Category: Community

Project Support
This funding opportunity is designed to encourage and support new compositional works, recordings, educational programming, community-based endeavors, and more by Curtis alumni. This year’s grantees are:

• • • Ted Babcock (Timpani and Percussion ’15)
    • Merissa Beddows (Voice ’22)
    • Stas Chernyshev (Clarinet ’14, ArtistYear ’17)
    • Jazimina Creamer-MacNeil (Opera ’14)
    • Gergana Haralampieva (Violin ’16)
    • Maria Ioudenitch (Violin ’18)
    • Abigail Kent (Harp ’17)
    • Ayana Kozasa (Viola ’12, String Quartet ’16)
    • Will Langlie-Miletich (Double Bass ’19)
    • Sung Jin Lee (Viola ’16)
    • Lun Li (Violin ’20)
    • Andrew Moses (Composition ’20)

Career Support
This unique funding opportunity is designed to provide Curtis alumni with the resources to further their professional and artistic development, purchase new musical instruments, cover travel expenses for auditions and competitions abroad, and continue their studies and coachings. This year’s grantees are:

• • • Jack Bryant (Horn ’23)
    • Dennis Chmelensky (Voice ’18, Opera ’19)
    • Robert Conquer (Trombone ’23)
    • Vartan Gabrielian (Voice ’17, Opera ’19)
    • Mekhi Gladden (Oboe ’22)
    • Roy Hage (Opera ’16)
    • Maggie O’Leary (Bassoon ’19)
    • Fuki Wang (Flute ’22)
    • Tyler Zimmerman (Opera ’18)

All of the grantees were selected through a competitive review process, and proposals were evaluated closely by an anonymous panel of Curtis alumni. Funding totaling $75,000 was distributed based on the overall strength of a proposal, the 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 will also have access to professional guidance and support in achieving the proposal’s goals.

“We are proud to support and empower young alumni as they move into the next phase of their artistic journeys. Curtis graduates are some of the most innovative and accomplished musicians in the world. Their leadership is an endless source of inspiration for the next generation of classical artists here at Curtis and beyond.” said Shea Scruggs (Oboe ’04), Curtis’s director of institutional research and musician experience and chief enrollment officer.

“We want to thank the alumni who served on the evaluation panel for their meticulous and dedicated work in selecting the grantees. They devoted valuable time, expertise, and resources to Curtis, and this new initiative would not be possible without their contributions. I also want to express my immense gratitude to the Daniel W. Dietrich II Foundation for its transformative investment. With their support, countless future generations of Curtis graduates will be able to take more risks, overcome more obstacles, and progress more quickly toward their goals.”

As Curtis approaches its centennial celebration during the 2024–25 season, the school is prioritizing the needs of the musician lifecycle: the shifting artistic and economic experiences of artists as they prepare to enter Curtis and go on to build their careers following graduation. Committed to continuing to foster meaningful relationships with its musicians even after they graduate, 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

• • • Ted Babcock (Timpani and Percussion ’15) is a Philadelphia-based composer, percussionist, and founder of Amp Quintet, who will use his award to record the quintet’s debut album, Dialogues. As a composer, his works ride the boundaries between conceptual electronics, percussive counterpoint, and an instinctual lyricism. Recent premieres include works written for the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, which has been selected by the American Composers Orchestra EarShot Program for the spring 2024 season; and for the Viano String Quartet, documenting the lives of healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Other recent projects include the premiere of his first solo album, Trilogies for percussionist and electronics, which was praised by I Care If You Listen as “…worthy of redefining the repertoire on the vibraphone.” He has been commissioned by leading performers and presenters such as arx percussion duo, Fringe Arts Philadelphia, the H2 saxophone quartet, percussionist/videographer Evan Chapman, flutist Antonina Styczen, members of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and Curtis Institute of Music. His works have received praise for their innovation and craft from an eclectic following, from film festivals and concert stages to the band Wilco. In addition to his work as a composer, he is a two-time GRAMMY-nominated percussionist for his work with the Crossing chamber choir and has performed with GRAMMY Award-winning contemporary music groups such as the Boston Modern Orchestra Project and Eighth Blackbird. His playing has been featured in “best of” lists in the New York Times and National Public Radio, as well as Rolling Stone magazine. As a recording artist, he can also be heard on labels such as Navona, Tzadik, and New Focus Records. Mr. Babcock’s funding will support a recording project for Amp Quintet, featuring percussionists, guitar, piano, and bass.

• • • A native New Yorker and recent Curtis graduate, Merissa Beddows (Voice ’22) gained fame after her viral audition on Season 17 of America’s Got Talent (AGT). Scouted by the show after having posted a series of singing videos/comical impressions on TikTok, she has since accumulated nearly one million followers. The classically trained vocalist incorporated both her singing and knack for impersonating into her AGT audition and ended up becoming a top five semi-finalist that season. She has since taken part in performing the voice behind a Sofia Vergara puppet on Season 18 of AGT and has appeared on PBS’s On Stage at Curtis and You Oughta Know. The 25-year-old is now pursuing singing, songwriting, and producing and released her first single, “Get Out,” on February 14, 2024. Ms. Beddows’s funding will support the premiere of composer and Curtis alumnus Gregory Hall’s (’86) Marvelous, A Musical Opera: The Sequel to Oz in the Birthplace of Oz in Aberdeen, South Dakota, the place where novelist Frank Baum first came up with the idea of Oz.

• • • Russian-born Stas Chernyshev (Clarinet ’14, ArtistYear ’17) has established a versatile career as an orchestral musician, soloist, chamber musician, and educator. Principal clarinetist of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Mr. Chernyshev has performed at such prestigious venues in the U.S. as Carnegie Hall, the Kimmel Center, and the Kennedy Center, and venues internationally in Switzerland, Spain, Germany, Russia, South Korea, and Japan. A devoted chamber musician, Mr. Chernyshev has collaborated with GRAMMY-winning ensembles Eighth Blackbird and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, who commissioned new works for his instrument. He has been featured on WQXR, New York’s classical music station; and On Stage at Curtis from WHYY, Philadelphia’s public television station. He is the founder and artistic director of Fort Worth Performances for Autism and a co-founder of Opus Nova Chamber Music Series. Mr. Chernyshev holds a bachelor’s degree from Curtis and a master’s degree from St. Petersburg Conservatory. Mr. Chernyshev’s funding will support Fort Worth Performances for Autism, a non-profit organization providing free, interactive chamber music concerts for children with autism.

• • • Since returning to her roots in the artistically fertile Monadnock Region of New Hampshire, Jazimina Creamer-MacNeil (Opera ’14) has conceived, directed, and performed in a number of interdisciplinary works that explore the intersection of music, storytelling, and the natural world. Danika the Rose is an interweaving of Dvořák’s sublime Moravian Duets with an original eco-fairytale written by Ms. Creamer-MacNeil in collaboration with master storyteller Odds Bodkin. An orchestral version of this project, Love Like Water, was produced in collaboration with conductor Eric Jacobsen, and both premiered in 2019. In collaboration with the Harris Center for Conservation Education and Electric Earth Concerts, Ms. Creamer-MacNeil created two site-specific musical hikes: The Singing Stream, which sets Schubert’s tender song cycle Die Schöne Müllerin alongside what was once a mill stream, and In Fine Feather, which invites walkers into a world of music and poetry inspired by birdsong, accompanied by the sights and sounds of the birds themselves. She has also collaborated with the DreamYard Project to create Frozen Tears, a concert of artwork and spoken word inspired by the alienation in Schubert’s Winterreise. She is a company member of the award-winning Firelight Theatre Workshop, with which she regularly performs, writes, and conceives new, immersive, and community-based works. In collaboration with composer Christopher Theofanidis, she is currently developing a site-specific performance that will translate into song and storytelling Dr. Suzanne Simard’s groundbreaking research on how forests communicate and share resources through underground mycorrhizal networks for the good of the whole community. Ms. Creamer-MacNeil’s funding will go towards an immersive theatrical retelling of Guantanamo survivor Mansoor Adayfi’s harrowing, heartrending stories as he survived his imprisonment and searches for love.

• • • Long Island Chamber Music (LICM) is a collective of professional musicians that bring world-class classical music to Long Island communities through concerts and educational programs year-round. LICM was founded in 2020 by husband-and-wife musicians Eric Huckins and Gergana Haralampieva (Violin ’16) alongside composer Nick DiBerardino with the belief that Long Island is deserving of year-round professional classical music. Concerts take place at local venues across Long Island, including concert halls, parks, libraries, churches, museums, and community centers. LICM works closely with its community partners to create concert programs that are relevant and compelling to audiences. Each concert showcases a variety of instrumentation and program selections. LICM is strongly committed to programming works and featuring musicians from historically underrepresented communities in the classical music field. LICM provides a variety of highly interactive educational concerts and residencies in schools, libraries, and community centers that focus on fostering a love and understanding of classical music for all ages. LICM musicians are all drawn from Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble Connect, the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Astral Artists, and several other of the country’s most prominent musical institutions. In addition to being leaders in their art form, LICM musicians are teaching artists, entrepreneurs, and socially minded advocates for classical music. Long Island Chamber Music is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. All Long Island Chamber Music programs are made possible through the efforts of our community partners, support from local businesses, and the generosity of the Long Island community. Ms. Haralampieva’s funding will support her work with the Long Island Chamber Music to expand the organization’s community engagement offerings by developing, performing, and video recording an interactive children’s program at the Long Island Children’s Museum’s auditorium, which introduces each instrumental family.

• • • ensemble132 (e132) is an American collective of eleven soloists and chamber musicians of the highest caliber, including Maria Ioudenitch (Violin ’18), uniting with a shared mission to reimagine the chamber music landscape. The only group of its kind to continually create and premiere new standards in the chamber music repertoire with its artist-crafted arrangements, ensemble132 excites the imagination of audiences across the country with its uniquely genre-defying programs. At every e132 event, audiences can expect a one-of-a-kind chamber music experience characterized by versatile artistry and limitless programming possibilities. Chamber ballets, transcriptions of symphonies and jazz standards, and orchestrations of solo works comprise just a few of ensemble132’s programming highlights. Each member of ensemble132’s dynamic roster, all with stellar careers and accolades, brings their unique blend of uncompromising individuality and collaborative spirit to traditional masterworks as well as unearthed gems. The artists of ensemble132 have collaborated closely at music festivals such as Marlboro, Ravinia, Music@Menlo, Verbier, and Taos, and they appear regularly with ensembles such as the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Catalyst Quartet, Borromeo String Quartet, and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. They are prizewinners at major competitions such as the Paganini, Joseph Joachim, Tibor Varga, Sibelius, Primrose, Beethoven Vienna, Vendome Prize, and American Pianists Awards. Alongside its traditional concerts, ensemble132 takes a uniquely creative approach to community engagement, sharing the joy of musical creation through interactive workshops. At these events, e132 artists guide listeners in real-time through the arranging process. The ensemble also presents cross-disciplinary programs and innovative educational programs. Most recently, e132 presented a residency at Texas Christian University, where members both coached and played alongside students in mixed groups. Ms. Ioudenitch’s Young Alumni Fund award will be used to help ensemble 132 produce a new chamber ballet version of Stravinsky’s Petrouchka, in collaboration with BalletX and Philadelphia Chamber Music Society.

• • • Harpist Abigail Kent (’17) communicates emotions and stories through music, using the harp as a passport to the human heart. An international award-winning musician, Fanfare Magazine praised their “immaculate playing and musical sensitivity.” Some of Dr. Kent’s international awards and honors include being named New Artist of the Month by Musical America, winning the AHS Concert Artist title from the American Harp Society, and being chosen as a finalist in the Young Concert Artists auditions. Dr. Kent is also in high demand as an orchestral harpist. They are the harp fellow of the New World Symphony and have also performed with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, and Charleston Symphony. Their performances at international festivals include the Aspen Music Festival, Spoleto Festival USA, Pacific Music Festival (Sapporo, Japan), and Tanglewood Music Festival. A committed teacher and educator, Dr. Kent is on the harp faculty at the College of Charleston, having created two different and individualized pathways to study the harp that mirror their own double identity: traditional lever harp and classical pedal harp. They have presented master classes and lectures for the American Harp Academy, the 2019 American Harp Society National Institute, the Juilliard School, and Curtis. Dr. Kent studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London, the Curtis Institute of Music (B.M.), Mannes School of Music (M.M.), and the Juilliard School (D.M.A.). Dr. Kent’s funding will support their debut solo classical album, The Feminine Musique.

• • • Hailed for her “magnetic, wide-ranging tone” and her “rock solid technique” (Philadelphia Inquirer), Ayane Kozasa (Viola ’12, String Quartet ’16) is a sought-after chamber musician, collaborator, and educator. Since winning the 2011 Primrose International Viola Competition—where she also captured awards for best chamber music and commissioned work performances— Ms. Kozaza has appeared on stages across the world, from Carnegie, Wigmore, and Suntory Hall to Ravinia, Aspen, and the Marlboro Music Festival. She is a passionate advocate for the expansion of viola repertoire and has commissioned multiple new works, including “American Haiku” by Paul Wiancko and “K’Zohar Harakia” by Judd Greenstein. She was a founding member of the Aizuri Quartet, which, which was the 2018 quartet-in-residence at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the grand prize winners of both the Osaka International String Quartet Competition and the M-Prize Chamber Arts Competition. Their debut album, Blueprinting—which features the music of five American composers, all commissioned by the quartet—was nominated for a GRAMMY Award and named one of NPR’s top 10 classical albums of 2018. Their devotion to education brought them to young musicians around the world, and they crafted a unique student composer workshop format that they implemented at institutions such as the University of Southern California, Princeton University, and New York Youth Symphony. In 2020, the quartet launched AizuriKids, an interactive web series for children that explores relationships between music and themes ranging from astrophysics to cooking. Their dedication to the art of the string quartet for eleven years was recognized by Chamber Music America, and in 2022, the quartet received the Cleveland Quartet Award. Currently, Ms. Kozaza’s most recent passion project, Owls, is a quartet collective with violinist Alexi Kenney and cellists Gabriel Cabezas and Paul Wiancko. Owls share an uncommonly fierce creative spirit, weaving together new compositions with original arrangements of music ranging from the 1600s to the present, and have played at series such as the Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York City and the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. This season, Ms. Kozaza is the guest violist of the Cavani String Quartet. The quartet boasts several original educational presentations with the string quartet as the catalyst, and they have presented their work at institutions such as Cleveland State University and the University of Michigan. Cleveland State University and the University of Michigan. Much of Ms. Kozaza’s current work involves mentoring aspiring young musicians through programs like the Meadowmount School of Music, Green Lake Chamber Music Camp, and St. Lawrence Chamber Music Seminar. Taking inspiration from her mentors, the Cavani Quartet, Ms. Kozaza has developed several education-based music shows curated especially for the youth in a festival’s community, including Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts and Spoleto Festival USA. Ms. Kozaza is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, the Kronberg Academy in Germany, and the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she studied viola with Misha Amory, Roberto Díaz, Nobuko Imai, and Kirsten Docter. Ms. Kozasa’s funding will support content and branding for a new children’s music education web series.

• • • Will Langlie-Miletich (Double Bass ’19) is a dynamic performer and composer who started in music at age eight, playing the guitar riffs of Jimi Hendrix. After picking up the double bass at age eleven, Mr. Langlie-Miletich has had an extensive career playing multiple genres of music. Mr. Langlie-Miletich joined the Seattle Symphony bass section in 2019 and, in 2023, became assistant principal double bass. He was previously principal bass of Symphony in C in Camden, N.J., and has performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra. Mr. Langlie-Miletich received a bachelor’s degree from the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with Harold Robinson and Edgar Meyer. Mr. Langlie-Miletich also studied composition with Noam Sivan and received the Edward Aldwell Award for Excellence in Musical Studies upon graduation. In 2016, Mr. Langlie-Miletich became the first double bassist to win a top prize at the Klein String Competition, and as a Klein laureate, Mr. Langlie-Miletich has appeared as a soloist with the Peninsula Symphony and Santa Cruz Symphony. An avid chamber musician, Mr. Langlie-Miletich has performed at festivals such as ChamberFest Cleveland; Music in the Vineyards in Napa, California; and the Seattle Chamber Music Society. From 2018 to 2022, Mr. Langlie-Miletich participated in the Marlboro Music Festival. Mr. Langlie-Miletich’s funding will support the recording of György Kurtág’s Einige Sätze aus den Sudelbüchern Georg Christoph Lichtenbergs, Op. 37a.

• • • Described as an “excellent singing violist” by New York Concert Review, Sung Jin Lee (’16) of South Korea, is an avid chamber musician and soloist, having collaborated with artists including Gidon Kremer, Steven Isserlis, Christian Tetzlaff, Nobuko Imai, Itzhak Perlman, Pamela Frank, and many others. After winning the special prize at 2013 Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition, she started building her career as a soloist, receiving first prize in the Just Viola Festival, the Kuminilbo & Hansei University competition, and grand prize winner of the Hyo competition. Also, Ms. Lee has appeared as a soloist with the Baden-Baden Philharmonic, Korean Symphony Orchestra, Stonybrook Symphony Orchestra, and Académie Ensemble, among others. She has given recitals around the world, including Abbaye de Saint Maurice in St. Maurice, Switzerland; Kumho Art Hall in Seoul; Curtis’s Field Concert Hall in Philadelphia; and Paul Hall in New York. An enthusiastic collaborator, Ms. Lee regularly appears with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Sejong Soloists, Jupiter Chamber Music Players, and Noree Chamber Soloists. She served as a principal violist of the Curtis Symphony Orchestra and guest principal of the Pan Asia Orchestra. As a chamber musician, she received a special prize at the International Wigmore Hall String Quartet competition, second prize at the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition, and won the Ackerman Competition. She was invited and participated in many festivals such as Caramoor’s Evnin Rising Stars, Verbier Academy, Perlman Music Program, Music@Menlo, Kronberg Academy’s Chamber Music Connects the World, La Jolla Music Society, and many others. She is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music (B.M.), the Juilliard School (M.M.), and the Manhattan School of Music (Artist Diploma) on full scholarships. She is currently pursuing a doctoral degree at Stony Brook University under Lawrence Dutton. Ms. Lee’s funding will support the creation of a series of instructional videos and recordings focusing on the fundamental violin techniques of Suzuki, Kayser, and Dont—accessible across various platforms, including YouTube, Apple Music, and Spotify.
    • Lun Li (’20) is a violinist committed to creating thought-provoking, boundary-pushing concert experiences for contemporary audiences around the world. A native of Shanghai currently based in New York, Mr. Li won first prize in the 2021 Young Concert Artists’ Susan Wadsworth International Auditions, the Paul A. Fish Memorial Prize, the Buffalo Chamber Music Society Prize, and was named John French Violin Chair at Young Concert Artists. He is also the joint winner of the first prize at the Lillian and Maurice Barbash J.S. Bach Competition. Recently, he was named a residency artist at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center for their 2024–27 seasons. Mr. Li has appeared on major musical stages around the world, including Helsinki Music Centre, Konzerthaus Berlin, Kulturpalast Dresden, Wiener Konzerthaus, and Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center. Next season, he will make his solo recital debut in Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Music Center in New York and the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., as well as his concerto debut in the Lincoln Center. An avid chamber musician, he has participated in the Marlboro Music Festival, the Verbier Music Festival Academy, Music@Menlo’s international program, and Music from Angel Fire. He has collaborated with leading musicians such as Kim Kashkashian, Ani Kavafian, Ida Kavafian, Marcy Rosen, Steven Tenenbom, Peter Wiley, and members from the Calidore, Doric, and Miro Quartets. His upcoming season will include chamber music tours with Curtis, Marlboro Music Festival, and Young Concert Artists, bringing him to Carnegie Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, 92nd Street Y, the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, Buffalo Chamber Music Society, and others. Mr. Li holds degrees from Curtis and from the Juilliard School (M.M.). His mentors include Ida Kavafian, Catherine Cho, and Joseph Lin. He is currently pursuing an artist diploma at the Juilliard School under the tutelage of Catherine Cho. He plays on the Stradivarius “Samazeuilh” 1735 violin on a generous loan from the Nippon Music Foundation. Mr. Li’s funding will support the production of a concert film that delves into the concepts of life, death, creation, and destruction as perceived through the lens of Eastern ideologies.
    • Andrew Moses (Composition ’20) is a multimedia artist, composer, and clarinetist living in Los Angeles. His work has been performed by ensembles such as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Master Chorale, International Contemporary Ensemble, Wild Up, Curtis Symphony Orchestra, and the Mivos, Argus, Calder, and Zorá string quartets. His work has been presented by venues such as the Ojai Music Festival, the LA Phil’s Noon to Midnight and Green Umbrella series, Los Angeles’ Next on Grand Festival, UT-A Artist Space, PHASE Gallery, Shapeshifter Lab, Yellow Barn, Hear Now Music Festival, and Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival. Mr. Moses was the Nancy and Barry Sanders Composer Fellow with the Los Angeles Philharmonic from 2013 to 2016. He was a teaching trtist at Toolbox International Creative Academy 2023 in Hong Kong, where his piece, Ecstatic Immanence, for cello, percussion, and electronics was premiered by Oliver Herbert and Haruka Fujii. In June 2023, his show with Teresa Piecuch, Telepathic Radiation Causality, opened at PHASE Gallery in Los Angeles. Upcoming engagements include a performance at Indexical in Santa Cruz that situates covert sonic military apparatuses in feedback and includes four custom wheel-based polyphonic string instruments, the premiere of a piece for solo bass clarinet for Curtis’s centennial celebration, and a piece for Los Angeles Woodwind Skill Share with which Mr. Moses has been a regular participant since 2022. As a clarinetist, Mr. Moses has performed as soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Ensemble and in chamber settings with iPalpiti Artists International, Curtis’s Ensemble 20/21, and the Arcana New Music Ensemble. He has a master’s degree in art and technology from the Center for Integrated Media at the California Institute of the Arts and a bachelor’s degree in composition from the Curtis Institute of Music. Mr. Moses’s funding will support the commission of a piece for double bass and electronics focused on psychoacoustics for the Friends of Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra in Sweden.
    • A native of Princeton, N.J., cellist Zachary Mowitz (’19, CAF ’23) made his solo debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra in July 2018 as winner of the Greenfield Competition. An artist who wears many hats, Mr. Mowitz is the artistic director of ensemble132 and Nodality Music and an associated artist at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel and co-founded Trio St. Bernard—the 2018 gold prize winner of the Chesapeake Chamber Music Competition. He has performed with the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Indianapolis Symphony and has played as guest principal cello with the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra and Princeton Symphony Orchestra. In the summers of 2022 and 2023, he appeared at the Marlboro Music Festival, and in the fall of 2024, he will join the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Mr. Mowitz graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music in 2018, where he studied with Carter Brey and Peter Wiley and served as principal cello of the Curtis Symphony Orchestra. He subsequently studied at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel with Gary Hoffman in Belgium and at the Royal College of Music with Richard Lester. In 2019, he co-founded ensemble132, a chamber music collective that presents innovative programs of their own exciting, original transcriptions of classical masterworks paired with staples of the traditional chamber music repertoire. Invested in expanding the impact of classical music, Mr. Mowitz has dedicated considerable time and energy to community engagement programs, including organizing a benefit concert for immigrant families in partnership with ACLU and the Shut Down Berks Campaign, featuring musicians from the Philadelphia Orchestra, Daedalus Quartet, and Curtis and performing for Music For Food. In the 2022–23 school year, he was a Community Artist Fellow at Curtis, where he led a climate justice education program in the Philadelphia school district and served people living with dementia in partnership with Penn Memory. A fervent advocate for new music and innovative programming, Mr. Mowitz has premiered an array of new works by prominent and young composers alike, including the world premiere of Richard Danielpour’s string quintet Shattered Vessel at Music from Angel Fire in 2019. He has presented two newly commissioned works for solo cello by Nick DiBerardino and Zachary’s own father, Ira Mowitz, in a series of interactive lecture-recitals named Suite Talk. Mr. DiBerardino and Mr. Mowitz have since captured the best of this program in a video series with Guarneri Hall and launched the nonprofit Nodality Music, a nonprofit that cultivates direct links between artists, audiences, and broader culture with narrative-driven musical experiences. Mr. Mowitz was awarded first prize in the 2020 World Bach Competition and is the cellist of Philadelphia’s Gamut Bach Ensemble. He is based in New York and co-teaches a class on social entrepreneurship and climate justice at Curtis. Mr. Mowitz’s funding will assist in the commission and residency of a piece focused on climate justice.

Career Support

• • • Jack Bryant (Horn ’23), from Atlanta, Georgia, studied horn at the Curtis Institute of Music with Jeffrey Lang and Jennifer Montone in the master’s degree program as the Arlene and Irving Tashlick Fellow. Mr. Bryant is the acting third horn of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. He has previously performed with the Oregon Symphony, Atlanta Opera, New World Symphony, Symphony in C, Princeton Symphony, and Harrisburg Symphony. As a student, he attended the Music Academy of the West, Round Top Festival Institute, and Brevard Music Center. Mr. Bryant holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Northwestern University and previously studied with Jon Boen, Richard Deane, Jean Martin-Williams, and Gail Williams. He began playing the horn at age twelve. Mr. Bryant’s funding will go towards the purchase of a Kortesmaki double horn made by Karl Hill.
    • Praised for his “carrying power as well as subtle sensitivity to sound” (Philadelphia Inquirer), German-American baritone Dennis Chmelensky (Voice ’18, Opera ’19) began his musical journey in the childrens choirs of the Berliner Staatsoper and the Staats- und Domchor Berlin, where he had the opportunity to perform as a soloist with conductors such as Daniel Barenboim, Sir Simon Rattle and Kent Nagano. In 2019 he moved to Philadelphia to study at the Curtis Institute of Music as a Guna S. Mundheim fellow under the tutelage of Mikael Eliasen and Marlena Malas. Upon graduation he was a member of the Washington National Opera’s Cafritz Young Artist Program. Dennis is the winner of several competitions and awards. He won Germany’s National Competition Jugend Musiziert with several special prizes as a child and was more recently a 2022 Semifinalist in the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition. He also received the Prix Thierry Mermod at the Verbier Festival that year. His repertoire include Peter in Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel, Tom in Verdis Un ballo in maschera (both Verbier Festival), Sensor in Jeanine Tesoris new opera Grounded (workshop with Washington National Opera and the Metropolitan Opera), Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Junior in Bernstein’s A Quiet Place (Curtis and Opera Philadelphia co-productions) as well as Papageno in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, which he performed at the Chautauqua Music Festival. In addition to his operatic career, Dennis is an avid recitalist and has toured extensively throughout the United States and Europe in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Konzerthaus Berlin, the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., and the Philips Collection. This season, Dennis made his debut at Tiroler Festspiele Erl and joined Curtis on Tour for a recital in Athens. He also made his debut at the Philharmonie Berlin. He will make his Opera Frankfurt debut later this month portraying Don Polidoro in Cimarosa’s L’Italiana in Londra. Mr. Chmelensky’s funding will support general career advancement initiatives.
    • Robert Conquer (Trombone ’23) is quickly establishing himself as one of Canada’s finest young musicians. Most recently, he performed Nino Rota’s Concerto per Trombone on tour with the National Youth Orchestra of Canada as the first prize recipient of the Canada Council for the Arts Michael Measures Prize. In 2021, he was the second prize winner of this same award and was also named as one of CBC Classical Music’s “30 Hot Classical Musicians Under 30.” He was also the winner of the 2020 Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal Competition, wherein he received a full scholarship to attend Domaine Forget de Charlevoix and the prize for best interpretation of a Canadian work in the semi-final round. He is the first prize winner of numerous other solo competitions, including the American Trombone Workshop National Solo Competition, the Canadian National Music Festival, and more. Orchestrally, Mr. Conquer is the newly appointed principal trombone of the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra, wherein he is the youngest regular musician. He has also recently performed as a guest member of the National Arts Centre and Philadelphia orchestras. Originally from Scarborough, Ontario, Mr. Conquer studied privately with trombonist David Archer for three years before pursuing his studies at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia with Nitzan Haroz and Matthew Vaughn as a Carrie L. Tolson Memorial Fellow. Mr. Conquer was recognized as Curtis’s Presser Scholar, a prestigious scholarship awarded to one senior student who has high academic and musical accomplishments and embodies the qualities of leadership and citizenship. He is proud to be an S.E. Shires Artist and can virtually always be found attached to his trusted S.E. Shires TBSC Custom Model trombone. Mr. Conquer’s funding will support the purchase of an alto trombone.
    • Canadian-Armenian bass-baritone Vartan Gabrielian (Voice ’17, Opera ’19) has been praised for “… a voice that comes from his toes—magisterial and commanding, with just enough vibrato to give it bite” (Citron). This season marks numerous exciting roles and house debuts for Mr. Gabrielian. He will sing Nick Shadow (The Rake’s Progress) at the Verbier Festival, house debut as Dottore Grenvil (La traviata) at the Paris Opera, role and house debut at Opera San Jose performing Basilio (The Barber of Seville), Friar Laurent (Romeo and Juliet), and Capitán (Florencia en el Amazonas). Mr. Gabrielian makes his Wagnerian role debut as Fasolt (Das Rheingold) with the Edmonton Opera and will close the season as Basilio with the Des Moines Metro Opera. A sought-after concert performer, Mr. Gabrielian will also be the bass soloist in Handel’s Messiah with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. Highlights from last year’s season include Masetto and Commendatore (Don Giovanni) at the National Arts Centre, Nourabad (Les pêcheurs de perles) at Vancouver Opera, and a return to the Canadian Opera Company to perform Dottore (Macbeth) and cover Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro), Banquo (Macbeth), and Angelotti (Tosca). In 2022, Mr. Gabrielian was a finalist at the Belvedere Competition in Latvia as well as a national semi-finalist of the 2023 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition. He has also been a recipient of awards from numerous organizations, including the Metropolitan Opera National Council, Sylva Gelber Foundation, Career Bridges Schuyler Foundation, Jacqueline Desmarais Foundation, Gerda Lissner Foundation, and the George London Foundation. Mr. Gabrielian received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Curtis and is an alumnus both of the Canadian Opera Company’s ensemble and the Santa Fe apprentice program. Mr. Gabrielian’s funding will support overall career development activities.
    • Mekhi Gladden (’16) is an oboist and English hornist from Atlanta, Georgia, currently based in Philadelphia. They are a recent graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and has since been playing with numerous ensembles throughout the United States. Mx. Gladden began studying oboe at age twelve before entering the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s Talent Development Program at age fifteen under the tutelage of English hornist Emily Brebach. They later went on to study with Richard Woodhams, Toyin Spellman-Diaz, Robert Walters, Katherine Needleman, Philippe Tondre, and Elizabeth Tiscione at the Curtis Institute of Music. Mx. Gladden has performed with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Princeton Symphony Orchestra, Symphony in C, and Memphis and Baltimore Symphony orchestras as guest principal. They have recently been awarded first prize in the Eric Varner Young Artist Competition, audience choice award in the Virtual Oboe Competition, and winner of the Jan and Beattie Wood Concerto Competition with featured soloist performance with the Brevard Music Center Orchestra. Mx. Gladden works purposefully to further diversity, equity, and inclusion in classical music through their performance and advocacy. This has taken shape in their premiering of several new works for solo oboe, oboe and electronics, oboe and trumpet, and various other ensembles. They have recently worked at the Composers Conference at Avaloch as performance and chamber music faculty. Their upcoming season includes a return to community concerts in retirement communities and youth communities through Astral Artists. Mx. Gladden continues to explore through experimental improvised music—spearheaded by the People’s Music Supply centered in Philadelphia. Mx. Gladden’s funding will support the purchase of an oboe.
    • Roy Hage (Opera ’16), from Beirut, Lebanon, is a multi-GRAMMY-nominated tenor who has performed over 70 operatic and symphonic works in eight languages with the world’s leading orchestras, music festivals, and opera companies. He has appeared on national and international television and has worked closely with every major living operatic composer. Some of the ensembles Mr. Hage has performed with include the world-renowned Philadelphia Orchestra, Opera Philadelphia, Cleveland Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Saint Louis Symphony, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Columbus Symphony Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Santa Fe Opera, Teatro Signorelli, Aspen Music Festival, Chautauqua Music Festival, and Miami Music Festival. Mr. Hage has worked with major conductors such as Yannick Nézet-Séguin at the Metropolitan Opera, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Sir Richard Bonynge, Sir Corrado Rovaris, Christofer Macatsoris, Caren Levine, George Manahan, Rossen Milanov, Xian Zhang, Stephen Lord, James Gaffigan, David Robertson, and Michael Christie. He has performed more than 40 roles, including the title roles in The Tales of Hoffmann, Roméo et Juliette, The Rake’s Progress, Candide, La clemenza di Tito, and Pelléas and Melisande; and the Duke (Rigoletto), Nemorino (L’elisir d’amore), Alfredo (La traviata), Tamino (The Magic Flute), Le Chevalier des Grieux (Manon), Ruggero and Prunier (La rondine), Judge Danforth (The Crucible), Jeník (The Bartered Bride), the Italian Singer (Capriccio), and Chevalier de la Force (Dialogues des Carmélites). A pioneer of non-traditional forms of vocal expression, Mr. Hage’s art consistently challenges expectations and pushes the boundaries of convention, such as in his immersive adaptation of La traviata at New York City’s famous cabaret, the Box. Moreover, Mr. Hage created the role of Paul in Georgia Shreve’s rock opera Love Sick in 2018 and produced and performed alongside Broadway veterans in Ms. Shreve’s musical-opera-play hybrid Dialogues of Travelers in 2019—both at National Sawdust. Most recently, he captivated Bay Area audiences with his one-man show, Finding My Voice, presented on the world-renowned Stanford Live concert series. Mr. Hage’s captivating storytelling, skillfully woven melodies, and anecdotes of his past created an intimate and immersive experience for the audience. Mr. Hage has worked closely on the development of major artistic projects with artists such as Bill T. Jones, Jennifer Higdon, Steven Stucky, Kevin Puts, and Ann Hamilton, leaving an indelible mark on works that have become standard modern repertoire. Mr. Hage won first prize in the 2017 Giargiari Bel Canto Operatic Competition, the highest score in the 2016 Mario Lanza Competition, and second prize in the Grand Concours de Chant Competition. Mr. Hage has studied at Interlochen Arts Academy, Oberlin Conservatory, Yale University, and Curtis Institute of Music. Following his time at Curtis, Mr. Hage completed a three-year artist residency at the Academy of Vocal Arts and received its artist diploma. Most recently, Mr. Hage received his M.B.A. from Stanford’s graduate school of business and aims to create the kinds of opportunities for which he originally had to leave Lebanon to pursue. Mr. Hage’s funding will support the pursuit of an operatic career and vocal rehabilitation.
    • Maggie O’Leary (Bassoon ’19) is a second-year bassoon fellow at the New World Symphony (NWS). Prior to joining NWS, she served as acting section bassoon of the Charlotte Symphony for the 2021–22 season. She has previously held the position of contrabassoonist with the Symphony in C in Haddonfield, N.J. and has appeared in concert with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and Delaware Symphony. She has participated in the Verbier Festival Orchestra, Tanglewood Music Center, New York String Orchestra Seminar, Sarasota Music Festival, Music from Angel Fire, and Aspen Music Festival, where she was the recipient of the Nancy Goeres Bassoon Fellowship. Her performances have been featured on NPR’s From the Top, Southern California’s KUSC Radio, and Philadelphia’s WHYY. A native of Southern California, Ms. O’Leary began playing the bassoon at age twelve under the tutelage of Carolyn Beck. She received her Bachelor of Music degree from the Curtis Institute of Music, where she studied with Daniel Matsukawa, and her Master of Music degree from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, where she studied with Benjamin Kamins. Ms. O’Leary is passionate about sharing her love of music with children and young adults. During her time at Rice, she served as the bassoon instructor for the Galena Park and Cypress-Fairbanks school districts. While attending Curtis, she frequently performed recitals for children at the Philadelphia Ethical Society, and as a member of Music from Angel Fire, she gave master classes, lessons, and informative programs for young musicians at schools all over New Mexico. Ms. O’Leary’s funding will support overall career development activities and audition expenses.
    • Fuki Wang (Flute ’22), originally from Taichung, Taiwan, has served as principal flute with the Taiwan Connection Orchestra and the Moritzburg Festival Orchestra and has also performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Symphony in C. She won first prizes in the Flute Society of Greater Philadelphia’s Young Artist Competition, the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra’s Musica Nova Competition, and the National Taiwan Flute Competition. Furthermore, she has been awarded the Chi-Mei Culture Foundation’s arts award in Taiwan. Ms. Wang can be heard on the Curtis Symphony Orchestra’s recording of Scheherazade, released in 2022 on its Curtis Studio label. She received her Bachelor of Music degree from the Curtis Institute of Music in 2022, where she studied with Jeffrey Khaner. Currently, she studies at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin with Mathieu Dufour. Ms. Wang’s funding will support the purchase of a piccolo.
    • Tyler Zimmerman (Opera ’18) comes from outside of Philadelphia, where his music education started at a young age at the Settlement Music School. He studied with Lorraine Nubar and Dalton Baldwin in the Juilliard School Pre-College Division and then continued at the Juilliard School with Marlena Kleinman Malas for his bachelor’s degree. He completed his master’s degree at the Curtis Institute of Music under the continued tutelage of Marlena Kleinman Malas as well as Mikael Eliasen. During his education, Mr. Zimmerman made his debut as Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro, La Roche in Capriccio, Edward Teller in Doctor Atomic, and Sam in A Quiet Place with Opera Philadelphia in co-production with the Curtis Institute of Music. He spent many summers at the Chautauqua Institution, where he debuted such roles as Escamillo in Carmen and Dulcamara in L’elisir d’amore; took part in recitals with Craig Rutenberg, Ricky Ian Gordon, and Miloš Repický; and sang his first Messiah with the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra. He also made his debut with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in Tosca and Salome led by Leonard Slatkin and sang his first Beethoven Symphony No. 9 with the Albany Symphony Orchestra. After completing his studies, Mr. Zimmerman was a resident artist at Pittsburgh Opera, appearing as Colline in La bohème and Masetto in Don Giovanni. He has also been an apprentice with the Santa Fe Opera, where he took part in the world premiere of The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs and appeared on the GRAMMY-winning recording of the piece as a featured soloist. In Santa Fe, Mr. Zimmerman was also fortunate to work regularly with David Alden, covering Melisso in his Alcina, and R.B. Schlather, covering Don Alfonso in his Così fan tutte, both under the baton of Sir Harry Bicket. In 2020, Mr. Zimmerman was awarded a scholarship by the Opera Foundation to join the Deutsche Oper Berlin as a Stipendiat and worked there for the next two seasons, appearing in more than 70 performances of various roles, including Quince in A Midsummer Night’s Dream led by Markus Stenz and Samuel in Un ballo in maschera. He also took part in the Ring Award held in Graz, Austria, in June 2021, where he interpreted the roles of Don Giovanni, Leporello, and Commendatore in the production created by Annika Rutkovsky, Johanna Danhauser, and Eleni Konstantatou. During the 2022–23 season, Mr. Zimmerman made his debut at the Staatsoper Hamburg as the Sacerdote in Nabucco, as well as at the Teatro Real in Madrid in Christof Loy’s production of Arabella as Lamoral. He also returned to the Deutsche Oper Berlin for the premiere of Tobias Kratzer’s production of Arabella (Lamoral) and performances of Angelotti in Tosca and der Pfleger des Orest in Elektra. Mr. Zimmerman’s 2023–24 season includes appearances with the Deutsche Oper Berlin at the Edinburgh International Festival as Reinmar von Zweter in Tannhäuser and Teatro Regio Torino for The Tender Land (Pa Moss) and Gianni Schicchi (Betto di Signa). Mr. Zimmerman’s funding will support overall career development activities. 

 

ABOUT THE CURTIS INSTITUTE OF MUSIC
At Curtis, the world’s most talented young musicians develop into exceptional artists, creators, and innovators. With a tuition-free foundation, Curtis is a unique environment for teaching and learning. A small school by design, students realize their artistic potential through intensive, individualized study with the most renowned, sought-after faculty. Animated by a learn-by-doing philosophy, Curtis students share their music with audiences through more than 100 performances each year, including solo and chamber recitals, orchestral concerts, and opera—all free or at an affordable cost—offering audiences unique opportunities to participate in pivotal moments in these young musicians’ careers. Curtis students experience a close connection to the greatest artists and organizations in classical music, and innovative initiatives that integrate new technologies and encourage entrepreneurship—all within a historic campus in the heart of culturally rich Philadelphia. In this diverse, collaborative community, Curtis’s extraordinary artists challenge, support, and inspire one another—continuing an unparalleled 100-year legacy of musicians who have led, and will lead, classical music into a thriving, equitable, and multidimensional future. Learn more at Curtis.edu.

 

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