A Fond Farewell to Chuck Sterne

Charles “Chuck” Sterne III, a longtime and deeply valued member of the Curtis administration, will be retiring on December 31, 2020, as announced to the Curtis staff and faculty in July 2020.

In the announcement, Roberto Díaz, president and CEO, remarked, “It is impossible to overestimate what Chuck has done for Curtis in his nearly 28 years of service to the school. Since joining Curtis in 1993, he has been a critical participant and strategist in a number of campaigns—including the drive to develop Lenfest Hall—that have helped to transform Curtis into what it is today. One of his first initiatives was to establish the Founder’s Society, currently comprised of 183 donors who have made commitments to name Curtis as a beneficiary in their wills, life insurance policies, trusts, and other planned giving vehicles. All of Chuck’s efforts in the realm of fundraising have been immensely important to the long-term financial stability of the school.”

For all who have had the pleasure of working with Chuck over the years, we know that Curtis is a better place because of his love of and involvement in the school. Those wishing to be in direct touch with Chuck, can reach him at charles.sterne@curtis.edu.

Meet the Students: Asha Kline

Asha Kline, from Ellicott City, Md., entered Curtis in 2020. A bassoonist, she studies with Daniel Matsukawa. Asha is an avid orchestral player and has performed with the Baltimore Symphony Youth Orchestra, Maryland Classic Youth Orchestra’s Philharmonic Orchestra, Boston University Tanglewood Institute’s Young Artists Orchestra, and Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra 2. Here she explains how these orchestral experiences have been some of the most formative in her musical life and details her many non-musical pursuits.

 


 

What has been your most important musical experience until now?

I spent the summers of 2018 and 2019 at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute. Lying outside on the lawn, looking at the stars and listening to the Boston Symphony play Ravel or Hilary Hahn play Bach are some of my happiest, most peaceful memories. I loved walking through the grounds and feeling the legacy of all the world-renowned musicians who had been there before me.

What are you looking forward to most about attending Curtis?

I am looking forward to being in an environment where I can learn from and be inspired by my peers. Especially right now, having not played in an ensemble for over six months, the thought of being able to play alongside the musicians in the Curtis orchestra sounds like heaven.

Are there any hobbies you’ve been able to focus on during quarantine?

Rather than focusing on just one hobby, quarantine has allowed me to explore many new areas. In the first couple of months, I was baking something new every day. I experimented with cooking, trying to learn how to make the Indian dishes that my mother grew up eating. I’ve gotten into crocheting, making a vegetable garden, raising monarch caterpillars, going for walks and bike rides, reading, trying to code an app, learning to water ski, and playing tennis.

What was the last performance you participated in?

Two days before schools shut down on March 13, the conductor of my youth orchestra told us to run through our program as if it was the last time we’d play together as an orchestra, though at the time none of us believed that would end up being true. To me, that “performance” was just as memorable as a real concert because it gave us all an emotional outlet for our uncertainties about how life was about to change.

Meet the Students: Zhu Wang

Zhu Wang, from Hunan Province, China, entered Curtis in 2020. A pianist, he studies with Robert McDonald. Zhu holds a bachelor’s degree from the Juilliard School, and has performed at venues all over the world, including the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, the Chamber Music Hall of Berlin’s Philharmonie, Warsaw Philharmonic Concert Hall, Shanghai Concert Hall, Chicago Cultural Center, and the Morgan Library. Here he shares what he looks forward to most when he finally reaches Philadelphia.

 


 

What has been your most important musical experience until now?

I performed Schubert’s E-Flat Major piano trio during the Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival back in the summer of 2018. It was meaningful because that was the first time I got to dive into the magical world of chamber music seriously with wonderful friends and musicians. We were very lucky to be working with Laurie Smukler and Robert McDonald—I am very excited to continue working with him at Curtis!

 

What was your favorite part of Curtis’s online New Student Orientation?

I enjoyed the library’s virtual tour very much! The archives of Curtis history are enriching and inspiring to see. I will visit them for sure when I am back on campus.

 

What are you looking forward to most about attending Curtis?

I am most looking forward to living in beautiful Philadelphia. After living in New York City for four years and Shanghai for seven years, I want to get away from a crowded metropolitan area. Philly is a perfect city in my opinion.

 

Where will you be learning during the fall semester?

In Rochester, New York.

 

How have you made the shift to online learning?

Because classes are online now, I am very interested in all kinds of equipment that will improve my virtual learning experiences. And as I invested in microphones and audio interfaces, I have gotten more and more into the music production field.

Curtis Announces Staff Appointments

September 18, 2020—The Curtis Institute of Music is pleased to announce two new staff appointments at Curtis. Effective immediately, Dr. Jeanne M. McGinn takes on the additional role of Senior Associate Dean of Academics and Shea Scruggs joins Curtis as Director of Institutional Research and Musician Experience/Chief Enrollment Officer.

Dr. McGinn is well-known to the Curtis community as the Ruth W. and A. Morris Williams Jr. Chair of Liberal Arts. She has been a member of the faculty for over 25 years and is an award-winning poet. Her poems have been set by Curtis alumni including Jennifer Higdon, Michael Djupstrom, Ya-Jhu Yang, Rene Orth, and Andrew Hsu, and have been performed all over North America. She received her B.A. from Bucknell University; her M.A. as a Rotary International Fellow from University College Cork, Ireland; and her Ph.D. from Bryn Mawr College. In her new role, Dr. McGinn will oversee the school’s academic programs and faculty as well as the library resources that complement students’ work throughout their enrollment. In addition to continuing her work in the classroom, she will be a driving force in determining and supporting Curtis’s curriculum.

“It is an honor to step into this new role and a joy to work with such creative and dedicated colleagues,” says Dr. McGinn. “Through a holistic curriculum, we offer students extraordinary opportunities to grow as artists, citizens, and human beings. In turn, we draw inspiration from the hope they bring to the world through their transformative artistry.”

Shea Scruggs (Oboe ’04) has performed and taught as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral musician, including positions with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the San Francisco Opera, and the Cincinnati Symphony. A student of Richard Woodhams while at Curtis, Mr. Scruggs also holds a B.A. in English literature from Swarthmore College and a Master of Business Administration from the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University. He has advised performing arts organizations on strategic initiatives including equity, diversity, and inclusion and is sought-after as a speaker and advocate. Mr. Scrugg’s duties in this newly created position include coordinating Curtis’s program of institutional research, overseeing admission to Curtis’s educational programs, and developing new initiatives to engage Curtis alumni in the development of current and prospective students. He will be a key member of Curtis’s musician lifecycle team—attending to the experiences of prospective, current, and former students—and will serve on the President’s cabinet.

“I am excited to help Curtis find talented prospects wherever they are in the world, ensure students have transformative experiences, and help alumni launch careers in a landscape where the sky is the limit for artists who can perform at the highest level and connect with audiences,” says Mr. Scruggs.

Curtis also announces the creation of an Ombuds Office. This new office serves as a neutral and accessible point of contact for members of the Curtis community to resolve differences and explore matters of concern, and is being rolled out to all students, faculty, and staff.

Anthony McGill Receives $100,000 Avery Fisher Prize

Curtis faculty member and alumnus Anthony McGill (Clarinet ’00) has been awarded the prestigious Avery Fisher Prize for his achievements as an outstanding instrumentalist and prominent advocate for social change. Considered among the top solo, chamber, and orchestral musicians today, Mr. McGill receives a monetary award of $100,000 with an additional $30,000 to be donated to create a scholarship fund for the Juilliard School’s Music Advancement Program, where he serves as artistic director.

The Prize was awarded by unanimous decision in December 2019, and will be celebrated in a virtual ceremony tonight, Tuesday, September 15 at 6 p.m. ET. As the New York Times reports, “His contributions this year to the Black Lives Matter movement have reinforced why he won the prize in the first place,” referring, in part, to Mr. McGill’s #TakeTwoKnees movement on social media. This effort, created in response to the killing of George Floyd, is one of many led by Curtis alumni to advance equity, diversity, and anti-racism through social media campaigns, career development programs, community advocacy, and more.

A member of the Curtis faculty since 2015, Mr. McGill is principal clarinet of the New York Philharmonic and is the first African-American musician to hold a principal position in the orchestra. He previously served as principal clarinet of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and associate principal clarinet of the Cincinnati Symphony.

A native of Chicago, Mr. McGill has performed throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, and South Africa in recital, in chamber music, and as a soloist. He has collaborated with Emanuel Ax, Yefim Bronfman (Piano ’77), Gil Shaham, Midori, Mitsiko Uchida, and Lang Lang (Piano ’02); and in January of 2009 performed with Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, and Gabriela Montero at President Obama’s first inauguration.

Mr. McGill, who also received an Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2000, joins an impressive roster of musicians who have received the Prize since its founding over 40 years ago, including 2018 recipient Leila Josefowicz (Violin ’97).

 


 

Curtis students, alumni, and faculty, are making remarkable accomplishments in the music world and beyond. Learn more about Curtis in the News.