Curtis Institute of Music

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‍All About Curtis

Curtis Institute of Music was established on October 13, 1924
Private University
Tuition-free policy was founded in 1928 (Curtis invests in each approved student so that no tuition is paid for their studies, ensuring that admissions are exclusively based on artistic promise)
Mission: Teaches and develops extraordinary young musicians to engage the local and global communities via the highest degree of artistry.
Curtis students refine their skills via more than 200 orchestra, opera, solo and chamber music events, and community arts access and education initiatives
Total # of Students: 155
Total # of Faculty members: 113 (including prominent performing musicians and highly qualified instructors in musical studies, liberal arts, and career studies)
Graduation Rate within 5 years: 94.4%
Acceptance Rate: 4%
Student to Faculty Ratio: 3:2
Location: 1726 Locust St, Philadelphia, PA 19103, United States
Contact: (215) 893-5252

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Alumni

Curtis graduates are frequently among the recipients of classical music's most distinguished medals and distinctions, including Pulitzer Prizes, Guggenheim Fellowships, and Avery Fisher Awards.
They are among the best soloists and conductors. They are community leaders and change makers.
They are members of the world's leading orchestras, and leaders from every major American symphony orchestra are Curtis alumni.
They've performed at the Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, Covent Garden, the Vienna Staatsoper, and the San Francisco Opera, to name a few.
Curtis graduates appear as guest musicians in renowned orchestras, opera houses, and chamber music series across the world each season.
Well-known Alumni:

Leonard Bernstein (American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author and humanitarian)
Lang Lang (Chinese pianist)
Nino Rota (Italian composer, pianist and conductor)

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Application

Two-step process: Applying and Auditioning
All applications opens in the fall
Application timing:

Early Fall - Applications available
December - Applications due for consideration for the 2023-24 academic year. Applications submitted after this date may be considered on a case-by-case basis and will incur an additional $75 late fee
January - Students selected for live auditions will be notified during this month
February and March - Live auditions (If in-person are not possible, the admissions team will coordinate safe and equitable live virtual auditions. A final decision on the audition format will be made closer to the application deadline in early December)
April - Notification of admission and financial aid status provided
May - Applicant decision due
June - Standardized test results due. Accepted candidates are automatically placed into non-degree programs until all official test scores are received in the Registrar’s Office

Requirements:

Create Application Account

through Acceptd Platform
create username and password
all application, documents, fees have to be submitted on Acceptd

Required Documents

upload an unofficial copy of transcript to Acceptd
official transcripts should be mailed after admissions decisions are made
addresses of parents or guardians
addresses of dates and study with private teacher
addresses of dates and study at high school or previous college
a list of scholarships, awards, etc., received and their amounts
a response to four short essay equations
a list of composers and works, including technical studies, that have studied intensively and are considered a part of repertoire
At least one uploadable copy of a concert or recital program in which you have participated (featuring applicator’s name)
three recommendations: One from your current private teacher, and two from musicians or mentors who are qualified to judge your personal and musical talents (excluding relatives). Be sure to include your recommenders’ email addresses as they will receive a link to complete the recommendation on your behalf
For voice and opera applicants: A description of professional experience, if any, including roles and dates performed, names of performing organizations, non-operatic musical activities, and dramatic training and experience
Bachelor of Music applicants: Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT I) scores (optional)
Non-native speakers of English

Bachelor of Music, Master of Music, Professional Studies Certificate, and Diploma in Opera applicants who are not native speakers of English: TOEFL, or Cambridge, or IELTS, and optional SAT I scores

Essay Questions:

Why do you want to study at Curtis? (150 words)
What inspires you as an artist? (250 words)
Explain how you managed a challenging experience. What did you learn, and how might your experience inform your participation in the Curtis community? (300 words)
Your application details your accomplishments as a musician. In this space, please tell us about a special interest outside of music that gives you joy. (250 words)

Screening Materials

All applicants (with the exception of applicants in guitar, organ, and timpani and percussion) are required to submit screening materials online in order to be considered for an invitation to audition in person. Applicants will be notified of decisions regarding live auditions by mid-January

Application Fee

Online application fee: $150 (USD)
Screening fee: $100 (required for all applicants except guitar, organ, timpani and percussion). If the applicant is invited for a live audition, the screening fee will apply as credit towards the $150 audition fee due by the department’s audition date
Audition fee: $150 (USD)
Materials submitted after deadline incur an additional $75 (USD) late fee
Important Note: All fees are payable via the Acceptd platform. This

fees must be paid before the applicant is permitted to audition.

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Program Entrance Requirements

Bachelor of Music

all accepted undergraduate students are automatically placed into the non-degree undergraduate diploma program. Entrance to the Bachelor of Music program at Curtis is determined on an individual basis
The bachelor of Music is open to all departments
The Committee on Academic Standing reviews each student’s entire application and does not offer admission based solely on test scores
Required documents:

A complete official high school or, of applicable, college transcript in English, with grades and graduation date
Official scores for the SAT (optional)
For non-native English speakers: official scores on English-language test, one from the below exams

TOEFL ITP written, score minimum of 550
Computer-based TOEFL test, score minimum of 213
Internet TOEFL iBT, score minimum of 79-80
IELTS, score minimum of 6.5-7.0
Cambridge B2 First, C1 Advanced or C2 proficiency: 169

Master of Music

The Master of Music is open to all departments with the exception of flute, bass trombone, and piano
Prerequisite: Bachelor of Music degree or equivalent
For native speakers of English, standardized tests are not required.
For non-native English speakers, Curtis requires one of the following test scores.

TOEFL ITP written, score minimum of 550
Computer-based TOEFL test, score minimum of 213
Internet TOEFL iBT, score minimum of 79-80
IELTS, score minimum of 6.5-7.0
Cambridge B2 First, C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency: 169

Diploma

Fornative speakers of English, standardized tests are not required
For non-natice speakers of English, the following tests are not required for admission but will be used for placement purposes

TOEFL ITP written, score minimum of 550
Computer-based TOEFL test, score minimum of 213
Internet TOEFL iBT, score minimum of 79-80
IELTS, score minimum of 6.5-7.0
Cambridge B2 First, C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency: 169

Post-Baccalaureate Diploma

The post-baccalaureate program is open to all departments with the exception of flute.
Prerequisite: Bachelor of Music degree or equivalent
For native speakers of English, standardized tests are not required.
For non-native English speakers, Curtis requires one of the following test scores.

TOEFL ITP written, score minimum of 550
Computer-based TOEFL test, score minimum of 213
Internet TOEFL iBT, score minimum of 79-80
IELTS, score minimum of 6.5-7.0
Cambridge B2 First, C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency: 169

Professional Studies Certificate in Opera

For native speakers of English, standardized tests are not required.
For non-native English speakers, Curtis requires one of the following test scores.

TOEFL ITP written, score minimum of 550
Computer-based TOEFL test, score minimum of 213
Internet TOEFL iBT, score minimum of 79-80
IELTS, score minimum of 6.5-7.0
Cambridge B2 First, C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency: 169

Studios

Brass
Composition
Conducting
Guitar
Harp
Organ
Piano
String Quartet
Strings
Timpani and Percussion
Vocal Studies
Woodwinds

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Curriculum

Performance Courses

Lessons and Coachings

Major Lessons (Fall and Spring): One lesson/equivalent per week with the student’s major instructor. Younger students may receive two lessons per week.
Composition Seminar: Seminar class for composers, involving analysis, presentation, and discussion of contemporary music.
Early Music Performance: Examination of sixteenth-and seventeenth-century performance practice through lectures, demonstrations, and coachings.
Chamber Music: Regular coaching of student string, brass, woodwind, and mixed ensembles by Curtis’s chamber music faculty. Trios, quartets, and larger ensembles are formed by students or assigned by the faculty. Required of all piano and orchestral instrument majors with specific repertoire requirements for each semester.
Score Analysis: Detailed study of the structure of orchestral scores for conducting majors.

Instrumental Repertoire Studies

Orchestral Repertoire: Weekly sectional study and rehearsal of orchestral literature, required of all string, woodwind, brass, and percussion orchestra members.
Orchestra: participation in the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, as well as the Curtis Chamber Orchestra. Required of all orchestral instrument majors sixteen years of age and older.
Organ Class: Weekly performance class, required of all organ majors. All repertoire to be performed from memory.
Curtis 20/21, the Contemporary Music Ensemble: Participation in Curtis 20/21, an ensemble devoted to the performance of chamber music from the twentieth ans twenty-first centuries. Rehearsals weekly and as needed. Chamber music credit given based on participation and opportunity to perform or at the discretion of the dean.
Piano Repertoire Seminar: Weekly performance class, required of all piano majors.
Guitar Performance Seminar: Weekly performance class, required of all guitar majors.
Lab Orchestra: Practice in conducting ensembles from the symphony orchestra, required of all conducting majors.

Vocal Studies

Diction Coaching: The application of diction fundamentals to prepare for vocal performances.
Voice Repertoire Coaching: Vocal and musical preparation with opera and voice coaches for operatic and recital performances.
Alexander Technique: An introduction to gentle, novel, guided movement sequences that focus awareness on the subtle patterns of movement, breathing, and alignment. The course aims to enhance flexibility, intelligence, ad grace in movement.
History of Singing- The Recorded Legacy: A study of the history of vocal performance, using recordings from the past and present.
Acting Seminar: An undergraduate course in the method of developing the emotional and physical life of a character through examination of the text. Using improvisation and other methods, the course cultivates the skill of acting while singing.
Voice Performance Seminar: Weekly undergraduate repertoire class for voice majors.
Opera History Seminar: A study of the growth of the operatic form from the Camerata of 1597 to the mid-20th century. Emphasis is on major works of the standard operatic literature from Italy, France, and Germany.
Opera Staging: Rehearsals for major productions.
Opera Performance Seminar: Weekly graduate repertoire class for opera majors, in which singers can perform for each other and try out new material in a constructive environment.

Supplementary Performance

Supplementary Harpsichord: One lesson per week with a member of the harpsichord faculty.
Supplementary Piano: One lesson per week with a member of the supplementary piano faculty. Required for two years of all undergraduates who are not exempted from the supplementary piano requirement by examination.
Supplementary Voice: One lesson per week with a member of the voice faculty or a graduate student. Open as a performance elective to all students.
Viola for Violinists: One lesson per week with a member of the viola faculty. Open as a performance elective to violin majors.

Musical Studies

Core Studies

Core Studies I: Focuses on and including the following;

identifying scale degrees and intervals
identifying chords (i.e. Roman numeral) in context of a given key or in actual repertoire
recognizing different types of motion: oblique, similar, contrary
recognizing open/close spacing of chords as well as outer voices
matching or singing back individual pitches and short melodies when played on a piano
writing and labeling intervals, triads, and 7ths in any inversion
writing and labeling chords using Roman numerals in any inversion
realizing individual chords from figures
error-detection in voice leading and chord construction

Core Studies II: Focuses on and including the following;

study of voice leading
basic functions of all diatonic chords in major and minor, and basic syntax of diatonic progressions—tonic, intermediate (pre-dominant), and dominant
cadential patterns—weak and strong
concept of expansion and prolongation through voice exchange, passing and neighboring chords

Core Studies III: Focuses on and including the following;

sequences
melodic and rhythmic figuration
modulation: applied dominants, modulation to any key
chromaticism: mixture, Neapolitan chords
Analysis including:

analysis and reduction of works from the repertoire
analysis of two- and three-part inventions and fugues
introduction to graphic analysis

Core Studies IV: Focuses on and including the following;

augmented 6th chords
advanced chromaticism: common-tone chromaticism; altered dominants, 9ths, and 11ths; enharmonic reinterpretation; advanced modulation techniques (exposure)
tonality at the turn of the 20th century, including equal division of the octave, modes, pentatonic, whole-tone, octatonic, and hexatonic scales
Analysis will continue with the analysis and reduction of works from the repertoire by composers such as Debussy, Ravel, Ives, Stravinsky, Bartok, etc.

Music Form and Analysis: Topics includes the following;

phrasing, periods and sentences in tonal music
different types and strengths of cadences
motive and motivic transformation
binary and ternary forms, dance suites
variations and rondo form
fugue exposition
sonata form, concerto form
motivic development and resulting forms found in 20th-century compositions

Post-Tonal Harmony: Topics includes the following;

semi-tonal and post-tonal harmonic vocabulary
other aspects of non-functional tonal music – pitch centricity and composition with motivic cells, expanding the limits of musical temporality (Messiaen), texture and orchestration, etc.
twelve-tone theory and extended serialism (inversion, retrograde, transposition, etc.)
understanding 20th-century processes and structures that replace tonal progressions

Keyboard Studies

Keyboard Studies I (for non-keyboard majors only)

Keyboard geography and the review of scales, intervals, triads, and 7th chords. Includes an introduction to figured bass, clef reading, and counterpoint improvisation.

Keyboard Studies II

Includes two-part score reading, figured-bass realization of 5/3 and 6/3 chords, short harmonic progressions of tonic expansion and cadences, and harmonization of melodic fragments.

Keyboard Studies III

Continuing two-part score reading, figured-bass realization of 5/3, 6/3, and 6/4 chords, diatonic progressions in different keys, and harmonization of soprano and/or bass melodies.

Keyboard Studies IV

Three-part and four-part score reading, figured-bass realization incorporating suspensions and chromatic harmonies, diatonic and chromatic progressions in different keys including applied dominants, harmonization of soprano and/or bass melodies, and harmonization of folk songs.

Keyboard Studies V and VI

Required for keyboard majors only, and open as an elective for anyone interested with sufficient keyboard skill. Exercises include advanced figured-bass realization, score reading at the piano, and advanced counterpoint.

Solfège

Solfège I

Sight-singing in treble, bass, alto, and tenor clefs; singing and recognition of major/minor scales, triads in root position, 1st and 2nd inversion, V7 chords and their resolutions, and duets; rhythmic dictation and conducting; interval dictation, 1-voice and 2-voice melodic dictation, 2-voice contrapuntal dictation; singing and playing (at the piano) Bach chorales and Lassus motets in open score; memory projects.

Solfège II

Sight-singing in all seven clefs; singing and recognition of diminished 7th and augmented 6th chords with resolutions, melodies and duets, progressing to chromaticism and Modus Novus for advanced sections; rhythmic dictation and conducting, including polyrhythms; advanced 1-voice and 2-voice melodic dictation, introduction to 3-voice melodic dictation, and dictation of harmonic progressions; singing and playing (at the piano) Bach chorales and Lassus motets in open score; memory projects.
Advanced sight-singing in seven clefs, chromaticism, three-part contrapuntal dictation, simple figured-bass dictation, and reading Bach chorales in open score.

Dictation – NOTE: only one semester required

A required one-semester course in the student’s third year including extended 1-voice and 2-voice dictations, more difficult 3-part and 4-part dictations in advanced classes, chord progressions with modulation and chromatic harmony, atonal dictations from one to four voices, and figured bass dictations.

Music History

Music History I

Music History I surveys the history of Western music from Antiquity through the Baroque in the first semester, and continues through the early Romantic period in the second semester. The course emphasizes hands-on, project-oriented learning, engaging the material through primary source readings, listening, writing, group projects, class discussions, and coordinated online activities. The emphasis is on understanding the political, social, and religious trends that influence and shape music from one era to the next, and on using that knowledge to enhance the student’s and the audience’s performance experience.

Music History II

Music History II is intended as an introduction to the most important trends and themes of the European classical music tradition. The first semester of Music History II spans the nineteenth century, beginning with the emergence of the Romantic movement and ending with the fin de siècle. Major topics include: Romanticism and its offshoots, the debates over program music, nationalism, the emergence of the classical canon, the development of compositional technique and instrumental technologies, and the role of music in society. Above all, students will study the historical continuity between the music of the nineteenth century and that which preceded and followed it, with the goal of better understanding music both familiar and strange.

Conducting

Elements of Conducting

Elements of Conducting is a one-semester course focusing on developing the practical skills required to lead an ensemble from beginning to end of the performance process. Aspects of conducting to be covered will include technique, score reading and analysis, principles of interpretation, rehearsal techniques, and orchestration from a conductor’s point of view. Students will be given classroom conducting opportunities necessary to gain a functional understanding of the above topics.

Music History Electives

Elective courses vary from year to year. The following courses are representative of the catalogue’s offerings from the past three academic years.

J.S. Bach and Art of Rhetoric
Music in the Age of Romanticism
American Popular Music in the 20th Century
Exploring Electronic Music
The Legacy of Julius Eastman
Henry Cowell’s Global Modernism
History of Opera
History of Singing through Recorded Legacy
Music, Monarchs, and Mad Dictators
Toscanini and The Age of the Great Conductor
Wagner and Verdi

Music Theory Electives

Elective courses vary from year to year. The following courses are representative of the catalogue’s offerings from the past three academic years.

Applied Orchestration
Pulse: The Perception of Time in Music
Mahler’s Symphonies
Advanced Chromaticism
Analysis of Fugue
Brahms’s Chamber Music
The Classical Symphony
Advanced Counterpoint
Schenkerian Analysis
Analysis Seminar

Music Performance Electives

Elective courses vary from year to year. The following courses are representative of the catalogue’s offerings from the past three academic years.

The Phrase: Decoding Music’s Basic Unit
Interpretive Analysis and Musicianship
Advanced Conducting
Improvisation
Cadenzas
Chamber Music as Conversation
Harmonic Thinking in Performance
Score Reading
Interpretive Expressions in Literature and Music

Liberal Arts

Liberal arts courses educate musicians as broadly and deeply as possible so that they may be greatly literate and widely informed.
Specific objectives of the liberal arts program are: