Commencement: Curtis Celebrates the Class of 2023

On Saturday, May 13, at the historic Field Concert Hall, Curtis awarded degrees, diplomas, certificates, and special prizes to the 50 graduates of the class of 2023. Graduates received their diplomas and enjoyed the festivities with family and friends, alongside their fellow students.

President Díaz presided over the ceremony, and speakers, including award-winning conductor Osmo Vänskä and graduating voice and violin students, Sarah Fleiss and Tianyou Ma, addressed the graduates and their families, faculty, staff, and friends. Maestro Vänskä received an honorary Doctor of Music degree for his contributions to music and to Curtis.

“I want to welcome the graduate’s parents and families, faculty, trustees, staff, and friends. It’s wonderful to have the opportunity to be here together again for our 90th commencement ceremony, and it’s particularly wonderful to be able to do it back in our house. It’s been a while. It’s been a great year. It’s also been a year that wasn’t always easy, but it shows the ability to be resilient, dedicated, and good to each other.

“This graduating class has had some pretty amazing challenges to overcome, and when I think about the fact that most of you have been here at school for an average of four years, and I think about the last three years, it certainly wasn’t an easy journey. But I congratulate you on everything that you’ve done and everything that you’ve achieved, and I know that you will have an incredible future with all of the skills that you’ve developed through these tough years, so congratulations.”

—President and CEO Roberto Díaz

View the Commencement program (PDF)

Musical Offerings

Aaron Patterson (Organ ’22), assistant organist at Philadelphia’s Tenth Presbyterian Church and assistant Wanamaker Grand Court organist, provided the ceremony’s prelude, interlude, and postlude, opening the ceremony with Felix Mendelssohn’s reflective Sonata in D major and Charles-Marie Widor’s stirring Adagio, from Symphony V, followed by Robert Elmore’s popular Alla Marcia, during the processional.

For the interlude, Mr. Patterson played David Hurd’s Organ Point and brought the ceremony to a close with a virtuosic performance of late organ alumnus and faculty member John Weaver’s (’59) crowd-pleasing showpiece Toccata, and the final “Allegro” movement of Mendelssohn’s dynamic Sonata in D major,

View the Commencement video

Student Speakers

Violinist Tianyou Ma, prize winner in numerous international competitions, including the Menuhin Violin Competition in 2018 (where he was also the recipient of the Bach Prize), the Postacchini Competition in 2015, and the International Summer Academy of the MDW string competition in 2018, spoke about the meaning of life, compared food to music, and rallied his fellow graduates to trust their own musical instincts, voices, and hearts.

“Let us not forget our values, confidence, and respect for our own opinions. My dear fellow graduates, we have devoted countless hours to perfecting our craft, pushing ourselves to new heights, and protecting our compassion in music. The music we play is not just for ourselves but for humanity. Let us be the messengers that bring classical music alive.

“Together we can arouse curiosity in teens, motivate the youth, and touch the old. Let us remember that the quintessential reason to be where we are right now is to play music, enjoy music, consume music, and savor its aftertaste. It is our perpetual duty to feed this music to every soul that calls for it.”

Soprano Sarah Fleiss, first place winner of the 2023 Hal Leonard Vocal Competition and 2022 first prize winner of the Shirley Rabb Winston Scholarship by the National Society of Arts and Letters, welcomed the new class of alumni, recounting her time at Curtis, academic journey, and growth as a student, artist, and human being.

“Thanks to the enabling of Dr. McGinn, I now have a breath of quotes to pull from, including the likes of Ralph Waldo Emerson. He stated, “The sun illuminates only the eye of man, but shines into the eye and heart of the child.” I urge you to find that childlike joy—the endless curiosity to create, express, and inspire. When you leave that place, the nonsense floats away. It’s not about being better then but finding the best version of yourself—that inner child that traveled wide-eyed through the world with hopes of the future and an unflinching sense of self.

“It’s a scary world, one filled with a lot of unknowns. We as musicians have the opportunity to explore this unknown in all of its shades, in all of its beauty. My hope for all of you and myself is to find that joy, not only within music, but in all areas of life, because time flies—for God’s sake, we’re graduating already. Speaking of, thank you to my friends, some of whom I’ll be seeing next year, some I’ll hopefully be seeing across the stage one day. Thank you for your talent, dedication, and the love that you already bring to your endeavors. I can only hope that we lead by example and the rest of the world can do the same.”

Distinguished Guest Speaker

Osmo Vänskä, internationally acclaimed, award-winning conductor, clarinetist, and composer, received an honorary Doctor of Music degree and gave an inspiring speech on learning from your peers and your mistakes.  Conductor Laureate of the Minnesota Orchestra, where he held the Music Directorship for 19 years, and Music Director of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra from 2020 to 2023, Mr. Vänskä discussed the importance of being humble and constantly learning and evolving.

“Honing one’s craft is a lifelong process. The thing that keeps me so engaged and passionate about music is that I’m constantly learning and evolving—whether it is from working with the best professional orchestras, the best musicians, or the extremely talented students here at Curtis. You can learn just as much from your peers as from your teachers and mentors, and it’s essential to always keep an open mind. Your fellow students sitting next to you today will be your lifelong colleagues, and what makes music so unique and wonderful is that while you come from different countries, backgrounds, and cultures, you all speak the same common language of music.

“Making mistakes is also an invaluable part of the learning process. When I was starting out as a conductor, I had a big ego and felt like I knew everything there was to know about the profession. It felt like a waste of time for me to listen to someone’s opinions about music interpretation or how to study music.  Today, I know much more about psychology and the mentality needed for a leadership role. I have come to realize that just because I am the one waving the baton on the podium, it doesn’t mean that I am necessarily any better or smarter than the people I am conducting.

“In recording sessions, we have five takes, fifteen takes, or even seventy-five takes to make one movement of music as perfect as possible, but in real life, we only get one take. It’s very unfair. Music is a resource for all of us, especially when we are going through hard times. It can comfort us, and it can also give us some hope to keep going. I don’t know about you, but that became even more obvious to me during the early days of the pandemic when I was unsure when or even whether concerts would ever resume again. Because of that, I feel even more lucky and thankful to be here with you today in person, celebrating this huge milestone in your lives. Congratulations on all of your hard work, and I look forward to seeing all that you accomplish in the years to come.”

Alumni Address

Laurie Sokoloff (Flute ’66), former Baltimore Symphony Orchestra piccoloist and retired Peabody Conservatory faculty member, welcomed the new graduates. Ms. Sokoloff shared her musical journey, which began as a young child, studying piano with her mother and Ralph Berkowitz and solfège lessons with Luigi Zaninelli. She then took early flute lessons with John Krell, solo piccoloist of the Philadelphia Orchestra.

At age 14, Sokoloff began her studies at Curtis with William Kincaid, principal flutist of The Philadelphia Orchestra, while simultaneously finishing high school. By the time she graduated at age 18, she was already the contracted piccoloist with Philadelphia’s two opera companies and the Pennsylvania Ballet. Ms. Sokoloff won the solo piccolo position with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and remained in this position for 47 years until her retirement in 2015.

“It’s a great honor to be here, as it is a great honor to be an alumna of the Curtis Institute of Music. It’s such a welcomed and special occasion to honor my mother, Eleanor Sokoloff. I know you were all aware of mother’s remarkable and unflagging 82 years of teaching at Curtis, giving to all of you individually and giving devotedly to the school as a treasured and beloved Institution. She felt incredibly blessed to teach what she considered the best school, with the best and most revered faculty and the best and most remarkable students.

“What is equally true is the multitude of blessings the school and you, the students, gave to her—even those who did not study with her—she knew you from pouring your tea; she would often speak of you, your warmth, respect, humor, and kindness. She celebrated your work and your every success. It is especially sad she can’t be here today to join me in congratulating all of you who are newly graduating. When COVID came, it was no longer safe or possible for her to teach because her health declined rapidly. So, I want you to know you are all so responsible for her living richly and joyfully to the age of 106. I hope you take that understanding with you today and also know how deeply grateful I am. Thank you all.”

AWARDS AND PRIZES

Joan Hutton Landis Award for Excellence in Academics
Emily Dawn Amos (Organ)

Edward Aldwell Award for Excellence in Music Studies
Emily Dawn Amos (Organ)

Provost’s Award for Achievement in Career Studies
Hannah Culbreth (Horn) (in absentia)

Provost’s Award for Outstanding Citizenship
Yangyang Ruan (Piano)

Milka Violin Artist Prize
Tianyou Ma (Violin)

Charles Miller Prize: The Sergei Rachmaninoff Award
Yangyang Ruan (Piano)

Angelo Sylvestro Festorazzi Scholarship
Joseph Tancredi (Opera) (in absentia)

Mehlin Prize
Zhu Wang (Piano)

The Presser Foundation Undergraduate Scholar Award
Tobias Vigneau (Double Bass) (in absentia)

Diplomas and Degrees: Class of 2023

Certificate: 9
Post-Baccalaureate Diploma: 9
Bachelor of Music: 27
Master of Music: 5