The 20/21 Ensemble, a trio of students from the prestigious Curtis Institute share their music at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 19. This select modern music group plays tunes from the 20th to 21st century.
Not only does the group play pieces from established modern composers and famous 20th-century composers, they perform works by fellow Curtis students, as well. One particular piece that will be played within the Gretna Music concert is the cello sonata by famous Curtis alumni, Samuel Barber, one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century.
The Ensemble musicians play as a piano trio. Abigail Fayette plays violin, Oliver Herbert the cello and George Fu the piano.
“The Curtis institute is perhaps the most prestigious music school in the world,” said Gretna Music’s Carl Kane, describing the Institute’s exclusivity. “And it has a .4-percent acceptance rate, so I could never get in,” he added.
The Curtis institute is perhaps the most prestigious music school in the world.”
The Curtis Institute, based in Philadelphia, was founded by Mary Louis Curtis Bok, a writer and philanthropist, in 1928. When working at the Settlement Music School, Bok was inspired to create a tuition-free school for underprivileged students. The Institute offers merit-based scholarships for aspiring musicians, and students are selected according to their potential and talent.
Curtis has had many prestigious teachers and alumni, including British conductor Leopold Stokowski, who led the Curtis orchestra. He is known as a leading conductor of the 20th century and as the composer for Disney’s “Fantasia.” Stokowski expected that Curtis would “become the most important musical institution of our country, perhaps of the world,” said the schools website.
The Curtis Institute has joined with Gretna Music, a presenter of jazz and classical music in south-central Pennsylvania, to bring the 20/21 Ensemble to E-town.
Gretna Music is known for bringing fine music to the public by hosting concerts throughout southeastern Pennsylvania.
The concert will be held in Leffler Chapel and Performance Center at Elizabethtown College.
Admission is free for E-town students and faculty and staff members. One additional ticket can bet purchased at $5. General admission is $22.
For further information, call Carl Kane at 717-361-1508 or email at kanec@etown.edu.
~ E-town NOW guest writer is Emily Derois — Derois is a junior at Elizabethtown College, where she studies professional and creative writing. She has written for several publications included LifeLines, LifeNews and National Right to Life News Today. She is a staff writer for The Etownian.