Ensemble Opportunity

With ample and inspiring studios for ensemble rehearsals in Lenfest Hall, Curtis students will be freer than ever to indulge one of their favorite pursuits—chamber music.

With 32 new studios for practice, teaching, and rehearsal (floor plans), opportunities abound at 1616 Locust Street to explore the riches of the traditional chamber music repertoire, not to mention new music and vocal music. Box-in-box construction and exceptional acoustics ensure students can collaborate in the best sound environment. President Roberto Díaz remarks, "The musical benefits of playing chamber music are too many to name. Lenfest Hall opens up so many possibilities for the students to explore this repertoire, which is tremendously important to the students’ development."

Curtis musicians will now enjoy twice as much space for collaboration, thanks to the generosity of over 30 donors from around the world. They include:

•The large-instrument studios: Carole H. and Emilio A. Gravagno Double Bass Studio, Allerton Foundation Percussion Studios, and Baroness Nina von Maltzahn Harp Studio.

•Individual practice rooms recognizing donors James and Betty Matarese; Imelde Della Valle and William W. Langebartel; Steven and Lee Laden; Bobby Ellen Kimbel, Ph.D.; Bong S. Lee, M.D.; Plato S. and Dorothy Krebill Karayanis; the Amaranth Foundation; George and Marie Hecksher; and Albert and Joan Piscopo.

•Teaching studios and chamber music rehearsal rooms named by Lisa and Gie Liem, the Lurie Family Foundation, Robert and Lynne Pollack, Ben and Martha Rinaldo, Irving and Arlene Tashlick, and Mark and Robin Rubenstein.

Violin students Anastasia Agapova and Zoë Martin-Doike performing with a chamber ensemble in Field Concert Hall.

Happy moments following this summer’s Curtis On Tour concert in Nanctucket: third-year violinist Hannah Ji, President Roberto Díaz, Robin and Mark Rubenstein, and third-year violinist Eunice Kim.

Through this July’s Curtis On Tour appearances near their summer home in Nantucket—as well as numerous concerts and recitals in Philadelphia—the Rubensteins have come to champion Curtis and its unique curriculum. This summer Robin and Mark, who has served as a Curtis trustee since 2009, witnessed firsthand the electric energy between the student and faculty musicians, a sort of kinship and connection resulting from the hours upon hours of rehearsal and deep sensitivity to listening that chamber music demands. Their belief in the school and its mission inspired the couple to become lead donors in the campaign to build Lenfest Hall. With splendid views of St. Mark’s Church and its gardens, the spacious Rubenstein Teaching Studios are ideal venues for chamber music rehearsals.

With more room to grow—and listen—in Lenfest Hall, who knows how many new ensembles will be born at Curtis?