At the age of 10, Barber wrote his first operetta, "The Rose Tree", to a libretto by the family's cook. At the age of 12, he became an organist at a local church. At the age of 14, he entered the youth artist program at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where he ultimately spent ten years developing his talents as a triple prodigy in composition, voice, and piano. During his initial studies at Curtis, he simultaneously attended and graduated from West Chester High School (now West Chester Henderson High School), during which time he composed his school's alma mater which is still in use today. Following his graduation from high school in 1928, he entered the adult professional program at Curtis from which he graduated in 1934. At Curtis he studied piano with George Frederick Boyle and Isabelle Vengerova, composition with Rosario Scalero, conducting with Fritz Reiner, and voice with Emilio de Gogorza. In 1928, he met fellow Curtis schoolmate Gian Carlo Menotti, who became his partner in life as well as in their shared profession. During his last year at Curtis he became a favorite of the conservatory's founder, Mary Louise Curtis Bok. It was through Mrs. Bok that Barber was introduced to his lifelong publishers, the Schirmer family. After graduating from Curtis in the Spring of 1934, he pursued further studies in conducting and singing with John Braun in Vienna through the aid of a Pulitzer traveling scholarship. He soon after was awarded the Rome Prize which enabled him to pursue further studies at the American Academy in Rome from 1935-1937. He was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1946 and also studied conducting privately with George Szell.