Inside the Curtis Institute of Music
Behind the scenes at Philadelphia's ultra-selective conservatory.
Okay, so unlike my previous post, I can't blame this on the month of November. Here it is, a week after the Inquirer's series on the Curtis Institute of Music is published and and I'm just now getting around to saying something. That's par for the course (couldn't come up with a musical metaphor) for me on this - I was still uploading photos into each day's image gallery well into the night berfore each story ran in the newspaper.
If you didn't see it last weekend, take a look at the whole packege:
Our project - the Curtis Factor - explores the Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia's small and elite music conservatory that is a powerhouse player in the classical music world.
It includes three articles by Inquirer classical music critic Peter Dobrin, scores of my photographs, a multi-media timeline, videos and other features.
They can all be accessed by clicking here or on any of the images above.
Or you can get to each of the individual pieces through the links below (one advantge of posting a week late):
The stories: Part One. Part Two. Part Three.
The photo galleries: Part One. Part Two. Part Three. Muscial Quirks. Bonus video:Play On, Philly!
The videos: Audition. Traditiion. Tranformation. Variation.
A history Timeline:
Another aspect of The Curtis Factor involved the creation of a new musical score - Trio.
The Inquirer commissioned Curtis student Katerina Kramarchuk to write an original trio for piano, cello and clarinet – performed by Curtis students (the photo at the very top was made during a break in the recording).
I also shot all of the "b-roll" video while hanging out - mostly during the spring - while shooting still photos in the classrooms, practice spaces and hallways at Curtis.
The project was a collaboration of critic Dobrin; graphic artist Cynthia Greer; video producer and editor Frank Wiese; and videographers Robert Kandel, Andy Ritchie, Ian J. Walters, and Michele Tanquilli; along with editors Rebecca Klock, Michael Rozansky, and John Duchneskie (that's Wiese on the left, and Kandel, below, reflected in the double-pane sound-insulated glass of the new reheasal hall as they set up for the "Trio" video & sound recording session. Behind them outside is the portal of St. Mark's Protestant Episcopal church on Locust Street).
There were also contributors from the Features and Photo staff, Multimedia desk, Art Department, Copy Desk, News Desk, and Philly.com including Janice Ward, Bob Caughron, Thom Guarnieri,Richard Barron, Tracy Koontz, Michael Plunkett, Leah Kauffman, Michael Mercanti, John Gayusky, Jim Selzer, Brian Leighton, Tom McNamara and Sandy Clark.