Rosand has donated to Curtis an interest in his violin, a Guarneri del Ges‹ violin made in 1741 and once owned by Paul Kochanski, a violinist and former Juilliard faculty member. Rosand has played on the instrument since buying it in 1957; he plans to sell it upon his retirement and donate $1.5 million of the proceeds to the Institute to endow the faculty position.

"I owe so much to Curtis for my musical education and the opportunity to study with illustrious teachers such as Efrem Zimbalist, William Primrose and Marcel Tabuteau," said Rosand, who attended the school and later joined its faculty in 1981. "It is a privilege for me to repay this debt of gratitude to my school that continues to develop outstanding musical talents in all disciplines."

Joseph Silverstein, former concertmaster and assistant conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, will hold the The Aaron Rosand Chair in Violin Studies.

Rosand was born in 1927 and made his debut at age ten with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, playing Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto. After his studies with Zimbalist at Curtis, he made debuts at New York's Town Hall (1948) and in Copenhagen (1955). With a repertory containing over 70 concertos, Rosand has long held a predilection for Romantic and rarely performed 19th-century works, many of which he has recorded.