Juilliard School

Juilliard School
File:Juilliard.gif
Location
New York , New York USA
Information
Type	Private
Established	1905
President	Joseph W. Polisi
Enrollment	approximately 800
Campus	Urban
Website	http://www.juilliard.edu/

The Juilliard School is one of the world's premiere performing arts conservatories located in New York City. It is informally identified as simply Juilliard, and trains in the fields of Dance, Drama, and Music. Now located at Lincoln Center, the school instructs about 800 undergraduates and graduate students.

History

The school was founded in 1905 as the Institute of Musical Art; it was then located at Fifth Avenue and 12th Street. In its first year, the institute enrolled 500 students. It moved in 1910 to Claremont Avenue. In 1920, the Juilliard Foundation was created, named after textile merchant Augustus Juilliard who bequeathed a substantial amount for the advancement of music in the United States. Established in 1924, the foundation's Juilliard Graduate School merged with the Institute of Musical Art two years later. As of 1946, the combined schools were named The Juilliard School of Music. The president of the school at that time was William Schuman, the first winner of the Pulitzer Prize for music.

The school gradually branched out, first adding a dance division and later one for drama, and since 1969, when it moved to the Lincoln Center, it has carried its present name. In 2001, the school established a jazz performance training program. In September 2005, Sir Colin Davis conducted an orchestra which combined students from the Juilliard and London's Royal Academy of Music at the BBC Proms.

Divisions

• Drama Division
• Music Division
• Dance Division

Juilliard also offers a joint program degree with Columbia College, Columbia University.[1]

Juilliard Manuscript Collection

In 2006 Juilliard received a trove of precious music manuscripts from the billionaire collector and financier Bruce Kovner. The collection includes autograph scores, sketches, composer-emended proofs and first editions of major works by Brahms, Schumann, Schubert, Beethoven, Chopin, Stravinsky, Bach, Liszt, Ravel, Copland, Mozart and other masters of the classical music canon. Many of the manuscripts have been unavailable for generations. Among the items are the printer's manuscript of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, the version that went to the printer with Beethoven's amendations and that was used for the first performance in Vienna in 1824, Mozart's autograph of the wind parts of the final scene of "The Marriage of Figaro," Beethoven's arrangement of his monumental "Grosse Fuge" for piano four hands, Schumann's working draft of his Symphony No. 2 and manuscripts of Brahms's Symphony No. 2 and Piano Concerto No. 2.

AXIOM Ensemble

The newest addition to Juilliard's roster of performing ensembles is AXIOM, which was formed by student initiative in 2005, and presented its debut performance in Avery Fisher Hall with Maestro James Conlon performing the music of Schoenberg and Debussy. This new ensemble, conducted by Jeffrey Milarsky, is dedicated to the performing the masterworks of the twentieth century composed for large chamber ensemble. The core members, all current Juilliard students and recent graduates, fulfill all organizational and administrative needs in addition to performing with the ensemble.

Highlights from the 2005-2006 performance season include the performance of Luciano Berio's Folk Songs with soprano Sarah Wolfson in Alice Tully Hall as part of Juilliard's annual Alice Tully Vocal Arts Debut Recital and a debut recital featuring Sir Harrison Birtwistle's Trageodia, Toru Takemitsu's Treeline, Anton Webern's Concerto (Op. 20), and Steve Reich's City Life. Upcoming performances include November 30, 2006 when AXIOM will perform the American Premiere of Josef Bardanashvili's Three Scenes as part of the annual Alice Tully Vocal Arts Debut Recital; December 21, 2006 at The Juilliard School will include Iannis Xenakis' Jalons, Pierre Boulez Derive I, Karlheinz Stockhausen Kreuzspiel, Frederic Rzewski Les Moutons de Panurge, and Milhaud's Creation du Monde; and March 28-April 1, 2007 when AXIOM will perform Bohuslav Martinu's Field Mass and David Lang's Increase in collaboration with the dance division on their Spring Dances at Juilliard series.

The August/September issue of Strings magazine featured an interview with Music Director, Jeffrey Milarsky, who made the following statements regarding AXIOM: " To not experience these pieces is a crime, especially for young students about to graduate." He continues, "Playing this style of music is so important to string playing styles, It will stretch the boundaries of string playing that this music will absolutely call for. You can't play Birtwistle the way you play Tchaikovsky." Fred Kirshnit of the New York Sun described AXIOM in his review "Fun With Varese," saying: "In any case, the AXIOM Ensemble performed this sensuous delight magnificently." and also "Once again, the AXIOM players were superb."

The Juilliard School Pre-College

The Pre-College Division teaches students enrolled in elementary, junior high, and high school. The Pre-College Division is held every Saturday from September to May.

Andrew Thomas, a noted composer and pianist, has been the director of the program from 1994 until just recently (2006). Dr. Thomas will, however, remain for his thirty-sixth year on the Pre-College composition faculty. Robert Ross and Katya Lawson will now serve as Administrative Directors. Juilliard piano faculty member Yoheved Kaplinsky was confirmed by President Polisi as Artistic Director of Pre-College Division. The Pre-College Division is held on every Saturday from September to May in The Juilliard Building at Lincoln Center.

All students study solfege and music theory in addition to their primary instrument. Vocal majors also must study diction and vocal performance. Similarly, pianists must study piano performance. String, brass and woodwind players as well as percussionists also partake in orchestra. The Pre-College has three orchestras. Placement is by age. Students may study conducting, chorus, and chamber music as well.

Notable faculty and alumni

See main article List of Juilliard School people

External links

• The official website of the Juilliard School.