Coming up in Philly Music: 'Curtis Is Here' keeps music alive and well

The Curtis Institute of Music’s student recitals are gems of the Philadelphia music scene. Students who have been studying and practicing since they first entered grade school perform before a devoted audience that fills the Institute’s concert hall several times a week. The recitals have been canceled for now, but Curtis is filling the void with an online series of videos taken from its huge library. Each weekday at noon Curtis is adding a new video, usually with a separate video containing a brief introduction. The videos can be viewed at any time once they’ve been released.

Curtis is still here

The videos are curated around weekly themes. The first theme, for the week of March 30, showcased string quartet performances. The theme for April 6 through 10: “Music for One,” unaccompanied solos for single instruments.

The other themes announced so far are Curtis on Tour, April 13 through 17, and a week of Beethoven April 20 through 24.

Curtis is calling the series Curtis Is Here—a message we want to hear from all our institutions. The school is closed down, but the students are working with their teachers over the internet and we can be confident they’re all practicing just as hard as ever. If every school in America had a student body as dedicated and hard-working as Curtis’s young musicians, the United States would be the reigning champion in every field of human endeavor.

The Curtis Institute of Music is one of Philadelphia’s world-class institutions, in the strictest sense of the term, competitive with or surpassing the world's top conservatories and attracting students from around the globe.

What, When, Where:

The Curtis Is Here library is available online here.