Performance Courses

Major Lessons

Fall and Spring; various s.h. or g.c./term

One lesson/equivalent per week with the student’s major instructor. Younger students may receive two lessons per week. Voice and instrumental majors receive four s.h./term credit; piano, composition, conducting, and guitar majors receive six s.h./term credit. Opera students receive one g.c./term credit.

Composition Seminar

CMP 001–002; 1 s.h./term

Seminar class for composers, involving analysis, presentation, and discussion of contemporary music.

Early Music Performance

HRC 001–002; 1 s.h./term

Examination of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century performance practice through lectures, demonstrations, and coachings.

Chamber Music

CHM 001–002; 1 s.h./term

Regular coaching of student string, brass, woodwind, and mixed ensembles by Curtis’s chamber music faculty. Trios, quartets, and larger ensembles are formed by students or assigned by the faculty. Required of all piano and orchestral instrument majors with specific repertoire requirements for each semester.

Score Analysis

CND 113–114; 1 s.h./term

Detailed study of the structure of orchestral scores for conducting majors.

Orchestral Repertoire

Brass

BRS 001–002; 1 s.h./term

Percussion

PRC 001–002; 1 s.h./term

Strings

STG 001–002; 1 s.h./term

Woodwinds

WWD 001–002; 1 s.h./term
Weekly sectional study and rehearsal of orchestral literature, required of all string, woodwind, brass, and percussion orchestra members.

Orchestra

ORC 001–002; 3 s.h./term
Participation in the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, as well as the Curtis Chamber Orchestra. Required of all orchestral instrument majors sixteen years of age and older.

Organ Class

ORG 001–002; 1 s.h./term
Weekly performance class, required of all organ majors. All repertoire to be performed from memory.

Curtis 20/21, the Contemporary Music Ensemble

CHM 101–102; 1 s.h./term
Participation in Curtis 20/21, an ensemble devoted to the performance of chamber music from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Rehearsals weekly and as needed. Chamber music credit given based on participation and opportunity to perform or at the discretion of the dean.

Piano Repertoire Seminar

PNO 221–222; 1 s.h./term
Weekly performance class, required of all piano majors.

Guitar Performance Seminar

GTR 221-222; 1 s.h./term
Weekly performance class, required of all guitar majors.

Lab Orchestra

ORC 311–312; 1 s.h./term
Practice in conducting ensembles from the symphony orchestra, required of all conducting majors.

With the permission of the managing director of the Vocal Studies Department, students in other departments may participate in some of these courses.

Diction Coaching

DCT 401–402; 1 g.c./term

The application of diction fundamentals to prepare for vocal performances.

Voice Repertoire Coaching

VRP 101–102; 2 s.h./term
VRP 401–402; 2 g.c./term

Vocal and musical preparation with opera and voice coaches for operatic and recital performances.

Alexander Technique

VRP 111-112; 0.5 s.h./term
OPR 501.1–502.1; 1 g.c./term

An introduction to gentle, novel, guided movement sequences that focus awareness on the subtle patterns of movement, breathing, and alignment. The course aims to enhance flexibility, intelligence, and grace in movement. Credit may also be granted for yoga classes.

History of Singing: The Recorded Legacy

MHS 211–212; 2 s.h./term

A study of the history of vocal performance, using recordings from the past and present.

Acting Seminar

VRP 205–206; 1 s.h./term

An undergraduate course in the method of developing the emotional and physical life of a character through examination of the text. Using improvisation and other methods, the course cultivates the skill of acting while singing.

Voice Performance Seminar

VRP 301–302; 1 s.h./term

Weekly undergraduate repertoire class for voice majors.

Opera History Seminar

OPR 505–506; 1 g.c./term

A study of the growth of the operatic form from the Camerata of 1597 to the mid-20th century. Emphasis is on major works of the standard operatic literature from Italy, France, and Germany.

Opera Staging

OPR 571–572; 3 g.c./term
OPR 671–672; 3 g.c./term

Rehearsals for major productions.

Opera Performance Seminar

VRP 521–522; 1 g.c./term

Weekly graduate repertoire class for opera majors, in which singers can perform for each other and try out new material in a constructive environment.

Supplementary Harpsichord

HRC 005–006; 1 s.h./term

One lesson per week with a member of the harpsichord faculty.

Supplementary Piano

PNO 001–004; 0.5 s.h./term

One lesson per week with a member of the supplementary piano faculty. Required for two years of all undergraduates who are not exempted from the supplementary piano requirement by examination.

Supplementary Voice

VOI 001–002; 0.5 s.h./term

One lesson per week with a member of the voice faculty or a graduate student. Open as a performance elective to all students.

Viola for Violinists

VLA 101–102; 1 s.h./term

One lesson per week with a member of the viola faculty. Open as a performance elective to violin majors.