| Curtis Institute Of Music |
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| educational institutions established in 1924 | |
| universities and colleges in philadelphia | |
| music schools in the united states | |
The Curtis Institute of Music is a Music School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that offers courses of study leading to a performance Diploma, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in Opera, and Professional Studies Certificate in Opera. It is often considered America's top conservatory and one of the leading musical institutions in the world. It was originally established in 1924 by Mary Louise Curtis Bok, to some extent as a training ground for orchestral players to fill the ranks of the Philadelphia Orchestra , much like the Vienna Hochschule Fur Musik and the Vienna Philharmonic or the New England Conservatory and the Boston Symphony Orchestra , although pianists, singers, organists and composers were offered courses of study as well. All pupils attend on full scholarship, but admission is extremely competitive, as Curtis has the lowest acceptance rate of any college or university in the world. Besides singers, pianists, organists, conductors and composers, only enough students are admitted to fill a single orchestra. Accordingly, enrollment is in the range of 160 to 200 students. Past directors of Curtis have included pianist Józef Hofmann , composer Randall Thompson , violinist Efrem Zimbalist, Sr. , pianist Rudolph Serkin , John De Lancie , Sr. (principal oboe of the Philadelphia Orchestra for many years), and the current President/Director, Gary Graffman who was appointed in 1995. Mr. Graffman will retire as President/Director at the end of the 2005-2006 school year, continuing on the piano faculty. His successor is Roberto Diaz , principal violist of the Philadelphia Orchestra and member of the Diaz Trio; Diaz is an alumnus and faculty member. Many of its alumni have gone on to distinguished careers. Among its graduates are Harold Bennett , former principal flutist of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; pianist Richard Goode ; tubist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and influential teacher of brass pedagogy Arnold Jacobs ; violinist Hilary Hahn ; conductor Leonard Bernstein ; soprano Benita Valente ; soprano Anna Moffo ; and pianist Lang Lang . The legendary Cuban-American pianist Jorge Bolet also studied there. American composers Samuel Barber , Daron Hagen , Stanley Hollingsworth , Gian Carlo Menotti , Jennifer Higdon , and Ned Rorem are also alumni. EXTERNAL LINK |
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