Curtis Symphony Orchestra
"The Best of the Best" —BBC Music Magazine
Comprised of outstanding talent and unmatched enthusiasm for musical collaboration, Curtis Symphony Orchestra stands as a cornerstone of the Curtis Institute of Music experience and a vital component of Philadelphia’s vibrant cultural scene. For 100 years, our exceptional students have sharpened their skills and broadened their musical horizons, as they prepare for professional careers with the world’s foremost orchestras and chamber ensembles.
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Teddy Leads Adams & Beethoven
October 11, 2026 | Marian Anderson Hall, Kimmel Center
Join us and Grammy award-winning conductor Teddy Abrams (’08) for Tania León’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Stride, a dark and restless tribute to Susan B. Anthony, Beethoven’s mischievous Eighth Symphony, and John Adams’ Harmonielehre—a modern classic with pulsing rhythms and shimmering waves of color.
Yannick Leads Mahler 9
November 8, 2026 | Marian Anderson Hall, Kimmel Center
Be transformed by the heartbreaking serenity of Gustav Mahler’s Ninth Symphony with Curtis Symphony Orchestra and conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin. This transcendent work showcases Mahler at the height of his skill, pushing symphonic form to its limits, while Valerie Coleman’s stirring Umoja harnesses the expressive power of the full ensemble to express society’s challenges and tensions before “emerging into sunlit joy” (Philadelphia Inquirer).
Osmo Leads Shostakovich 4
March 14, 2027 | Marian Anderson Hall, Kimmel Center
Immerse yourself in the propulsive, electrifying sound of Dmitri Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 4 with Finnish conductor Osmo Vänskä. An uncompromising masterpiece silenced by Soviet authorities for decades, this three-movement work builds musical themes to a monumental scale with exhilarating and ferocious energy. Mendelssohn’s Ruy Blas Overture and a world premiere composition from the conductor round out this diverse program.
Special Thanks
Orchestral concerts are supported by the Jack Wolgin Curtis Orchestral Concerts Endowment Fund. Guest conductor appearances for each Curtis Symphony Orchestra performance are made possible by the Rita E. and Gustave M. Hauser Chair in Conducting Studies.
Curtis received funding from Pennsylvania Creative Industries, powered by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Orchestral concerts are supported by the Jack Wolgin Curtis Orchestral Concerts Endowment Fund.
