Curtis funds recent grads

The Curtis Institute of Music has awarded $130,000 to 26 recent alumni, expanding a grant program aimed at musicians in the first decade after graduation. (curtis.edu) Curtis announced the fifth round of the Daniel W. Dietrich II Young Alumni Fund on April 15, 2026. Individual grants range from $1,000 to $10,000 for creative and community-based projects, travel, instruments, and other professional expenses. (curtis.edu) The school said this year’s total and recipient count were both up 30 percent from 2025. The fund is open to Curtis graduates who completed their studies within the last 10 years. (curtis.edu) Curtis already covers full tuition for all of its students, regardless of financial situation. The alumni fund extends that support into the years after school, when performers often face costs for auditions, equipment, recordings, and travel. (curtis.edu 1) (curtis.edu 2) The school describes that transition as part of the “musician lifecycle,” its term for the stretch between conservatory training and a stable professional career. Curtis said the grants are meant to remove barriers for emerging performers and help them pursue their own artistic plans. (curtis.edu 1) (curtis.edu 2) The program began in 2021 with 11 grants after 41 proposals were reviewed in an anonymous competition. By 2022, Curtis said it had distributed nearly twice as much funding as in the first year. (curtis.edu 1) (curtis.edu 2) Past awards have backed nonprofit ventures, new recordings, film projects, commissions, and training outside music that supports a performing career. Curtis also says grantees receive advice and mentoring from people in its alumni network after the money is awarded. (curtis.edu) (curtis.edu) One recent recipient, pianist Michael Davidman, was later announced as the 2025 American Piano Awards winner. Another 2025 grantee, cellist Zachary Mowitz, used his support for work tied to Nodality Music, a nonprofit arts group he co-founded. (curtis.edu) (curtis.edu) For Curtis, the latest round keeps pushing money past the classroom and into the early-career gap that follows graduation. This year, that meant 26 more alumni got checks sized for a plane ticket, a project budget, or an instrument repair that can keep a career moving. (curtis.edu)