More than 20 years after the last appearance of the Curtis Orchestra on the University of Delaware campus, the Master Players Concert Series will welcome the world-renowned Curtis Chamber Orchestra on Dec. 10.

Hailing from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, the Curtis Chamber Orchestra is a conductorless ensemble composed of advanced young artists whose mission is to enrich students’ learning globally and to entertain audiences with masterful performances.

The concert is scheduled Saturday, Dec. 10, at 3 p.m. in Mitchell Hall on the UD campus in Newark. Three Master Players concerts this season have already sold out, so advance purchase is highly recommended.

This concert features two selected Curtis soloists performing two of Mozart's most famous violin concertos, followed by Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola and Orchestra featuring Curtis faculty and virtuoso violinist Shmuel Ashkenasi and Curtis president and virtuoso violist Roberto Díaz, who is also the former principal viola of the Philadelphia Orchestra and the National Symphony.

A free-of-charge master class with Díaz will be held on Saturday, Dec. 10, from 10:30 a.m. to noon in Gore Recital Hall at the Roselle Center for the Arts. A violist of international reputation, Díaz is president and CEO of the Curtis Institute of Music. He also is a member of the faculty at the Curtis Institute and a globally touring recitalist.

A free wheelchair-accessible shuttle bus service will run between the Roselle Center for the Arts parking garage and Mitchell Hall on Dec. 10 from 2-3 p.m. and after the concert. Also, $5 parking vouchers (cash only) for the Roselle Center for the Arts garage will be available in the lobby before the concert and during intermission; these vouchers enable guests to skip the line when exiting the garage. Ask concert staff for more details.

Ticket information

The Ahn Trio concert on Feb. 18, 2017 has sold out. Tickets are still available for the other remaining concerts of the season.

Single tickets for the season’s remaining events are available now by phone or online through the Master Players website. Tickets for events are $25 for adults; $20 for senior adults, alumni, faculty and staff; and $10 for students with ID. Also, $5 tickets for children ages 5-11 will be available for the March 4 iMusic concert; school group tickets are also available. Tickets for the Emerson String Quartet special event are $50 per ticket for all buyers.

For more information including driving directions, parking, and dining information, visit the Master Players website.  

Program support

This program is made possible, in part, by a grant from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency dedicated to nurturing and supporting the arts in Delaware, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts. Other sponsors include Vita Nova restaurant at the University of Delaware and the Marriott’s Courtyard Newark-University of Delaware. (See a complete list on the website).

Curtis on Tour is the Nina von Maltzahn Global Touring Initiative of the Curtis Institute of Music.