patron Services Office (215) 893-7902

Recital Hotline (215) 893-5261

Jennifer Kallend, managing director of communications

Victoria Koursaros, graphic and visual assets designer

Thomas Oltarzewski, digital content producer

Jason Bennett Ward, director of alumni and parent relations

Diana Wensley, communications manager 

Melinda Whiting, senior editor

Audrey Deuel, senior accountant

Angela McCormick, staff accountant

David Reinhardt, senior controller 

Mary Ruddy, a/p and student billing specialist

Patricia Carpino, director of human resources

Kayla Dredden, human resources associate

Nan Alderson, senior director of facility operations, (215) 717-3168

Matt Morgan, chief technology officer

Brian Chaffinch, IT specialist

Ali King, associate director, digital engagement

Adam Padron, senior systems architect