Curtis’s Ensemble 20/21 Closes Season With Harp Premieres
WHEN: Sunday, May 16 at 3 p.m.; available for on-demand viewing through May 31
WHERE: Online, broadcast event on Facebook.com/CurtisInstitute
COST: Free; register for on-demand access at Curtis.edu/Ensemble
The Curtis Institute of Music’s contemporary music group, Ensemble 20/21, closes its virtual season with three premieres for solo harp, performed by Coline-Marie Orliac (Harp ’10). The new works were commissioned by Curtis for the occasion with the support of the Allen R & Judy Brick Freedman Venture Fund for Music: Introspection by Kat Souponetsky (Composition ’12), A Mother’s Lullaby by Rene Orth (Composition ’16), and Pitter-Patter by Dai Wei (Composition ’19).
French harpist Coline-Marie Orliac is sought-after as a soloist and chamber musician. Festival appearances in the U.S. and Europe include St. Barts Music Festival, the Newport Music Festival, the Athens and Epidaurus Festival, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, the festival of the Vladimir Spivakov International Charitable Foundation, the World Harp Congress, and Festival de Musique de Menton. She is a frequent guest with the Berlin and Vienna philharmonics, the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra, and the Philadelphia Orchestra, among others. More information at ColineMarieOrliac.com.
Flexible in size and scope, Ensemble 20/21 performs a wide range of music from the 20th and 21st centuries, including works by Curtis students and alumni. The ensemble has appeared at major U.S. venues such as the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, and the Miller Theatre, as well as international venues, including the Intimacy of Creativity festival in Hong Kong. The ensemble has presented concert portraits of iconic composers in residence Unsuk Chin, John Corigliano, George Crumb, Krzysztof Penderecki, Alvin Singleton, and Chen Yi, among many others. Of the ensemble’s Joan Tower portrait program, the New York Times wrote, “Ms. Tower could hardly have hoped for more passionate performances.” Ensemble 20/21 is led by artistic director David Serkin Ludwig.
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