The Curtis Institute of Music is a music school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

It was originally established in 1924 by Mary Louise Curtis Bok 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.

All pupils attend on full scholarship but entrance is very difficult in that only enough students are admitted to fill a single orchestra.

Past directors of Curtis have included Josef Hofmann, Efram Zimbalist, Rudolph Serkin, and the current President/Director, Gary Graffman who was appointed in 1995.

Many of its alumni have gone on to distinguished careers, Among the many graduates are Harold Bennett (d. 1985), principal flutist of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; pianist Richard Goode , violinist Hilary Hahn, conductor Leonard Bernstein, soprano Benita Valente, soprano, soprano Anna Moffo, as well as pianist extraordinaire Lang Lang. American composer Samuel Barber also graduated here.

External link

• Curtis Institute website