Curtis To Launch New On-Demand Library with 90 Years of Student Performances

The Curtis Institute has begun the process of digitizing over 90 years worth of students' performances into an on-demand Cloud-based digital archive

It has been announced this week that the Curtis Institute of Music, in Philadelphia, has begun the arduous process of digitizing over 90 years worth of students concerts, recitals and performances into an on-demand Cloud-based digital library.

Hosted by Preserica Digital Preservation, the school has indicated the archives will hold current and former students’ performances right back to 1924 - including recitals and concerts currently held on CDs, cassette tapes, DVDs, film and videotape.

“Just from 2002 alone we have a couple of thousand CDs and DVDs just of student recitals …” Curtis Institute Metadata Librarian Molly O’Brien has said.

“And sometimes CDs and DVDs can go missing - but with a digital copy, that can’t happen … ’ she has said.

The school has indicated though that there will be varying levels of access with not all student recitals being available to the public - due to potential copyright issues and that they are primarily documented as a learning tool for students and faculty.

Widely regarded as one of the most selective institutions of higher learning in the world, previous Curtis alumni include Samuel Barber, Leonard Bernstein, Jennifer Higdon, Aaron Rosand, Leila Josefowicz, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg – and VC Artists Ray Chen, Yu-Chien Benny Tseng, Bella Hristova, Benjamin Beilman, Zeyu Victor Li, Nikki and Timothy Chooi, Josef Spacek, Stephen Waarts and Richard Lin.