Don Liuzzi
Timpani and Percussion, Orchestral
Repertoire (Brass and Percussion)
A native of Weymouth, Mass., Don Liuzzi joined the Philadelphia Orchestra as principal timpani in 1989. He was a percussionist with the Pittsburgh Symphony, taught at Duquesne University, and was assistant conductor of the Three Rivers Young People's Orchestra. He also performed marimba and percussion solos onMister Rogers' Neighborhood on PBS. He also performs with the DePue Brothers Band, Philork Jazz, and the Philadelphia Orchestra Percussion Group.
Mr. Liuzzi has given master classes on four continents, including regular coaching for the New World Symphony, National Orchestral Institute, Pacific Music Festival, and Canton International Summer Music Academy in China.He has been an active chamber-music performer with the Network for New Music, recording for the Albany and CRI labels, and has two new solo and chamber releases with the Equilibrium label. He has performed as a timpani soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, China Philharmonic, and Sapporo and Guangzhou symphony orchestras. A Yamaha performing artist, Mr. Liuzzi performs on the newly designed Yamaha Dresden-style timpani. He was coordinating producer for the documentary film Music From the Inside Out and has composed songs and arrangements for the DePue Brothers Band and music for percussion ensemble.
Mr. Liuzzi, who earned his Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Michigan and his Master of Music degree from Temple University, joined the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music in 1994. Mr. Liuzzi leads a master class at the Young Artist Summer Program as part of Curtis Summerfest 2016.
Rolando Morales-Matos
Percussion
Rolando Morales-MatosBorn and raised in San Juan, P.R., Rolando Morales-Matos began his musical studies at the prestigious performing-arts high school Escuela Libre de Música. He received his B.F.A. in music from Carnegie Mellon University, his M.A. from Duquesne University, and a Certificate of Professional Studies from Temple University.
He is a percussionist and assistant conductor with Disney's Lion King and performs and records regularly in New York City with various Latin jazz groups and chamber orchestras. He has recorded soundtracks for the films Failure to Launch and The Pink Panther and appears playing onscreen in the Disney movieEnchanted. Mr. Morales-Matos is a member of Ron Carter Foursight Jazz Quartet and is an extra percussionist with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and the Philadelphia Orchestra.
His career has taken him all over the world, from Spain to New Zealand, where he has held principal timpani and percussion positions with state orchestras.
He is the recipient of the 2006 Drum Magazine world beat percussionist-of-the-year award.
Mr. Morales-Matos, who also teaches at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York City, joined the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music in 2001.
Eric Millstein
Percussion
Eric MillsteinEric Millstein is a member of the percussion section of the Lyric Opera of Chicago and is the principal percussionist and assistant timpanist of the Grant Park Orchestra. Mr. Millstein frequently performs with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, has joined the CSO on four European tours, and can be heard on a variety of CSO recordings.
As a chamber musician, Mr. Millstein has performed with Fulcrum Point New Music Project, Rembrandt Chamber Players, and on the Chicago Symphony's MusicNOW series. He also performs as timpanist with the annual Bach Week Festival in Evanston, Illinois.
Mr. Millstein has been a faculty member at the DePaul University School of Music since 2004. He has coached the percussion sections of the New World Symphony, Chicago Youth Symphony, and Midwest Young Artists. Mr. Millstein presented an "orchestral lab session" at the 2003 and 2011 Percussive Arts Society International Conventions and has given masterclasses at the Tanglewood Music Center and the Northwestern University Percussion Symposium.
Mr. Millstein received a Bachelor of Music from the New England Conservatory and a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from Tufts University. He earned a Master of Music from Temple University and completed his education as a member of the New World Symphony. His principal teachers were Nora Davenport, Will Hudgins, and Alan Abel.
Mr. Millstein joined the Curtis faculty in 2014.
Scott Robinson
Percussion
Scott Robinson graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music in 1991, after also attending Long Island University and the University of Missouri, Kansas City.
As a drum-set performer, he has been featured on CBS Sunday Morning with Charles Kuralt and Good Morning America. In addition to touring with Pat Martino, Toshiko Akiyoshi, and the Glenn Miller Band, he has performed with Mark Egan, Chuck Loeb, Charles Mingus, Louis Bellson, Max Roach, Freddie Hubbard, Slide Hampton, and Marcus Roberts, among others.
He can be heard on Pat Martino's Remember: A Tribute to Wes Montgomery (Blue Note Records), which he recorded in 2006 alongside jazz great John Patitucci on bass. He has been published in Modern Drummer magazine and performed on a Grammy-nominated album with Toshiko Akiyoshi.
Mr. Robinson performs and records in the Philadelphia/New York area and has served as drum-set performer and extra percussionist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Delaware Symphony, Harrisburg Symphony, and on a PBS video special.
Mr. Robinson joined the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music in 2001.
Robert van Sice
Percussion
Robert Van SiceRobert van Sice is considered one of the world's foremost performers of contemporary music for marimba. In an effort to establish the instrument as a serious artistic vehicle, he has premiered over one hundred works throughout the world.
In 1989 Mr. van Sice gave the first solo marimba recital at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and has since appeared in many of world's major concert halls in London, Paris, Vienna, Madrid, Milan, Stockholm, Oslo, Tokyo, Beijing, Seoul, Toronto, Mexico City, New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles; many of these performances have been broadcasted by the BBC, Radio Sweden, Norwegian Radio, WDR Radio, and Radio France. He frequently appears as a soloist with Europe's leading contemporary music ensembles, including the London Sinfonietta, Ensemble Contrechamps, and L'Itinéraire.
From 1988 to 1997, Mr. van Sice headed Europe's first diploma program for solo marimba at the Rotterdam Conservatory, and he returned to the United States in 1997 to take up appointments at the Yale School of Music and the Peabody Institute. He has given over 400 master classes in 25 countries, and his students have won prizes internationally in both chamber music and solo competitions.
Mr. van Sice joined the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music in 2008.
