The new-music ensemble eighth blackbird will begin a three-year residency at the Curtis Institute this October funded by a $450,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Members of the of Grammy Award-winning sextet will be in residence for four weeks each year to collaborate and perform with Curtis 20/21, the school’s contemporary-music ensemble; perform readings of works by composition students; coach chamber ensembles; host seminars with student conductors; discuss leadership issues; perform world premieres of new works by Curtis’s annual composer-in-residence; and participate in the planning of Curtis’s annual All-School Project, an interdepartmental collaboration that examines a specific composition, genre, or era. The ensemble will also participate in an interactive educational program for children in Philadelphia communities with limited access to classical music.
Posted February 24, 2012