The Curtis Institute Of Music And Drexel University’s Westphal College Receive First-Ever Grants for Collaborative Project from The Pew Center For Arts & Heritage
PHILADELPHIA—October 22, 2019—The Curtis Institute of Music and Drexel University’s Westphal College of Media Arts & Design have been awarded the first-ever project grants from The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage for an inter-institutional collaboration. The combined awards, which total $700,000, will fund LISTEN! Philadelphia, a large-scale musical experience spanning several months and bringing together more than 120 local musicians of varied genre, including the launch of the Curtis Intercultural Ensemble, under the direction of internationally acclaimed composer and conductor Peter Wiegold, to explore the central artistic question: “How do we find a space where people can listen?”
Wiegold will serve as artistic director of the project, alongside Curtis faculty member and chair of career studies Mary Javian, leading the Curtis Intercultural Ensemble as the key artistic partner and working alongside Philadelphia musicians for eight months from October 2020 to May 2021. During this time, they will guide the musicians to develop a new way of creating music together, using a combination of non-traditional instrumentation, non-traditional orchestral scoring, and musical improvisation. The project will include four intimate community performances, six smaller-scale performances (“Club Nights”) held in venues throughout the city in April and May 2021 and will culminate in three large-scale, grand public performances (“Roaratorio”) to be held in the Chapel at Girard College in May 2021.
Both Curtis and Drexel firmly believe that the arts are a catalyst for human connection, social cohesion, and change. LISTEN! Philadelphia lives at the intersection of musical excellence and civic engagement as this project aims to dynamically engage Philadelphia’s varied communities in the exercise of active listening. Through this practice, both the musical artists and the audience can participate actively to develop a better understanding of cultural connections and identities, finding a space in which people can listen that will inform the power of collaboration and foster empathy for differing cultural perspectives.
Peter Wiegold is one of the most innovative musicians working today. He “toys with the relationship between composer, music director and performer, reworking their roles in the creative process” [The Times], all the while providing “inspirational direction.” [The Independent] For LISTEN! Philadelphia, Wiegold’s creative method of working will guide an exploration of musical independence and interdependence, serving as the primary method through which musicians and audience members can explore new ways of finding space to listen.
LISTEN! Philadelphia’s musical participants are varied in genre and represent many communities throughout Philadelphia. In addition to serving as the core of the diverse ensemble of musicians, the Curtis Intercultural Ensemble will perform together for one of the Club Nights and as part of the larger Roaratorio. The Curtis Intercultural Ensemble will also engage in Community Hub workshops and performances, curated by Curtis and further extending the reach of Wiegold’s creative process into the larger community. Other artistic contributors to the project who will perform in the Club Nights and Roaratorio include: Grammy Award-winning Cuban composer and percussionist Arturo Stable; jazz vocalist Joanna Pascale; cellist, oud player, composer, and Pew Fellow Kinan Abou-afach; jazz pianist Luke Carlos O’Reilly; Brazilian percussionist Alex Shaw; Liberian singer Fatu Gayflor; Grammy Award-winning composer and producer King Britt, who will perform with a DJ and five cross-genre musicians; eight members of Tempesta di Mare, Philadelphia’s renowned baroque orchestra; 50 members of the Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia, one of the country’s oldest choruses; 50 members of the Philadelphia Heritage Chorale under the artistic leadership of founder J. Donald Dumpson; hip hop artist Raphael Xavier and a group of professional dancers; poet Ursula Rucker; and Silver Cloud, a Native American musical ensemble curated by Tailinh Agoyo.
All LISTEN! Philadelphia performances will be free and open to the public. More information including specific performance dates, times, and locations are forthcoming.
ABOUT CURTIS
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. With a small student body of about 175, Curtis provides each young musician with an unparalleled education alongside musical peers, distinguished by personalized attention from celebrated faculty and a “learn by doing” philosophy. 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. Curtis students hone their craft through more than 200 orchestra, opera, and solo and chamber music offerings each year in Philadelphia and around the world. For more information, visit Curtis.edu.
ABOUT THE PEW CENTER FOR ARTS & HERITAGE
The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage is a multidisciplinary grant maker and hub for knowledge-sharing, funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts, dedicated to fostering a vibrant cultural community in Greater Philadelphia. The Center invests in ambitious, imaginative, and catalytic work that showcases the region’s cultural vitality and enhances public life, and engages in an exchange of ideas concerning artistic and interpretive practice with a broad network of cultural practitioners and leaders. For more information, visit pewcenterarts.org.
# # #