History

For 100 years, Curtis has been a place where dreams become legends. Our story begins in the early 1920s with founder Mary Louise Curtis Bok’s pioneering vision: create a conservatory where the most promising young musicians could hone their talents without financial barriers.

Mrs. Bok, the daughter of Philadelphians Louisa Knapp and Cyrus H. K. Curtis of the Curtis Publishing Company, was inspired by her work as president of the Settlement Music School in South Philadelphia, where she encountered children with the talent—but not the means—to train properly for a professional career in classical music.

With the unwavering drive and innovative spirit that would come to define Curtis and its students, she assembled a distinguished advisory council comprising luminaries such as Felix Adler, Josef Hofmann, and Leopold Stokowski, setting the stage for excellence from the outset. She purchased three historic mansions that would form the foundation of the Rittenhouse Square campus.

Curtis opened its doors in 1924. By 1926, the school already had a student sign a contract with the Metropolitan Opera, and was making news as far afield as Salzburg. In 1928, with a gift from Mrs. Bok that enlarged the school’s endowment to $12 million, the school inaugurated its signature tuition-free policy. And from Curtis’ first days, internationally renowned faculty taught an intentionally small student body, providing intensive, individualized instruction to qualified students from very young ages. In Curtis’ first two decades, faculty included Stokowski, Marcella Sembrich, Isabelle Vengerova, William Kincaid, Rudolf Serkin, and Vladimir and Eleanor Sokoloff. Among early students were Samuel Barber—who wrote his famous “Adagio for Strings” at Curtis—Gian-Carlo Menotti, Jorge Bolet, Leonard Rose, and Eugene Istomen.

While Curtis faced challenges during the economic hardships and war years of the 1930s and ’40s, the school continued to evolve and nurture brilliant, successful artists from all over the world. And the school innovated: it began weekly radio broadcasts and opened a recording studio. Figures who would shape the landscape of American composition polished their craft at Curtis: Leonard Bernstein, George Walker, and Ned Rorem, among others.

Curtis musicians quickly became known for their exceptional musicianship and a signature sound. Curtis faculty integrated European traditions with new American approaches to teaching that they developed; some even collaborated with instrument manufacturers to improve designs—for example, French horn teacher Anton Horner helped create the now-standard Kruspe model. Faculty were also central in developing Philadelphia’s music scene, leading and founding local institutions such as the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Philadelphia Brass Ensemble, and Philadelphia Woodwind Quintet.

By Curtis’ 25th anniversary, the school and its alumni had already made an outsize impact on the music world. The Philadelphia Orchestra congratulated Curtis in a gala program book, “Its influence on the Philadelphia Orchestra has been almost incalculable… if all the Curtis alumni… were removed, the Orchestra would shrink to less than half its normal size.”

In the 1950s and 1960s, Curtis strengthened its ties to the Philadelphia Orchestra, beginning a tradition of having its guest conductors lead the Curtis Symphony. Eugene Ormandy joined the faculty, and donated his salary to a student scholarship fund. Under the leadership of Rudolf Serkin, Curtis’ opera and chamber music offerings grew stronger. Students of this era included Anna Moffo, Benita Valente, Jaime Laredo, Arnold Steinhardt, Marlena Malas, Julius Eastman, Richard Goode, and Lynn Harrell.

Curtis’ 50th anniversary celebration featured special guests Governor Milton J. Shapp, and NEA Chair Nancy Hanks—and 300 alumni—underscoring the singular position Curtis had come to have in the music world. Curtis began its partnership with public radio station WUHY (now WHYY), airing weekly recordings and live performances, and the Curtis Orchestra performed at the Kennedy Center. Curtis’ emphasis on student performance opportunities grew; at the same time, academics became more formally structured.

The 1980s and ’90s marked more auspicious milestones for Curtis. In 1984, Sergiu Celibidache made his American debut leading the Curtis Symphony Orchestra in a Carnegie Hall concert described by New York Times critic John Rockwell, “as revelatory an experience, both thrilling and thought-provoking,” as he had ever encountered. The Curtis Symphony Orchestra released its first recording 10 years later, and performed on the CBS telecast of the Kennedy Center Honors. During these years, a new generation of great artists was again nurtured at Curtis, including Lang Lang, Hilary Hahn, Jennifer Higdon, Juan Diego Flórez, Alan Gilbert, and Eric Owens.

The 21st century ushered in a new global focus for Curtis. In 2008, Curtis on Tour formally launched, later endowed through a $55 million gift from Baroness Nina von Maltzahn. Curtis developed a wealth of virtual and streaming offerings, and Curtis Studio was founded, providing worldwide digital distribution of recordings by Curtis artists. Curtis Artist Management and the Young Alumni Fund helped support emerging artists as they embarked on both traditional and creative, entrepreneurial career paths. Curtis expanded on campus as well, with the opening of student housing at Lenfest Hall, a program for resident string quartets, and a new classical guitar studio.

Across 100 years, Curtis has maintained its time-honored traditions, and students can still trace their teaching lineages back to Beethoven and giants of every discipline. At the same time, Curtis has evolved with shifting audience behaviors, the rise of digital and social media, and rapidly advancing technologies. Curtis’ Innovation Lab—in which students explore interdisciplinary, technology-forward new approaches to learning and performance—ensures that students are at the forefront of our field, and that they have the resources, skills, and experience to pursue their creative visions.

In the school’s early years, Stokowski predicted that Curtis would become “the most important musical institution of our country, perhaps of the world.” Curtis alumni have since gone on to make history as soloists, composers, conductors, orchestral players, and chamber musicians—and have successful careers outside of music. They have received Pulitzer Prizes, Guggenheim Fellowships, and Avery Fisher Awards. They are members of the world’s leading orchestras, including principals in every major American orchestra; they sing with top opera houses; and they forge new paths in composition and performance.

On the occasion of our centennial, we honor the fulfillment of Mary Louise Curtis Bok’s vision—and of the dreams of the more than 4,400 students who have continued to embody the value and values of Curtis as they have become the world’s most treasured, inspiring artists. As we look toward the future, we continue to live by her example: breaking new ground in the education and training of great musicians; ensuring equitable access to extraordinary teachers; and building a musical family that is close-knit, worldwide, and ever growing.