The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia has announced that pianist Yuja Wang, a 2008 graduate of the school, will return in the 2026–27 academic year in a newly created role as Artist Collaborator, Piano.
In this position, Wang will mentor and coach students, with a focus on pianists, while also engaging in artistic collaborations across the school. .
Provost and dean Nick DiBerardino described the appointment as “a wonderful development for the young musicians of our time,” noting both Wang’s career on the international stage and her perspective as an alumna. Longtime Curtis faculty member Ford Mylius Lallerstedt, who has been a mentor to Wang, also emphasized the significance of her return, calling it “a singular moment” for the school.
For her part, Wang highlighted the personal resonance of the appointment: “Curtis has played a meaningful role in my artistic journey, and it continues to be an important part of my life. I’m grateful for the opportunity to give back to a place that has given me so much.”
About Yuja Wang
Since her breakthrough in 2007, when she replaced Martha Argerich with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Wang has built a career as one of the most prominent pianists of her generation. She has appeared with major orchestras and conductors worldwide, is an exclusive recording artist with Deutsche Grammophon, and in 2023 won her first Grammy Award for The American Project with conductor Teddy Abrams, also a Curtis alumnus.
Her repertoire ranges from large-scale concerto projects—such as performing all four of Rachmaninoff’s piano concertos and the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini in one evening with Yannick Nézet-Séguin and The Philadelphia Orchestra—to chamber music collaborations with partners including Gautier Capuçon and Leonidas Kavakos. She also serves as an Artistic Partner with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra.
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