This week, you’ve seen me in a lot of social media involving the Curtis Institute of Music. Located on Philadelphia’s Rittenhouse Square, Curtis’ 175 students are among the best classical musicians in the world. In fact, Curtis is the most selective college or university anywhere, accepting about 3.3% of applicants each year, competing, at times, with Yale and Juliard. A majority of its students are musicians in the Curtis symphony orchestra, while piano & organ students, opera singers, composers, and conductors round out its diverse student body. To attract the best young musicians from around the world, Curtis has been tuition free for more than 90 years! The heiress of the Curtis Publishing Company (Saturday Evening Post and Ladies Home Journal ) founded the school in her Philadelphia mansion and endowed the school with her sizable inheritance. Curtis students “learn by doing” and the school hosts more than 200 student performances each year from Hong Kong to Havertown.
A decade ago, Tony Brown brought a few friends to a Curtis recital and the Crescendo Club, Curtis’ young friends group, was born. Currently, Eileen Murphy and I co-chair the Crescendo Club’s Steering Committee and I also serve on Curtis’ Board of Trustees. While we have a philanthropic role, we want to introduce fellow young professionals to the Curtis experience, where incredible musicians perform classical music every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday night in historic Field Concert Hall, like Leonard Bernstein (‘41), pianist Lang Lang, and violinist Hilary Hahn and countless others have.
Would you like to be my guest at a Curtis performance this winter? I’d introduce you to Philadelphia’s most unique live music experience and the bright, witty, and terrific friends I’ve made there.