Grammy Wins for Curtis Faculty and Alumni; Jason Vieaux, Edgar Meyer, Hilary Hahn (’99), and the Curtis 20/21 Ensemble among 2015 honorees

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Grammy Wins for Curtis Faculty and Alumni

Jason Vieaux, Edgar Meyer, Hilary Hahn (’99), and the Curtis 20/21 Ensemble among 2015 honorees

February 10, 2015, Philadelphia, Pa.—Sustaining the long tradition of Curtis musicians among each year’s Grammy nominees and winners, Sunday’s 57th Annual Grammy Awards® in Los Angeles brought honors for Curtis faculty, alumni, and the school’s contemporary music ensemble.

Guitar faculty member Jason Vieaux took home the Grammy for Best Classical Instrumental Solo for his album Play on Azica Records, and double bass faculty Edgar Meyer garnered the award for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album for Bass & Mandolin with Chris Thile on the Nonesuch label. Hilary Hahn (Violin ’99) won in the category of Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance for her In 27 Pieces – The Hilary Hahn Encores with pianist Cory Smythe on the Deutsche Grammophon label.

Several other faculty and alumni received nominations, including Robert Spano (Conducting ’85) with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra for Sibelius: Symphonies No.s 6 & 7 and Tapiola on the ASO Media label in the category of Best Orchestral Performance. Guitar faculty member David Starobin was nominated for Classical Producer of the Year with music that includes the album Music of Peter Liebersen, Vol. 3 on Bridge Records with Curtis President Roberto Díaz (Viola ’84), as well as conductor Scott Yoo, pianist Steven Beck, and the Odense Symphony Orchestra.

Classical Producer of the Year Judith Sherman won for her work on several albums, including Two X Four (Cedille Records) featuring Curtis alumni Jaime Laredo (Violin ’59), Jennifer Koh (Violin ’02), Vinay Parameswaran (Conducting ’13), and the Curtis 20/21 Ensemble. Two X Four includes faculty member David Ludwig’s (Composition ’01) Seasons Lost and Anna Clyne’s Prince of Clouds, nominated for Best Contemporary Classical Composition.

One of the world’s finest and most selective conservatories, the Curtis Institute of Music offers a tuition-free, performance-inspired learning culture to 175 students from all corners of the world. Nurtured by a celebrated faculty, its extraordinary young musicians graduate to join 4,000 alumni who have long made music history. From Leonard Bernstein to Alan Gilbert, Samuel Barber to Jennifer Higdon, Anna Moffo to Eric Owens, Richard Goode to Jonathan Biss, Curtis alumni personify the school’s commitment to excellence—onstage and in their communities—inventing careers with impact. Recent graduates forging 21st-century careers include violinist Adrian Anantawan, a performer and teacher dedicated to helping young people with disabilities make music; Joseph Conyers, director and founder of Project 440 and assistant principal bass of the Philadelphia Orchestra; and Jennifer Koh, a violin soloist recognized for both her dazzling virtuosity and impassioned musical curiosity, dedicated to performing repertoire of all eras, from traditional to contemporary.

A busy schedule of performances, including more than 200 a year in Philadelphia and around the world, is at the heart of Curtis’s distinctive “learn by doing” approach. Dedicated to a tradition of excellence and innovation since its founding in 1924, Curtis is looking toward its centenary in a flexible and forward-thinking way, evolving strategically to serve its time-honored mission.

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