Elijah’s Musical Journey to Curtis

Update:

Dear friends and supporters,

I am so grateful for your generosity and trust!

With your support, I am now able to confirm my enrollment for my first year at the Curtis Institute of Music!

I can't believe you helped me reach this goal so quickly!

I am beyond excited for this journey! I am very relieved that I can shift my focus now to prepare for my year at Curtis and get on with more practicing and preparing for competitions.

It would be amazing keep in touch with you through my website, my youtube channel or other means!

I hope to save up and collect as much funds as I can to secure the rest of the 3 years in this degree.

Thank you

Elijah

Hi! My name is Elijah Orlenko, and my passion is playing the piano.

This year I am graduating from the Taylor Academy at the Royal Conservatory of Music, and I will continue my musical studies at the school of my dreams, the Curtis Institute of Music. The music program at Curtis admits very few pianists per year. I feel so lucky to continue my journey at a school which gave the world such legends as Gary Graffman, Yuja Wang and Lang Lang!

There is one obstacle I must overcome on this exciting road, for which I will ask your help — but first, let me tell you a bit about myself.

I’ve been playing piano for as long as I can remember, for family, friends, and other audiences. Here is a link to one of my performances almost a decade ago (you can see my sister on the second piano.) If you are interested, there are some of my more recent recordings on my website.

Also, on May 1st, 2023, I am going to play my graduation recital at Mazzoleni Hall at Royal Conservatory, at 273 Bloor St W, in Toronto. The doors will be open to anyone, free of charge — please come in and listen if you can! I also hope to arrange a live online stream of my recital — stay tuned for a link on this page!

My parents are first-generation immigrants from Ukraine. They have been doing everything they can to help me and my sister reach our dreams. However, my family is currently financially stretched, and I’m trying to swim on my own.

I am fortunate that I received full coverage for my tuition costs from Curtis!

However, I am still required to pay $20,653 US per year for housing on campus which is mandatory for the first 2 years at Curtis. In addition, the health insurance and the comprehensive fee add up to $6000 US per year. In total, I have to find a way to pay $26,653 US per year for mandatory expenses.

I would be grateful if I could reach a goal of $13,000 US, or $17,000 CAD. This would cover almost half of my college-related costs. The other half I hope to take on as a loan and through work. I also hope to be able to repay you for your kind contributions via performances at your residence or organization for donations above $500 US (performances limited to playing the piano.)

Thank you for your time and consideration!