Curtis Institute of Music Appoints Four to Composition Faculty

The composition faculty at the Curtis Institute of Music will expand by four beginning in the 2022–23 school year.

Mr. DiBerardino, Dr. Holland, Dr. Kirsten, and Dr. Mackey will work with Curtis students through individual lessons, coaching, and seminars. They will work alongside current faculty member Richard Danielpour and join Curtis' roster of artists on faculty such as Dr. Danielpour, Michelle Cann, the Imani Winds, Daniel Matsukawa, Eric Owens, and Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

“We are thrilled to welcome these four distinguished composers to our faculty,” says President and CEO Roberto Díaz.“They have such diverse experiences and career paths that will help and inspire each of our students to find their own voice.”

A Rhodes Scholar, Nick DiBerardino has previously served as lead instructor of musical studies, composition coordinator, and administrator for Curtis’s Young Artist Summer Program. He continues to perform similar duties for the Sphinx Performance Academy. As a composer, he has been commissioned by the likes of the  Symphony Tacoma, Sandbox Percussion, the New College Choir, arx duo, Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival, Music From Angel Fire, and saxophonist Matthew Levy. He has held residencies at the Intimacy of Creativity Festival at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Avaloch Farm Music Institute, and Hidden Valley, where he is a founding faculty member of the Emerging Composers Intensive.

Jonathan Bailey Holland was first-ever composer-in-residence with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and has held similar positions with the South Bend Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Ritz Chamber Players, and the Radius Ensemble. His accolades include those from the Guggenheim Foundation, The Boston Foundation, Civitella Ranieri Foundation, Massachusetts Cultural Council, Fromm Foundation at Harvard University, American Academy of Arts & Letters, American Music Center, ASCAP, and the Presser Foundation.

Amy Beth Kirsten is a composer, poet, filmmaker, vocalist, and director, known for her multi-year multimedia theatrical collaborations. She has received fellowships from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, John S. Guggenheim Foundation, and the Rockefeller Foundation. Director of the Artist Residency at Longy School of Music of Bard College, she is composer mentor for the Blueprint Fellowship at the Juilliard School and has held previous teaching posts at Oberlin College and Conservatory and the Peabody Institute in Baltimore.

Steven Mackey served as professor of music at Princeton University for the past 35 years and has won several awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and a Kennedy Center Friedheim Award. His earlier works were inspired by rock guitar music, like Troubadour Songs and Physical Property. Today, Steven Mackey writes for chamber ensemble, orchestra, dance, and opera, with multiple works like Dreamhouse and Slide receiving Grammy nominations and awards