At the age of 14, Samuel Barber was accepted to the highly prestigious Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied piano, voice and composition. Barber did not begin seriously composing until his late teens, though his earliest works showed that he was a composer of great potential. In fact, his first work for full orchestra, the Overture to The School for Scandal, was first performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra! The School for Scandal Overture is a piece that reflects the emotions and plot elements of the play by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. Barber's Overture helped to solidify his reputation as one of America's leading composers of the 20th century.