Musicmaking Starts at Home with Virtual Curtis Family Concert on February 20
PHILADELPHIA, PA—February 8, 2021—The Curtis Institute of Music presents Stronger Together on Saturday, February 20 at 11 a.m. EST, part of the Curtis Family Concerts series. Led via Zoom by multi-instrumentalist and educator Andrew Lipke, families will learn about the unique features of violins, violas, and cellos, and how they can combine in a string quartet to make all kinds of remarkable music—together.
This free, online event will include Irish fiddle tunes, Indian classical music, melodies used by education pioneers Zoltán Kodály and Shinichi Suzuki, and popular favorites by the Beatles. Families are encouraged to sing along, use instruments, or improvise with everyday household items. The program will also include drawing activities.
The participatory performance will be led by Philadelphia singer-songwriter Andrew Lipke; faculty member Camden Shaw (Cello ’10, ’11) of the Dover Quartet, the Penelope P. Watkins Ensemble in Residence at Curtis; and current Curtis students Danny Yehun Jin (Violin), Maya Anjali Buchanan (Violin), and Sofia Gilchenok (Viola).
Stronger Together is a free performance and will be available to watch through Zoom. Households must register in advance at Curtis.edu/Family.
Awakening a sense of wonder, Curtis Family Concerts share music with young audiences through interactive, educational presentations. Performances take place in a friendly setting, uniting entertainment with exploration. In 2021 the popular series has been optimized for virtual interaction and at-home activities through Zoom. Curtis Family Concerts are best suited for listeners ages 12 and under.
Born in South Africa, Andrew Lipke is a Philadelphia-based multi-instrumentalist, arranger, producer, composer, performer, and educator active in many different styles of music. He moved to Philadelphia to pursue a degree in composition at the University of the Arts and is driven by a passion to find the common ground between disparate styles of music. He has performed as a vocalist with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the North Carolina Symphony, and the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra and has toured the United States with Led Zeppelin tribute band Get The Led Out.
Mr. Lipke has produced dozens of records for local and regional artists and released five solo albums. In 2010 he formed the Azrael String Quartet to perform original music for his album The Plague, which was named one of 2011’s 50 best albums by Philadelphia Weekly. Columbus Dance Theatre choreographed his 2012 work Siddiqah for their production “Rock Out,” which also included several arrangements of classic rock songs he completed for the Carpe Diem String Quartet. In 2013 he wrote a punk rock score for the EPIX film Back Issues: The Hustler Magazine Story and in 2014 he created orchestral arrangements for Amos Lee’s sold-out show with the Colorado Symphony at Red Rocks.
With Philadelphia non-profit LiveConnections, Mr. Lipke has collaborated with several members of the Philadelphia Orchestra and other prominent local and regional musicians to create collaborative, cross-genre presentations for young people, highlighting the transformative and boundary-crossing nature of music. In 2015 he collaborated with the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia to create and curate the “Intersect” concert series. Among other projects, Mr. Lipke is currently working on a cross-platform album/orchestral work based on Herman Hesse’s Siddhartha.
Camden Shaw is the cellist of the Dover Quartet, the Penelope P. Watkins Ensemble in Residence at the Curtis Institute of Music. He has appeared with the ensemble in performances all over the world to great acclaim. Mr. Shaw has collaborated in chamber music with such renowned artists as Daniel Hope, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, and the late Leon Fleischer, and maintains an active career as a soloist. Highlights from recent seasons include a performance of Beethoven’s Triple Concerto, Op. 56 with the Artosphere Festival Orchestra, where Shaw also holds the principal chair; and the release of his solo album by Unipheye Music, which was met with critical praise.
Mr. Shaw graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music in 2010, where he studied with Peter Wiley. Other major teachers include Norman Fischer, David Finckel, and Steven Isserlis. He performs on an instrument made in 2010 by Frank Ravatin.
Mr. Shaw joined the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music in 2020. He also teaches at Northwestern University’s Bienen School 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. To ensure that admissions are based solely on artistic promise, Curtis makes an investment in each admitted student so that no tuition is charged for their studies. 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.
CURTIS FAMILY CONCERTS: Stronger Together
Saturday, February 20 at 11 a.m. EST
Online via Zoom
Andrew Lipke, voice and guitar
Danny Yehun Jin, violin
Maya Anjali Buchanan, violin
Sofia Gilchenok, viola
Camden Shaw, cello (’10, ’11)
Registration: Free; register in advance at Curtis.edu/Family.
Curtis received funding from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts.
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