Curtis on Tour | The Nina von Maltzahn Global Touring Initiative of the Curtis Institute of Music
Curtis on Tour is the global touring initiative of America’s most selective conservatory, the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Cellist Nicholas Canellakis leads this program centered around the Dohnányi Sextet for the unique combination of piano, violin, viola, cello, clarinet, and horn. Canellakis and emerging artists will open the program with virtuosic duos by Schumann and Halvorsen (variations on a theme by Handel) and the lyrical Brahms Clarinet Trio. The program concludes with Dohnányi’s gorgeous, expansive Sextet for winds, strings, and piano.
Program
*This program will run approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes, including a 15-minute intermission
Adagio and Allegro, Op. 70, for horn and piano by Schumann
Sarabande con Variazioni on a Theme by George Frideric Handel, for violin and viola by Halvorsen
Trio in A minor, Op. 114, for clarinet, cello, and piano by Brahms
Sextet in C major, Op. 37, for piano, violin, viola, cello, clarinet and horn by Dohnányi
About Curtis Institute of Music
At the Curtis Institute of Music, the world’s great young musicians develop into exceptional artists, creators, and innovators. With a tuition-free foundation, Curtis is a unique environment for teaching and learning. Curtis is a small school by design, where students realize their artistic potential through intensive, individualized study with the most renowned, sought-after faculty.
Animated by a learn-by-doing philosophy, Curtis students share their music with audiences through more than 100 performances each year, including solo and chamber recitals, orchestral concerts, and opera—all free or at an affordable cost—offering audiences unique opportunities to participate in pivotal moments in these young musicians’ careers. In addition to a wealth of performance opportunities, Curtis students experience a close connection to the greatest artists and organizations in classical music, and innovative initiatives that integrate new technologies and encourage entrepreneurship—all within an historic campus in the heart of culturally rich Philadelphia.
In this diverse, collaborative community, Curtis’s extraordinary artists challenge, support, and inspire one another—continuing an unparalleled 100-year legacy of musicians who have led, and will lead, classical music into a thriving, equitable, and multidimensional future. Learn more at curtis.edu.
About on Curtis on Tour
Curtis on Tour is the Nina von Maltzahn global touring initiative of the Curtis Institute of Music. Embracing the school’s learn-by-doing philosophy, ensembles are infused with the energy and passion of extraordinary emerging artists performing alongside celebrated alumni and faculty. In addition to performances, musicians engage with local communities through educational and community engagement activities. Since 2008, Curtis on Tour has maintained a presence at top international concert halls, performing more than 600 concerts in over 150 cities, from New York to Berlin and Hong Kong to Santiago.
About the Artists
NA HYUN DELLA KYUN, violin
Na Hyun Della Kyun, from Seoul, studies violin at the Curtis Institute of Music with Shmuel Ashkenasi and Benjamin Beilman as the Dorothy Richard Starling Foundation Fellow.
Ms. Kyun has received numerous awards, including second prize in the Sungjung Competition, winner of group b at the 2020 Singapore Violin Festival Online Competition, first place in the Seoul Youth Chamber Music Competition, and second place in the Ewha and Kyunghyang Music Competition. She participated in the 2014 Peabody Preparatory String Ensemble winner’s concert and performed in the 2013 Asian American Music Society International String Competition winner’s concert at the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage in Washington, D.C.
Ms. Kyun has performed as a soloist with the Mostly Philharmonic Orchestra and was featured in the 2021 House Concert July Festival and the 2019 Kumho Prodigy Concert. She has been a member of the Korea National Institute for the Gifted in Arts Ensemble, the Seoul Arts High School Ensemble, the Korea National institute for the Gifted in Arts Symphony Orchestra, and the Yewon School Orchestra and its chamber ensemble.
Ms. Kyun attended Music Academy of the West in 2023, the Gifu International Summer Camp, the MusicAlp Festival in France, the Belgium International Academy of Arts Summer Festival, and recently participated in a master class with Glenn Dicterow. She studied with Matthew Horwitz-Lee at Peabody Preparatory and Sung-Ju Lee at the Korean National Institute for the Gifted Arts.
YUNJI JANG, viola
Yunji Jang is a South Korean violist currently studying with Roberto Díaz, Edward Gazouleas, and Teng Li at the Curtis Institute of Music as the Dorothy J. del Bueno Fellow.
Yunji was a prizewinner at the 28th Johannes Brahms International Competition. She has also garnered first prize at many of Korea’s most prestigious national competitions, including the Music Association of Korea Competition, Segye Times Competition, the Strad Competition, the Korean Chamber Orchestra Competition, as well as prizes at the Dong-A Music Competition and the Ewha & Kyunghyang Music Competition.
Yunji graduated as valedictorian of the Seoul National University Class of 2024 and was selected to perform at the 87th Chosunilbo Debut Concert, presented by The Chosun Ilbo, one of the leading newspapers in Korea. She made her concerto debut at age 11 with the Cheongju Philharmonic Orchestra and the Chungbuk Philharmonic Orchestra.
Selected by the Kumho Cultural Foundation, Yunji presented the 2022 Kumho Young Artist Concert, one of the premier recital series for emerging musicians in Korea.
A dedicated chamber musician, Yunji is actively engaged in chamber music through a wide range of ensemble collaborations. She attended the Heifetz International Music Institute on a full scholarship, where she worked closely with the Borromeo Quartet. Highlights include performances at Spirit of SNU Strings X at the Seoul Arts Center, an invitation to perform as a string sextet for Samsung, and first prize at the Seoul Arts High School String Quartet Competition.
Yunji has participated in master classes with distinguished artists including Yura Lee, Diyang Mei, Toby Appel, Mai Motobuchi, and Paul Neubauer.
NICHOLAS CANELLAKIS (’06), cello
A sought-after and multifaceted artist, Nicholas Canellakis has forged a unique voice combining his talents as soloist, chamber musician, curator, filmmaker, and composer/arranger.
Recent concert highlights include concerto appearances with Virginia Symphony Orchestra, The Orchestra Now, and the American Symphony Orchestra in Carnegie Hall, among others. He also performs recitals throughout the United States with his longtime duo collaborator, pianist-composer Michael Stephen Brown, with recent appearances at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, the Saratoga Arts Center, and Wolf Trap near Washington, D.C.
Mr. Canellakis is an artist of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, with which he performs regularly in Alice Tully Hall and on tour internationally. He is also a regular guest artist at many of the world’s leading music festivals, including Santa Fe, Ravinia, and Music@Menlo.
Mr. Canellakis’ latest album (b)romance, featuring some of his original compositions and arrangements, was released by First Hand Records in 2023 and has received over one million streams on Apple Music. He also serves as artistic director of Chamber Music Sedona in Arizona, where he has made a major impact through his dynamic programming and educational and community outreach.
Filmmaking and acting are special interests of Mr. Canellakis. He has produced, directed, and starred in several short films and music videos, including his popular comedy web series Conversations with Nick Canellakis. His latest films Thin Walls and My New Cello were nominated for awards at many prominent film festivals and are currently available to stream online.
A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music (’06) and New England Conservatory, his teachers included Orlando Cole, Peter Wiley, and Paul Katz, and he was a student of Madeleine Golz at Manhattan School of Music Pre-College. Mr. Canellakis plays an outstanding cello by Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume, from 1840. He joined the Curtis Institute of Music faculty in 2024.
ELIZABETH CRAFTON, horn
Elizabeth Crafton, from Savannah, Ga., studies horn at the Curtis Institute of Music with Jennifer Montone and Jeffery Lang as the Robert Montgomery Scott Fellow. She also serves as principal horn of the Savannah Philharmonic and has appeared as a soloist with the orchestra. Elizabeth has participated in several summer festivals, including the Tanglewood Music Center, Spoleto Festival USA, and the National Repertory Orchestra. Her former teachers include Sylvia Alimena, Carolyn Wahl, and Erin Lano.
CHIN-I (JAMES) LEE, clarinet
Chin-I (James) Lee, from Taipei City, Taiwan, studies clarinet with Anthony McGill and YaoGuang Zhai at the Curtis Institute of Music as the Ruth and Eugene Helmer Fellow.
James has appeared as a substitute musician with the Taipei Philharmonic Orchestra and the Taipei Century Symphony Orchestra. In 2026, he was selected as the bass clarinet fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center. He has also participated in several music festivals, including the Aspen Music Festival (2025) and the Asian Youth Orchestra (2023). James currently serves as the bass clarinetist of Symphony in C.
NACHUAN TAO (’26), piano
Recipient of the prestigious Chopin Foundation of the United States Scholarship for three consecutive years (2021–2023), as well as the Feltsman Piano Foundation Award in 2020, 2022, and 2026, pianist Nachuan Tao has performed in recital, as a chamber musician, and as a soloist with orchestras in various venues. Recent highlights include performances at the Chamber Hall of the National Philharmonic in Warsaw, St. Mark’s Church in Philadelphia, Steinway Hall in New York, and the Van Cliburn Concert Hall in Fort Worth. He recently appeared at the PianoSummer festival in New Paltz and PianoTexas Festival. His recording of Beethoven’s Six Variations on an Original Theme in F Major, Op. 34 was released on Steinway & Sons’ Spirio library catalog in 2025.
Nachuan is currently studying with Emanuel Ax and Julian Martin at The Juilliard School. He is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, where he was a recipient of the Mehlin Prize. He has previously studied with Ignat Solzhenitsyn and John Owings. Through lessons and masterclasses, he has also worked with eminent pianists including Imogen Cooper, András Schiff, Andreas Haefliger, Paul Lewis, and Mikhail Voskresensky.