The day I’m writing this, the 6th of September, marks the end of my first week of classes here at the Curtis Institute of Music – and what a week it has been! While I will of course detail how wonderful these past few days have been, I should begin by telling you about the journey I had getting to Philadelphia. It began on the 3rd of August, the day I hugged my father and brother goodbye at the Melbourne Airport and flew across the world with my mother, not to the United States, but first to the United Kingdom.
Before
I received my Curtis acceptance letter on the 14th of March, I believed I was heading to the Royal Academy of Music. Changing institutions was something I did not take lightly, but after much deliberation and support from my teachers, mentors and family, I accepted my invitation to Curtis. In saying that, the holiday my mother and I had planned in the UK before the semester began still remained! We arrived in Heathrow Airport after a short stopover in Singapore, and spent the next twenty days exploring London, Bristol and St Ives. Highlights included places like Highgate Cemetery, the Battersea Power Station, the Roman Baths, the beautiful landscapes, gallery and beaches of St Ives (and their very territorial seagull population…), as well as many wonderful and musical locations.
A photo of me standing on the stairs of Curtis’ first building on 1726 Locust Street, PA
Early
in our trip we visited the Royal College of Music, and its museum, where many finely cared-for early instruments and portraits of composers such as Hadyn and Vaughan Williams are displayed, with free access available to the public. Just across the road from this wonderful institution is the Royal Albert Hall where, from July 18th earlier this year to September 13th next week, BBC proms has performed nightly concerts ranging from music by St. Vincent to Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro.
We were lucky enough to visit the location twice. First was for a tour where we were able to watch ensembles rehearsing, venture onto the hall’s balconies and enter the Royal Family’s private lounge, and the second visit was for a truly wonderful performance of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, Ravel’s Boléro and the UK premiere of composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s work, Before We Fall, a mesmerising Cello Concerto blending avant-garde and traditional techniques. We were also able to stop at the Royal Academy of Music to take in its grandeur, saw The Book of Mormon in the Prince of Wales Theatre, and later in St Ives, we witnessed works by Liliane Lijn within the Tate St Ives gallery, which blended sound, speech and sculpture into truly remarkable displays.
A photo of Royal Albert Hall as we arrive to watch BBC Prom’s ‘Boléro and The Rite of Spring’ in London
After
an absolutely phenomenal experience in the UK, I arrived in Philadelphia on the 23rd of August and the next day, on the 24th, I was making my bed in Lenfest Hall; my home for the next few years. My first week was spent in Orientation, where we met faculty members, sang karaoke, learnt about the many classes we would be involved in, and took walks around the Old City, and up the trails in the beautiful Wissahickon Valley Park. I also attended my very first baseball game and have to admit that the Philly Phanatic is now my favourite mascot of all time. After a quick rest over Monday’s public holiday, I began classes on the 2nd of September. So far I have taken quite a variety of classes, many highlighting Curtis’ emphasis on the importance of Liberal Arts: Private piano and solfege lessons, english seminars discussing communication in our new digital age, acting classes, another seminar on the connections between society, language and the music we produce, and a class on the technical mechanics of music and counterpoint.
Amongst all this was my first performance in Curtis’ vocal department called the ‘Sing-In’, where every vocal major presented a piece for their peers. It left me starstruck watching my classmates.
A photo from the Wissahickon Valley Park Hike, only a twenty-minute drive from Lenfest Hall
The people I have met during my first two weeks here, both faculty and students, have been wonderful, kind and passionate people. The coffee sometimes leaves much to be desired (especially as a Melburnian), but the food, and the people that make it, are warm and generous. How welcome I have felt here is far beyond anything I could have dreamed. I am so grateful to be in a position to study here, and to be sponsored by the Tait Performing Arts Association. I look forward to sharing many more of my experiences at Curtis with you all over this academic year.
Isabella