Curtis Presents’ 2024–25 Centennial Series Closes with “Michelle Cann & Imani Winds”
Press Contacts:
Patricia K. Johnson | patricia.johnson@curtis.edu | (215) 717-3190
Ryan Scott Lathan | ryan.lathan@curtis.edu | (215) 717-3145
PHILADELPHIA, PA—April 15, 2025—The 2024–25 Curtis Presents series closes on Wednesday, April 23, 2025, at 7:30 p.m. in Field Concert Hall with an exhilarating concert featuring 2025 Grammy-winning pianist Michelle Cann (’13), Eleanor Sokoloff Chair in Piano Studies at Curtis; and 2024 Grammy-winning ensemble and Curtis faculty members Imani Winds—flutist Brandon Patrick George, oboist Toyin Spellman-Diaz, clarinetist Mark Dover, horn player Kevin Newton, and bassoonist Monica Ellis—the school’s first-ever faculty wind quintet.
Ms. Cann, American Piano Awards’ first Christel DeHaan Artistic Partner and recipient of the 2022 Sphinx Medal of Excellence and the 2022 Andrew Wolf Chamber Music Award, joins forces with Imani Winds for Grammy-winning Latin Jazz artist Paquito D’Rivera’s A Little Cuban Jazz Waltz. The set continues with Argentine-American pianist and composer Lalo Schifrin’s striking, jazz-inflected La Nouvelle Orleans, a work that evokes the Crescent City’s legendary funeral processions, soulful spirit, and rich cultural tapestry. Francis Poulenc’s whimsical Trio for oboe, bassoon, and piano follows, showcasing the composer’s flair for melodic elegance and French esprit. Composed between 1924 and 1926 and dedicated to Spanish composer Manuel de Falla, this charming, sophisticated piece with its Mozartian influences is considered Poulenc’s first major chamber work.
The evening continues with Valerie Coleman’s six-movement tour de force, Portraits of Langston for flute, clarinet, and piano, inspired by the poetry of Langston Hughes and his life in Harlem and Paris. Blending an array of musical styles—including stride piano, big band swing, cabaret, mambo, African drumming, and spirituals—the piece brilliantly captures the cultural landscapes that shaped Hughes’s world. The program concludes with another Poulenc work, the French composer’s ingenious, jazzy Sextet for Piano and Winds, Op. 100.
The 2024–25 Curtis Centennial Season continues, now through May 10. To learn more about upcoming performances, as well as the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, Curtis New Music Ensemble concerts, Curtis Recital Series, and more, visit curtis.edu/calendar.
TICKETS
“Michelle Cann & Imani Winds” is currently sold out. Join the waitlist to be notified when additional tickets become available.
Michelle Cann & Imani Winds Curtis Presents
Wednesday, April 23, 2025 at 7:30 p.m.
Field Concert Hall, 1726 Locust Street, Philadelphia
Paquito D’Rivera A Little Cuban Waltz
Lalo Schifrin La Nouvelle Orleans
Francis Poulenc Trio for Oboe, Bassoon and Piano
Valerie Coleman Portraits of Langston for flute, clarinet, piano & narrator
Francis Poulenc Sextet for Piano and Winds
Philanthropic Support for Curtis’ 2024–25 Season
Curtis’ Centennial Season is made possible through the support of Derek and Sissela Bok, the Mary Louise Curtis Bok Foundation, Deborah M. Fretz, Charles C. Freyer and Judith Durkin Freyer, Mignon and Jim Groch, Rita E. Hauser, Lisa and Gie Liem, Bob and Guna Mundheim, Judith and James Ritchings, Bob and Caro Rock, and Mark and Robin Rubenstein.
Curtis Institute of Music receives state arts funding support through a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
About Curtis Presents
Past and future meet through Curtis Presents, which features a diverse collection of artists—alumni, faculty, students, and contemporary creators—whose musical foundations are rooted in the Curtis community. This series of intimate and innovative recitals offers a unique experience with exceptional artistry and one-of-a-kind programs.
About Curtis Institute of Music
At Curtis, the world’s great young musicians develop into exceptional artists, creators, and innovators. With a tuition-free foundation, Curtis is a unique environment for teaching and learning. A small school by design, students realize their artistic potential through intensive, individualized study with the most renowned, sought-after faculty. Animated by a learn-by-doing philosophy, Curtis students share their music with audiences through more than 100 performances each year, including solo and chamber recitals, orchestral concerts, and opera—all free or at an affordable cost—offering audiences unique opportunities to participate in pivotal moments in these young musicians’ careers. Curtis students experience a close connection to the most renowned artists and organizations in classical music, as well as innovative initiatives that integrate new technologies and encourage entrepreneurship—all within a historic campus in the heart of culturally rich Philadelphia. In this diverse, collaborative community, Curtis’s extraordinary artists challenge, support, and inspire one another—continuing an unparalleled 100-year legacy of musicians who have led, and will lead, classical music into a thriving, equitable, and multidimensional future. Learn more at curtis.edu.
Photos of Michelle Cann by Titilayo Ayangade. Photos of Imani Winds by Shervin Lainez.
***
