Page 66 - Classical Singer magazine 2019 Fall University Issue
P. 66

DYNAMIC DUO AT CURTIS:
Eric Owens and Danielle Orlando
BY LISA HOUSTON
The Curtis Institute of Music has been producing world-class talent for almost 100 years. A change in leadership this fall guarantees that this tradition will continue for another century.
“Many languages are spoken within [Curtis’] hallways. The combination of a powerful history with the excitement that pervades the entire student body is contagious and embracing.”
The illustrations of Norman Rockwell are beloved and timeless. In the landscape of American music conservatories, there is a place that is equally iconic and cherished, and that is the Curtis Institute of Music.
Founded in Philadelphia in 1924, the school is named for Cyrus H.K. Curtis, the publishing magnate responsible for bringing Rockwell’s artwork to the American people
via the Saturday Evening Post. But it was Curtis’ daughter, Mary, who was responsible for the school’s original endowment of $12.5 million, which she o ered in memory of her mother, who had served as the editor of another of Curtis’ magazines, The Ladies’ H ome Journal.
It didn’t take long for Curtis to produce its  rst bona  de opera
star in soprano Rose Bampton, a student in the 1930s whose classmates included composers Samuel Barber and Gian Carlo Menotti. Since
then, the roster of graduates has continued to impress. One of its
most famous grads these days is bass- baritone Eric Owens. A major star at the Metropolitan Opera and other houses, Owens will take the helm of the vocal studies department at Curtis this fall.
66 Classical Singer | September/October 2019
Eric Owens performs with Curtis students in January 2015.
photo by Karli Cadel


































































































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