Meet the New Students: Alexandra Cooreman

Alexandra Cooreman from Brussels, Belgium is among Curtis’s newest students who assembled at the Philadelphia campus this fall. A violinist in Ida Kavafian’s studio, she has won top prizes at international competitions and recently represented Belgium in the Eurovision Young Musicians competition in Edinburgh. She shares her enthusiasm for a new start at Curtis and remembers some of her most impactful performances as a student at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel.

 


 

What has been your most important musical experience until now?

One I will remember until the end of my life is when I played nearly every night on a musical cruise called the Queen Elisabeth Music Voyage, organized by the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel. It was in 2016, I was thirteen years old. There was a concert every night with exceptional musicians and artists like Augustin Dumay, Maria Joao Pires, Miguel Da Silva, and Kerson Leong. Since the night I performed my last concert on that cruise, I really decided I want to play concerts all the time and travel from one country to another. This is the life I would like to have.

 

What excited you most about Curtis after attending orientation in August?

I got to meet so many new people and all are the same age as me! I have always spent time with people much older than me because I was homeschooled. Even when I was still at school, the other students didn’t understand why I had to practice so much. But now, I am lucky to have amazing friends at Curtis, who are just like me. I am really looking forward to experiencing all the great opportunities Curtis has to offer!

 

What was it like traveling to Curtis from abroad?

It was quite difficult to travel to the United States, but finally everything went well. The only thing that couldn’t be done is getting the permission to travel with my mother to the U.S.

 

What are your non-musical hobbies?

I love cooking! That is my second passion. I have been doing this for four or five years now. I was actually selling my food in Belgium. I have a cooking website called PetitChefAlex. (https://www.instagram.com/petitchefalex/)

Curtis Institute of Music Announces Inaugural Young Alumni Fund Recipients

PHILADELPHIA, PA—September 21, 2021—The Curtis Institute of Music is proud to announce its first-ever Young Alumni Fund grantees. The fund provides recent graduates of Curtis—those who completed their studies in 2011 or later—with financial awards to remove barriers to their success as emerging performers and advance their personal artistic visions. The Young Alumni Fund is the latest initiative from Curtis demonstrating an intentional focus on the “musician lifecycle” and easing the transition from student to professional life.

Among other notable proposals, these awards will support community and non-profit organizations founded by alumni, production of new commercial film and audio recordings, training in non-musical skills beneficial to the field of music, and general artistic development, such as audition travel, promotional materials, and instrument purchases. Many of the projects address challenges borne from the ongoing pandemic (one funded documentary explores musicians’ COVID-19 experience through the lens of Franz Schubert’s music) or give voice to historic or deeply personal stories from people of color (for example, musical recordings will be included in a PBS special on innovators in Milwaukee’s African American community). Project summaries are included within biographies below.

The inaugural grantees are:

Grantees were selected from 41 applicants through a competitive review process. Proposals were evaluated closely by an anonymous panel of Curtis alumni. Funding totaling $37,000 was distributed based on the overall strength of a proposal, expressed impact the funding might have on the recipient’s or project’s success, and the perceived potential for the applicant to meet milestones. Grantees also have access to professional guidance and support in achieving the proposal’s goals.

“After numerous conversations with alumni in diverse careers, we understood that access to grants and mentorship were critical resources in the musician journey,” says Shea Scruggs (Oboe ’04), Curtis’s director of institutional research and musician experience and chief enrollment officer. “Our graduates are doing incredible and innovative work. We are proud to help and support young alumni as they enter the next chapter of their musical journeys.” Mr. Scruggs developed the Young Alumni Fund in collaboration with design thinking consultant Ramy Nassar, management consultant Kristan Cybriwsky (Flute ’90), and an advisory group of twelve Curtis alumni drawn from a broad range of class years and career types.

As Curtis approaches its centenary in 2024, it is prioritizing the needs of the musician lifecycle: the shifting artistic and economic experiences of artists both as they prepare to enter Curtis and build their careers following graduation. Committed to fostering meaningful relationships with its musicians even after they matriculate, the school’s key initiatives have also included Curtis on Tour, which provides experience, income, and visibility for young artists through professional touring engagements across the globe; Emergency Relief for Curtis Alumni (ERCA), which funded over $500,000 in one-time direct transfers to alumni severely impacted by the cancellation of performances in the pandemic; and expert-led webinars to strengthen social media and financial planning skills among alumni.

Information about the Young Alumni Fund and future opportunities is available at Curtis.edu/YAF.

 

ABOUT THE GRANTEES

Project Support

 

  • Tessa Ellis (Trumpet ’17, Community Artist Fellow ’18) has been fascinated by the sound of the trumpet since she was four years old and heard the instrument for the first time. Her work as a Philadelphia-based freelance trumpeter and teaching artist is inspired by her lifelong drive to create new and nuanced sounds. Ms. Ellis is a founding member of the Arcana New Music Ensemble and the Opus 5 Brass Quintet and has enjoyed genre-bending performances with Hanson, Amos Lee, Square Peg Round Hole, and Caracara. She studied with David Bilger at the Curtis Institute of Music, where she earned a Bachelor of Music and a Community Artist Fellowship diploma. As an orchestral musician, she has performed with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra 2001, and Symphony in C.Ms. Ellis was a finalist in the 2016 Ellsworth Smith International Trumpet Solo Competition and has won first place in two divisions of the National Trumpet Competition. In addition to performing, she is a faculty member at Settlement Music School, where she teaches trumpet and Children’s Music Workshop. With this grant funding, Ms. Ellis will enter an ADHD coach training program to serve neurodivergent musicians and better advocate for neurodiversity inclusion in classical music.
  • Chinese-American pianist George Xiaoyuan Fu (Piano ’16) is establishing an international reputation as a captivating performer with distinctive intelligence and sensitivity. Mr. Fu has performed as a piano soloist with orchestras such as the National Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, North Carolina Symphony, Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, and the Curtis Symphony Orchestra; and has collaborated with conductors such as Michael Tilson Thomas, Stefan Asbury, Kensho Watanabe, Vinay Parameswaran, and Jonathan Berman. He has appeared at international venues such as the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, Kings Place, and Seiji Ozawa Hall at Tanglewood; while his live performances and interviews have been featured on several public television and radio broadcasts around the world.Passionate about the creation of new work, Mr. Fu is an active composer and performer of contemporary music, having collaborated with composers Krzysztof Penderecki, Harrison Birtwistle, George Lewis, Unsuk Chin, Tansy Davies, Phil Cashian, Matthew Aucoin, and Freya Waley-Cohen. Interested in collaborative work, he is a conductor, an active chamber musician with duo partners and ensembles around the world, and collaborator with artists of many disciplines. Mr. Fu currently teaches at the Royal Academy of Music.Mr. Fu’s funded project is Solitude with Schubert, a documentary following him and soprano Lotte Betts-Dean that examines how their experience relates to musicians’ lives during the worldwide pandemic. Together they prepare for an upcoming concert of Schubert’s music, which explores themes of solitude and death while holding hope for life.
  • Joshua Halpern (Cello ’19) has appeared on stages around the world as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral principal cellist. As a chamber musician, he has collaborated with artists including Jonathan Biss, Anthony Roth Costanzo, Roberto Díaz, Viviane Hagner, Gary Hoffman, Kim Kashkashian, Anthony McGill, and Itzhak Perlman; and has appeared at music festivals including the Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute, the Perlman Music Program Chamber Music Workshop, the New York String Orchestra Seminar, the Taos School of Music, La Jolla Music Society’s SummerFest, Musikiwest, and Krzyżowa-Music. In 2020 he performed as cello of the Rolston String Quartet and during the 2019 season he served as guest principal cello of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, with whom he toured Germany, Taiwan, and China.Mr. Halpern completed post-baccalaureate studies at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where he studied with Carter Brey and Peter Wiley. At Curtis he performed throughout the United States, Europe and Latin America with Curtis on Tour, and was principal cello of the Curtis Symphony Orchestra during the 2016–17 season. As an undergraduate at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, where he studied with Desmond Hoebig, he won the Shepherd School Concerto Competition.As a teacher, Mr. Halpern has presented master classes throughout the United States and South America and has taught at Curtis Summerfest and the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival. He serves on the faculty at the Brooklyn School of Music.In 2018 Mr. Halpern curated a solo tour across Colorado to bring classical music to unexpected places, including the state penitentiary, small-town saloons, and bicycle shops. Since then, he has continued bringing music to unique spaces around the country, most recently through his Cultural Caravan project, for which he will receive grant funding to support a 2022 festival. The Cultural Caravan nonprofit connects performing artists with local business venues in Boulder, Colorado to revitalize the community in the wake of the pandemic.
  • Natalie Helm (Cello ’11) joined the Sarasota Orchestra as principal cello during the 2016–17 season. She previously served as a member of the Des Moines Metro Opera Festival Orchestra and as the cello fellow and principal cello of the Montgomery Symphony Orchestra.Ms. Helm has appeared as a soloist with orchestras around the country, including the Dana Point Symphony; the Louisville and Colburn orchestras; and the World Youth, Montgomery, and Richardson symphony orchestras. She has performed with the American Contemporary Ballet, the Domingo-Thornton Young Artist Program, and the Yamaha Music Foundation.Ms. Helm has won top prizes at several international competitions including the Lennox International and Blount-Slawson young artists competitions, and the Kingsville Young Performers Competition; and has appeared on NPR’s From the Top.A native of Louisville, Ms. Helm received her Bachelor of Music degree from the Curtis Institute of Music in 2011 and her Artist Diploma from the Colburn School in 2014. She plays on a Raphael Di Blasio cello from 1803.

    As the founder of Upward Notes, Ms. Helm’s funding will support the ongoing work and increased outreach of the four-year-old non-profit. The mission of Upward Notes is to bring classical music out of the concert hall and into the community while teaching and fostering well-being for the audience and performer. Through the organization, a roster of over 50 volunteer musicians performs for previously underserved audiences in jails, sex-trafficking safe-houses, foster care locations, homeless shelters, and substance addiction centers in several cities.

  • Gaining attention for his unique ability to connect with audiences through performance, Oliver Herbert (Cello ’19) is quickly building a reputation as an artist with a distinct voice and individual style. The recipient of a 2021 Avery Fisher Career Grant, Mr. Herbert’s recent solo appearances include debuts with world renowned ensembles including the San Francisco Symphony, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Warsaw Philharmonic, and Edmonton Symphony Orchestra.Mr. Herbert is equally at home playing well-known works and exploring uncharted musical territories. The 2021–22 season marks the beginning of several ambitious projects, including the complete Bach cello suites at Capital Region Classical and the complete Beethoven sonatas at Guarneri Hall in Chicago. He will also premiere a commissioned work for multitrack cello and electronics and explore the music of Venezuelan composer and cellist Paul Desenne. Additional highlights include concerto performances with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, New World Symphony, and Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra; and performances with violinist Alexi Kenney and pianist Eric Lu for the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society.As a chamber musician, Mr. Herbert has participated in leading music festivals including Caramoor, ChamberFest Cleveland, Krzyżowa-Music, La Jolla Music Society’s SummerFest, Marlboro Music Festival, Music in the Vineyards, Nevada Chamber Music Festival, the Ravinia Festival, and the Verbier Festival. He studied with Carter Brey and Peter Wiley at the Curtis Institute of Music and with Clive Greensmith at the Colburn School.In June 2020, Mr. Herbert released his debut album, Frame of Mind: Fauré and Janáček, with pianist Xiaohui Yang. Additional recording highlights include a release of Haydn’s Cello Concerto No. 2 with Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony. His grant funding will support the creation of a new album for solo cello comprised entirely of works by living composers, including fellow Curtis graduate Chelsea Komschlies (Composition ’18).
  • Sonora Slocum (Flute ’11), principal flute of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, has appeared with the Philadelphia Orchestra and as guest principal flute with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and the Philharmonia Orchestra of New York. She has performed under conductors Christoph Eschenbach, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Sir Simon Rattle, Edo de Waart, Otto-Werner Mueller, John Williams, and David Zinman, among many others.Summer festival appearances include the Lincoln Center Festival, Strings Music Festival, Twickenham Fest, Frankly Music, and the Lakes Area Music Festival. She attended Music Academy of the West, the Pacific Music Festival, and the Aspen Music Festival and School. In 2019, she was a featured soloist at the National Flute Association’s Gala Concerto Concert in Abravanel Hall. Her publications include the collection French Flute Music and an upcoming compilation, Moyse Selected Exercises and Etudes, both printed by Hal Leonard.Ms. Slocum has conducted numerous master classes throughout the country, including at the Curtis Institute of Music, Carnegie Hall’s NYO2, DePaul University, New Jersey City University, and the National Flute Association’s Orchestral Audition Competition. She is a faculty member of the Curtis Mentor Network and served on the faculty at Curtis Summerfest.This funding will provide production and promotional support for her recent recording of the Mozart Flute Quartets with members of the Dover and Escher string quartets, recorded in Field Concert Hall at the Curtis Institute of Music. The album will be featured this fall in the PBS series Black Nouveau, which celebrates trailblazers in Milwaukee’s African American community.
  • In recent appearances, American tenor Joshua Stewart (Voice ’09, Opera ’12) joined celebrated conductor Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra on tour in the United Kingdom, Paris, and Germany as tenor soloist in Tippett’s A Child of Our Time. In the United States he performed in Das Paradies und die Peri with conductor Paolo Bortolameolli. Enjoying a long collaboration with Peter Sellars, Mr. Stewart performed as The Shepherd (Oedipus Rex) in a production directed by Sellars and conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen at the Baltic Sea Festival in Stockholm, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, and Royal Festival Hall in London. He made his debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic as Narrator (Sellars’s Das Paradies und die Peri) with conductor Gustavo Dudamel.Previous season’s highlights include the roles of Zinovy (Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk) and Lazarus (world premiere of Giorgio Battistelli’s Wake) with Birmingham Opera Company; Antenore (Zelmira) and Giove (Le nozze di Teti e di Peleo) at Rossini in Wildbad; Trin (La Fanciulla del West) at Hamburg State Opera; Belmonte (Die Entführung aus dem Serail) at Opéra de Lausanne and Opéra de Fribourg; Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni) at Toledo Opera; and Arturo (Lucia di Lammermoor) at Opera Carolina.Mr. Stewart is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and a former member of Munich’s Bayerische Staatsoper Opernstudio, where he appeared in productions by Christoph Loy, Richard Jones, Constantine Trinks, Kent Nagano, Dan Ettinger, and Maurizio Benini. With a background in jazz, he has performed the title role in Charlie Parker’s Yardbird with the opera companies of Arizona, Atlanta, Madison, and Seattle.With this award, Mr. Stewart will commission a song cycle based on his original text “Man Without a Home,” which reflects on the stories that shaped him as a young Black man living in America and Europe.

 

Career Support

 

  • Lyman McBride (Trombone ’18) is a freelance musician and software engineer based in Utah. Having trained at some of the country’s finest music schools, he brings his passion for excellence, pedagogy, and service to all aspects of his life.Mr. McBride is a winner of the International Trombone Association’s Larry Wiehe Trombone Competition and has appeared as a soloist with the Brigham Young University Wind Symphony. He has toured throughout Europe and Asia with the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, the BYU Wind Symphony, and BYU’s Synthesis ensemble. Mr. McBride has been a member of the National Repertory and Brevard Music Center orchestras; and performs regularly with the Utah Symphony and the Timpanogos Big Band, among other ensembles.As a teacher, Mr. McBride has served on the faculties for BYU Musicians’ SummerFestival and Institute and the Morse Summer Music Academy at the Yale School of Music. He previously taught group lessons in secondary schools around New Haven, Connecticut and currently teaches private lessons throughout Utah. Mr. McBride holds performance degrees from Brigham Young University, the Curtis Institute of Music, and the Yale School of Music; and has studied with Mark Davidson, Nitzan Haroz, Scott Hartman, and Matthew Vaughn.
  • Italian-American soprano Ashley Milanese (Voice ’15, Opera ’17, Opera ’18) is emerging as an exciting young presence in the operatic world. In 2021 she appeared as Giannetta (L’elisir d’amore) and Annina (La traviata) with Teatro Regio Torino. 2018–19 season highlights included Komische Oper Berlin’s touring production of Barrie Kosky’s Die Zauberflöte, singing the role of Erste Dame across Australia and New Zealand, and at the Mostly Mozart Festival in New York; and serving as artist in residence with Teatro Regio Torino.Recent North American roles include Fresquita (Carmen), Erste Dame (Die Zauberflöte), and Barbarina (Le nozze di Figaro) with Opera Philadelphia, where Ms. Milanese was an Emerging Artist from 2016 to 2018. She has participated in summer festivals and programs including Wolf Trap Opera Studio and Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. Symphonic performances include operatic selections with the National Orchestral Institute Philharmonic and Mainline Symphony Orchestra, Faure’s Requiem with the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra, and Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with the Allentown Symphony Orchestra.Passionate about contemporary music, Ms. Milanese has collaborated with composers Kevin Puts, Rene Orth, Tobias Picker, David T. Little, Daniel Schnyder, and Nico Muhly. She has covered lead roles in the premieres of David Hertzberg’s The Wake World and Missy Mazzoli’s Breaking the Waves, and originated the role of Chan Parker in workshops of Charlie Parker’s Yardbird in 2015. Ms. Milanese studied at the Juilliard School and the Curtis Institute of Music, where she received her Bachelor of Music, Master of Music, and Artist’s Diploma.
  • Jahleel Smith (Bass Trombone ’18) is acting bass trombone with the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra. He has also performed with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the Malaysian Philharmonic, the Louisville Orchestra, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and the Classical/Pops All-Star Orchestra in Barbados.Mr. Smith holds degrees from the Curtis Institute of Music and Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music. While attending IU, he was a two-time finalist for the school’s brass concerto competition and a finalist in several professional auditions including those with the San Antonio Symphony and the U.S. Army Concert and Ceremonial Bands.Mr. Smith has attended the Pacific Music Festival, Boston University’s Tanglewood Institute, and the Cleveland Trombone Seminar, where he was awarded the Jiggs Wigham Scholarship for best under-21 audition recording. He was a finalist for the Edward Kleinhammer Orchestral Bass Trombone Competition at the International Trombone Festival and placed third in the S.E. Shires Solo Competition at the Southeast Trombone Symposium.
  • Tania Villasuso (Clarinet ’19), born in Narón, Spain, finished her clarinet studies at the Curtis Institute of Music in 2019, where she studied with Anthony McGill, principal clarinetist of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. During her studies, she participated in international festivals, including Music Academy of the West, Music From Angel Fire, the Aspen Music Festival and School, and the Aurora Chamber Music Festival.She has collaborated with conductors Gustavo Dudamel, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Juanjo Mena, Stéphane Denève, and Giancarlo Guerrero, among others; and has performed with artists such as Jonathan Biss, Ida Kavafian, Daniel Matsukawa, Peter Wiley, and Jennifer Montone. In June 2019 she was part of a chamber music tour to Latin America, offering concerts and master classes in Mexico, Peru, and Chile, with violist Roberto Díaz and pianist George Xiaoyuan Fu.Winner of the first prize at the Intercentros Melómano Interpretation Contest in 2012, Ms. Villasuso has performed as a soloist with the Madrid Metropolitan Orchestra and the Vigo 430 Orchestra. She has also been part of the Salvador Seguí Symphony Orchestra, the Young Orchestra Castellón Symphony, and the Castellón Lyric Orchestra. She previously studied with Venancio Rius, Yehuda Gilad, Jose Miguel Marti, and Francisco San Ramon, and is currently pursuing a master’s degree at Rice University with Richie Hawley.

 

ABOUT THE CURTIS INSTITUTE OF MUSIC

The Curtis Institute of Music educates and trains exceptionally gifted young musicians to engage a local and global community through the highest level of artistry. For nearly a century Curtis has provided each member of its small student body with an unparalleled education alongside musical peers, distinguished by a “learn by doing” philosophy and personalized attention from a faculty that includes a high proportion of actively performing musicians. To ensure that admissions are based solely on artistic promise, Curtis makes an investment in each admitted student so that no tuition is charged for their studies. In a typical year, Curtis students hone their craft through more than 200 orchestra, opera, and solo and chamber music offerings in Philadelphia and around the world.

This real-world training allows these extraordinary young musicians to join the front rank of performers, composers, conductors, and musical leaders. Each season leading opera houses and chamber music series around the world feature Curtis alumni, and they hold principal chairs in every major American orchestra. Curtis graduates are musical leaders, making a profound impact on music onstage and in their communities. To learn more, visit Curtis.edu.

 

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Young Alumni Fund Advances Artistic Visions

Congratulations to the first-ever grantees of the Daniel W. Dietrich II Young Alumni Fund a new annual grant program dedicated to supporting young alumni of Curtis! Selected from 41 proposals through a competitive and anonymous review process, these awards will support community and non-profit organizations founded by alumni, production of new commercial film and audio recordings, training in non-musical skills beneficial to the field of music, and general artistic development, such as audition travel, promotional materials, and instrument purchases. Many of the projects address challenges borne from the ongoing pandemic or give voice to historic or deeply personal stories from people of color. Each recipient will receive advice and support from mentors within the Curtis community. Get to know the grantees and their projects below!

“Our graduates are doing incredible and innovative work. We are proud to help and support young alumni as they enter the next chapter of their musical journeys,” said Shea Scruggs (Oboe ’04), Curtis’s director of institutional research and musician experience and chief enrollment officer. “We recognize the effort required to put forward a thoughtful proposal and are grateful to everyone who applied in this first cycle. The number of outstanding proposals we received considerably outpaced the available funding this first year. I especially want to thank the alumni who served on our evaluation panel, participated in the planning sessions, and donated to the fund. They devoted valuable time, expertise, and resources to Curtis, and this new initiative would not be possible without their contributions.”

2021 Young Alumni Fund Recipients

Tessa Ellis (Trumpet ’17, Community Artist Fellow ’18) Tessa Ellis

With this grant funding, Tessa Ellis entered an ADHD coach training program to serve neurodivergent musicians and better advocate for neurodiversity inclusion in classical music. Since receiving her funding, she has completed the first two courses of the ICF Accredited Coach Approach Foundation Program. Once registration opens for next fall, she will put the remaining funds towards completing the program.

When asked about the importance of programs like this fund, she says “I see a need in my community and the Young Alumni Fund has made it possible for me to pursue my dream of meeting that need. I am so excited to witness the impact of all of the dreams that this fund has made possible.”

Ms. Ellis is a freelance trumpeter and a founding member of the Arcana New Music Ensemble and the Opus 5 Brass Quintet. She has collaborated across genres with Thurman Barker, Amos Lee, and Philadelphia-based bands Caracara, Square Peg Round Hole, and the John Byrne Band. She studied with David Bilger at the Curtis Institute of Music, earning a Bachelor of Music degree and a Community Artist Fellowship diploma. As an orchestral musician, she has performed with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, the Allentown Symphony Orchestra, the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra 2001, and Symphony in C. Ms. Ellis was a finalist in the 2016 Ellsworth Smith International Trumpet Solo Competition and has won first prize in two divisions of the National Trumpet Competition. In addition to performing, she is a faculty member at Settlement Music School, where she teaches trumpet and Children’s Music Workshop.

George Xiaoyuan Fu (Piano ’16)George Xiaoyuan Fu

George Fu’s funded project is Solitude with Schubert, a documentary that follows him and soprano Lotte Betts-Dean and examines how their experience relates to other musicians’ lives during the worldwide pandemic. Mr. Fu says, “It comes directly out of the pandemic because the whole genesis of it was, ‘What music do I really want to be playing at a time where I’m so isolated from other people?’” He adds, “One of the really beautiful things about this fund is that you’re supporting not just alumni, but alumni ideas and projects.” Together, Mr. Fu and Ms. Betts-Dean prepare for an upcoming concert of Schubert’s music, which explores themes of solitude and death while holding hope for life.

Mr. Fu has performed as a piano soloist with orchestras such as the National Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, North Carolina Symphony, Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, and the Curtis Symphony Orchestra; and has collaborated with conductors such as Michael Tilson Thomas, Stefan Asbury, Kensho Watanabe, Vinay Parameswaran, and Jonathan Berman. He has appeared at international venues and his live performances and interviews have been featured on several public television and radio broadcasts around the world.

Passionate about the creation of new work, Mr. Fu is an active composer and performer of contemporary music, having collaborated with composers Krzysztof Penderecki, Harrison Birtwistle, George Lewis, Unsuk Chin, Tansy Davies, Phil Cashian, Matthew Aucoin, and Freya Waley-Cohen. Interested in collaborative work, he is a conductor, an active chamber musician with duo partners and ensembles around the world, and collaborator with artists of many disciplines. Mr. Fu teaches at the Royal Academy of Music.

GeorgeFuPiano.com

Joshua Halpern (Cello ’19)Joshua Halpern

Joshua Halpern has appeared on stages around the world as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral principal cellist, and enjoys collaborations in a wide variety of genres, from Classical music to Southern African music to jazz. He has collaborated with artists including Jonathan Biss, Anthony Roth Costanzo, Viviane Hagner, Gary Hoffman, Kim Kashkashian, Anthony McGill, and Itzhak Perlman, and appeared at music festivals including Music@Menlo, the Ravinia Steans Institute, the Perlman Chamber Music Workshop, the New York String Orchestra Seminar, La Jolla Summerfest, and Krzyzowa-Music. During the 2019 season he served as guest principal cello of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, in 2020 as guest cellist of the Rolston Quartet, and in 2021 joined the Karajan Akademie of the Berliner Philharmoniker. In 2020, he founded The Cultural Caravan, a Colorado-based nonprofit operating at the intersection of small businesses, social-service nonprofits, and local artists. The Cultural Caravan has since presented over 50 artists with backgrounds ranging from Zimbabwean Afropop to Venezuelan jazz to Classical Music in dozens of concerts in coordination with over 30 local businesses and community organizations.

Mr. Halpern completed his Artist Diploma at The Curtis Institute in Philadelphia and his undergraduate degree at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. As a teacher, he has presented master classes throughout the United States and South America and has served on the faculties of Curtis Summerfest, the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival, and the Brooklyn Music School. Mr. Halpern lives in Berlin.

Natalie Helm (Cello ’11)Natalie Helm

As the founder of Upward Notes, Natalie Helm’s funding will support the ongoing work and increased outreach of the four-year-old non-profit. The mission of Upward Notes is to bring classical music out of the concert hall and into the community while teaching and fostering well-being for the audience and performer. Through the organization, a roster of over 50 volunteer musicians performs for previously underserved audiences in jails, sex-trafficking safe-houses, foster care locations, homeless shelters, and substance addiction centers in several cities.

Ms. Helm joined the Sarasota Orchestra as principal cello during the 2016–17 season. She previously served as a member of the Des Moines Metro Opera Festival Orchestra and as the cello fellow and principal cello of the Montgomery Symphony Orchestra.

A native of Louisville, Ms. Helm received her Bachelor of Music degree from the Curtis Institute of Music in 2011 and her Artist Diploma from the Colburn School in 2014. She plays on a Raphael Di Blasio cello from 1803.

Oliver Herbert (Cello ’19)Oliver Herbert

Oliver Herbert’s grant funding will support the creation of a multi-phase project for cello comprised entirely of works by living composers, including fellow Curtis graduate Chelsea Komschlies (Composition ’18). Mr. Herbert said, “[The project is] especially inspired by the experience of being in isolation while feeling the need to create” and “exploring what is possible with my instrument through the lens of technology, visual art, new possibilities in recording, and discovering fun new aspects of my own creativity and curatorial nature. This grant has been a wonderful opportunity to take my project further and collaborate with other artists to create new work which aims to translate viscerally.”

The recipient of a 2021 Avery Fisher Career Grant, Mr. Herbert’s recent solo appearances include debuts with world-renowned ensembles including the San Francisco Symphony, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Warsaw Philharmonic, and Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. The 2021–22 season marks the beginning of several ambitious projects, including the complete Bach cello suites at Capital Region Classical and the complete Beethoven sonatas at Guarneri Hall in Chicago. Highlights this season also include performances with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, New World Symphony, and Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra performing concertos by Barber, Ibert, Saint-Saens, Schumann, and Tchaikovsky. As a chamber musician, Mr. Herbert has participated in leading music festivals including Caramoor, ChamberFest Cleveland, Krzyżowa-Music, La Jolla Music Society’s SummerFest, Marlboro Music Festival, Music in the Vineyards, Nevada Chamber Music Festival, the Ravinia Festival, and the Verbier Festival. This season, he also joins violinist Alexi Kenney and pianist Eric Lu for a program of Haydn, Schumann, and Schubert at the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society. Mr. Herbert studied with Carter Brey and Peter Wiley at the Curtis Institute of Music and with Clive Greensmith at the Colburn School. In June 2020, Mr. Herbert released his debut album, Frame of Mind: Fauré and Janáček, with pianist Xiaohui Yang. Additional recording highlights include a release of Haydn’s Cello Concerto No. 2 with Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony.

OliverHerbertCello.com

Lyman McBride (Trombone ’18)Lyman McBride

Lyman McBride is a freelance musician and software engineer based in Utah. This grant funding has helped Lyman McBride become a more versatile musician by allowing him to purchase much-needed equipment. “The need to be more versatile, has gone up,” he says. “But my access to resources has gone down. [While a student] at Curtis, they have an alto trombone that students can use, but now that I’m out of school, it’s necessary to own your own instruments.” He says that this funding has allowed him to excel on the instrument he was able to purchase.

Mr. McBride is a winner of the International Trombone Association’s Larry Wiehe Trombone Competition and has appeared as a soloist with the Brigham Young University Wind Symphony. He has toured throughout Europe and Asia with the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, the BYU Wind Symphony, and BYU’s Synthesis ensemble. Mr. McBride has been a member of the National Repertory and Brevard Music Center orchestras; and performs regularly with the Utah Symphony and the Timpanogos Big Band, among other ensembles.

As a teacher, Mr. McBride has served on the faculties for BYU Musicians’ SummerFestival and Institute and the Morse Summer Music Academy at the Yale School of Music. He previously taught group lessons in secondary schools around New Haven, Connecticut and currently teaches private lessons throughout Utah. Mr. McBride holds performance degrees from Brigham Young University, the Curtis Institute of Music, and the Yale School of Music; and has studied with Mark Davidson, Nitzan Haroz, Scott Hartman, and Matthew Vaughn.

Ashley Milanese (Voice ’15, Opera ’17, Opera ’18)Ashley Milanese

Italian-American soprano Ashley Milanese is emerging as an exciting young presence in the operatic world. In 2021 she appeared as Giannetta (L’elisir d’amore) and Annina (La traviata) with Teatro Regio Torino and recently made my Metropolitan Opera debut in Brett Dean’s Hamlet. 2018–19 season highlights included Komische Oper Berlin’s touring production of Barrie Kosky’s Die Zauberflöte, singing the role of Erste Dame across Australia and New Zealand, and at the Mostly Mozart Festival in New York; and serving as artist in residence with Teatro Regio Torino. Ms. Milanese used the grant to fund recordings, audition expenses, coaching, and other expenses that go into maintaining a career in opera. “It has helped with upkeep of staying on the scene,” she says of the funding.

Passionate about contemporary music, Ms. Milanese has collaborated with composers Kevin Puts, Rene Orth, Tobias Picker, David T. Little, Daniel Schnyder, and Nico Muhly. She has covered lead roles in the premieres of David Hertzberg’s The Wake World and Missy Mazzoli’s Breaking the Waves, and originated the role of Chan Parker in workshops of Charlie Parker’s Yardbird in 2015. Ms. Milanese studied at the Juilliard School and the Curtis Institute of Music, where she received her Bachelor of Music, Master of Music, and Artist’s Diploma.

AshleyMilanese.com

Sonora Slocum (Flute ’11)Sonora Slocum

This funding will provide production and promotional support for Sonora Slocum’s recent recording of the Mozart flute quartets with members of the Dover and Escher string quartets, recorded in Field Concert Hall at the Curtis Institute of Music. The album will be featured this fall in the PBS series Black Nouveau, which celebrates trailblazers in Milwaukee’s African American community. Ms. Slocum said, “I wouldn’t have released it if I hadn’t received the grant. It would’ve been on the back burner.”

The principal flute of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Ms. Slocum has appeared with the Philadelphia Orchestra and as guest principal flute with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and the Philharmonic Orchestra of New York. She has performed under conductors Christoph Eschenbach, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Sir Simon Rattle, Edo de Waart, Otto-Werner Mueller, John Williams, and David Zinman, among many others.

Ms. Slocum has conducted numerous master classes throughout the country, including at the Curtis Institute of Music, Carnegie Hall’s NYO2, DePaul University, New Jersey City University, and the National Flute Association’s Orchestral Audition Competition. She is a faculty member of the Curtis Mentor Network and served on the faculty at Curtis Summerfest.

SonoraSlocum.com

Jahleel Smith (Bass Trombone ’18)Jahleel Smith

Jahleel Smith is acting bass trombone with the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra. He has also performed with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the Malaysian Philharmonic, the Louisville Orchestra, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and the Classical/Pops All-Star Orchestra in Barbados. Mr. Smith has used this grant funding to purchase a new instrument, which is necessary for his career as an orchestral bass trombonist. He says that purchasing this instrument made a world of difference for him. It was time for him to purchase a new instrument as repairing his old one was like “putting a Band-Aid on a leaky faucet” and this funding made that much-needed purchase possible.

Mr. Smith holds degrees from the Curtis Institute of Music and Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music. While attending IU, he was a two-time finalist for the school’s brass concerto competition and a finalist in several professional auditions including those with the San Antonio Symphony and the U.S. Army Concert and Ceremonial Bands.

Mr. Smith has attended the Pacific Music Festival, Boston University’s Tanglewood Institute, and the Cleveland Trombone Seminar, where he was awarded the Jiggs Wigham Scholarship for best under-21 audition recording. He was a finalist for the Edward Kleinhammer Orchestral Bass Trombone Competition at the International Trombone Festival and placed third in the S.E. Shires Solo Competition at the Southeast Trombone Symposium.

Joshua Stewart (Voice ’09, Opera ’12)Joshua Stewart

With this award, American tenor Joshua Stewart will commission a song cycle based on his original text Man Without a Home, which reflects on the stories that shaped him as a young Black man living in America and Europe. Mr. Stewart says that when he found out about the funding, he immediately thought that it would help him complete the first step in this project, which was the text. The funding of this project is a continuation from his time as a student at Curtis.

In recent appearances, Mr. Stewart joined celebrated conductor Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra on tour in the United Kingdom, Paris, and Germany as tenor soloist in Tippett’s A Child of Our Time. In the United States he performed in Das Paradies und die Peri with conductor Paolo Bortolameolli. He has performed recitals at the Oxford Lieder Festival and Seattle Opera as well as sang the role of “The Son” in Blue at Seattle Opera. Enjoying a long collaboration with Peter Sellars, Mr. Stewart performed as The Shepherd (Oedipus Rex) in a production directed by Sellars and conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen at the Baltic Sea Festival in Stockholm, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, and Royal Festival Hall in London. He made his debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic as Narrator (Sellars’s Das Paradies und die Peri) with conductor Gustavo Dudamel.

Mr. Stewart is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and a former member of Munich’s Bayerische Staatsoper Opernstudio, where he appeared in productions by Christoph Loy, Richard Jones, Constantine Trinks, Kent Nagano, Dan Ettinger, and Maurizio Benini. With a background in jazz, he has performed the title role in Charlie Parker’s Yardbird with the opera companies of Arizona, Atlanta, Madison, and Seattle.

JoshuaStewart.com

Tania Villasuso Couceiro (Clarinet ’19)Tania Villasuso Couceiro

Tania Villasuso Couceiro has used this grant to fund audition expenses in Europe. She says that the funding has allowed her to continue the trajectory she was already on, as taking auditions regularly helps build that skill.

Born in Narón, Spain, Ms. Villasuso Couceiro finished her clarinet studies at the Curtis Institute of Music in 2019, where she studied with Anthony McGill, principal clarinetist of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. During her studies, she participated in international festivals, including Music Academy of the West, Music From Angel Fire, the Aspen Music Festival and School, and the Aurora Chamber Music Festival.

Winner of the first prize at the Intercentros Melómano Interpretation Contest in 2012, Ms. Villasuso Couceiro has performed as a soloist with the Madrid Metropolitan Orchestra and the Vigo 430 Orchestra. She has also been part of the Salvador Seguí Symphony Orchestra, the Young Orchestra Castellón Symphony, and the Castellón Lyric Orchestra. She previously studied with Venancio Rius, Yehuda Gilad, Jose Miguel Marti, and Francisco San Ramon, and is currently pursuing a master’s degree at Rice University with Richie Hawley.

TaniaVillasuso.com

About the Young Alumni Fund

The Young Alumni Fund provides recent graduates of Curtis—those who completed their studies within the last ten years—with financial awards to remove barriers to their success as emerging performers and advance their personal artistic visions. The fund is the latest initiative from Curtis demonstrating an intentional focus on the “musician lifecycle” and easing the transition from student to professional life.

YAF was developed by Shea Scruggs and the Alumni Relations Office in collaboration with design thinking consultant Ramy Nassar, management consultant Kristan Cybriwsky (Flute ’90), and an advisory group of twelve Curtis alumni drawn from a broad range of class years and career types.

Applications for the next cycle of grants will open in Spring 2022. Learn more and apply.

Curtis is proud to support the Young Alumni Fund and is grateful to those alumni and friends who helped underwrite this year’s grants. If you would like to join us and support the YAF, please click here. We are thankful for your generosity and commitment to supporting incredible projects like the ones outlined above. All donations are fully tax-deductible to the full extent of the law. Thank you.

About the Musician Lifecycle

As Curtis approaches its centenary in 2024, it is prioritizing the needs of the musician lifecycle: the shifting artistic and economic experiences of artists both as they prepare to enter Curtis and build their careers following graduation. Committed to fostering meaningful relationships with its musicians even after they matriculate, the school’s key initiatives have included Curtis on Tour, which provides experience, income, and visibility for young artists through professional touring engagements across the globe; Emergency Relief for Curtis Alumni (ERCA), which funded over $500,000 in one-time direct transfers to alumni severely impacted by the cancellation of performances in the pandemic; and expert-led webinars to strengthen social media and financial planning skills among alumni, in addition to the Young Alumni Fund.

Meet the New Students: Nathan Peebles

Nathan Peebles, from Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, entered the Curtis Institute of Music in 2021 and studies horn with Jennifer Montone and Jeffrey Lang. With degrees from the Yale School of Music and the Cleveland Institute of Music, he is an active orchestral performer and previously served as a teaching artist for the Music in Schools Initiative with New Haven Public Schools. He shares his excitement for Curtis and Philadelphia—which won’t be dampened by uncooperative weather!

 


 

What was the last performance you participated in?

My last performance was an outdoor wedding celebration during the summer. It was my first professional service in over a year and it felt good to see people smiling in regards to the live music they heard.

 

Tell me about something interesting that took place during orientation?

Our beach trip to Ocean City was a memorable moment to say the least. After about five minutes on the sand, a torrential downpour ensued. We took shelter underneath the awning of a deep-frying joint and enjoyed each other’s company as we became completely soaked. The relaxing day we had envisioned didn’t come to fruition, but everyone made the best out of the situation and still enjoyed themselves.

 

What are you looking forward to most about attending Curtis and living in Philadelphia?

Working with the wonderful faculty and staff that are here to help realize my goals as a human and musician. (And also eating all the delicious food that Philly has to offer…)

While we are on the east coast, I still feel a somewhat Midwestern homey-ness here in Philadelphia. I’m really looking forward to getting to know this city better.

 

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

Just like everybody else during the pandemic, I started baking artisan bread. I eventually started working with sourdough and realized that my perfectionist ideals as a musician were both helping and hindering my journey to make beautiful and tasty loaves.

Can you share some fun facts?

My first car was a white 1989 Chevrolet Caprice which resembled a boat, my favorite book series is A Song of Ice and Fire (which I read after watching Game of Thrones), and I basically grew up in a national park (Cuyahoga Valley National Park).

Curtis on Tour Resumes Live Performances in Greece, Germany, and France September 21–28

PHILADELPHIA—September 15, 2021—Curtis on Tour launches the 2021–22 season with performances by an all-star, all-alumni trio in Athens, Greece from September 21 to 24. Touring activities, the first conducted in person since the start of the global pandemic, continue at venues in Berlin (September 26) and Paris (September 28).

Touring artists include alumni Josef Špaček (Violin ’09), Timotheos Petrin (Cello ’17), and George Xiaoyuan Fu (Piano ’16). Noted for prominent orchestral roles, international competition wins, and impressive collaborations, each performer is in high demand across the globe for his remarkable artistry and distinctive chamber music performances.

Now in its sixth year as the resident ensemble at the Nights of Classical Music at the Gennadius Library festival, Curtis on Tour’s four performances from September 21 to 24 are presented by the Schwarz Foundation in collaboration with the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. These concerts feature solo works for piano, at turns passionate and whimsical; duos for violin and cello, including Dhipli zyia by Greek-French modernist composer Iannis Xenakis; and the energetic trios “Ghost” by Beethoven and “Dumky” by Dvořák to close out the residency. The venue at Cotsen Hall will live-stream the performances on September 21, 22, 23, and 24, starting at 1:30 p.m. ET. In-person audiences are welcome with free priority tickets.

Selections from the four Athens programs will be repeated at the Konzerthaus Berlin on September 26 at 8 p.m. and Hôtel de Talleyrand in Paris on September 28 at 7:30 p.m.

Additional tours during the 2021–22 season include a virtual tour by renowned flute, strings, and piano alumni for audiences in Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru (October and November 2021); and a United States tour led by esteemed faculty Ida Kavafian, violin, and Peter Wiley (Cello ’74), both former members of the internationally-acclaimed Beaux Arts Trio (February 2022). The latter tour features Franz Schubert’s brilliant Quintet in C major, D. 956 paired with a newly commissioned work by composition faculty member Richard Danielpour for chamber music presenters in northern California and Buffalo, N.Y., at Brevard Music Center, and at home in Philadelphia, among other venues.

In addition to the 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. Notable appearances in the 2021–22 season include those with Washington Performing Arts, the Kansas City Symphony, and the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts.

All performances are part of Curtis on Tour, the Nina von Maltzahn global touring initiative of the Curtis Institute of Music. Grounded in the school’s “learn by doing” philosophy, tours feature extraordinary emerging artists alongside celebrated alumni and faculty. In addition to performances, musicians offer master classes, educational programs, and community engagement activities while on tour. Curtis on Tour also manages solo engagements for Curtis artists with professional orchestras and presenters. Since the program was established in 2008, Curtis on Tour ensembles have performed more than 375 concerts in over 100 cities in Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

Visit Curtis.edu/CurtisOnTour for more information.

 


 

CURTIS ON TOUR IN EUROPE

 

ATHENS

Tuesday, September 21 at 8:30 p.m.
American School of Classical Studies at Athens, Cotsen Hall

George Xiaoyuan Fu, piano

RACHMANINOFF      Appassionato, from Études-Tableaux, Op. 39
TAILLEFERRE Pastorale
DUTILLEUX  Le jeu des contraires, No. 3, from Préludes
RAVEL  Selections from Miroirs
SCHUBERT Sonata in B-flat major, D. 960

This performance will be live-streamed at ascsa.edu.gr/events/livestream starting at 1:30 p.m. ET.

Wednesday, September 22 at 8:30 p.m.
American School of Classical Studies, Cotsen Hall

Timotheos Petrin, cello
George Xiaoyuan Fu, piano

SCHUBERT  Introduction, Theme and Variations, Op. 82, No. 2; arr. Piatigorsky
STRAVINSKY    Suite italienne
POULENC  Sonata

This performance will be live-streamed at ascsa.edu.gr/events/livestream starting at 1:30 p.m. ET.

Thursday, September 23 at 8:30 p.m.
American School of Classical Studies at Athens, Cotsen Hall

Josef Špaček, violin
Timotheos Petrin, cello

HALVORSEN   Sarabande con variazioni in D minor on a Theme by Georg Frideric Handel
MARTINŮ  Duo No. 2
XENAKIS Dhipli zyia
KODÁLY Duo, Op. 7

This performance will be live-streamed at ascsa.edu.gr/events/livestream starting at 1:30 p.m. ET.

 

Friday, September 24 at 8:30 p.m.
American School of Classical Studies at Athens, Cotsen Hall

Josef Špaček, violin
Timotheos Petrin, cello
George Xiaoyuan Fu, piano

BEETHOVEN      Trio in D major, Op. 70, No. 1 (“Ghost”)
DVOŘÁK Trio in E minor, Op. 90 (“Dumky”)

This performance will be live-streamed at ascsa.edu.gr/events/livestream starting at 1:30 p.m. ET.

Nights of Classical Music at the Gennadius Library is presented by the Schwarz Foundation in collaboration with the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. For more information, visit www.ascsa.edu.gr/events.

 

BERLIN

Sunday, September 26 at 8 p.m.
Konzerthaus Berlin, Kleiner Saal

Josef Špaček, violin
Timotheos Petrin, cello
George Xiaoyuan Fu, piano

BEETHOVEN      Trio in D major, Op. 70, No. 1 (“Ghost”)
DVOŘÁK Trio in E minor, Op. 90 (“Dumky”)

Presented in collaboration with Young Euro Classic. For tickets and more information, visit www.young-euro-classic.de.

 

PARIS

Tuesday, September 28 at 7:30 p.m.
Hôtel de Talleyrand

Josef Špaček, violin
Timotheos Petrin, cello
George Xiaoyuan Fu, piano

BEETHOVEN      Trio in D major, Op. 70, No. 1 (“Ghost”)
DVOŘÁK Trio in E minor, Op. 90 (“Dumky”)

Presented by The Arts Arena. For tickets and more information, visit ArtsArena.org.

 

 

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