Category: Community

Elise Arancio (Composition ’23) Awarded Scholarship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters

Date

Curtis congratulates prize-winning composer and recent Curtis alumna Elise Arancio (’23) on being awarded a Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Ms. Arancio is one of 20 established and emerging composers receiving awards totaling $465,000 this year from the academy. Founded in 1898, the academy is an honor society composed of the country’s preeminent architects, artists, composers, and writers.

Ms. Arancio is one of many notable figures throughout Curtis history to be honored with awards from the American Academy and Institute for Arts and Letters. These winners include composers such as Marc Blitzstein (’26); Samuel Barber (’34); Gian Carlo Menotti (’33); Vincent Persichetti (Conducting ’39); Lukas Foss (Conducting and Composition ’40, Piano ’42); longtime faculty member Ned Rorem (’44); George Walker (Composition and Piano ’45); Daron A. Hagen (’84); former faculty members Jennifer Higdon (’88),  Jan Krzywicki, and David Serkin Ludwig (’01); and current faculty Steven Mackey and Amy Beth Kirsten.

Elise Arancio—a native of Tucker, Georgia—is a composer whose musical language is driven by conversation. Her music is often composed of animated dialogues between and within different instruments and mediums, with energy and impulse acting as central impetuses. A lover of words, much of her music draws inspiration from poetry and literature, and she is always playing with the sounds of objects around her. Some of her recent accolades include winning the 2022 Les Écoles D’Art Américaines de Fontainebleau Ravel Prize, the 2020 Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra’s Call for Scores, the 2019 NorCal Music Festival Orchestra Composition Competition, 2018 American Composer’s Forum NextNotes Composition Awards, and the 2016 and 2017 National Young Composers Challenge.

Learn more about Ms. Arancio on her website.

Read the official announcement HERE, and learn more about the American Academy of Arts and Letters HERE,

Photos of Elise Arancio courtesy of Nichole MCH Photography and the artist.

Robert Spano (Conducting ’85) Appointed Music Director of Washington National Opera

Date

Robert Spano (Conducting ’85) has been appointed music director of Washington National Opera (WNO), beginning in the company’s 2025–26 season. Effective immediately, he becomes the music director designate until his initial three-year term begins in September 2025. Currently the music director of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and the Aspen Music Festival and School, Mr. Spano, was recently appointed principal conductor of the Rhode Island Philharmonic while the organization completes its search for a new music director. As WNO’s music director, Mr. Spano will provide musical leadership for the company, overseeing the Washington National Opera Orchestra, its chorus, and music staff. 

“I am thrilled to be joining the Washington National Opera as its next music director,” said Maestro Spano. “In 2022, I had the opportunity to work with the company and its excellent orchestra in the extraordinary commissioning project, Written in Stone. This company is well known for its vision, and I am tremendously excited to collaborate with both Timothy O’Leary and Francesca Zambello in what I know will be an exciting future.”

Maestro Spano returns to Philadelphia on March 9 at 3:00 p.m. to lead the Curtis Symphony Orchestra in Ra, Mackey, and Tchaikovsky, featuring two world premieres and a late-Romantic era classic. Don’t miss James Ra’s (’04) Te Deum and Steven Mackey’s Aluminum Flowers for solo electric guitar and orchestra, featuring virtuosic guitarist and Curtis alumna Jiji (’15). The concert concludes with Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s impassioned Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74 (“Pathétique”).

Read the announcement from WNO HERE, and in the New York Times.

Visit Robert Spano’s official website.

Photos of Robert Spano courtesy of Jason Thrasher.

Alexander Leonardi on the Latest Episode of WHYY’s “On Stage at Curtis”

Date

“I want to lay the foundation of myself as the artist I want to be. I want to spend these three years leading up to [graduation] to develop my own blend, my approach to organ, my approach to classical music. I want to start showing the world, now not just in the oven, but out in public—this is who I am, this is what I want to do, I hope you enjoy it.” —Alexander Leonardi

Season 18 of WHYY’s acclaimed On Stage at Curtis series continues with a portrait of third-year Curtis organ student, Alexander Leonardi. The prize-winning musician from Lindenhurst, New York entered Curtis in 2020 and studies organ with Alan Morrison, Haas Charitable Trust Chair in Organ Studies, as the Dr. Mi-Why Lee Fellow. In addition to his studies here at the school, Mr. Leonardi serves as the Michael Stairs Organ Scholar at the Church of the Redeemer in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. 

Originally, Mr. Leonardi had his eyes locked on a career in robotic engineering, but his music teacher suggested he apply for Juilliard’s Pre-College Division program. After being accepted as an organ student, his trajectory towards becoming a professional musician was solidified. In this episode, he discusses his love for performing, his struggles as a child with the rigors of daily practice routines, and his diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) that led to subsequent therapeutic sessions helping him to adapt to social environments, embrace his passions, and navigate life.

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

Performances in the episode include Ludwig van Beethoven’s Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 5, No. 2, with Mr. Leonardi at the piano, joined by cellist Hun Choi (’23); and Johann Sebastian Bach’s Concerto in A major, BWV 1055R. He plays the harpsichord alongside Cameron Slaton (oboe d’amore), violinists Lingyu Dong and Zhenyi Jian, violist Yizilin Liang, cellist Romain-Olivier Gray, and double bassist Tobias Vigneau.

After he graduates from Curtis, Mr. Leonardi plans to continue his studies with a master’s degree in organ, accompanying, or conducting. A decade on, he hopes to have a successful career as an organist on the international stage, become a member of a chamber ensemble, and teach in academia, but he does not want to limit his creativity to classical music alone, and looks forward to expanding his palate to jazz and electronic music as well.

Photos of Alexander Leonardi courtesy of Nichole MCH Photography. Performance image of Mr. Leonardi with violist Jack Kessler (’23), courtesy of Micah Gleason Photography.

Anthony McGill (Clarinet ’00) Signed as a Backun Artist

Date

Anthony McGill (Clarinet ’00), Curtis’s William R. and Hyunah Yu Brody Distinguished Chair, principal clarinet of the New York Philharmonic, and artistic director of Juilliard’s Music Advancement Program, has been signed as a Backun Artist. The GRAMMY Award®-nominated artist will design the new “McGill Signature Series” line of premium clarinets and clarinet barrels, bells, and mouthpieces with the internationally renowned instrument-maker while continuing to perform exclusively on his Backun Lumière Clarinets. As part of the agreement, Backun will draw on its educational networks to increase public awareness of McGill’s concerts and to sponsor workshops, classes, and other engagements in the cities where he is performing.

“I’m thrilled to be named a Backun Artist. The Backun Clarinets allow me to draw that warm, vibrant sound that I’m always searching for,” says Mr. McGill. “It is such an honor to be creating my own line of affordably priced, high-quality clarinets. I’m also very excited to share my music with more people through our Backun community events,” he adds.

Praised for his “trademark brilliance, penetrating sound and rich character” (New York Times) and his “exquisite combination of technical refinement and expressive radiance” (Baltimore Sun), Mr. McGill won the 2020 Avery Fisher Prize, one of classical music’s most significant awards given in recognition of soloists who represent the highest level of musical excellence.

Read the article and interview with Mr. McGill HERE.

Visit Anthony McGill’s official website HERE.

Photo of Mr. McGill by © Todd Rosenberg Photography, Chris Lee/New York Philharmonic, and Eric Rudd, at a video/recording session in a barn near Nashville, Indiana.

Simon G. Bakos on the Latest Episode of WHYY’s “On Stage at Curtis”

Date

“One of the most rewarding things about being a classical musician is that I get to do what I love every day, and I feel very privileged to do that.” —Simon Bakos

Season 18 of WHYY’s acclaimed On Stage at Curtis series continues with a portrait of clarinetist Simon G. Bakos. The Mason, Ohio native entered Curtis in 2020 and studies with Anthony McGill, principal clarinet of the New York Philharmonic, as the Ruth and Eugene Helmer Fellow. He also studies with Paul Demers, bass clarinetist of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Mr. Bakos began playing the clarinet in fourth grade after joining the elementary school band program and was inspired to follow a path as a classical musician from an early age after hearing a recording of Dmitri Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 11 in G minor, Op. 103.

Uncertain about the success rate of becoming a professional clarinetist, Mr. Bakos briefly entertained the idea of becoming a dentist until his junior year in high school, when his parents prompted him to continue pursuing his dream, ultimately leading him to audition for Curtis. Here, he encountered a warm, supportive environment surrounded by inspiring musicians of the highest caliber.

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

Performances in the episode include Franz Schubert’s Die Hirt auf dem Felsen, D. 965 with soprano Juliet Rand and pianist Ting Ting Wong, and Johannes Brahms’s Trio in A minor, Op. 114, featuring cellist Ania Lewis and pianist Nachuan Tao.

Prior to entering Curtis, he studied with Ronald Aufmann, bass clarinetist of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Bakos has performed with the New York Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, and New World Symphony. He is currently the second clarinetist of Symphony in C and has also held fellowships at the Aspen Music Festival and Tanglewood Music Center. In 2019, he was the winner of the Cincinnati Arts Association Overture Awards. After completing his Curtis studies, he looks to have a career as an orchestral musician and establish a private teaching studio or as part of a university or conservatory.

Mr. Bakos was also interviewed for a recent Curtis Student Spotlight feature. He shares distinct memories of visiting the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, exploring all kinds of instruments in his childhood, the intensity of playing chamber music, and his greatest inspirations. Watch the video HERE. 

Photos of Simon G. Bakos courtesy of Nichole MCH Photography. Photo of Simon Bakos, Tzu Yi Yu, and Hwaseop Jeong backstage at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, courtesy of David DeBalko.