Curtis Announces its 2022–23 Season: Made With Love

View the performance calendar at Curtis.edu/Calendar

Subscription tickets now on sale at Curtis.edu/Subscribe

Press Contacts:
Patricia K. Johnson | patricia.johnson@curtis.edu | (215) 717-3190
Ryan Scott Lathan | ryan.lathan@curtis.edu | (215) 717-3145

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PHILADELPHIA, PA—The 2022–23 season begins at the Curtis Institute of Music this October, with dynamic programming that includes orchestra, opera, and chamber music concerts, and recitals, totaling more than 150 performances in Philadelphia through May 2023.

This year, 153 exceptionally gifted musicians—ages 11 to 29, hailing from 17 different countries—come to Curtis, “both a conservatory and a buzzword…known for taking the best music students in the world” (The Washington Post), to hone their impressive artistic talents. In this intimate and inclusive environment, they are nurtured by a celebrated faculty, supported by a merit-based, tuition-free policy, and inspired by the school’s distinctive “learn by doing” approach.

During the 2022–23 season, Made With Love, Curtis students—some of the world’s finest young musicians—move from the classroom to the stage, sharing their passion for classical music through thrilling performances alongside internationally renowned guest artists. The new season combines beloved repertoire favorites—such as Robert Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A Minor, Paul Dukas’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, and Gaetano Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love—with exhilarating new works—including Kaija Saariaho, Gabriela Lena Frank, Aaron Jay Kernis, and world premieres by Bright Sheng, Tania León, Richard Danielpour, and James Ra—and much more. Subscription tickets are available now at Curtis.edu/Subscribe; single tickets will go on sale in late August.

“The dedication and talents of our students are unmistakable,” says Roberto Díaz, president and CEO, “but it is their exuberance that makes Curtis performances so special. I can’t wait to hear all that our students will accomplish together this year, and I look forward to welcoming everyone to the extraordinary array of performances that await us.”

Curtis Institute of Music 2022–23 Season Details

Curtis Symphony Orchestra
Curtis students join together each year to create one of the world’s great orchestras. Led by internationally renowned conductors and featuring sparkling repertoire, the Curtis Symphony Orchestra is an immersive experience with unique resonance. The ensemble presents three concerts this season in the Kimmel Cultural Campus’s Verizon Hall.

• November 6: In the opening concert of the CSO season, captivating conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin leads the Curtis Symphony Orchestra and rising stars of the Curtis Opera Theatre in a musical tour of France. This delightful program of mischievous magic, childhood fairytales, and operatic jewels features Paul Dukas’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice; selections from popular operas by Jules Massenet, Claude Debussy, and Charles Gounod; and Maurice Ravel’s Mother Goose Suite and dizzying La Valse.
• January 29: Under the baton of Emmy Award-winning conductor Miguel Harth-Bedoya (’91), the Curtis Symphony Orchestra presents an evening of firsts and favorites, featuring trailblazing neoclassical composer Julia Perry’s dynamic twentieth-century classic Study for Orchestra. The program continues with Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Bright Sheng’s concerto for viola and orchestra, Of Time and Love, featuring the virtuosity of internationally acclaimed violist Roberto Díaz (’84). The evening concludes with Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s rapturous symphonic suite, Scheherazade, based on stories of romance, intrigue, and swashbuckling adventure from The Arabian Nights.
• April 15: The 2022–23 CSO season concludes as conductor Osmo Vänskä, former longtime music director of the Minnesota Orchestra, leads the Curtis Symphony Orchestra in a newly commissioned work by James Ra (’04). The program continues with Robert Schumann’s beloved Piano Concerto in A minor with Amy Yang (’06)—praised by The Washington Post as a “jaw-dropping pianist”—and Gustav Mahler’s thunderous Symphony No. 1 in D major (“Titan”).

Curtis Opera Theatre
Through imaginative productions, bold concepts, and engrossing narratives, the artists of the Curtis Opera Theatre prepare to become stars of the world stage. The combination of key elements of artistry—music, acting, singing, and costumes—allows these student-artists to create a lasting connection with audiences.

• November 18, 20: Based on Henry James’s chilling novella, Benjamin Britten’s intense psychological thriller The Turn of the Screw features a spine-tingling story of ghosts and possession, directed by Chas Rader-Shieber and conducted by Michelle Rofrano at the Philadelphia Film Center. Performed in English with English supertitles.
• March 10, 12: Passion promised by a “magic” love potion proves to be no match for the real thing in Gaetano Donizetti’s hilarious comic masterpiece, The Elixir of Love (L’elisir d’amore), on the stage of the Philadelphia Film Center. Directed by Sarah Ina Meyers and conducted by Christian Capocaccia, this charming romantic comedy is a sparkling delight from the first sip to the last. Performed in Italian with English supertitles.
• May 4–7: The Curtis Opera Theatre’s 2022–23 season concludes with four performances at the Perelman Theater of Ariodante, George Frideric Handel’s riveting tale of obsession, desire, and royal intrigue set in the medieval Scottish Highlands, directed by Omer Ben Seadia, conducted by David Stern, and featuring members of Tempesta di Mare baroque orchestra. Performed in Italian with English supertitles.

Ensemble 20/21
Ensemble 20/21’s repertoire features works from the 20th and 21st centuries. With a rich legacy of bold collaborations and striking productions, Ensemble 20/21 embraces the cutting edge of contemporary classical music through the highest level of artistry. In the 2022–23 season, Ensemble 20/21 presents three concerts in Curtis’s Gould Rehearsal Hall.

• October 8: The first concert of the Ensemble 20/21 season highlights “Music of Change,” with flutist and composer Valerie Coleman’s evocative musical memoir of Josephine Baker for wind quintet, Portraits of Josephine; Phillip Maneval’s brass quartet, How We Prevail, a moving meditation on the political turmoil of our time; and In the Field, a highly anticipated world premiere song cycle for soprano and piano quintet by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, Tania León. The program continues with Louis Andriessen’s unrelenting 1975 open-scored work for an unspecified (yet loud) group of instruments, Worker’s Union, and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Anthony Davis’s haunting clarinet concerto, You Have the Right to Remain Silent.
• February 11: Ensemble 20/21 returns in the new year with a fascinating concert featuring “Music of the Earth,” with performances of critically acclaimed Chickasaw composer and pianist Jerod Tate’s astounding piece for solo timpani, Talowa’ Hiloha (Thunder Song), Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho’s beguiling, avian-influenced chamber work for solo flute and chamber ensemble, Terrestre, and John Luther Adams’s breathtaking ode to Alaska and his dear friend Gordon Wright, the reflective solo violin piece, Three High Places. The concert also features Olivier Messiaen’s dazzling celebration of exotic birds for piano and small orchestra, Oiseaux exotiques, a meditative set of 11 pieces for solo guitar, Landslög, by Icelandic composer and guitarist Gulli Björnsson, and Latin Grammy winner Gabriela Lena Frank’s riveting string quartet homage to Peru, Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout.
• March 25: Ensemble 20/21 celebrates this year’s composer in residence with a “Portrait of Aaron Jay Kernis,” featuring two mesmerizing works by the Pulitzer Prize and Grammy Award-winning composer. The concert begins with Kernis’s recent opus, Earth, for solo tenor and chamber ensemble. Created in collaboration with poet and agricultural researcher Kai Hoffman-Krull, with additional words by William Wadsworth, this lush and poignant piece was written in response to the global environmental crisis. The evening continues with Goblin Market, Kernis’s intoxicating adaptation of Christina Rossetti’s 1862 fairy tale poem for narrator and sinfonietta.

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.

• January 11: Acclaimed for their “precision and feverish intensity” (Greece’s EfSyn), Curtis’s Trio Zimbalist will perform an electrifying recital of repertoire spanning from the Romantic era to the 21st century at Curtis’s Field Concert Hall.
• February 23: Internationally acclaimed Rosamunde String Quartet joins a gifted quartet of Curtis students for a memorable night of chamber music at Field Concert Hall. This remarkable ensemble features young stars from three of the world’s greatest orchestras (Berlin Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, and Los Angeles Philharmonic), creating a distinctive sound and unanimity of expression.
• March 21: L’Histoire du Soldat, Igor Stravinsky’s Faustian tale of trickery and magic, comes to life in a special presentation of Curtis on Tour at Gould Rehearsal Hall. Beloved actor John de Lancie voices the characters and performs alongside award-winning clarinetist David Shifrin (’71), prominent violinist Soovin Kim (’99), and an ensemble of Curtis students. The program also features works by Krzysztof Penderecki; Francis Poulenc; Viet Cuong (’19); and Nick DiBerardino (’18), Curtis’s Director of Composition Studies and Ensemble 20/21.
• April 19: The Curtis Institute of Music honors distinguished composition faculty member Richard Danielpour in a celebratory evening of new works in Field Concert Hall, featuring a world premiere song cycle by the Grammy Award winner.

Curtis Recital Series
Curtis’s promise of “learn by doing” is on full display in the Curtis Recital Series. From young student artists experiencing their first professional performance to faculty who’ve played on stages across the globe, this Series showcases all that Curtis has to offer as musicians and educators. Recitals are free, but advance registration is required.

• Student Recitals: Over 100 free recitals are on offer throughout the school year on most Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings starting on October 14.
• Graduation Recitals: During the spring semester, Curtis students on the cusp of their professional careers display their skill and passion in a culminating recital.
• Faculty and Studio Recitals: Curtis’s world-renowned faculty are active musicians with years of professional performance experience on international stages. These acclaimed musicians and educators display the depth of their knowledge and abilities during recitals at Curtis.

Curtis on Tour
The 2022–23 season will also feature national and international performances from Curtis on Tour, the Nina von Maltzahn global touring initiative of the Curtis Institute of Music. Grounded in Curtis’s “learn by doing” philosophy and steeped in the school’s history of artistic excellence, these performances feature extraordinary emerging professional artists alongside celebrated faculty and alumni. Tours for 2022–23 include a North American tour in the fall featuring bass-baritone Eric Owens (’95) and singers from Curtis Opera Theatre in a program of arias and songs; and in March 2023, actor John de Lancie, violinist Soovin Kim (’99), and clarinetist David Shifrin (’71) perform Stravinsky’s L’Histoire du Soldat, among other works. Curtis’s 2022–23 season culminates in a West Coast and Asia tour of Curtis Symphony Orchestra, with conductor Osmo Vänskä and piano soloist Yefim Bronfman.

Visit Curtis.edu/Calendar to view all upcoming performances and events.

Ticketing Information
Subscriptions are now on sale for the 2022–23 season. The flexible Choose Your Own subscription option offers 25% off ticket prices when purchasing tickets to two or more performances. For the 2022–23 season, Curtis is also offering a new Season Pass, with access to all events in 2022–23 for one low rate of $149. Each Season Pass is valid for one best-available ticket to each paid season performance. To order a subscription, visit Curtis.edu/Subscribe, call (215) 893-7902, or email tickets@curtis.edu.

Single tickets for the 2022–23 season start at $19 and will be available starting in late August.

Philanthropic Support for Curtis’s 2022–23 Season
Guest conductor appearances for each Curtis Symphony Orchestra performance are made possible by the Rita E. and Gustave M. Hauser Chair in Conducting Studies. Orchestral concerts are supported by the Jack Wolgin Curtis Orchestral Concerts Endowment Fund.

The Curtis Opera Theatre is generously supported by the Ernestine Bacon Cairns Trust, the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, and the Wyncote Foundation.

Generous support for Ensemble 20/21 is provided by the Daniel W. Dietrich II Foundation.

The Curtis Institute of Music received funding from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts.

About the Curtis Institute of Music
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. For nearly a century Curtis has provided each member of its small student body with an unparalleled education alongside musical peers, distinguished by a “learn by doing” philosophy and personalized attention from a faculty that includes a high proportion of actively performing musicians. With admissions based solely on artistic promise, no student is turned away due to financial need. Curtis invests in each admitted student, ensuring no tuition is charged for their studies and they enter the profession free from educational debt. Each year Curtis students hone their craft through more than 200 orchestra, opera, and solo and chamber music offerings in Philadelphia and around the world. Learn more at Curtis.edu.