NPR Article Features Insight from Shea Scruggs (Oboe ’04)

Shea Scruggs (Oboe ’04), Curtis’s director of institutional research and musician experience and chief of enrollment, was recently quoted in an NPR article about the lack of Black musicians in major U.S. orchestras, and the issues that are contributing to this ongoing problem. Mr. Scruggs, formerly an oboist with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, points out that there is no shortage of qualified Black musicians.

Countering claims that the lack of representation is due to the pipeline, Mr. Scruggs says, “To say we need youth music programs, or it’s happening at the conservatory level; basically, to frame challenges around diversity in a way that absolves orchestras from being part of the problem” is an issue.

Mr. Scruggs—along with eight other musicians, including Weston Sprot (Trombone ’06)—is one of the founders of the Black Orchestral Network, a community and advocacy group that began during the pandemic, in the wake of the George Floyd and Black Lives Matter protests.

Read and listen to the NPR piece HERE.

Learn more about the Black Orchestral Network HERE.

Miloš Repický Named Hirsig Family Chair in Vocal Studies

The Curtis Institute of Music is pleased to announce that principal opera coach Miloš Repický has been named the school’s Hirsig Family Chair in Vocal Studies, effective immediately.

Collaborating closely with bass-baritone Eric Owens, director of vocal studies and the Curtis Opera Theatre, Mr. Repický will play a key part in the artistic and administrative functions of the department. In addition to his role as principal opera coach, Mr. Repický will be involved in artistic planning, decision-making, and operations across the vocal department.

Mr. Repický joined the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music in 2016. He is on the music staff of the Metropolitan Opera, where he serves as assistant conductor and prompter, and has worked with many leading opera companies including the Canadian Opera Company, the Santa Fe Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Orquesta Nacional de Galicia, Royal Opera House Muscat in Oman, and San Francisco Opera, among others. He enjoys regular collaborations with the Cleveland Orchestra, preparing operas such as Tristan und Isolde, Cunning Little Vixen, Ariadne auf Naxos, Pelléas et Mélisande, and Daphne. As a pianist, Mr. Repický has performed in venues such as Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall, Four Seasons Centre, and the Banff Centre for the Arts. Mr. Repický is also artistic director at Music for Montauk.

The Hirsig Family Chair in Vocal Studies was endowed in 2008 through the generosity of Alan Hirsig—who passed away in 2021—and his wife, Nancy, who wished to honor and support the incredible artistry of Curtis’s vocal department. Curtis is grateful to the Hirsigs for their support, which helps to ensure the consistency and excellence of the vocal department, and benefits our students for generations to come.

Violin Student Michael Shaham Wins Second Prize in Kreisler Competition Grand Finals

Curtis student Michael Shaham has won second prize in the grand finals of the Fritz Kreisler International Violin Competition. For the first time in the competition’s history, there are two shared second prizes ex-aequo for Mr. Shaham and Rino Yoshimoto. First Prize went to Guido Sant’Anna e Silva.

The final round of the Kreisler Competition was streamed live on Sunday, September 25, from the Great Hall of the Musikverein in Vienna. Mr. Shaham performed Jean Sibelius’s Violin Concerto in D minor, op. 47.

Mr. Shaham, from Ra’anana, Israel, entered the Curtis Institute of Music in 2019 and studies violin with Shmuel Ashkenasi and Ida Kavafian. All students at Curtis receive merit-based, full-tuition scholarships, and Mr. Shaham is the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation Fellow.

Watch the finals concert below and visit the official Kreisler Competition website HERE.


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