Alessandra Vinciguerra writes:

“I would like to report about the sojourn of the small contingent from the Curtis Institute, Philadelphia. The experience has been totally positive and thrilling. The group arrived on May 17th and left on June 2nd. During these days a total of 6 students came here: a string quartet, the Vertigo Quartet, who stayed throughout the 2 weeks; then a pianist for the first few days, and a baritone for about 10 days. Two members of the Faculty accompanied the students: Dean Bob Fitzpatrick for the first 10 days, and the Head of the Voice Dept, Mikael Eliassen, for about a week. Finally Roberto Diaz, the new president (from June 1st), came for only one day and gave a masterclass on the Viola Concerto, attended by a student from the Fiesole School
(who appreciated it so much that she asked if she could attend more masterclasses by him!). The Curtis students performed in 6 concerts, 3 each weekend, with a very rich program (they never repeated a piece). The quality of the performances was really amazing, and the public was so enthusiastic that we had a full house for every concert. At the end of the last concert the baritone sang a serenade, a love song, in honour of Lady Walton to thank her for the hospitality!