Conservatory

The Leningrad Conservatory Chamber Orchestra began an eight-city tour last night at the Church of the Holy Trinity on Rittenhouse Square. If its touring ambitions are wisely modest, its artistic profile is not: This an ensemble wise in the ways of feeling, one whose passions can prove infectious. The students are traveling with artistic director Saulus Sondetskys, who has made a specialty of coaching youth orchestras in the Soviet Union. They came bearing their rich legacy: Arensky, Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky, Schnittke.

Temperatures dipped to 5 degrees on a recent Sunday morning, but inside the Longwood Gardens' conservatory it was 75 degrees and sunny, and the orchids were in full bloom. Walking along the four acres of glass-enclosed gardens with the sunlight reflecting off ponds and water fountains, visitors can forget that they are wearing long johns, and begin thinking about warm afternoon drives along Route 82 with the top down. In a toll-booth-sized office underneath the conservatory, Ed Detwiler and Paul Weaver monitor the three boilers that provide the steam that makes the "welcome spring" theme possible at Longwood.

Yardley Estates, Yardley, Bucks County When a house is loaded with luxuries, why not add one more? That may be the reason most Yardley Estates residents have purchased the optional conservatory. It's not, after all, difficult to understand the popularity of this space, which has room enough to host an orchestra, windows galore, and French doors. The conservatories, attached to the sides of the houses, are flooded with light and air and are ideal for afternoon reading and evening cocktail parties.

For some homeowners, remodeling is a one-time thing. For John and Sandra Stouffer, their home's story has been one of transformation and evolution, with the aim of enhancing its beauty and efficiency. Since buying it in 1970, the retired music teachers have continuously improved their rancher in the Rose Tree section of Upper Providence, Delaware County. To create a place uniquely suited to their love of the outdoors, John Stouffer has taken on projects large and small. "I'm the type of person who needs to see some physical improvement every day, or I'm not happy," he says.

First in a three-part series. Sitting on the eastern edge of Rittenhouse Square on almost any day can mean a serendipitous encounter with emerging greatness. From the open windows of several historic mansions drift the sounds of singers, pianists, cellists, trumpeters. Most are children, or near children. And at what they do, they are the best anywhere. THE CURTIS FACTOR What makes this ultra-selective conservatory so special? VIDEO DOCUMENTARY | HISTORY PHOTOGRAPHS | ORIGINAL MUSIC > > > ENTER < <

I attempted to learn the clarinet in seventh grade - an experience about which I can hardly toot my own horn. But I love music, and admire those who have what it takes to master the art and the craft of making it. Which is why I recently visited the Conservatory of Musical Arts, a private school in Audubon where nearly 350 students are learning to do just that. "I watch them develop, and the better they get and the more intense their achievements, the more they love music," says director and founder Anthony Salicandro.

Dorothea Flanagan Persichetti, 68, a pianist, music teacher and widow of renowned Philadelphia composer Vincent Persichetti, died yesterday at Roxborough Memorial Hospital. She lived in Roxborough. Besides winning acclaim for decades of work in music, Mrs. Persichetti was noted for her outspoken advocacy of environmental issues. She and other crusaders in Roxborough won a 12-year battle in 1984 to preserve the character of the Wissahickon Valley and Fairmount Park, fighting developers who wanted to build high-rise apartments nearby.

Now that February is here, many people have had it with winter, and thoughts turn to balmy days and fragrant flowers. But the thermometer still registers temperatures below freezing, snow blankets the area, and winter is a fact of life for at least six more weeks. A ticket to Florida isn't the only solution. Longwood Gardens has a cure for those who are longing for spring. The indoor conservatory is bursting with spring blooms in all their fragrances and colors, with a warm retreat of nearly four acres of gardens under glass through April 30. "This may be the nation's largest continual indoor flower show, featuring a succession of 45,000 spring bulbs," said Colvin Randall, publicity director of Longwood Gardens.

Steven Wills of Chadds Ford made a radical decision three weeks ago: the 13-year-old boy deep-sixed his cold-weather wardrobe. "He had just had it with winter," said his mother, Heather, 41. "He's been wearing shorts ever since. " Yesterday, temperatures finally caught up with him - hitting 63 at Philadelphia International Airport for the warmest day of 2004, according to AccuWeather. The Wills family joined about 2,000 visitors at Longwood Gardens - double the attendance from last Sunday, according to admission records.

The latest chapter in the acoustical rehabilitation of the Mann Center for the Performing Arts came in the form of a Philadelphia Orchestra program under guest conductor Emmanuel Krivine that was so fragile and delicate you'd question its appearance even at Verizon Hall. After a customarily muscular performance of Strauss' Don Juan, the Mann's Tuesday concert was a succession of airy French pieces that were likely to collapse inward, literally and poetically, if not heard amid the right barometric pressure.

I attempted to learn the clarinet in seventh grade - an experience about which I can hardly toot my own horn. But I love music, and admire those who have what it takes to master the art and the craft of making it. Which is why I recently visited the Conservatory of Musical Arts, a private school in Audubon where nearly 350 students are learning to do just that. "I watch them develop, and the better they get and the more intense their achievements, the more they love music," says director and founder Anthony Salicandro.

Children can groove to the smooth sounds the Arpeggio Jazz Ensemble on Saturday at Longwood Gardens' OrKid Days. The group, which has performed around the world, will hit the stage at noon and 2 p.m. In addition to enjoying the free concert, children can learn about orchids and draw their own. The day also includes a Winter Wonders Hunt throughout the conservatory.   OrKid Days Arpeggio Jazz Ensemble, noon and 2 p.m. Saturday at Longwood Gardens, 1001 Longwood Rd., Route 1 and Route 52, Kennett Square, Pa. Free with admission, which is $18; $15 seniors age 62 and older; $8 students age 5-18; and free for children age 4 and younger.

When he gets on the No. 34 trolley to West Philadelphia, Stanford Thompson scans fellow passengers with the fervid eyes of an evangelist. The convert potential he's calculating isn't religious, but musical. Thompson, after all, is the man whose dream can be summed up in two words: Orchestras everywhere. "To be completely honest, I've always been obsessed with the - how do I say this? - the lack of engagement of underserved communities. I consider myself to be among the communities I see in West Philadelphia and North Philadelphia and South Philadelphia, and I sit on the trolley and I think: All of those kids could fall in love with the orchestra.

Second of a three-part series In a dour economy, amid a cultural shift that has largely left classical music at the margins of culture, the Curtis Institute of Music has blossomed. This fall the school opened a new Venturi, Scott Brown & Associates-designed nine-story building on Locust Street, doubling the size of the campus and giving students dorms and a roomy orchestra rehearsal space for the first time. New technology is woven throughout, so students can record their Beethoven and Schubert and take lessons via Internet 2 with masters in Miami or Berlin.

First in a three-part series. Sitting on the eastern edge of Rittenhouse Square on almost any day can mean a serendipitous encounter with emerging greatness. From the open windows of several historic mansions drift the sounds of singers, pianists, cellists, trumpeters. Most are children, or near children. And at what they do, they are the best anywhere. THE CURTIS FACTOR What makes this ultra-selective conservatory so special? VIDEO DOCUMENTARY | HISTORY PHOTOGRAPHS | ORIGINAL MUSIC > > > ENTER < <

Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square is nearing the end of a $12 million redesign of the Main Conservatory's eastern wing, long considered the "crown jewel" of the Philadelphia region's most popular public garden. This being Longwood, a former du Pont estate with deep pockets, the yearlong construction project includes many marvels - a new main entrance to the East Conservatory, a record-busting green wall, a dramatic terraced slope, and an attractive, open venue for outdoor performances, special events, and educational programs.

It's in the air. The main attraction at Longwood Gardens this month is invisible. Inside the monumental Kennett Square conservatory, dozens of visitors are nosing around searching for scents. The first thing you will notice as you enter "Making Scents: The Art and Passion of Fragrance" is a whiff of hyacinth that could stop you in your tracks. After you sniff it, you realize that you are standing in a hyacinth-lined gazebo shaped like a giant perfume bottle. "Making Scents" is a context switch for frequent visitors to Longwood, who are accustomed to a feast for the eyes with four acres of colorful indoor blooms.

For some homeowners, remodeling is a one-time thing. For John and Sandra Stouffer, their home's story has been one of transformation and evolution, with the aim of enhancing its beauty and efficiency. Since buying it in 1970, the retired music teachers have continuously improved their rancher in the Rose Tree section of Upper Providence, Delaware County. To create a place uniquely suited to their love of the outdoors, John Stouffer has taken on projects large and small. "I'm the type of person who needs to see some physical improvement every day, or I'm not happy," he says.

The Curtis Institute of Music is moving ahead with plans to demolish all or part of several buildings on Locust Street to make way for a 10-story tower and adjoining four-story structure housing an orchestral rehearsal hall, studios, cafeteria, and dorms for 88 students. The elite conservatory would keep and renovate its Rittenhouse Square buildings, while acquiring the properties one block east at 1610-18 Locust St. from the school's chairman, philanthropist H.F. "Gerry" Lenfest, who purchased them several months ago. Curtis brought its conceptual design by Venturi, Scott Brown & Associates before the architectural committee of the Historical Commission last week, showing models and renderings of a four-story brownstone-clad building on Locust Street with large windows, a bowed front, and decorative elements echoing its neighbors'.

The Curtis Institute of Music has met a challenge from two area philanthropies, netting a total of $15 million in cash and pledges for the school's endowment. The offer, from the Lenfest and Annenberg Foundations, promised $6 million if Curtis could raise $9 million in new money by Dec. 31. It did so - attracting 244 pledges ranging in size from $10 to $1.6 million. Curtis says the boost in endowment will help ensure its tuition-free policy, an aspect of the conservatory that sets it apart from other top schools, such as Juilliard, the New England Conservatory, and the Peabody Institute.