For anyone interested in facts about Curtis Academy instead of.... well, I’ll let others decide for themselves what to call it.
I work regularly with members of the faculty at Curtis who are players in the Philadelphia Orchestra and who are friends. I know the culture and history of Curtis very well and I can tell you that is is decidedly not a “hoity toity” institution. Very open minded and diverse; befitting an open minded and diverse town like Philadelphia.
Not a fact, but an opinion based on what I know about the institution, its history and what I hear in Nina Simone’s piano playing: As I have said previously, she was a great artist with a certain style. Why was she not admitted to Curtis? I put my money on the simple fact that she couldn’t compete at the extraordinarily high level of the other Classical music pianists seeking admission at the time. It is an incredibly high bar. The below may help put things in perspective:
From collegefactual.com, an organization that ranks colleges according to various criteria:
***** Overall Diversity is GreatWe combine elements of ethnic, geographic, gender and age diversity to create a total diversity ranking for every school.
Curtis Institute of Music is thought to be very diverse across all factors ****
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From Curtis’ mission statement:
**** ADMISSIONS
The Curtis Institute of Music highly values a diverse international student body. Since 1924, Curtis has welcomed all applicants regardless of race, geographic origin, religious background, socio-economic level, gender, or sexual orientation.
Admissions are based on artistic promise alone. Enrollment is limited to the number of musicians needed for a symphony orchestra, opera department, and select programs in piano, composition, conducting, organ, and guitar, as well as community artist fellows and a string quartet in residence. Curtis provides full-tuition scholarships to all of its students. ****