ABOUT THE CONDUCTOR

PAUL BRYAN

Paul Bryan leads a distinguished career as educator, performer, and administrator. He is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and Temple University where he studied trombone with Glenn Dodson and Eric Carlson and conducting with David Hayes, Arthur Chodoroff, and Lawrence Wagner.

Active as both conductor and teacher, Paul currently serves as Director and Conductor of Bravo Brass—the PYO Music Institute brass ensemble, Music Director of the Philadelphia Wind Symphony, and Music Director of the Symphony in C Summer Camp. He teaches supplementary conducting and pedagogy at Curtis and has also served as Head Conductor of the Young Artist Summer Program at Curtis Summerfest.  During the 2022-23 school year, Paul will serve as a faculty member at West Chest University’s Wells School of Music and at Temple University’s Boyer College of Music and Dance. He will also direct the University of Pennsylvania Wind Ensemble.

Described by composer Eric Ewazen as a “stunning” interpreter producing performances with “riveting momentum and heartfelt lyricism,” Paul has led concerts with numerous groups—from the wind and brass ensembles of the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia to Boyz II Men.

Sought after for his ability to train instrumentalists, Paul pushes his groups to take risks and “to make music as opposed to just playing it.”  Past positions have included Conductor of the Drexel University Orchestra, Conductor of the Philadelphia All-City High School Concert Band, and appearances with the ensembles of the New York Summer Music Festival, Play On Philly, and numerous honor groups in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Paul has served as an administrator at the Curtis Institute of Music since 1993. As Dean from 2013-2022, Paul provided leadership for all elements of the educational experience—all academic departments, admissions, student services, financial assistance, and the library. He ensured that the school offered the most effective programs for educating and training artist-citizens, provided superior services attending to the physical and emotional needs as well as the noncurricular interests of students, and continued to engage, admit, and enroll exceptionally gifted applicants. Paul also expanded an already exceptional faculty to include notable performers and teachers such as Yefim Bronfman, Michelle Cann, Nick DiBerardino, Gary Hoffman, Jonathan Bailey Holland, Amy Beth Kirsten, Craig Knox, Steven Mackey, Anthony McGill, Midori, Eric Millstein, Katherine Needleman, Eric Owens, Philippe Tondre, and the Imani Winds.

During his tenure as Dean, Paul prioritized providing a rewarding and balanced experience for each Curtis student. Following the completion of a three-year curricular renewal process for the Liberal Arts and Musical Studies departments, Paul initiated and provided oversight for the creation of a Career Studies department and curriculum giving all undergraduate students the opportunity to develop career skills through engaging in meaningful work in the Philadelphia community. Curtis’s health and wellness programs increased dramatically under Paul’s leadership including a significant expansion of the school’s mental health resources, the creation of an annual wellness day, and new partnerships serving students in the areas of musician injury recovery and prevention, fitness and nutrition, and community offerings. He also facilitated an increased role for the school’s student council in Curtis’s governance with the inclusion of student representatives in departmental meetings and on selected task forces and Board of Trustees committees.

Paul has sought, welcomed, and celebrated diversity within Curtis’s constituencies and programs and has collaborated on the design and delivery of diversity, equity, and inclusion programming and training for the school’s students, staff, and faculty. He has also overseen numerous areas of compliance, the Curtis Student Code of Conduct, institutional research functions, and all accreditation-related matters.