Month: November 2022

Curtis on Tour: Eric Owens and Singers from Curtis Opera Theatre (Photo Roundup)

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Curtis On Tour recently presented renowned bass-baritone Eric Owens (Opera ’95) alongside soprano Sarah Fleiss, mezzo-soprano Lucy Baker, and tenor Joseph Tancredi (Opera ’22)—three emerging professional artists from the Curtis Opera Theatre—for nine performances throughout the U.S. from October 13 through November 20, 2022. Joined by pianists Miloš Repický (Hirsig Family Chair in Vocal Studies, Principal Opera Coach) and Ting Ting Wong, these talented young singers shared the stage with their mentor, Eric Owens, Curtis’s Director of Vocal Studies and Curtis Opera Theatre, for a delightful program featuring Brahms’s lilting and pensive Neue Liebeslieder Waltzer for four voices and four-hand piano. The set also included performances of works by Brahms, Schubert, Lerner & Loewe, and gems of the operatic repertoire.

Home from the month-long tour, the trio of singers shared their thoughts and favorite memories from their time on the road:

Lucy Baker

“Having the opportunity to tour the East Coast with my mentors and colleagues has been an unforgettable experience. While we have a lot to learn in a coaching setting, singing is only a fraction of what we do in this career. I’ve learned so much about what life on the road is like and have gotten to talk with Eric about his experiences as a busy working musician. I’ve also really enjoyed getting to dig deeper into this music. We have so many performances of the same program which has allowed us to get super comfortable and play around with different interpretations every time. My favorite venue we’ve gotten to perform in is probably the Trust Performing Arts Center in Lancaster, PA. This hall was an old bank and the walls were all stone so it was very live. Eric’s dressing room was even an old vault with the original door! The people we’ve met at every stop have been extremely kind and inviting and I’m looking forward to the rest of our performances!”

Sarah Fleiss

“Curtis on Tour has been such an incredibly rich experience! I am so grateful to sing with Eric; he is not only a wonderful mentor for me, but a a great colleague. I continue to learn from his professionalism and wealth of knowledge! My other collaborators are fabulous as well, and it has been very enlightening to feel how our pieces change and evolve with each environment we bring them to. I particularly enjoyed our first venue in Hodgson Hall at the University of Georgia; the acoustics were fabulous! In all, I have felt both nurtured and challenged as an artist—that is what Curtis is all about!”

Joseph Tancredi

“It has been such a special and rewarding experience getting to perform on tour with Eric Owens. His wisdom, talent and artistry are all so valuable to witness, and I feel that I’ve learned so much getting to sing alongside him. We’ve gotten to perform in so many beautiful venues throughout this tour but getting to share this program with friends and family members in New York has definitely been a major highlight of the tour for me.  Eric, Sarah, Lucy, Ting Ting and Miloš are all so incredibly talented and I couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunity to make such beautiful music with them.”

Don’t miss the final performance of Curtis on Tour: Eric Owens and Singers from Curtis Opera Theatre! Join us on Sunday, December 4, 2022, at 3:00 p.m. at the Perelman Theater in the Kimmel Center, presented by the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society. For further information and tickets, click HERE.

Check out the tour highlights below!

Curtis Mourns the Loss of Composer Ned Rorem (’44)

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The Curtis Institute of Music mourns the loss of alumnus, longtime faculty member, and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Ned Rorem (Composition ’44). The celebrated composer and prolific writer died on November 18, 2022, at his home in Manhattan, at age 99. Once praised by Time magazine as “the world’s best composer of art songs,” Mr. Rorem received a GRAMMY Award and wrote three symphonies, four piano concerti, and various other orchestral works. Over the past eight decades, he has composed ten operas, music for numerous combinations of chamber instruments, choral works of every variety, ballets and other music for the theater, and hundreds of songs and cycles. He is also the author of sixteen books, including five volumes of candid diaries and collections of lectures and criticism.

Mr. Rorem was born in Richmond, Indiana, on October 23, 1923. As a young child, he moved to Chicago with his family, and at age ten, his piano teacher introduced him to the music of Ravel and Debussy, which the composer noted: “changed my life forever.” He entered the Music School of Northwestern University at seventeen, and then enrolled in Curtis to study composition with Rosario Scalero. After graduating from the school in 1944, he continued his studies at Juilliard, receiving his B.A. in 1946 and his M.A. degree in 1948. During his lifetime, he received numerous honorary degrees.

Recipient of a prestigious Fulbright Fellowship (1951), a Guggenheim Fellowship (1957), and an award from the National Institute of Arts and Letters (1968), Mr. Rorem won the 1976 Pulitzer Prize in music for his suite Air Music. He received the ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award in 1971 for his book Critical Affairs, A Composer’s Journal, in 1975 for The Final Diary, and in 1992 for an article on American opera in Opera News.  In 1998 he was named Composer of the Year by Musical America, and the following year, in 1989, the Atlanta Symphony recording of the String Symphony, Sunday Morning, and Eagles received a GRAMMY Award for Outstanding Orchestral Recording.

Mr. Rorem served as president of the American Academy of Arts and Letters from 2000 to 2003. In 2001, he was named a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et Des Lettres by France for his contribution to the enrichment of French cultural inheritance. In 2003 he was awarded the Gold Medal in Music, for an entire body of work, by the Academy of Arts and Letters; and also received ASCAP’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

Among his countless commissions are those from the Ford Foundation (for Poems of Love and the Rain, 1962), the Lincoln Center Foundation (for Sun, 1965); the Koussevitzky Foundation (for Letters from Paris, 1966); the Atlanta Symphony (for the String Symphony, 1985); the Chicago Symphony (for Goodbye My Fancy, 1990); and from Carnegie Hall (for Spring Music, 1991).

null In 1993, André Previn joined Gary Graffman and the Curtis Symphony Orchestra for the world premiere in Philadelphia of Mr. Rorem’s Piano Concerto No. 4 (for left hand). The work was dedicated to Mr. Graffman, whose subsequent performance at Carnegie Hall was described by the New York Times as “electrifying.”

Mr. Rorem’s most recent opera, Our Town, which he completed with librettist J.D. McClatchy, was a setting of the acclaimed Thorton Wilder play of the same name. The work premiered at the Indiana University Jacob’s School of Music in February 2006 and has gone on to be performed at various conservatories, music schools, and opera companies. In 1965, his opera Miss Julie premiered with the New York City Opera, and was presented by the Curtis Opera Theatre in 2003, recorded live, and released through Albany Records and called “essential for Ned Rorem enthusiasts and anyone who wants to know his music better,” by American Record Guide.

The composer’s monumental work, his evening-length song cycle Evidence of Things Not Seen, was performed at Curtis in 2003 as part of the school’s two-week festival, Roremania, celebrating Mr. Rorem’s 80th birthday. Roremania events also included performances of his opera Miss Julie, chamber works, organ pieces, and choral works.null As he approached his next milestone birthday, he told The Philadelphia Inquirer: “Other people turn 90, I still think of myself as the youngest person at the party.”

The Curtis community extends our heartfelt condolences to Mr. Rorem’s relatives, close friends, colleagues, and former students.

You can find tributes to Mr. Rorem’s life in The Washington Post HERE and the New York Times, among many others.

Photo credit: 1.) Banner image from the NYPR Archive Collections. 2.) Portrait of Ned Rorem by Christian Steiner. 3.) Ned Rorem following a 1982 commencement address. L-R John de Lancie (’40), Ned Rorem (’44), A. Margaret Bok, Vladimir Sokoloff (’38), Richard Zuch; Curtis Archives. 4.) Andre Previn and Ned Rorem during a Curtis Symphony Orchestra rehearsal for the world premiere of Rorem’s Piano Concerto No. 4 on February 4, 1993, commissioned for Gary Graffman; David Swanson. 5.) Ned Rorem with Curtis president and CEO Roberto Díaz during a Curtis on Tour visit to Nantucket island in 2018. 6. Portrait of Ned Rorem by Christian Steiner/Boosey & Hawkes.

Q&A with Michelle Rofrano, Conductor of “The Turn of the Screw” (Part Three)

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Acclaimed Sicilian-American opera conductor Michelle Rofrano, founder and artistic director of PROTESTRA, an orchestral ensemble of activist-minded musicians that bridges the divide between social justice advocacy and classical music, makes her Curtis debut this month, leading a stellar cast of talented young opera singers and musicians in Curtis Opera Theatre‘s The Turn of the Screw, directed by Chas Rader-Shieber.

In part three of this Q&A series, the Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship Mentee and music and artistic director of City Lyric Opera discusses the responsibilities of a conductor in preparing an opera orchestra and singers for performances while collaborating with new directors.

 

 

One of the fascinating aspects of your profession must be the challenge of creating a unified sound as you coordinate the efforts of so many musicians in one room. How do you work with the orchestra—from rehearsals to live performances—to bring out the spirit of a piece?

The big thing I try to establish with an opera orchestra from the beginning, especially young players, is that we all have to be on the edge of our seats to do what the singers need. It’s not only about the story, the tone, the color, and the tempo. We must think in long lines to get the singer through their high notes. When I hear that they’re feeling good and want to stretch out their high note for drama, great, but I tell the singers that we are driving this car together. If you’re super behind my beat and this accidentally drags, it will not work out for the orchestra or the singers. I’m not trying to dictate with a stick. I disagree with conductors like that, particularly in opera, because it’s a collaborative effort. 

With The Turn of the Screw, I’m like, this is the ghosty part of the story—a buzzword I’ve used in rehearsals. We are definitely going for maximum spookiness here. That’s the goal of this opera. We spent a lot of time in the initial rehearsals practicing the different sections and then trying to balance them so that it all lines up perfectly. It has to be very exact but not metronomic. We have to be on the same page rhythmically, thinking horizontally, not vertically, in big beats to build the tension.

Our system of musical notations could be more helpful. I don’t have a better solution, but bar lines make us think vertically. Music is sound happening across time. It’s not a vertical thing. A sustained note, like a percussion note, decays, but you can still think of it as a long line. It’s not note, note, note. It’s sound, sound, sound. Encouraging everyone to think that way helps you stay rhythmically together. It also enables you to create an emotional and musical arch of tension—smaller phrases that lead to bigger phrases that lead to a bigger picture. This ensemble is so cool because they’re all just soloists. It’s thirteen instruments, but they all have big solo moments. It’s like a concerto for each instrument at a certain point. I encourage them to be their musical selves and play their solos while keeping the phrasing and the line, so they are playing an actual duet with the singers.

Not to discount what I do, but I’m waving a stick in the air. People didn’t come to see me. That’s not to say that my job isn’t important. I am facilitating the big picture, and it’s a huge responsibility how I drive the story’s energy forward. If the opera is piecemeal, boring, and the tempos are off, that’s me. That’s the conductor. But in terms of each musical moment being compelling and believable, it’s got to come from the performers. They have to feel empowered. 

With each new production, you often work with a new stage director, each of whom has a distinctly unique vision. Since the music, the stage action, and the character development are all entwined, how do you typically collaborate with directors? 

I have a big personality, but I love collaborating. I’m not the type of person who is “my way or the highway.” But, of course, I think I’m right. Sometimes I come in, and I’m not sure what I think about this, but if I have an opinion, I agree with my opinion. At the same time, different people have different interpretations. I can get on board with a different interpretation if it’s compelling. Sometimes we have a different interpretation that I don’t love, but you must cooperate. There’s give and take, and I love the staging process and enjoy working with directors.

I always joke that I’m the unofficial assistant director wherever I go, occasionally chiming in. I love directors who are down for that collaboration because I love that. Hopefully, the directors don’t mind. I’m not trying to step on any toes, but I like when directors ask me about things musically. While it’s fun to be detectives about this score and figure out how we bring it to life, we should always have a good reason for our choices. It’s not just about playing what’s there; it’s how you play it.

Chas, our director, is great. The concept for the production is cool, without giving anything away. It’s very spooky. He and I met and had coffee, talked through the transitions and fermatas, and got on the same page. He is so funny and creative, and I loved hearing his ideas about stuff that I hadn’t thought of before. This process has been a lot of fun so far.

A good opera composer is also a director looking at the text and thinking, how do I do word painting with this music, and how do I create these transitions? If a musical change or a theme comes back when there isn’t any singing, it is not for their health. There is a reason. Of all the notes in the world, they chose these notes and this tempo. I want music to be something other than a sausage link of different ideas. I want everything to have a reason.

Visit Michelle Rofrano‘s official website HERE.

 

CURTIS OPERA THEATRE: THE TURN OF THE SCREW

Britten’s Gothic Tale of Terror

November 18, 2022 | Friday at 7:30 p.m.

November 20, 2022 | Sunday at 2:30 p.m.

Philadelphia Film Center

Click HERE for more information.

 

Read part one of this interview series HERE and part two HERE

Photos courtesy of ADA Artists.

Meet the Student: Q&A with Soprano Emily Damasco

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Soprano Emily Damasco, from Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, stars as Mrs. Grose in Curtis Opera Theatre’s thrilling production of Benjamin Britten’s classic The Turn of the Screw. Ms. Damasco entered the Curtis Institute of Music in 2018 and studies voice with Dolora Zajick. All students at Curtis receive merit-based, full-tuition scholarships, and Ms. Damasco is the Carol S. and Howard L. Lidz Fellow.

 

 

Since you entered the school in 2018, you have performed four roles with Curtis Opera Theatre and appeared in concert with Yannick Nézet-Séguin as Fiordiligi in selections from Così fan tutte. How has the role preparation and rehearsal process for The Turn of the Screw differed from your previous performance experiences here at Curtis?

So first off, the music of Britten is challenging. Even before we got on stage, the learning process of this opera was difficult. You’re literally counting out everything at first. When I did Così, it was more tonal. It’s not as difficult to learn, except for the recits, but it’s still hard to sing. I broke it down and worked on rhythms every day. I had to look at time signatures because they’re constantly changing. When I had that structure down, I came in prepared and ready to go.

I learned that you need to know the beats in your body. You need to know this music in and out because it’s tough when you begin staging and watching the conductor. The first step is learning how to keep the beat and how many beats are in a measure. From then, you need to make it free. There are parts in the music where Britten writes “freely” on top, so we don’t want to make it sound so structured in this rhythm. We want to give it the life it needs and deserves because Britten’s music is beautiful. So, I had to combine my music theory brain and my musicality, something I’ve never done to this extent before.

My first opera here was in English, Riders to the Sea (see photo above), but that was sung with a Gaelic accent. In this opera, we have a mid-Atlantic accent in the opera. There are certain “r’s” that are taken out, wet “t’s,” and certain “ah” vowels. It’s very articulate. It’s a new experience to sing in my own language in an opera. It’s been harder to do the staging than past roles and keep time within my body, attention to diction and other aspects, but it’s beautiful how it is all coming together. Our conductor Michelle Rofrano came in and told us to breathe in the character, and I had never thought of that before. It makes it so much easier to sing.

In The Turn of the Screw, you portray the pivotal role of Mrs. Grose, who not only serves a narrative function within the tale but is also an eyewitness to the history of Bly Manor. Tell us about this fascinating woman.

In the book by Henry James, he doesn’t give Mrs. Grose a backstory. We have no idea where she was coming from before she got there. Depending on the director, you could play her as this woman who is not very aware of things, has some experience living in the house and caring for the children, but doesn’t know what’s going on. Or you could play her as this older, mysterious woman who is kind of bad and knows too much.

For our production, Mrs. Grose is an oblivious woman. She’s had these experiences where she’s seen the ghost, Peter Quint, or she’s felt him. She knows what happened, but she doesn’t know the whole extent. In my mind, the Governess came into the story within a year of the last Governess, Miss Jessel. So, Mrs. Grose has probably been there a very long time. She once took care of the uncle, knows the children very well, trusts them, and takes excellent care of the house. She’s probably in her seventies or late sixties. I’ve had to build a backstory around her, because there really is none for her.

A lot of the time, she’s questioning what’s going on around her, but she’s trying to do the best for the kids. She spends a lot of time with Flora and Miles, but in the book and mainly in the opera, she’s around Flora more. She might have a deeper connection with Flora, but it’s almost like she’s not aware of what has been going on with the kids.

So, when the Governess starts bringing up these things about the children, she’s like, “They’re bad? No. Boys will be boys, but they wouldn’t do that. I don’t think he’s bad.” It escalates, and she asks, “What’s going on here? I don’t understand.” She tries to keep some sanity in the house and acts like nothing is happening, but I think she knows something is wrong. Without Mrs. Grose, there would be no relationship between the Governess and anyone else other than the children. It would all just look like the Governess is going crazy. So, Mrs. Grose is important to the story.

What has it been like to embody a character well beyond your years?

I am a soprano. I was a mezzo-soprano when I first came to Curtis, and then I changed within my first semester. My voice can do many things. I think Zwischenfach roles are really important to me. Mrs. Grose is a Zwischen role. When I got this role my teacher Dolora Zajick said, “Oh, I did that,” I was like, great, because she is incredible, and I found myself thinking about the wonderful standards I had to match up to. (Laughs). She could still sing this role. In a lot of the recordings, the artists playing Mrs. Grose are much older than me. They are not young. I feel like I’ve spent much of my life playing older women on stage.

While I have gone through many experiences—not to the point that she has—I feel like playing her vocally is great because she has these ups and downs, jumps, and long lines like the Governess, but they’re expressed differently than her, so it’s a different way of learning how to sing. Plus, I have to be aware not to add weight to the sound because she’s older than me. My voice is young, so I still have to show some youthful aspect in her. That’s something that I’ve learned. We can play Mrs. Grose old, slow, or ditzy, or we can play her as this upbeat woman who is older but still has an energy to her. I’m trying to tap into the parts about her that are human and expressive.

When did you know you wanted to be a classical singer?

When I was four or five years old, I was in the bathtub, my mom was bathing me, and I was making these weird musical noises. She suggested we sing some pop songs, and my voice was not pop-y. It was operatic in a way. My grandmother sang as well so, she suggested putting me in lessons. No one wanted to take me because I was six. One person did, thankfully. She was from Philadelphia, and I was starting to get grounded when I was young.

I did plays in middle school and had a good time there. I was in a choir concert in fifth grade, and we were singing “This Little Light of Mine,” and there was a solo. I went for the high note at the end and thought, “Ah, I kind of like this.” I like this validation from my peers. Eventually, I took a break in high school and thought I might be interested in makeup or hair, and I met my teacher at that time, Elizabeth Detrejo, whom I brought to Curtis with me. When I was with her, I fell in love with how she taught, and through her, I knew that I wanted to pursue a singing career. I was also going to New York City every weekend to see these incredible singers. It was inspiring.

When I arrived at Curtis it got a bit more difficult because you’re now in a pond with all the fish who are really up to your par. When I started doing staging and singing in rehearsals, I realized that this is what I want to do. Throughout my life, I have had these experiences that told me I should be where I’m at. Knowing that my grandmother also sang connects me to this great art form. She wasn’t given the opportunity that I have had, so it’s like someone took it from her and put it in me. There’s something soulful that I feel I’m bringing to it.

What has been your most memorable experience on stage or in recital over the years?

I think it would be doing my first recital at Curtis with Miloš Repický, our Hirsig Family Chair in Vocal Studies, and performing the Mignon-Lieder. That music really moved me, and I had an amazing experience on stage. Sometimes when I’m up there, it feels like I’m moving to this other dimension. Not like I’m doing anything spiritual, but it’s as if I’m in another place. During that performance, I was still thinking about technical aspects, but was also letting go up there.

Performing in Così fan tutte (see photo to the right) was one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done. It brought me to tears and made me feel chills. I felt so free on stage. I was so young playing Fiordiligi; I was scared but open. Tying into this production, watching Olivia Smith be the Governess—how she opens her mouth and frees everything in her being to be this character—has inspired me daily. She uses her instrument in a way I’ve never seen or heard in this type of music. It’s really an experience for me. I’m so excited. I’m going to look like an old hag, but it’s going to be great!

 

CURTIS OPERA THEATRE: THE TURN OF THE SCREW

Britten’s Gothic Tale of Terror

November 18, 2022 | Friday at 7:30 p.m.

November 20, 2022 | Sunday at 2:30 p.m.

Philadelphia Film Center

Click HERE for more information.

 

Photos of Emily Damasco: 1.) Emily Damasco (L) and Tiffany Townsend (R) are transformed with age makeup and costuming for their roles as Maurya and Brenda, the mother figures in Curtis’s Riders to the Sea and Empty the House; William M. Brown Photography. 2.) Photo by Nichole MCH Photography 3.) Emily Damasco as Mrs. Grose and Olivia Smith as the Governess in Curtis Opera Theatre’s The Turn of the Screw; Photo by Sophie Zhai. 4.) Photo by Nichole MCH Photography 5.) Ethan Burck (Ferrando), Emily Damasco (Fiordiligi), and Lucy Baker (Dorabella) in Curtis Opera Theatre’s production of Così fan tutte at the Philadelphia Film Center in March 2022; Photo by David DeBalko.

 

The Curtis Institute of Music Launches Record Label, Curtis Studio

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Press Contacts:
Patricia Price | 8VA Music Consultancy | patricia@8vamusicconsultancy.com
Patricia K. Johnson | patricia.johnson@curtis.edu | (215) 717-3190
Ryan Scott Lathan | ryan.lathan@curtis.edu | (215) 717-3145

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PHILADELPHIA, PA—November 17, 2022—The Curtis Institute of Music announces the launch of Curtis Studio, a label dedicated to the discovery of new and traditional works performed by inspiring artists of our time. Releases will be available on all major streaming platforms and several releases will feature music videos. Distributed by Platoon, Curtis Studio will feature performances of alumni, faculty, and students, ensuring that the Curtis Institute of Music leads the digital helm towards classical music’s dynamic future. Curtis Studio kicks off with the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Finnish Maestro Osmo Vänskä, performing Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade (releasing December 6, 2022). The performance was recorded as part of Curtis’s imaginative new performance installation—Immersive Scheherazade, which invited audiences to sit alongside live musicians performing the work while surrounded by 30-feet high projections of the orchestra. “Scheherazade demands musical virtuosity and highlights the magnificent artistry of the Curtis Symphony Orchestra. These musicians represent a very bright future for classical music. We are thrilled to share their performances through Curtis Studio,” says Vince Ford, executive producer of Curtis Studio.

President and CEO of the Curtis Institute of Music Roberto Díaz says, “The three pillars of Curtis—teaching, touring, and technology—will each be propelled by this groundbreaking initiative. Curtis Studio presents an opportunity to share our rigorous standard of musicianship in an accessible way. This monumental initiative furthers our digital presence while teaching the recording process as a fundamental component of a musician’s career.”

The Curtis Institute of Music has long championed the music of our time. The school regularly commissions established and emerging voices to create new music and explore new ideas. Recent commissions have included works from Bright Sheng, Jennifer Higdon, Richard Danielpour, Gabriella Smith (Composition ’13), and David Serkin Ludwig (Composition ’01). Curtis Studio continues this vital momentum of presenting and commissioning new works alongside beloved classical compositions–all performed at the very highest level. Future releases on Curtis Studio are scheduled to include a solo piano recording with highly acclaimed pianist Michelle Cann (Piano ’13) featuring works by Florence Price (Sonata in E minor and Fantasie Nègre Nos. 1, 2, and 4) and Margaret Bonds’s Spiritual Suite. In addition, Curtis Studio will present several commissions, the recording premiere of Trio Zimbalist, and recordings of the Dover Quartet and other Curtis ensembles.

For all up-to-date information about Curtis Studio, please visit the Curtis Institute of Music’s website.

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. “Both a conservatory and a buzzword…known for taking the best music students in the world” (The Washington Post), 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.

With admissions based solely on artistic promise, no student is turned away due to financial need. Curtis makes an investment in the artistic potential of its students, providing them with full-tuition scholarships and need-based grants for living expenses to ensure that each student can enter the profession without educational debt.

In a typical year, Curtis students offer more than 200 orchestra, opera, and solo and chamber music performances to the public. They hone music advocacy skills through programs that bring arts access and education to the community. And they reach global audiences through Curtis on Tour and weekly livestreamed recitals.

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.

For more information, please visit Curtis’s website, Curtis.edu.

About Platoon
Founded by CEO Denzyl Feigelson in 2016, boutique artist services company Platoon identifies and shepherds exciting musical talent from around the world while arming them with innovative tools and services to build careers and reach new fans. Platoon landed its first success in 2016 when they signed yet-unknown Billie Eilish, helping lay out the groundwork for her ascent to global stardom. Following that it was BRIT Award winner Jorja Smith’s “Blue Lights” before guiding Nigeria’s Mr. Eazi to worldwide attention and acclaim. Platoon has since built an impressive roster of fiercely
independent creative artists such as Johannes Moser, Xuefei Yang, Oliver Zeffman, Rosey Chan, and Daniel Pioro. Platoon’s team of employees has expanded across the globe, from London to New York, Los Angeles, Berlin, and Cape Town’s “Creative Lab.” Platoon’s creative spaces in London and Africa boast 24-hour recording studios and double as inspiring ecosystems for artists to openly collaborate, with Platoon also offering educational classes across music and marketing.

 

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