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Curtis Institute of Music opening

Posted: Sat Oct 06, 2018 4:54 pm
by Craig Knox
The Curtis Institute of Music has an opening for a new tuba student, beginning in the Fall of 2019. Curtis has one tuba student, so auditions for this position normally take place every 3-4 years. Curtis offers a Bachelor of Music degree or a non-degree Diploma for undergraduates, and a Post-Baccalaureate Diploma for graduate students. Therefore tuba applicants applying for this position can be pursuing either undergraduate or graduate study. There is no age limit or preference; the faculty will choose the applicant it believes has the greatest potential. The live audition will take place in Philadelphia in March 2019 (exact date TBA); a pre-screening audition video is required, and is due on December 12, 2018. More information on Curtis and the audition process is available at http://www.curtis.edu

The Curtis Institute of Music was founded in 1924, and has been one of the pre-eminent music conservatories of the world since that time. The school has approximately 113 faculty and only 175 students, all of whom are accepted on full-tuition scholarships. In addition to the tuition-free policy, Curtis makes grant money available for housing costs to those who apply, and reimburses its students for professional audition travel costs. Curtis is located in the heart of the Center City district of Philadelphia, and comprises the original historic building on Rittenhouse Square, the new 7-story state-of-the-art Lenfest Hall (which includes dorms), as well as several other brownstone buildings which house the library and other offices.

Curtis has a rich history, and has been the training ground for musicians such as Leonard Bernstein, Alan Gilbert, Lang Lang, Yuja Wang, Hilary Hahn, Joseph Alessi, and Arnold Jacobs, to name a few. The tuba student at Curtis is afforded the unique opportunity of assignment to every ensemble performance during his/her tenure. In recent years, the student orchestra has been led in readings, concerts, and tours by guest conductors such as Yannick Nezet-Seguin, Osmo Vanska, Michael Tilson Thomas, Vladimir Jurowski, and Ludovic Morlot. The tuba student receives lessons from Craig Knox, and works closely with Paul Krzywicki (Philadelphia Orchestra, retired) as well as other brass faculty. Students work frequently with guest teachers in master classes; recent guests in the low brass area include Gene Pokorny, Alessandro Fossi, Charles Vernon, Colin Williams, and Peter Steiner.

Please check the Curtis website for more information about the school and the audition process. If you still have further specific questions, you may contact me at cknox@pittsburghsymphony.org" target="_blank" target="_blank

Best wishes,

Craig Knox
(Curtis '89)

Re: Curtis Institute of Music opening

Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2018 6:32 pm
by Craig Knox
The audition date has now been set for Monday, March 11, 2019. All auditions will be heard live in Philadelphia on this date.

Deadline for submission of the pre-screening video without late-fee is December 12.

Re: Curtis Institute of Music opening

Posted: Sat Dec 01, 2018 10:26 am
by Oldschooltuba
Our grandson will be submitting at tape soon. Damn, I am getting old

Re: Curtis Institute of Music opening

Posted: Fri Apr 12, 2019 8:43 am
by paulver
My family and I were in the room(s) that was/were the gathering place for all of the Curtis brass candidates on Mar. 11th, the day of the auditions. There were tuba cases all over the floor, and there were a ton of players with two and three tubas standing and sitting shoulder to shoulder throughout three rooms. Not even mentioning the horn, trumpet, and trombone people and cases all jammed in there at the same time!!!!

I had no idea that there was only one position for all of those tuba players to audition for! Amazing!!!

The number of "disappointed" faces was incredible as the various finalist lists were posted throughout the day!! We were there from 3pm to 8:30pm..... and we were lucky that we didn't have to wait as long as some of those kids who had reported there much earlier in the day.

WOW!!