Organ
The Curtis organ department strives to develop artists with radical versatility, a collaborative mindset, and knowledge of a wide range of repertoire and instruments.
The Curtis organ department is limited to a maximum of five students, guaranteeing each student considerable access to distinguished artist-faculty member Alan Morrison and maximizing students’ opportunities to perform not only at Curtis, but across Philadelphia and the Northeast Corridor.
Through an anonymous gift made in October 2021, the Curtis organ department became the only comprehensively endowed organ program in the United States. The gift ensures perpetual funding for a range of special activities that add considerable depth to the studio experience of organists at Curtis.
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Curriculum
Learn MoreThe Curtis curriculum is designed to meet students where they are in their musical journeys and to offer instruction, guidance, and inspiration as they pursue their goals.
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Audition Requirements
Learn MoreAuditions may consist of pre-recorded submissions, interviews, and in-person rounds during February and March. Audition dates, repertoire, and prescreening requirements vary by department.
About the Program
In addition to weekly lessons with Mr. Morrison and the general Curtis curriculum, organists accepted to the program can expect to enjoy the following:
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Organ scholar program
To develop liturgical experience, each organist accepted to the program may be placed as a paid organ scholar in a Philadelphia-area church. Churches currently collaborating with Curtis in this program include:
- “Michael Stairs Organ Scholar” at Church of the Redeemer, Bryn Mawr
- Saint Mark’s Church, Philadelphia
- St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Chestnut Hill
- St. Thomas’ Church, Whitemarsh
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Performing opportunities
Students in the program enjoy multiple opportunities to perform on campus in student and studio recitals as well as annual recital opportunities outside of Curtis. The organ program currently partners with the Princeton University Chapel, the Episcopal Church of Saints Andrew and Michael, the Wanamaker Organ at Macy’s Center City (Philadelphia), noontime series from the American Guild of Organists, St. Paul’s Chapel at Trinity Church Wall Street (New York), Central Synagogue (New York), and many other local churches for organ performance series.
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Study tours to France
Every other year, students in the program accompany Mr. Morrison on an all-expense-paid study tour in France to gain experience with instruments outside of their immediate vicinity. In recent years, the tour has brought Curtis organists to Paris (Notre-Dame, Saint-Sulpice, Saint-Gervais-Saint-Protais, Sainte-Clotilde, Sainte-Trinité, La Madeleine, Saint-Étienne-du-Mont) and Toulouse (Saint-Sernin and Notre-Dame du Taur). Alternating tours of Germany and northern European countries are also planned in future years.
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Master classes
Curtis welcomes master teachers and performers from around the world five times per year. Recent visitors include Ken Cowan (Rice University), David Higgs (Eastman School of Music), Nicole Keller (Baldwin Wallace University), Olivier Jean-Claude Latry (Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris and Conservatoire de Paris), Joan Lippincott, James O’Donnell (Westminster Abbey), Cherry Rhodes (University of Southern California, Thornton School of Music), Dame Gillian Weir, and Todd Wilson (Cleveland Institute of Music). 2021–22 master classes include visiting artists Nicole Keller, Paul Jacobs (The Juilliard School), Kola Owalabi (University of Notre Dame), and Daryl Robinson (University of Houston).
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Chamber music
Curtis organists are required to collaborate with fellow students in a variety of chamber music repertoire.
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In-home practice instruments
Curtis loans a limited number of in-home practice instruments to students in the program.
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Harpsichord study
Organists and pianists at Curtis have the opportunity to earn a harpsichord certificate studying with Leon Schelhase.
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Improvisation
Organ students at Curtis receive a minimum of two full years of improvisation training.
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Instruments in the Philadelphia area
On a regular basis, Curtis organists obtain practical experience practicing on instruments of historic importance in the Philadelphia area, including instruments at Girard College, Longwood Gardens, Macy’s Center City (Wanamaker Organ), and Christ Church Philadelphia. Other venues available for practice feature organs by Fisk and Dobson, and three exceptional historic Moeller organs.
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Organs at Curtis
Students at Curtis have access to several organs on campus including the organ in Field Concert Hall which is an Aeolian-Skinner with 5 manuals and 116 ranks. More specifications and photographs here.
Degree Programs
Degree programs available for those studying organ include the following:
Field Concert Hall Opus 100
Corresponding with Curtis’ centennial celebration, the 100th instrument created by Dobson Pipe Organ Builders will inspire a new generation of organists. Curtis Institute of Music aims to replace its organ in Field Concert Hall with a distinguished, best-in-class instrument, which allows the school to maintain its status as a leader both locally and globally for organ education.
Help us bring Opus 100 to life by sponsoring its build. Donor names will be included on a dedication plaque in Field Concert Hall.
Legacy of Organ
Curtis’s organ department has a proud tradition of attracting the world’s leading organists to its faculty and adding to their ranks with its alumni.
