Commencement 2018: Curtis Celebrates its New Graduates

On May 12, Curtis awarded degrees, diplomas, and certificates to 53 graduates. Nine students, a cherished alumnus, and a distinguished commencement speaker received special honors.  Congratulations to the Class of 2018!

View more photos from the 2018 commencement ceremonies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Commencement Speaker: Joseph W. Polisi, D.M.A., president, The Juilliard School

“With your profoundly powerful communicative abilities as musicians, you enter a world that is currently short on empathy, nuance, and civility. … Realizing that these challenges exist, we remain hopeful because we believe that you will use your persuasive power as artists to realize positive change in the time ahead and that our global population will embrace your humanity in all its forms.”

 

 

 

 

Student Speakers: Xiaobo Pu (Guitar) and HéloÏse Carlean Jones (Harp)

“We are leaving a beloved community that has carried and watched over us for so many years. … Today, I want to share with you what I’ve learned from these four years.  Don’t be afraid to embrace the uncertainties in life. Try to stay out of your comfort zone and expand your horizons. … Challenge yourself and try to do something that is unpredictable. In the end, as we head toward our future, the things that will always guide us are the experiences we have shared here. And I believe that no matter where we go, Curtis will always be the home we can return to.”

—Xiaobo Pu

“Music isn’t just something that we’ve been doing since the age of five, something that we’re passionate about, or something that we can’t live without.  Music is our responsibility. It’s our responsibility to do it justice, to inspire others with it, to keep it alive, and to pass it on for generations to come.  And being alumni of Curtis means that we can do this together. … Curtis is a place, but it is also an experience that we have shared together. During our time here, we have inspired each other to do better. Now it’s time to go inspire the world.”

—HéloÏse Carlean Jones

President’s Alumni Award: George Walker (Piano and Composition ’45)

The distinguished composer George Walker (Piano and Composition ’45) received the President’s Alumni Award in honor of a lifetime of musical achievements. Over the course of his trailblazing career as both composer and performer, Dr. Walker has been awarded a Pulitzer Prize, two Guggenheim Fellowships, and numerous honorary doctorates, and remains an active composer—his latest work, Sinfonia No. 5, deals with the 2015 Charleston church massacre, and will be premiered by the National Symphony.

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Welcome to the New Alumni: Mimi Stillman (Flute ’99)

“With the impeccable training and transformative experiences you’ve had at Curtis, you are poised to forge your own path in music—to hone your craft and pursue your individual artistic vision. … You as musicians get to seek the meaning in every note, striving for understanding of the organic whole.  As you take this momentous next step in your lives, I encourage you to work tirelessly, to bring your talent, your intellect, your creativity to bear on every note-from the smallest detail to your grandest dream—and to do it with great joy.”

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Degrees and Diplomas

Diploma: 3
Post-Baccalaureate Diploma: 17
Bachelor of Music: 26
Master of Music in Opera: 6
Certificate of Professional Studies: 1

Awards and Prizes

Lifetime Achievement Award
Joseph W. Polisi, D.M.A., president, The Juilliard School, in recognition of his extraordinary influence on the lives and development of actors, dancers, and musicians as performers, creators, and artist-citizens

President’s Alumni Award
George Walker (Piano and Composition ’45), in recognition of his trailblazing career as both composer and performer

Joan Hutton Landis Award for Excellence in Academics
Stephen Franklin (Trumpet)

Edward Aldwell Award for Excellence in Musical Studies
Bryan Christopher Dunnewald (Organ)
Stephen Franklin (Trumpet)

Charles Miller Prize: The Alberto Casella Award
Chelsea Komschlies (Composition)

Milka Violin Artist Prize
Stephen Kim (Violin)

Angelo Sylvestro Festorazzi Scholarship
Elena Perroni (Opera)

Paul G. Mehlin Scholarship
Linzi Pan (Piano)

Richard F. Gold Career Grant
Evan LeRoy Johnson (Opera)

The Presser Foundation Undergraduate Scholar Award
William Langlie-Miletich (Double Bass)

From an Ancient Alum to the Future Alums

As we approach the graduation of 2018, I cannot help but think back to the graduation of 1950 (mine) and reminisce about the “good old days.” (Reminiscing, at 90, is about the only thing I excel at). The “good old days” took place before the advent of torn jeans, Instagram, robots, iPads, smartphones, drones, Facebook, Starbucks, A.I., etc., etc., etc.

We were musically influenced by Tabuteau, Piatigorsky, Kincaid, Salzedo, Menotti, McCurdy, Hilsburg, and of course Uncle Billy Sokoloff, who played for everybody everywhere (including your lessons)—in any key. Joey Silverstein and Seymor Lipkin were part of my student mix.

Mr. and Mrs. Zimbalist sat in the left balcony at every concert. I feel certain I was not the only student who was a nervous wreck as we bowed to the box before our concerts.

Lenfest Hall was not even a dream; at that time many students lived in rooms or small apartments in Rittenhouse Square (before it became “Rittenhouse Square”).

Reel-to-reel tape was au courant. There was no technology department, no development department. Technology existed only in the comics (Dick Tracy’s watch).

The outside world was far away. Time moved slowly. In retrospect life was simpler. Full of youthful enthusiasm, it did not seem that way at the time.

Standards at Curtis [were] always high, but we remained totally insulated from the world around us.

Technology has brought the biggest change in all areas of life, and music is no exception.

Very little concerned us between music and the outside world. Helen Traubel, Wagnerian soprano at the Met, was demonized for appearing on Jimmy Durante’s TV show. Koussevitzky chastised Lenny Bernstein for writing anything but classical “serious” music.

Mrs. Zimbalist paid the bills. There were very few competitive music schools. We did not “learn by doing.” We were there to learn, period.

We also did not enter Curtis with the level of sophistication, awareness, and musical competence of today’s young musicians.

In retrospect it was not the age of anxiety or quick fixes or breaking news flashes.

But the one thing that has remained constant is the music.

It was beautiful. It is beautiful. It will always be beautiful. In your capable hands, of that we have no doubt.

In the midst of chaos your music-making gives us hope for a better world.

Congratulations – good luck!

Lovingly,

Bobbi Moskow

Curtis Names Eric Owens and Danielle Orlando to Lead the Vocal Studies Department Beginning in 2019–20

PHILADELPHIA—May 10, 2018—The Curtis Institute of Music announces a new artistic leadership team to guide the Curtis Vocal Studies Department and Curtis Opera Theatre. Eric Owens and Danielle Orlando will lead the department beginning in the 2019–20 season. They will build upon Mikael Eliasen’s remarkable legacy as head of the Curtis voice and opera program for over 30 years, in that time producing many celebrated performers including Mr. Owens.

“We’re fortunate to have two artists with such deep expertise and tremendous professional experience to continue Mikael’s legacy and guide the Curtis Opera Theatre into the future,” said Curtis President Roberto Díaz. “Eric comes to Curtis at the height of his career, and brings not only vast onstage experience, but also a commitment to community engagement and musical advocacy that perfectly aligns with the school’s mission to engage audiences locally and globally. Danielle has collaborated with some of the most prominent opera singers of this generation, including Luciano Pavarotti and Plácido Domingo, among others. And as our Principal Opera Coach and Mikael’s colleague since 1986, she has tremendous depth of experience and institutional knowledge.”

 
Mikael Eliasen (left), Danielle Orlando (second from left), and Eric Owens (center) with students and alumni of the Curtis Vocal Department.

The 2018–19 season will be a year of transition and celebration, as Mikael Eliasen brings his distinguished tenure as Artistic Director of the Curtis Opera Theatre and the Hirsig Family Chair of Vocal Studies to a close. As planning begins for the following year, Mr. Owens and Ms. Orlando will jointly hear auditions and be responsible for artistic and educational oversight of the 2019–20 season.

A 1995 Curtis graduate, bass-baritone Eric Owens appears frequently with the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Washington National Opera, and Houston Grand Opera, among many opera houses and orchestras. His broad performance experience spans music of all eras, from the Baroque to new works being written today, and he maintains an active concert career alongside his opera performances. He will continue to perform actively after joining the Curtis faculty and hopes to add appearances with Curtis on Tour along with opportunities to involve students in his concert work.

“Working with young people is something that is incredibly close to my heart,” said Mr. Owens, who has also mentored young singers in programs at the Glimmerglass Festival and the Washington National Opera. “I find myself so fulfilled by giving back and being able to share my knowledge and experience as a performer. Coming back to Curtis—with its amazing, nurturing environment and its illustrious and storied history—is just a dream come true.”

Mr. Owens will return to Philadelphia, where he has family roots, joining fellow Curtis faculty members Midori and Jonathan Biss in making the city his home. “I’m looking forward to being a part of the musical life of Philadelphia, and working with the voice and opera students as they share music with the community through outreach activities as well as performances,” Mr. Owens said. “It’s important to train not just great performers but advocates who have the tools to share music with others.”

Danielle Orlando’s career has included close collaborations with musical titans such as Luciano Pavarotti, Gian Carlo Menotti, and Plácido Domingo, as well as work casting and planning seasons for many prestigious organizations around the world. A member of the Curtis faculty since 1986, she was artistic administrator and head of music staff for the Opera Company of Philadelphia for many years and has served on the music staffs of the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Washington National Opera, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Dresden Semperoper, and Savonlinna Opera Festival, among others. Recent collaborations include work with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Yannick Nézet-Séguin, coaching singers on a performance of Bach’s Cantata No. 150; and residencies at Curtis Summerfest, University of Tennessee in Knoxville, and University of Peking Academy of Opera in Beijing. She has also been a recital partner to Mr. Owens many times over the years, from performances in Field Concert Hall when he was a Curtis student, to later appearances at the Châtelet in Paris, Carnegie Hall in New York City, and the Perelman Theater in Philadelphia.

“My dedication and passion for education and for teaching has always stood alongside my own performance experiences with some of the most important opera luminaries and institutions present during my lifetime,” said Ms. Orlando. “My history at Curtis as principal opera coach is a bonus, in terms of knowing why Curtis Opera Theatre is already so successful and knowing how we can move ahead. Working with Mikael Eliasen as he developed the department has been a wonderful journey, which forged a valued friendship as well. I am excited to work with Eric Owens again, and I know that he will bring his own artistic and human integrity to younger singers while he still maintains one of the most successful opera and concert careers of any Curtis graduate.”

Under the guidance of Mikael Eliasen, the Curtis Opera Theatre program has become known for its highly selective and personalized program of study, which encourages freedom of expression and frequent performance opportunities. As a result, Curtis graduates can be heard with opera companies all over the world, including La Scala, Covent Garden, the Vienna Staatsoper, Houston Grand Opera, Opera Philadelphia, the San Francisco Opera, and the Metropolitan Opera. All voice and opera students are cast repeatedly each season, working alongside established professional directors and designers. Repertoire is carefully selected to provide crucial training at pivotal moments in the singers’ development. Students graduate with confidence stemming from vast practical experience onstage and blossoming professional careers.

“As we transition to a new leadership team, the 2018–19 season continues to reflect Mikael Eliasen’s singular vision,” said Mr. Díaz. “His care in selecting students and repertoire and his passion for artistically adventurous, thought-provoking opera productions will be evident in the season ahead. He has built an amazing department that embodies the Curtis core value of learning by doing. And we believe the department will be in excellent hands with Eric and Danielle, who know Curtis so well and care deeply about continuing its trajectory of success.”

 

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