Woodwind Center Renamed in Honor of Founder and Teacher

In order to audition for the Shirley Curtiss Center for Woodwind Studies, many talented young woodwind students will come to Settlement Music School for the first time this week. To help them understand the tradition in which they are following, as well as the hard work and dedication that has gone into shaping Settlement's woodwind program, we've featured Mrs. Curtiss and her legacy of teaching as the cover story for our Fall 2013 newsletter. 

Shirley Curtiss (center), with past members of the
Rosalie Magen Weinstein and Matthew B. Weinstein
Advanced Study Woodwind Ensemble

In the greater Philadelphia region, the name Shirley Curtiss is synonymous with woodwind teaching. In nearly 50 years of teaching at Settlement Music School, Mrs. Curtiss’ achievements have gone beyond guiding and instructing young musicians. She has shaped talented individuals who play flute, oboe, clarinet, French horn, and bassoon into cohesive ensembles. Many of these musicians have reached the top echelon of orchestral and chamber music playing—including the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Metropolitan Opera, and more.

Judith LeClair, principal bassoon with the New York Philharmonic, says that even after more than 30 years with one of the world’s great orchestras, her experience playing in an ensemble coached by Mrs. Curtiss were what helped her reach the top. “Shirley coached us to sound like a top professional group,” she says. “I loved every second of it and lived for our hours together, and I knew beyond a doubt that this was going to be my life.” Read more of Judith's tribute to Mrs. Curtiss here.

In recognition of and thanks for Mrs. Curtiss’ impact on the woodwind program that she founded in 1964 and grew to national renown, this program has been named the Shirley Curtiss Center for Woodwind Studies, encompassing every wind ensemble program at all of Settlement’s Branches, from introductory-level groups to students playing in the most advanced chamber ensembles.

Flutist Mimi Stillman will be
lead member of the Shirley Curtiss
Center for Woodwind Studies

Shirley and her husband Sid, another longtime faculty member and chamber music coach, have dedicated more than 80 years of combined service to Settlement, and they have made provisions for the Center to thrive in the future by the establishment of a distinguished faculty position, named the Shirley and Sidney Curtiss Distinguished Faculty Chair. Mimi Stillman, a noted flutist, Yamaha Performing Artist, and founder of the Dolce Suono Ensemble, will be the first faculty member in that position. As coach of many of the Center’s ensembles, Ms. Stillman will maintain and grow the program which Mrs. Curtiss established and which, since its inception, has grown to more than a dozen ensembles. “It is a great honor to become the Shirley and Sidney Curtiss Distinguished Faculty Chair, following in the illustrious tradition of wind chamber ensemble instruction Mrs. Curtiss has built at Settlement,” Ms. Stillman says. “I look forward to working with fellow faculty, staff, and the talented students at Settlement Music School.

Happily, Mrs. Curtiss’ presence at the School will continue this fall, as she will remain as coach of the Rosalie Magen Weinstein and Matthew B. Weinstein Advanced Study Woodwind Quintet in this upcoming school year.

A woodwind tribute by a member of the New York Philharmonic

On Thursday, September 19, talented young woodwind students from throughout the Philadelphia area will audition for a spot in the newly renamed Shirley Curtiss Center for Woodwind Studies. News of the Center, the appointment of Mimi Stillman as lead faculty member and Shirley and Sidney Curtiss Distinguished Faculty Chair, and the dedication by longtime faculty members Shirley and Sid Curtiss that it reflects, have resulted in tributes pouring in from many of Mrs. Curtiss' former students. Here's the most in-depth reflection we've received to date; it's also the most touching. It's from Judith LeClair, Principal Bassoon with the New York Philharmonic and a member of the Settlement 100, a group of 100 eclectic individuals honored and recognized during Settlement's Centennial in 2008.

Judith LeClair, principal bassoon
with the New York Philharmonic

I started studying privately with Shirley when I was just 14 years old. At one of my first lessons, I said I wanted to play the Mozart Bassoon Concerto. She told me that you needed to be either 14 or 40 to play it... so started my lifelong endeavor of trying to master this wonderful piece!

Shirley was very particular about working on orchestral excerpts, something that has been extremely beneficial for me. She demanded that I learn to double tongue and, being quite stubborn, I refused. Shirley prevailed after a few months, and now I silently thank her every time I have to play Figaro, Beethoven's Fourth Symphony, or the Haffner symphony! I remember one time I brought in the Berceuse from The Firebird. One slur just wasn't clean, and she turned to me and said, "Don't you like to perfect anything?" Harsh words, but they forever changed how I practiced.


I was fortunate enough to be placed in a dynamite quintet for my three years at Settlement. The highlight of my week was taking the train on Saturdays to Philadelphia -- I lived in Newark, Delaware at the time -- and rehearsing with my new found friends and colleagues. I knew I was sort of the "runt of the litter" and needed to learn loads of repertoire pretty fast. I think playing with my woodwind quintet in Shirley's studio at 4th and Queen are some of the happiest memories of my life.

Our group won an audition to play Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante with the Philadelphia Orchestra the following year. I think Shirley coached us to sound like a top professional group, well beyond our tender age of 15. I loved every second of it and lived for our hours together. I knew beyond a doubt that this was going to be my life.

After playing Principal Bassoon with the New York Philharmonic for 32 years, I still feel that my early chamber music experiences with Shirley were what got me there. We have had over 40 years of friendship and love, of cooking, drinking great wines, and training Airedale Terriers together. I send my love and best wishes for the continued success of Settlement Music School.

Settlement Alumni Offer Tributes to Shirley Curtiss

Last month, we announced that our woodwind program is being renamed in honor of Shirley Curtiss, founder of Settlement's woodwind program and longtime faculty member and chamber coach. The announcement has prompted many of Shirley's former students to write in with stories about what they learned from Shirley, how her teaching has shaped their lives and careers, and what woodwind players who come to study at Settlement can expect. 

This one comes from an oboist who went on to a career as an orchestral musician. She said that coming up with a tribute to Shirley was a daunting prospect, but her memories of Shirley's high standards and down-to-earth words of wisdom certainly ring true. Look for more tributes to Shirley over the next month in our Fall 2013 newsletter and on our Facebook and Twitter pages.


 

Emily (third from right, next to Mrs. Curtiss) as a member of the
Weinstein Advanced Study Woodwind Quintet in 2001

Mrs. Curtiss demanded that I have high expectations of myself and of those around me, even as a scrawny 10 year old oboist. To this day, when I hear myself playing something that wouldn't have been up to her standards, I can hear her voice in my head: "Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades!” “That crescendo was between you and God, and even HE'S not sure!" 

She taught me to work hard in order to have pride in my performance and to demand excellence at every turn. To this day, the woodwind quintet program at Settlement is still one of the best chamber music experiences I've ever had -- a sentiment that I've heard echoed many times from other Settlement alums through the years.

-- Emily Brebach, English horn and oboe, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Emily was a member of the woodwind program at Settlement from 1993 to 2001.


Auditions for all Center ensembles will be held Thursday, September 19 from 3 to 9 PM at the Mary Louise Curtis Branch and are open to musicians between the ages of 12 and 18 and who play flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and French horn. More information on the Center and auditions is available at www.smsmusic.org/woodwinds

Quintets and more: Announcing the Shirley Curtiss Center for Woodwind Studies

The woodwind program at Settlement Music School dates back to 1964. The woodwind quintet -- the unlikely but popular grouping of flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and French horn -- has been around for much longer, of course. Ever since then-Executive Director Sol Schoenbach enlisted his student Shirley Curtiss, former bassoonist for the Pennsylvania Ballet and the Pennsylvania Opera Theater and now Josef Roismann Distinguished Faculty Chair, to start a woodwind program, it's been a fixture among the School's offerings, and Mrs. Curtiss has shaped the lives and careers of hundreds of young musicians. Graduates of the woodwind ensemble program are regularly accepted and offered scholarships to the top conservatories, colleges and university music programs across the country, and alumni can be found in major symphonies around the world.

Shirley and Sidney Curtiss,
longtime Settlement
faculty members

In recognition of Mrs. Curtiss' nearly 50 years of dedicated teaching, Settlement is proud to announce the creation of the Shirley Curtiss Center for Woodwind Studies. This dedicated center for woodwind chamber music and ensemble playing within the Joseph and Marie Field Chamber Music Program represents the school's ongoing commitment to chamber music as a vital part of educating young musicians.

Mimi Stillman, the new
Shirley and Sidney Curtiss
Distinguished Faculty Chair.
Photo by Vanessa Briceño.

Mimi Stillman, a noted performer, educator, music historian and entrepreneur in the arts, will be lead faculty for the new Center and will serve as the first Shirley and Sidney Curtiss Distinguished Faculty Chair. Ms. Stillman is one of the most celebrated flutists in the concert world today. She is a Yamaha Performing Artist and Clinician, a frequent guest soloist with orchestras and chamber music festivals across the United States and throughout the world, and founder and Artistic Director of Dolce Suono Ensemble. Through teaching and building ensembles through the Center, Ms. Stillman will build upon the exceptional instruction and care of students that was the hallmark of Mrs. Curtiss' teaching.

Ms. Stillman also maintains a very clever and insightful music blog on her personal website. She has been recording and uploading a video performance of a single piece -- "Syrinx" by Claude Debussy -- every day for nearly a year, trying out many different interpretations and locations for her recording. During a recent visit to Settlement, she made a recording in the chamber music studio where Mrs. Curtiss' woodwind ensembles typically rehearse. Check it out below, as well as on her site.

Auditions for all Center ensembles will be held Thursday, September 19 from 3 to 9 PM at the Mary Louise Curtis Branch and are open to musicians between the ages of 12 and 18 and who play flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and French horn. More information on the Center and auditions is available at www.smsmusic.org/woodwinds

Over the next two months leading up to auditions, we'll be posting stories and reflections from alumni of the woodwind program. They'll tell us about what they've learned from Shirley, how her teaching has shaped their lives and careers, and what woodwind players who come to study at Settlement can expect. Look for them here, as well as on our Facebook and Twitter pages.