Curtis On Tour:
Bernstein, Bruch and Schubert

Described as “an excellent actress with impeccable projection and style” by Le Devoir, French soprano Juliette Tacchino recently won the Special Jury Prize at the 2024 Sumi Jo International Singing Competition and the 2024 French Riviera Masters Competition at Opéra de Nice Côte d’Azur. This season, she performs with the Opera Fuoco Company alongside Laurent Naouri and Elsa Rooke on opera scenes by Massenet in Paris, a recital at the Château d’Écouen, and at the Opéra de Massy as soprano soloist Boyce’s Solomon, conducted by David Stern. She also makes her role debut as Susanna in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro with the Curtis Opera Theater in Philadelphia, conducted by Nicholas McGegan and performs in recital at the BachFest in Leipzig, Germany. 

Born to a musical family, Juliette began performing with the Children’s Choir of the Opéra de Nice as a child. A graduate of the pre-college program at Nice Conservatory, she completed her bachelor’s degree studies at the University of Montréal, where she performed the roles of Ilia in Idomeneo, Pauline in La Vie Parisienne, Phani in Les Indes galantes, as well as roles in The Fairy Queen and the new work of Canadian composer Ana Sokolović. She received the Azrieli Foundation scholarship, became the first winner of the Opéra Bouffe de Québec Competition, and won the prestigious Louise Roy scholarship. She also performed in a program of Mozart concert arias with the Monte-Carlo Chamber Music Orchestra.  

Juliette is currently pursuing her master’s degree at Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia under the tutelage of Joan Patenaude-Yarnell. During her time at Curtis, she performed in concert under the baton of Maestro Yannick Nézet-Séguin with the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, as well as the roles of Ginevra in Ariodante, Thérèse in Les Mamelles de Tirésias, and as a featured soloist in a staging of Handel’s L’Allegro, il Penseroso, ed il Moderato. In concert, Juliette has performed as the soprano soloist in Mozart’s Requiem, Mahler’s Symphony No. 4, and Handel’s Dixit Dominus and Dettingen Te Deum. She was a 2023 participant in the Queen Elisabeth Competition (Voice) in Brussels, won 1st Prize at the Opera Bouffe de Québec Competition, and is a recipient of the Louise Roy scholarship and the Azrieli Foundation. Upcoming performances include appearances at Opéra de Nice, Istanbul State Opera, and the Royal Opera House of Muscat in Oman.  

Tzu-Yi Yu, from Taoyuan City, Taiwan, is a clarinet student at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, studying with Anthony McGill and YaoGuang Zhai. He entered the school in 2022 and holds the Valerija and Ladislaus Medveckis Fellowship.

As a soloist, Mr. Yu has performed in several countries including Taiwan, Japan, France, China, and the United States. He was a prizewinner at the 2020 and 2019 Buffet Clarinet competitions held in Taiwan and China, respectively.

Mr. Yu is also a passionate performer of chamber and orchestral music. As an orchestra member, he has collaborated with many world-renowned conductors such as Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Osmo Vänskä, Robert Spano, Michael Stern, and Teddy Abrams.

Mr. Yu started studying the clarinet at age nine, and previously studied with Wei-Leng Chen and Anthony Wong.

A violist of international reputation, Roberto Díaz (’84) is president and CEO of the Curtis Institute of Music, following in the footsteps of renowned soloist/directors such as Josef Hofmann, Efrem Zimbalist, and Rudolf Serkin.  

As a soloist, Mr. Díaz collaborates with leading conductors of our time on stages throughout the world. He has also worked directly with important 20th- and 21st-century composers, including Krzysztof Penderecki—whose viola concerto he has performed numerous times with the composer on the podium and whose double concerto he premiered in the United States—as well as Edison Denisov, Jennifer Higdon, Ricardo Lorenz, and Roberto Sierra. 

A frequent recitalist, Mr. Díaz enjoys collaborating with young musicians, bringing a fresh approach to the repertoire and providing invaluable opportunities to artists at the beginning of their careers. In addition to performing with major string quartets and pianists in chamber music series and festivals worldwide, he is a member of the Díaz Trio. His recordings include a Grammy-winning performance of the Jennifer Higdon Viola Concerto, a Grammy-nominated disc of viola transcriptions by William Primrose for Naxos, and releases on the Artek, Bridge Records, Dorian, Nimbus, and New World labels.  

In addition to his decade-long tenure as principal viola of the Philadelphia Orchestra, Mr. Díaz was also principal viola of the National Symphony under Mstislav Rostropovich and was a member of the Boston Symphony and the Minnesota Orchestra. He is a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music and the Curtis Institute of Music, where he continues to serve on the faculty, holding the James and Betty Matarese Chair in Viola Studies and the Nina von Maltzahn President’s Chair. Mr. Díaz plays the ex-Primrose Amati viola. 

Lauded as having a “poetic feeling” (General-Anzeiger) and a “fine touch,” pianist Lynn Ye is a creative solo artist, chamber musician, and concert pianist known for powerful, beautiful, and emotionally expressive performances.

Lynn made her solo recital debut at age seven and has performed throughout Asia, Europe, and North America at prestigious venues including the Mariinsky Theater, Kimmel Center, Kravis Center, and Shanghai Oriental Arts Center. She has also made appearances on Philadelphia’s WRTI Radio, performing solo works by Rachmaninoff.

Lynn has enjoyed much success in piano competitions. She is a laureate of the Melbourne International, Chengdu Beethoven International, Shanghai International, Pearl River-Heilmann International, Shenzhen International, Russian “Nutcracker” Youth International, Heln Cup National Piano, and Balleta International piano competitions.

The many festivals she has participated in include the Oxford Piano Festival, Spain International Piano Festival, Rebecca Penneys Piano Festival, American North Shore International Piano Festival, Shanghai International Piano, and the International Music Festival of Melbourne. She has performed in numerous master classes by esteemed pianists Yuja Wang, Nikolai Lugansky, Arie Vardi, Robert MacDonald, Richard Goode, Yoheved Kaplinsky, Akiko Ebi, Mikhail Voskresensky, Imogen Cooper, Roman Rabinovich, and Jerome Lowenthal.

Hailing from Ningbo, China, Lynn is currently pursuing her Bachelor of Music degree at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, under the guidance of Michelle Cann and Ignat Solzhenitsyn. Her formative studies took place at the Music Middle School affiliated to Shanghai Conservatory of Music, under the tutelage of Zhe Tang.