Orlando Cole: Sharing His Talent

at 11:55AM, 1:55PM, and 3:55PM

For more than 75 years, Orlando Cole has been sharing his talent at the Curtis Institute of Music, both as a phenomenal cello student and an instructor. What keeps him going? Cole says, "There's a certain responsibility for performers - if they have a gift for teaching and an interest - to carry it on in the next generation."

Cole has performed as a member of the Curtis String Quartet - the first American chamber quartet to tour Europe - for over 50 years. He has held master classes in the U.S., Europe and the Far East, and has recorded for Columbia and Westminster Recordings.

In 1990, the American String Teachers Association named Cole Teacher of the Year, and in 2000, The Curtis Institute of Music honored him with the first-ever Alumni Award.

Cole lauds Curtis as a unique school with high standards, adding, "We shouldn't look back at the early days of Curtis and think they were better than today. At the beginning, the standard was extraordinary, but it's even higher now than then. All over the world the standard of instrumental playing is much more accomplished today - this is very noticeable at Curtis. Kids come here at the level at which we graduated."

Looking into the 21st century, Cole contends that despite the changes, live music will never be lost and that classical music is more popular than ever.

"I am very fortunate," he concludes. "The greatest love in my life is teaching and I love playing equally well. I've just been lucky to do the two best things in this ideal setting!"

A PRIZE PUPIL
One of Cole's students since 1995 and a featured cellist on "Seeking Solutions with Suzanne" is Kaori Yamagami of Don Mills, Ontario. The 18-year-old who has been studying music since age of three made her solo debut at six. Since then, Yamagami has performed as a soloist with, among others, the Canadian Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra Symphonique de Montreal, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and Orchestre Metropolitain Montreal. She is also the winner of numerous competitions and awards, including the Philadelphia Orchestra Competition (junior division).

MORE ON CURTIS
The Curtis Institute of Music is located on Philadelphia's prestigious Rittenhouse Square. Founded in 1924 by Mary Louise Curtis Bok, The Institute trains exceptionally gifted young musicians for careers as performing artists on the highest professional level. It is the only school of its kind to provide merit-based full-tuition scholarships to all of its students.

This year, 169 musicians and vocalists from the U.S. and 26 other countries are studying with the school's celebrated 82-member faculty. Because of its small size, Curtis may well be the most difficult school to get into in the world. With about 45 openings each year, competition is intense. "There's a sort of rumor that Curtis is the place where everybody auditions but nobody gets in," said violinist Hilary Hahn, who admits to having run around her house yelling and jumping for joy when, at age 10, she learned that she had been accepted.

The select few who are accepted at Curtis attend the school for 2-12 years, graduating when their teacher deems them ready.

Curtis graduates hold at least a third of the principal chairs in the country's "Big Five" orchestras - Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, New York and Philadelphia. The conservatory has produced so many renowned musicians that Leonard Bernstein, an alumnus, once referred to Curtis as a "virtuoso factory." Other illustrious alumni include composers Samuel Barber and Gian Carlo Menotti, the opera singer Anna Moffo and the pianists Jorge Bolet and Peter Serkin.

Weekly recitals are held most Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings in Curtis Hall, with Curtis students performing a varied selection of solo and chamber music. The recitals are open to the public and FREE of charge. Fo