Curtis in Berlin: Lieder, Latin Songs & Liszt

Bard College Berlin and the Curtis Institute of Music warmly invite you to the concert Curtis in Berlin: Lieder, Latin Songs & Liszt on October 10, 2025 at 7:00 pm at Französischer Dom.

Curtis on Tour returns to Berlin with a richly textured program highlighting voices and instruments in both solo and ensemble settings. Young artists from the Curtis Institute of Music, one of the world’s leading conservatories, perform Lieder by Schubert, Strauss, and Elgar. Spanish and Latin American songs by Ernesto Cordero, and a virtuosic piano work by Franz Liszt. The program features sopranos Nikan Ingabire Kanate and Jeysla Rosario Santos, baritone Emilio Vásquez, guitarist Xingxing Yao, and pianist Kārlis Bukovskis. Concluding with Mozart’s lyrical trio “Soave sia il vento,” the concert showcases the expressive range and artistry of this emerging generation of musicians. This performance is part of Curtis on Tour’s global touring initiative to bring the school’s exceptional talent to audiences worldwide.

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. For 15 years, Curtis on Tour has maintained a presence at top international concert halls, performing more than 450 concerts in over 120 cities, from New York to Berlin and Hong Kong to Santiago.

Please register here.

Organized by the Curtis Institute of Music in cooperation with Bard College Berlin and Young Euro Classic.

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Nikan Ingabire Kanate, soprano
Soprano Nikan Ingabire Kanate, from Ottawa, Ontario, entered Curtis Institute of Music in 2024, studying in the opera program with Julia Faulkner, and is the Edwin B. Garrigues Fellow. The Ivorian-Rwandese soprano recently completed her Bachelor of Music degree in performance at the University of Toronto under the tutelage of Nathalie Paulin. Throughout the years, she has won several prizes, including best female soloist in the third Lorenzo De'Medici International Choral Festival in Florence, Italy, in 2019. She has accumulated a wide range of ensemble experience, including touring with the National Youth Choir of Canada in 2022 and 2024. Last June, she was the soprano soloist in Carlos Alberto Pinto Fonseca’s Missa Afro Brasileira with the Nathaniel Dett Chorale at Koerner Hall. Nikan portrayed a bridesmaid in the University of Toronto’s 2023 production of Nino Rota’s Il cappello di paglia di Firenze. As a soloist, she headlined a concert with the string orchestra of the Festival L’Art de la Musique in Gatineau under the direction of Cendrine and Valérie Despax in July 2023. In fall 2024, she sang the roles of Ottavia and Fortune in Curtis Opera Theatre’s East Coast premiere of The Comet / Poppea by George Lewis and Claudio Monteverdi.

Jeysla Rosario Santos, soprano
Soprano Jeysla Rosario Santos, from Loiza, Puerto Rico, entered Curtis Institute of Music in 2024, studying in the opera program with Julia Faulkner, and is the Joseph Cairns Jr. and Ernestine Bacon Cairns Memorial Fellow. Recent credits include Poppea (The Comet / Poppea), Joan 1 and chorus (Savior & Infernal Angel), as well as being featured in Le nozze di Figaro and Candide during Curtis’ Centennial Season. She has also performed the roles of Chloe (The Book of Hours) and Alcyon (The Seven Sisters) in world premieres with the Miami University Opera Theater, where she earned her bachelor’s degree. She has been a featured soloist in several Miami University-affiliated performances, including those with the Miami University Chamber Orchestra. Ms. Rosario Santos’ accolades include the Richard Miller Prize for best performance at the Ohio NATS Competition, and first place in Miami University’s Undergraduate Artist Competition. Ms. Rosario Santos has participated in master classes with distinguished educators and artists, including Joyce DiDonato, Amanda Majeski, Megan Moore, Linda Di Fiore, Nicole Cabell, Magdalena Wor, Martin Bakari, Nico de Villiers, J.J. Penna, and Trineice Robinson-Martin. In 2022, she attended the American Institute of Musical Studies’ Lieder Studio in Graz, Austria, and in the summer of 2025, she was a Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Artist at Central City Opera.

Emilio Vásquez, baritone
Baritone Emilio Vásquez, from Manvel, Texas, entered Curtis in 2024, studying in the opera program with Mark Schnaible, and is the William J. Fenza Fellow. This summer, he joins Opera Theatre of Saint Louis as a Gerdine Young Artist, covering the role of Dr. Malatesta (Don Pasquale), and attends the Ravinia Music Festival as a Steans Vocal Fellow. He is a recent graduate of the University of Cincinnati College- Conservatory of Music, where he sang numerous roles including Count Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro), Aeneas (Dido and Aeneas), Jupiter (Orpheus in the Underworld), and Marco (Gianni Schicchi). Mr. Vásquez has also performed the role of Schaunard (La bohème) with the International Summer Opera Festival of Morelia. He has participated in several master classes, including those with Jake Heggie, Lawrence Brownlee, Ana María Martínez, Michael Heaston, Pierre Vallet, and Paul Groves. For Curtis Opera Theatre he recently performed the roles of Count Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro) and Pangloss (Candide).

Xingxing Yao, guitar
Xingxing Yao is a 19-year-old guitarist from Hangzhou, China. Xingxing started learning the guitar at age three with Li Le and Andres Hsieh. She entered the Curtis Institute of Music in 2020, where she studies with David Starobin and Jason Vieaux, and is the Emilio Gravagno Fellow. Xingxing has won multiple awards across Asia, including first prize in Altamira Shanghai International Guitar Competition (youth division), second prize in Taiwan International Guitar Festival, and second prize in East End International Guitar Competition in Japan. At age 11, Xingxing was invited as the guest performer in world renowned guitarist Alvaro Pierre’s concert at the Joy of Music Festival in Hong Kong. During her study in the U.S, she performed solo and chamber pieces in concerts held by the Philadelphia Guitar Society and the Village Trip Festival in New York City. She joined and performed as a fellow in Aspen Music Festival in 2025. Besides traditional guitar repertoires, Xingxing actively performs new music for guitar composed by Tania León, Mel Powell, Paul Lansky, William Bland, Mario Davidovsky, and Stephen Jaffe. In addition, Xingxing has participated in numerous master classes led by internationally renowned guitarists, including William Kanengiser Aniello Desidero Zoran Dukic, Marcin Dylla Petra Poláčková Franz Halasz Christian Saggesse, and Elena Papandreou. Xingxing performs on guitars built by Steven Walter and Richard Bruné, and an Altamira Vienna model 19th century guitar.

Kārlis Bukovskis, piano
Kārlis Bukovskis, a 23-year-old pianist from Latvia, entered Curtis Institute of Music in 2022 as the John J. Medveckis Fellow, studying with Professor Robert McDonald. He has performed in concerts and festivals across Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, France, Georgia, the United States, Russia, and Uzbekistan, and has appeared with various orchestras, including the Pskov and Kaunas Symphony Orchestras, as well as the Lithuanian and Uzbekistan National Symphony Orchestras. Kārlis is a prizewinner of numerous international competitions and was awarded the Ministry of Culture of Latvia Prize in both 2014 and 2016. In the summer of 2023, he attended the Fontainebleau Schools of Music and Fine Arts and won first prize at the Prix Ravel. The young pianist has also taken part in prestigious masterclasses with artists such as Yuja Wang, Jonathan Biss, Leif Ove Andsnes, Robert Levine, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Eliso Virsaladze, Sir András Schiff and Richard Goode.

For more information, e-mail [email protected].

Time: 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm CET/GMT+1

Location: Französischer Dom, Gendarmenmarkt 5, 10117 Berlin

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