Curtis Serafin has most recently worked within the Yale School of Music as pianist and chorus master for its production of Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore; this engagement followed his fourth season as a member of the music staff at Sarasota Opera, where he has played and assisted productions of Tosca, Attila, La Scala di Seta, and Dido & Aeneas. The summer of 2022 also included a second-year residency as pianist and coach for Così fan tutte at Chicago Summer Opera. Recent summer seasons have included professional fellowships at the Tanglewood Institute, Stephanie Blythe’s Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar, Manchester Music Festival, and Hawaii Performing Arts Festival. While at Tanglewood, Curtis was fortunate to coach projects with artists such as Margo Garrett, Alan Smith, and Dawn Upshaw; he was also an active part of the musical preparation for the U.S. premier of The Cricket Recovers by Richard Ayres, which was presented under the baton of Sir Thomas Adès. As a coach himself, Curtis has prepared international vocal students who have successfully passed their prescreening requirements into both the Manhattan School of Music and The Juilliard School. Curtis is a graduate of Warren Jones’s studio at the Manhattan School of Music; this was preceded by the completion of his undergraduate studies in piano performance at Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music.

 

Photo: Ken Yanagisawa Photography