BOLD INTENTIONS CURTIS INSTITUTE OF MUSIC STRATEGIC DIRECTION 2014–2024 EXTERNAL TRENDS ................................................................................................................................................ 2 CURTIS 2024 ............................................................................................................................................................. 3 BOLD INTENTIONS .................................................................................................................................................. 5 Mission, Core Values, Vision ............................................................................................................................. 5 Strategic Shifts ................................................................................................................................................... 7 Paths Not Pursued ............................................................................................................................................. 9 GOALS AND STRATEGIES ....................................................................................................................................... 10 Curtis Musician Life Cycle ............................................................................................................................... 11 Global Musical Community ............................................................................................................................. 16 Programs, Teaching Model and Experiential Learning ..................................................................................... 22 Financial Future ............................................................................................................................................... 29 Organizational Structure .................................................................................................................................. 33 THEMES AND IMPERATIVES ................................................................................................................................... 36 FUNDING THE STRATEGIC DIRECTION INITIATIVES ............................................................................................. 41 DETERMINING STRATEGIC PRIORITIES ................................................................................................................. 41 CURTIS INSTITUTE OF MUSIC STRATEGIC DIRECTION 2014–2024 n the occasion of the founding of the Curtis Institute of Music in 1924, Mary Louise Curtis Bok issued a clarion statement for readers of Musical America. Addressing America’s musical O community in one of its most prominent vehicles, Mrs. Bok called for the training of young artists who “shall have the scope, the vision, the completeness of full musicianship to quicken the musical life of the whole country. It is to the development of such musical leaders that the full resources of The Curtis Institute of Music are pledged.” Ninety years later, we remain inspired by her vision and challenged to chart strategic direction to propel us through the next decade and to the 100th anniversary of the Curtis Institute of Music. If Mrs. Bok could have predicted the rate of change that we are experiencing and the hyper-connected global community in which we operate, we feel confident that she would issue another clarion statement to ensure Curtis’s continued success. To honor her vision and to engage not only the whole country, but a global musical community, and to develop the musical leaders of this century, it is time for Curtis to issue another call to action—a call to ensure that Curtis remain tuition-free in order to attract the finest musicians from around the globe—a call to ensure music-making of the highest caliber and the development of artist-citizens who will influence the world through their music. Anticipating that the pace of change will continue to accelerate, we are setting direction to guide us, with strategies and tactics to implement, with enough flexibility to seize and/or create opportunities that will position Curtis as an institution that moves boldly and with confidence—educating and training the world’s musical leaders while building a global musical community. We’ll build on the successes of the 2008–2013 strategic plan. The process of charting strategic direction for the coming decade has been an effort involving representatives from all of Curtis’s key constituent groups. In the process we have analyzed extensive data from alumni, data on our student population, anecdotal data on artist residencies, and quantifiable data on our global reach; and we have examined external trends in the ever-evolving music world, as well as mega- trends that cross industry boundaries. We anticipate launching our most ambitious fundraising effort to date in support of our strategic initiatives—an effort that will seek local, national, and international support. In order to attract a global community of supporters, Curtis must demonstrate why it matters to the future of our art form and how Curtis musicians—current students, alumni and faculty—serve as musical leaders and ambassadors, influencing and engaging a global musical community. We will continue to seek opportunities that will help us further develop musical leaders, as we firmly believe this is our responsibility to our students, to our alumni, to our art form, and to all who can be enlightened and inspired by it. PAGE 1 EXTERNAL TRENDS It is not our task to predict the future, but to be well prepared for it. Pericles, 500 B.C. The External Trends Sub-committee of the Ad Hoc Planning Committee, chaired by Tom Morris, chair of the Curtis Board of Overseers, issued a report in October 2013 to inform the strategic direction process. The Executive Summary of the External Trends Report is included in Appendix A. Although the work of this sub-committee concluded in 2013, Curtis must continue to track external trends and collect and analyze alumni data in order to anticipate and lead in a rapidly and continuously changing environment. The mega trends seem dizzying—globalization, urbanization, hyper-connectivity and convergence, digital currencies, shared economy, demographic shifts, technological advances, sustainability, mobility, cyber- safety, and an ever-evolving list of possibilities—but they are illuminating. Spotting and adapting to these major global, societal, and musical transformative forces in ways that benefit Curtis students, alumni, and the global musical community we aspire to serve and engage will require significant ongoing effort and a wide-open viewing lens. We’ll need to detect the outlines and patterns of change, resist building our scenarios of the future solely around extrapolations of our current perspectives and experiences, and consider the full interconnected implications of the trends and ground shifts. PAGE 2 CURTIS 2024 THE FOUNDING OF THE CURTIS INSTITUTE OF MUSIC: 1924 Mrs. Bok’s founding vision called for the training of young artists who “shall have the scope, the vision, the completeness of full musicianship to quicken the musical life of the whole country. It is to the development of such musical leaders that the full resources of The Curtis Institute of Music are pledged.” In January 1925, Mrs. Bok further articulated her vision for Curtis students: “It is my aim that earnest students shall acquire a thorough musical education, not learning only to sing or play but also the history of music, the laws of its making, languages, ear-training, and music appreciation. They shall learn to think and to express their thoughts against a background of quiet culture with the stimulus of personal contact with artist-teachers who represent the highest and finest in their art.” FAST-FORWARD TO 2024 AND THE CELEBRATION OF CURTIS’S 100TH ANNIVERSARY Curtis 2024 remains inspired by Mrs. Bok’s vision and endures and thrives as a small, highly selective, tuition-free institution where the most gifted young musicians from all parts of the world compete for admission through a rigorous process. With an unwavering commitment to excellence and the intrinsic need of human beings to create and experience music of timeless relevance, the school has protected its century-old meritocracy system: talent—and only talent—will determine who is accepted. The school is firmly and enthusiastically rooted in Philadelphia as the artistic home and nerve center of a global network of illustrious alumni who are shaping and sustaining the field. Students are attracted to Curtis by its exceptionally high artistic standards and legacy, and by the opportunity to study one-on-one with the finest faculty, perform alongside their gifted musical peers, engage in the “learn by doing” philosophy, and develop in an environment where their unique talents are nurtured individually with tailor-made experiences. They seek lives in music and know that Curtis is the sure path to achieve such lives. Their Curtis education shapes the lens through which they see the world and offer themselves as artists—and as citizens. Although the school continues to enjoy the high regard it has had for a century, it has resisted the kind of complacency that could have left it blind to change. Curtis 2024 students arrive with a built-in set of entrepreneurial and technical skills not possessed—or even fathomed—by previous generations. The school challenges itself to nurture those skills as part of the complete Curtis experience and prepare students for both