Curtis on Tour

Fall 2023
Winds and Strings

Renowned violinist Erin Keefe (’03), concertmaster of the Minnesota Orchestra and Curtis faculty member, joins dynamic conductor, clarinetist, and composer Osmo Vänskä and Curtis’s extraordinary emerging professional musicians for a tour of North America. Built around the septet version of Sibelius’s evocative tone poem En Saga, this eclectic program features cherished classics by Mozart and Sibelius, alongside striking early twentieth-century works such as Dohnányi’s string trio, Serenade in C major, and Schulhoff’s fiery, folk-influenced Concertino for flute, viola, and double bass. 

Spring 2024
String Sextet

Acclaimed violinist and Curtis faculty member Benjamin Beilman (’12) joins former Dover Quartet violist Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt (Viola ’10, ’11), award-winning cellist Oliver Herbert (’19), and emerging professional artists from Curtis for a North American tour. This phenomenal sextet of distinguished Curtis faculty and alumni, alongside exceptionally gifted young musicians, presents an electrifying concert of curated selections, both old and new. The program includes Richard Strauss’s masterful Sextet from his final opera Capriccio, Berg’s colorful and chromatic Piano Sonata in B minor, Brahms’s exhilarating String Sextet No. 2 in G major, and a new work commissioned for this tour. 

Fall 2023
Piano Quartet

Prize-winning violinist Richard Lin (’13) and Roberto Díaz (’84), internationally acclaimed violist and president and CEO of the Curtis Institute of Music, join masterful cellist Gary Hoffman, the Nina and Billy Albert Chair in Cello Studies at Curtis, and celebrated virtuoso pianist Steven Lin (’15) for a tour of Asia in the fall of 2023. An exciting concert of iconic works and audience favorites, the program features Haydn’s playful and pensive Piano Trio No. 28 in D major, Schumann’s sweeping, energetic Piano Quartet in E-flat major, and Brahms’s dramatic “Werther” Quartet. This majestic, brooding tour-de-force for piano and chamber ensemble was inspired by Goethe’s novel, The Sorrows of Young Werther. 

October-December 2022
North America
Eric Owens and Singers from the Curtis Opera Theatre

Emerging professional artists from the Curtis Opera Theatre join bass-baritone Eric Owens, director of vocal studies and the Curtis Opera Theatre. Sharing the stage with their mentor, these rising stars of the operatic stage will perform gems from the lieder and song repertoire and favorite operatic arias and ensemble pieces.

March 2023
North America
The Soldier’s Tale

A thrilling tale of trickery and magic, Igor Stravinsky’s L’Histoire du Soldat comes to life through an ensemble of musicians from the Curtis Institute of Music. “One of the world’s leading music academies” (BBC Culture), Curtis’s performers team up with beloved actor and narrator John de Lancie, who voices the characters; award-winning performer David Shifrin (Clarinet ’71); and prominent recitalist Soovin Kim (Violin ’99). The program, designed for audiences in North America, also features works by Penderecki, Poulenc, and Curtis alumnus Viet Cuong. 

May 2023
U.S. West Coast
Curtis Symphony Orchestra 

The Curtis Symphony Orchestra brings a youthful exuberance to new audiences in its first-ever U.S. West Coast tour. Under the direction of Osmo Vänskä, who previously led the ensemble in U.S. East Coast and European tours, the talented young musicians of Curtis showcase sparkling virtuosity and masterful artistry. They are joined on the program by piano sensation Yefim Bronfman, one of the newest additions to the faculty, in award-winning interpretations from the concerto repertoire.

May 2023
Europe
Trio Zimbalist

Following a highly successful Fall 2021 tour of Europe, where it garnered acclaim for “precision and feverish intensity” (Greece’s EfSyn), Trio Zimbalist returns to Europe with Curtis on Tour in Spring 2023. Don’t miss this chance to witness the latest addition to Curtis’s artist management initiative and hear iconic works from the piano trio repertoire.

In addition to national and international tours, Curtis on Tour manages professional performance engagements for Curtis students and recent graduates, providing emerging artists with the matchless experience of appearing with leading ensembles and presenting organizations.

Professional engagements are added on a rolling basis as they are confirmed.

2022

Sept. 23-25 | Denver, CO | Denver Young Concert Artist Orchestra
Nathan Lee, piano

Sept. 27 | Salida, CO | Walden Chamber Music Society
Nathan Lee, piano

Sept. 30 & Oct. 1 | Jacksonville, FL | Jacksonville Symphony
Tianxu An, piano

Oct. 9 | Madison, WI | Salon Piano Series
Janice Carissa, piano

Oct. 23 | Mexico City, Mexico | UNAM
Hoi Leong Cheong, piano

Nov. 12 | Philadelphia, PA | Woodmere Art Museum
Avery Gagliano, piano

Nov. 13 | Washington, DC | Washington Performing Arts “Music in the Country”
Vera Trio

Nov. 13 | Virginia Beach, VA | Symphonicity (Sandler Center for the Performing Arts)
Robert Conquer, trombone

Nov. 19 | Wichita, KS | Wichita Symphony
Curtis Student Singers, TBD

Dec. 4-7 | Mexico City, Mexico | UNAM
Dennis Chmelensky, baritone

Dec. 10 & 11 | Tucson, AZ | Tucson Symphony
Joseph Tancredi, tenor

2023

Jan. 21 | Sacramento, CA | Sacramento Philharmonic
Janice Carissa, piano

Feb. 4 | Fort Collins, CO | Fort Collins Symphony
Avery Gagliano, piano

Feb. 18 | Lewes, DE | Coastal Concerts
Viano String Quartet & Roberto Díaz, viola

Mar. 2 | West Palm Beach, FL | Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts
Janice Carissa, piano

Mar. 4 & 5 | Hagerstown, MD | Maryland Symphony (Maryland Theatre)
Avery Gagliano, piano

Mar. 18 | Tacoma, WA | Symphony Tacoma (Pantages Theater)
Janice Carissa, piano

Mar. 31-Apr. 2 | Kansas City, MO | Kansas City Symphony (Kauffman Center, Helzberg Hall)
Ray Ushikubo, piano

Apr. 15 | Akron, OH | Akron Symphony (EJ Thomas Hall)
Amanda Bottoms, mezzo-soprano
*This engagement is under artist self-management

May 6-7 | Traverse City, MI | Traverse Symphony Recital Series
Maya Buchanan, violin

2022: Soprano and Piano Quartet-Europe

2022: Cello Quintet—U.S.

2021: Flute, Strings, and Piano Virtual Tour—Latin America

2021: Piano Trio—Europe

2021: BROADCAST: Flute, Strings, and Piano—New England

2020: Dover Quartet Virtual Tour—Latin America

2020: BROADCAST: Strings, Guitar, and Voice—New England

2019–20: Vera Quartet and Meng-Chieh Liu, piano—U.S.

2020: Curtis Symphony Orchestra with Osmo Vänskä and Jonathan Biss—U.S.

2019: Woodwinds and Strings Ensemble—U.S.

2019: Flute, Piano, and Strings—Asia

2019: Voice, Strings, and Piano—Europe

2019: Flute, Guitar, and Strings—New England

2019: Clarinet Trio—Latin America

2019: Piano Quartet—Europe

2019: Intimacy of Creativity—Hong Kong

2019: Vocal Quartet—U.S.

2018: Piano Quartet—U.S.

2018: Zorá Quartet—Europe

2018: Leonard Bernstein Centenary Celebration—U.S.

2017: String Sextet—Latin America

2017: Curtis Symphony Orchestra—Europe

Curtis Symphony Orchestra in the U.S.: Winter 2020

Durham, N.C. | CVNC: February 6, 2020

“The Curtis Symphony Orchestra is a young classical ensemble, uniquely gifted and well-trained, advancing in experience every day. Add a renowned conductor like Vänskä and a world-class pianist like Biss and you have an extraordinary concert experience. Those who braved the rainy, stormy night were richly rewarded.”

Read the full review

Vera Quartet and Meng-Chieh Liu in the U.S.: Fall 2019–Spring 2020

Rockport, Mass. | The Boston Musical Intelligencer: November 11, 2019

“Meng-Chieh Liu…wove magic into every note (or bundle of notes) he sent our way.”

“The [Vera Quartet] made the most of Beethoven’s dramatic contrasts…”

Read the full review

Flute, Guitar, and Strings in New England: July 2019

Kingston, R.I. | Providence Journal: July 24, 2019

The touring ensemble opened the Kingston Chamber Music Festival on July 24, 2019 to great reviews, including this one from the Providence Journal, which characterized the concert as a “virtuosic showdown,” adding that “Piazzolla’s “Histoire du Tango” came to life magnificently” and “[Joshua] Smith gorgeously dispatched the Mozart.”

Read the full review

Clarinet Trio in Latin America: June 2019

Santiago, Chile | CNN Chile: June 26, 2019

President Roberto Díaz appeared on television as part of a tour to Latin America, which included stops in his home country of Chile. (Interview begins at 15:44)

Reñaca, Chile | Tell Magazine: June 2019

President Díaz was also featured in print.

Read the full article

Piano Quartet in the U.S.: October 2018

Miami, Fla. | South Florida Classical Review: October 26, 2018

“With their handling of the shifts between determined attacks and tender, blossoming notes, the musicians brought Brahms’ sprawling score to life.”

Read the full review

Piano Quartet in Asia: March 2018

Hong Kong | Chamber Muse: March 30, 2018

“Joined by alumnae pianist Natalie Zhu, the Curtis kicked off the Fauré quartet with turbulent emotion, full of swirling musical ideas.”

Read the full review

Leonard Bernstein Centenary Celebration Tour: Spring 2018

Palm Beach, Fla | Palm Beach Daily News: March 19, 2018

“The quartet did a great job of moving together. In a piece that is easily too sentimental, this group played with the right amount of sincerity.”

Read the full review

String Sextet in Latin America: Fall 2017

Santiago, Chile | El Mercurio: October 21, 2017

“The scherzo, which seems to pay homage to Beethoven’s humor, and the final rondo were exquisite at the hands of this group of teacher and disciples.”

Read the translated review

Curtis Symphony Orchestra in Europe: Summer 2017

Bremen, Germany | Bremer Nachrichten: May 24, 2017

“There is no need to mention this brilliant youth orchestra’s flexible modulation and intuitive musicality…They also gave an impressive performance of Krzysztof Penderecki’s Double Concerto for Violin, Viola and Orchestra. Lush sound and subtle rhythmic motor skills led to an electrifying night of music.”

Read the translated review

Curtis students and alumni are making waves throughout the musical world by winning major competitions, appointments, and honors. Learn about recent achievements on the Curtis News page.