Month: June 2019

Christopher Mossey Joins Curtis Institute of Music as Vice President for Institutional Advancement

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PHILADELPHIA—June 26, 2019—The Curtis Institute of Music has appointed Christopher Mossey as vice president for institutional advancement, serving as a senior member of the leadership team and overseeing the school’s integrated development, marketing, and communications functions. Effective July 8, Mr. Mossey will guide advancement priorities and ensure funding of the strategic initiatives leading up to Curtis’s centenary in 2024.

Mr. Mossey brings over 20 years of experience developing resources and innovative programs for higher education and cultural organizations, including a previous position as senior managing director of the global ventures initiative at the Juilliard School. As vice president for institutional advancement, he will bolster the perception and positioning of Curtis as a top-tier educational institution with a wide breadth of student, alumni, and faculty activity, and will engage stakeholders—including influential leaders on a local and global scale—in the life, mission, and financial well-being of the school. He will manage departmental staff and work closely with Curtis’s senior leadership, including the president, senior vice president of administration, and board of trustees.

“Christopher was the unanimous choice of the staff and trustees on the search committee,” says Curtis president and CEO Roberto Díaz. “Curtis will benefit from his record of achievement developing, directing, and raising money for transformative programs, and his extensive experience with global branding initiatives will be an excellent asset to the school.”

“I am truly honored to be joining the Curtis Institute of Music,” says Mr. Mossey. “I am looking forward to experiencing first-hand the creativity of Curtis’s students, faculty, and alumni and developing innovative ways to welcome more friends to participate in the critical role that Curtis plays in artistic affairs every day around the world.”

A member of the Juilliard School’s administration from 1999 to 2018, Mr. Mossey co-founded Juilliard Global Ventures, through which he oversaw the development of the Tianjin Juilliard School. Also at Juilliard, he launched an international K–12 performing arts education initiative with Nord Anglia Education, developed significant philanthropic gifts as part of the $300 million Second Century Fund, and created an annual series of exchanges and workshops with young musicians in São Paulo, Brazil, in partnership with the U.S. Consulate and the State Secretariat of Culture in São Paulo, among other accomplishments.

Since 2018, Mr. Mossey has been a consultant with The Greatest Works Agency, which helps educational and cultural organizations leverage hidden assets to expand their global reach and develop revenue. He holds a Ph.D. in the history and theory of music from Brandeis University and a bachelor of music degree from Florida State University.

 

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In Memoriam: Naomi Graffman

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Curtis mourns the loss of Naomi Graffman, who passed away on June 17 at age 90 after a long illness. The wife of our longtime piano faculty and former president, Gary Graffman, Mrs. Graffman was a cherished member of our community and played a vital part at Curtis during the 20 years of her husband’s leadership. A gifted writer and editor with a flair for organization and a wonderful sense of humor, she made important and enduring contributions to the school, notably in publications and the library. Above all, she is remembered fondly by alumni for her faithful service behind the samovar at Wednesday afternoon tea.

“Naomi was the heart and soul of Curtis for two decades,” said Roberto Díaz, Curtis’s president, who succeeded Mr. Graffman in 2006. “She offered her famous homemade brownies at tea, and delighted in hearing about students’ daily lives and musical milestones. She was an incomparable partner to Gary and friend to the school, and she will be deeply missed by us all.”

Mrs. Graffman’s connection with Curtis dated from her childhood. She was the daughter of a Curtis-trained composer, Max Helfman (’32), who commuted from their New York home to study with Rosario Scalero. She once recalled visiting Curtis as a young child, standing in the room that would later bear the Graffmans’ name: “I remember the Common Room with awe, because of the ceiling. … When people used to ask me when I was about three years old, ‘Where is your Daddy,’ I would say, ‘Daddy has gone to Philadelphia to teach Mr. Scalero.’”

As a young woman, she worked in concert management at Columbia Artists, the firm that represented Mr. Graffman, then a rising concert pianist. For more than 65 years she was his partner, collaborator, and editor. The Graffmans’ longstanding commitment to Curtis was honored in 2006 with the dedication of the Gary and Naomi Graffman Common Room in the school’s main building; and the creation of the Gary and Naomi Graffman Scholarship Fund, which provides need-based student financial assistance.

Curtis extends heartfelt sympathy to the family and friends of Mrs. Graffman.

Read the full obituary from the Philadelphia Inquirer