June 22 Curtis Summerfest Faculty Recital Highlights New Partnership with Sphinx Performance Academy

PHILADELPHIA—June 20, 2018—The 2018 Curtis Summerfest Faculty Recitals continue with a collaborative program featuring renowned performers and faculty from the Elizabeth Hainen Harp Colony, the Mikael Eliasen Voice Program, and the newly initiated Sphinx Performance Academy on Friday, June 22 at 7 p.m. in Field Concert Hall. Including a range of music from Romantic favorites to living composers, the recital features works by Brahms, Saint-Saëns, Henriette Renié, Florence Price, and Sphinx laureate Jessie Montgomery.

Performers include violinists Jannina Norpoth and Melissa White(’07), violist Jennifer Arnold, cellist Mary Ann Ramos, and members of the Catalyst Quartet, all of whom are alumni and laureates of the Sphinx Organization; Elizabeth Hainen, principal harp of the Philadelphia Orchestra; Jin Hyun Park, vocal studies accompanist at Curtis; and recent opera graduate Kendra Broom (’18).

The recital takes place in Field Concert Hall at the Curtis Institute of Music, 1726 Locust Street, Philadelphia. Tickets for $28 are available from the Curtis Patron Services Office at (215) 893-7902 or Curtis.edu/SummerRecitals.

Additional Curtis Summerfest Faculty Recitals take place on July 20, July 27, and August 2. Now in their fourth year, these popular summer concerts feature distinguished chamber musicians from the Curtis Summerfest faculty. These remarkable artists, many of them Curtis alumni, perform a variety of repertoire—from beloved classics to the music of today—in the timeless setting of Field Concert Hall. “A wonderful jolt of established Curtis insiders with outside talent” (Philadelphia Inquirer), the 2018 series features faculty from five different summer programs including Toby Appel, Thomas Kraines, Katherine Needleman, Desirée Ruhstrat, Mimi Stillman, and others.

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. One of the most selective schools in the United States, Curtis accepts four percent of applicants each year on average. A tuition-free policy ensures that talent and artistic promise are the only considerations for admission. With a small student body of about 175, Curtis provides each young musician with an education of unparalleled quality, distinguished by personalized attention from a celebrated faculty and a “learn by doing” philosophy. Curtis students hone their craft through than 200 orchestra, opera, solo, and chamber music offerings each year in Philadelphia and around the world.

The Sphinx Performance Academy at Curtis Summerfest (June 10–24) is a full-scholarship intensive chamber music and solo performance program. The curriculum includes an intensive schedule of private lessons and chamber music in addition to master classes, recitals, career enrichment sessions, and mentorship about navigating the classical music world as a person of color. Faculty includes distinguished Curtis and Sphinx Competition alumni Elena Urioste (Violin ’08) and Melissa White (Violin ’07), Astrid Schween of the Juilliard String Quartet, and members of the Catalyst Quartet.

The Elizabeth Hainen Harp Colony is an advanced training ground for the world’s next generation of professional harpists. The colony places emphasis on individual development for promising young harpists, as well as professionals, through an intensive program of master classes, ensemble playing, and orchestral training with distinguished faculty.

The Mikael Eliasen Voice Program, led by the artistic director of the Curtis Opera Theatre, is designed primarily for young singers considering entering conservatory, introducing them to what is needed to embark on an opera career. Participants pursue activities focused on vocal artistry, surrounded by elite faculty from Curtis’s renowned vocal studies department.

Curtis Summerfest Faculty Recitals

Friday, June 22 at 7 p.m.
Field Concert Hall at the Curtis Institute of Music, 1726 Locust Street, Philadelphia

Program to include:

BRAHMS      Zwei Gesänge, Op. 91

Kendra Broom, mezzo-soprano (’18)
Jennifer Arnold, viola
JinHyun Park, piano

MONTGOMERY      Strum

Catalyst Quartet:
Jessie Montgomery, violin
Karla Donahew Perez, violin
Paul Laraia, viola
Karlos Rodriguez, cello

PRICE      Quartet in G major

Jannina Norpoth, violin
Melissa White, violin (’07)
Jennifer Arnold, viola
Mary Ann Ramos, cello

RENIÉ      Pièce symphonique

Elizabeth Hainen, harp

SAINT-SAËNS      Fantaisie in A major, Op. 124

Karla Donahew Perez, violin
Elizabeth Hainen, harp

Tickets: $28, available from the Curtis Patron Services Office at (215) 893-7902 or Curtis.edu/SummerRecitals.

Sphinx Performance Academy at Curtis Summerfest is generously supported, in part, by the Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation.

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