Month: January 2023

Bassoonist Asha Kline Wins 2022 Matthew Ruggiero Woodwind Competition for Bassoon

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Curtis is proud to congratulate bassoon student Asha Kline, who recently won the 2022 Matthew Ruggiero International Woodwind Competition for Bassoon. The vote of five independent international judges followed three elimination rounds for this entirely online, video-based competition for which the Boston Woodwind Society received more than 40 applications from around the world. To read the announcement click HERE, and to learn more about BWS and the competition, click HERE.

Asha Kline, from Ellicott City, Md., entered the Curtis Institute of Music in 2020 and studies bassoon with Daniel Matsukawa. All students at Curtis receive merit-based, full-tuition scholarships, and Ms. Kline is the David H. Springman Memorial Fellow.

To learn more about Ms. Kline, read her “Meet the Students” profile HERE.

Meet the Student: Q&A with Violist Alyssa Warcup

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Alyssa Warcup, from Geneva, Ill., entered the Curtis Institute of Music in 2022 and studies viola with Hsin-Yun Huang. All students at Curtis receive merit-based, full-tuition scholarships, and Ms. Warcup is the Edward Montgomery Fellow.

 

 

You began your viola studies at age twelve. What drew you to the instrument, and what is your favorite repertoire to play?

I think it’s safe to say the viola chose me. I didn’t even know what a viola was when I was choosing an instrument in grade school! I remember my first two choices had been flute and violin. I couldn’t get a sound out on the flute, and then playing the violin seemed much more exciting. However, there were so many other kids already choosing the violin, but not a single one playing viola. One of the teachers pushed me in that direction, and I liked the idea of having an instrument all to myself.

The story doesn’t quite stop there. I played viola in elementary school that year but only felt lukewarm about it. I planned on quitting when I went to middle school the next year because I was part of so many extracurriculars already! The same teachers that put me on this instrument talked me into sticking with it for just one more year, so I did. We had a fantastic orchestra director in middle school, and she connected me with the private teacher that put me on the path to where I am today. They sent me to a couple of orchestra camps, and that’s where I made lifelong friends and found my home. I think orchestra is the reason I became a musician, and I wouldn’t be here without great teachers who are also great human beings.

If I’m not enjoying orchestra or quartet repertoire, I’m probably playing duo sonatas with piano, which are my favorite. I’ll be making my debut in the Student Recital Series on Monday, January 30, at Field Concert Hall, performing Bowen’s Viola Sonata No. 1 with Elena Jivaeva.

What have you enjoyed the most about your experience here at Curtis so far?

I adore my viola teachers, as well as the longstanding traditions here, both musical and non-musical. Hsin-Yun Huang and Misha Amory have such unbelievable artistry and do a phenomenal job sharing their thoughts with us. They make an incredible team, and I feel that my playing has already transformed in a short time. Inspired is such an overused word, but I feel genuinely inspired and even more motivated after each lesson, and I’m looking forward to what the rest of my time here has in store.

All of our professors and chamber music coaches here come from the most incredible musical lineage. Their teachers were the great artists of their time, and it’s so special to have these musical traditions passed down to us, sometimes even in the same rooms where they were taught.

The more tangible traditions at Curtis are equally enjoyable, such as weekly tea on Wednesdays and the annual Holiday Party that Curtis has hosted since the school’s founding. They bring our already tight-knit community together in a unique way.

What has been one of your most memorable performances to date?

It’s so hard to pick only one! I have to say both performing Sibelius 5 with the Cleveland Orchestra and performing the Schnittke Viola Concerto with orchestra. In Cleveland, I learned so much about section playing, precision, and making music. The perspective of knowing what it’s like to play in an elite professional orchestra is invaluable, and the experience cemented for me that this is the musical path I would like to take. The Schnittke Viola Concerto is by far one of my favorite pieces to play on viola. It is a monster, but at the same time, I have the kind of connection where it feels like it was made for me and my hands. This was a daunting first piece to perform with an orchestra, but thrilling! Not to mention it was great preparation for my Curtis audition.

Your bio mentions a passion for outreach, and you have performed with the Cleveland chapter of Music for Food, a musician-led initiative to fight hunger. Tell us about some of your most memorable experiences bringing music out into communities.

My last concert before COVID was performing in our annual Music for Food concert. I played in the Mendelssohn Octet with some other students and the Laredos. I really enjoyed the rehearsal process, and it was an exciting performance. Each year these concerts raise at least 10,000 meals for the community and probably draw the largest crowd of any outreach event I’ve performed in. When I play with chamber groups in museums, libraries, nursing homes, hospitals, or schools, they are much more intimate, and there are more opportunities to interact with the audience before, during, and after the concert.

Photo credits: 1.) Banner and second image courtesy by Nichole MCH Photography. 2.) Image of Alyssa Warcup, courtesy of Ayaka Sano.

Bright Sheng’s “Of Time and Love” Debuts This Weekend with the Curtis Symphony Orchestra

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The Curtis Symphony Orchestra’s 2022–23 season continues this Sunday, January 29, 2023, at 2 p.m. with “Perry, Tchaikovsky, and Sheng” in Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center, under the baton of Emmy Award-winning, GRAMMY-nominated conductor Miguel Harth-Bedoya (’91) and first-year student Micah Gleason, Curtis’s Rita E. Hauser Conducting Fellow.

The concert includes the world premiere of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, conductor, and pianist Bright Sheng‘s Of Time and Love, a thrilling new concerto for viola and orchestra featuring the virtuosity of internationally acclaimed violist Roberto Díaz (’84), president of Curtis. An additional performance takes place in Alumnae Hall at Immaculata University on Saturday, January 28, at 2 p.m.

Learn more about “Perry, Tchaikovsky, and Sheng” HERE.

Bright Sheng Discusses Of Time and Love
Concerto for Viola and Orchestra
《不朽之爱》中提琴协奏曲

Of Time and Love, Concerto for Viola and Orchestra, is commissioned by the Curtis Institute of Music for the Curtis Symphony Orchestra and Roberto Díaz, with support from Bridget Baird, Brenda Baird Senturia, Robert B Downing and the Downing Family Foundation in cooperation with the Apollo Orchestra, and Allen R. and Judy Brick Freedman. Co-commissioned with the Suzhou Symphony Orchestra of China.

This piece, completed in 2022, is orchestrated for two flutes (second doubles piccolo), two oboes (second doubles English horn), two clarinets in Bb (second doubles bass clarinet), two bassoons (second doubles contrabassoon), four French horns, two trumpets, two tenor trombones, one bass trombone, harp, timpani, three percussionists (playing slapsticks, a set of four wood blocks, small suspended cymbal, small triangle, guiro, large tam-tam, large bass drum, glockenspiel, vibraphone), and strings.

A preview performance was given on October 30, 2022, by the Apollo Orchestra conducted by David Neely in Washington D.C.; world premiere performance was given on January 29, 2023, conducted by Miguel Harth-Bedoya, at Verizon Hall of Kimmel Center in Philadelphia. Roberto Díaz, to whom the work is dedicated, is the soloist for both performances.

“I have always had a soft spot in my heart for the viola, particularly for its variety of characters, from the sweet, lyrical to the rough and dramatic. The work is also inspired by the fine musicianship of Roberto Díaz, an artist who is both virtuosic and exceptionally musical. I was happy to have the opportunity to write a viola concerto—I made sure the instrument would express the range of traits and, the solo part would sing mostly throughout the composition.

“The work was written during the thick of the pandemic, which reset everyone’s complacency. When human life becomes fragile, only love is timeless.” —Bright Sheng

Visit Bright Sheng‘s official website HERE.

CURTIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Perry, Tchaikovsky, and Sheng

Saturday, January 28, 2023, at 2 p.m.
Alumnae Hall, Immaculata University, 1145 King Road, Immaculata, Pa.

Sunday, January 29, 2023, at 2 p.m.
Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Streets, Philadelphia

Miguel Harth-Bedoya, conductor
Micah Gleason, Rita E. Hauser Conducting Fellow

 

PROGRAM

JULIA PERRY Study for Orchestra
BRIGHT SHENG Of Time and Love, Concerto for Viola and Orchestra
PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 4

 

Tickets
Immaculata single tickets: $19, sold by Curtis Patron Services at Curtis.edu/Performances, or (215) 893-7902.

Philadelphia single tickets: $19–55, sold by the Kimmel Center Box Office at KimmelCulturalCampus.org, or (215) 893-1999.

 

Photo credits: 1.) Bright Sheng by Angelo Merendino. 2.) Image of Miguel Harth-Bedoya and Roberto Díaz with the Curtis Symphony Orchestra by Patricia K. Johnson. 3.) Composer Bright Sheng; courtesy of the artist. 4.) Image of the Curtis Symphony Orchestra rehearsing Of Love and Time with Maestro Harth-Bedoya and Roberto Díaz by Bailey Spiteri.

Violist Beatrice Chen on the Latest Episode of WHYY’s “On Stage at Curtis”

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Season 17 of WHYY’s acclaimed On Stage at Curtis series continues with a portrait of violist Beatrice Chen. First prize winner of the 2018 Johansen International Competition for Young String Players and a three-time first prize winner of the American Protégé International Concerto Competition, Ms. Chen recently joined the viola section of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on September 19, 2022, under the baton of legendary conductor Riccardo Muti.

As a child, Ms. Chen began her musical studies by playing the piano. When she discovered her brother was taking cello lessons, she decided to “one up him” and briefly began playing the violin. During her first youth orchestra rehearsal, she accidentally stepped on the instrument and destroyed it. She decided to take up the viola instead and fell in love with the instrument, which led to further orchestral and chamber music performances, each more successful than the last.

While at Curtis, Ms. Chen explored the viola repertoire to its fullest, signed up for recitals to gain additional experience, auditioned for the principal viola position with the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, and worked in the orchestra library, immersing herself in all aspects of the school and what it could offer her as a student.

Audiences have long clamored for music to be more accessible. Ms. Chen discusses how isolation created an opportunity during the pandemic for artists to offer live streams and free concerts for the public. She believes this is important for the future of music and brings classical music lovers from across the globe together. 

Featured performances include Jessie Montgomery’s Rhapsody No. 1 and 2 and Debussy’s Sonata for Flute, Viola, and Harp, which she describes as magically surreal, full of ideas, colors, and textures that blend to create a memorable dreamscape.

Click HERE to watch the On Stage at Curtis episode, or click the video below.

Curtis Symphony Orchestra Presents “Perry, Tchaikovsky, and Sheng”

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Press Contacts:
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—January 12, 2023—The Curtis Symphony Orchestra’s 2022–23 season continues on Sunday, January 29, 2023, at 2 p.m. with “Perry, Tchaikovsky, and Sheng” in Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center. The program features an afternoon of firsts and favorites with a powerful romantic classic, an exhilarating world premiere viola concerto, and an orchestral tour de force under the batons of Emmy Award-winning, GRAMMY-nominated conductor Miguel Harth-Bedoya (’91) and first-year student Micah Gleason, Curtis’s Rita E. Hauser Conducting Fellow. An additional performance takes place in Alumnae Hall at Immaculata University on Saturday, January 28, at 2 p.m.

Curtis kicks off the program with neoclassical composer, pianist, and conductor Julia Perry’s dynamic Study for Orchestra (originally titled A Short Piece for Orchestra when it premiered in Turin, Italy, in 1952). This fiercely raucous, high-octane work shifts gears between intensely dramatic moments reminiscent of a menacing Bernard Hermann film score and quiet, poetic passages. In 1965, Perry’s energetic piece made history as the first work by a woman of color to be performed and recorded by the New York Philharmonic and only the third by a female composer.

Facing sexism and racial discrimination in a pre-Civil Rights world, as well as significant personal health issues, Perry was an inspiring trailblazer who left behind an extraordinary body of work when she died at age 55, with over a dozen symphonies, two concertos, and three operas. Although her compositions have been largely neglected until recent years, Perry’s work is primed for audience rediscovery and celebration.

The concert continues with Of Time and Love by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, conductor, and pianist Bright Sheng. Co-commissioned with the Suzhou Symphony Orchestra of China, this exciting new concerto for viola and orchestra features the virtuosity of internationally acclaimed violist Roberto Díaz (’84), president of Curtis. Hailed by the MacArthur Foundation as “an innovative composer who merges diverse musical customs in works that transcend conventional aesthetic boundaries,” Sheng’s new work will showcase the lyrical, limpid melodies and striking dramatic gestures that have made him one of the most sought-after composers of our time.

“I have always had a soft spot in my heart for the viola, particularly for its variety of characters, from the sweet and lyrical to the rough and dramatic,” says Sheng. “This work is also inspired by the fine musicianship of Roberto Díaz, an artist who is both virtuosic and exceptionally musical. I was happy to have the opportunity to write a viola concerto; I made sure the instrument would express its entire range of traits, and the solo part would sing throughout the composition. The work was written during the thick of the pandemic, which reset everyone’s complacency. When human life becomes fragile, only love is timeless.”

The final portion of the program is dedicated to Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s explosive Symphony No. 4, often considered one of the Russian Romantic composer’s greatest orchestral works. Written in the aftermath of a short-lived, catastrophic marriage that almost destroyed his creative core, this dark and powerful piece depicts an epic battle between unbridled joy and fate, an ominous, inescapable force that threatens the delicate beauty of life itself. Over four intensely dramatic movements, the audience is drawn into Tchaikovsky’s turbulent mind as he grapples with the torment of his inner demons and triumphs in a finale of musical fireworks, proclaiming that we all should “rejoice in the happiness of others.”

Celebrating more than 30 years of professional conducting, Miguel Harth-Bedoya has recently concluded tenures as chief conductor of the Norwegian Radio Orchestra (seven seasons) and as music director of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra (20 seasons), where he now holds the title of music director laureate. With a deep commitment to passing his experience on to the next generation of musicians, he is currently the Mary Franks Thompson Director of Orchestral Studies at Baylor University, where in addition to conducting the orchestras, he teaches orchestral conducting at the undergraduate and graduate level. He has also established the Conducting Institute to teach the fundamentals of conducting to students ages high school and up, of all levels, through an intensive summer program, workshops, courses, and seminars. Previously he was the director of orchestral studies at the University of Nebraska, Omaha.

Harth-Bedoya conducts orchestras worldwide such as the Chicago Symphony, Boston Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Atlanta Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, BBC Orchestra, Birmingham Orchestra, National Orchestra of Spain, New Zealand Symphony, Sydney Symphony, Melbourne Symphony, NHK Symphony, and Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, among others.

Harth-Bedoya has an impressive discography of more than 25 recordings, including critically acclaimed albums on Harmonia Mundi, Deutsche Grammophon, Decca, LAWO, Naxos, and MSR Classics. He is the artistic and managing director of Caminos del Inka, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the rich musical legacy of the Americas. Born and raised in Peru, Harth-Bedoya received his Bachelor of Music degree from the Curtis Institute of Music and his Master of Music degree from the Juilliard School, both under the guidance of Otto-Werner Mueller.

A violist of international reputation, Roberto Díaz is president and CEO of the Curtis Institute of Music, following in the footsteps of renowned soloist/directors such as Josef Hofmann, Efrem Zimbalist, and Rudolf Serkin. As a teacher of viola at Curtis and former principal viola of the Philadelphia Orchestra, Mr. Díaz has already had a significant impact on American musical life and continues to do so in his dual roles as performer and educator.

As a soloist, Mr. Díaz collaborates with leading conductors of our time on stages throughout North and South America, Europe, and Asia. He has also worked directly with important 20th- and 21st-century composers, including Krzysztof Penderecki—whose viola concerto he has performed many times with the composer on the podium and whose double concerto he premiered in the United States—as well as Edison Denisov, Ricardo Lorenz, and Roberto Sierra, among others.

As a frequent recitalist, Mr. Díaz enjoys collaborating with young pianists, bringing a fresh approach to the repertoire, and providing invaluable opportunities to artists at the beginnings of their careers. In addition to performing with major string quartets and pianists in chamber music series and festivals worldwide, Mr. Díaz has toured Europe, Asia, and the Americas as a member of the Díaz Trio with violinist Andrés Cárdenes and cellist Andrés Díaz. The Díaz Trio has recorded for the Artek and Dorian labels.

Mr. Díaz received an honorary doctorate from Bowdoin College and was awarded an honorary membership by the National Board of the American Viola Society. In 2013 he became a member of the prestigious American Philosophical Society founded by Benjamin Franklin. As a member of the Philadelphia Orchestra, he was selected by then-music director Christoph Eschenbach to receive the C. Hartman Kuhn Award, given annually to “the member of the Philadelphia Orchestra who has shown ability and enterprise of such character as to enhance the standards and the reputation of the Philadelphia Orchestra.” He received a bachelor’s degree from the New England Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Burton Fine; and a diploma from the Curtis Institute of Music, where his teacher was his predecessor at the Philadelphia Orchestra, Joseph de Pasquale. Mr. Díaz also holds a degree in industrial design.

In addition to his decade-long tenure as principal viola of the Philadelphia Orchestra, where he performed the entire standard viola concerto repertoire and gave a number of Philadelphia Orchestra premieres, Mr. Díaz was principal viola of the National Symphony under Mstislav Rostropovich, a member of the Boston Symphony under Seiji Ozawa, and a member of the Minnesota Orchestra under Sir Neville Marriner. He plays the ex-Primrose Amati viola.

Acclaimed for its “otherworldly ensemble and professional level of sophistication” (The New York Times), the Curtis Symphony Orchestra offers a dynamic showcase of tomorrow’s exceptional young talent. Each year the 100 extraordinary musicians of the orchestra work with internationally renowned conductors, including Osmo Vänskä, Vladimir Jurowski, Marin Alsop, Simon Rattle, Robert Spano, and Yannick Nézet Séguin, who also mentors the early-career conductors who hold Rita E. Hauser Conducting Fellowships. This professional training has enabled Curtis alumni to assume prominent positions in America’s leading orchestras, as well as esteemed orchestral, opera, and chamber ensembles around the world.

The Curtis Symphony Orchestra returns to Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center on Saturday, April 15, at 3 p.m. for the final performance of the 2022–23 season (“Perry, Schumann, and Mahler”) featuring conductor Osmo Vänskä and acclaimed pianist Amy Yang (’06). To learn more about this performance, as well as the Curtis Opera Theatre, Ensemble 20/21 concerts, Curtis Recital Series, and more, visit Curtis.edu/Calendar.

Single tickets start at $19 and are available for purchase at Curtis.edu. Subscriptions are on sale for Curtis’s 2022–23 season. The flexible Choose Your Own subscription option offers 25% off ticket prices when purchasing tickets to two or more performances. Curtis is also offering a new Season Pass, providing access to all remaining performances in the 2022–23 season for $99 per person. To order a subscription, visit Curtis.edu/Subscribe, call (215) 893-7902, or email tickets@curtis.edu.

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. With admissions based solely on artistic promise, no student is turned away due to financial need. Curtis invests in each admitted student, ensuring no tuition is charged for their studies and they enter the profession free from educational debt. 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. Learn more at Curtis.edu.

 

CURTIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Perry, Tchaikovsky, and Sheng

Saturday, January 28, 2023, at 2 p.m.
Alumnae Hall, Immaculata University, 1145 King Road, Immaculata, Pa.

Sunday, January 29, 2023, at 2 p.m.
Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Streets, Philadelphia

Miguel Harth-Bedoya, conductor
Micah Gleason, Rita E. Hauser Conducting Fellow

PROGRAM

JULIA PERRY Study for Orchestra
BRIGHT SHENG Of Time and Love, Concerto for Viola and Orchestra
PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 4

 

Tickets
Immaculata single tickets: $19, sold by Curtis Patron Services at Curtis.edu/Performances, or (215) 893-7902.

Philadelphia single tickets: $19–55, sold by the Kimmel Center Box Office at KimmelCulturalCampus.org, or (215) 893-1999.

Orchestral concerts are supported by the Jack Wolgin Curtis Orchestral Concerts Endowment Fund.

Guest conductor appearances for each Curtis Symphony Orchestra performance are made possible by the Rita E. and Gustave M. Hauser Chair in Conducting Studies.

Bright Sheng’s Of Time and Love is commissioned by the Curtis Institute of Music for the Curtis Symphony Orchestra and Roberto Díaz, with support from Bridget Baird, Brenda Baird Senturia, Robert B. Downing and the Downing Family Foundation in cooperation with the Apollo Orchestra, and Allen R. and Judy Brick Freedman. Co-commissioned with the Suzhou Symphony Orchestra of China.

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