With an eclectic roster of guest conductors, an expanded Historical Performance program, and the celebration of the 10th year of Juilliard Jazz, the School launches the 2010-11 season with more than 700 performances and events on the horizon. As the fall semester gets underway, Juilliard puts the final touches on its four-year renovation and expansion with the much-anticipated opening of the newly minted Juilliard Store on West 66th Street (see Behind the Scenes). One of the few places left in New York City where musicians can still purchase sheet music, the Store also offers stylish duds, CDs, and various other Juilliard items. 

The season opens on September 21 with the new faculty ensemble Juilliard Jazz Quintet and Friends (see Juilliard Jazz Faculty, Live in Concert). Other highlights include appearances by such guest conductors as John Adams, David Effron, Alan Gilbert, Jeffrey Kahane, and Harry Bicket; a joint program with the Juilliard Orchestra and the Sydney Conservatorium of Music; Juilliard Opera and Historical Performance teaming up for a fully staged production of Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea; a three-concert chamber music series devoted to the music of Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel (see Out of the Shadows); trumpeter Jon Faddis as a soloist with the Juilliard Jazz Orchestra in an arrangement of Porgy and Bess; four premieres of works created for the Dance Division and performances of pieces by Bronislava Nijinska, Eliot Feld, and Mark Morris; and fourth-year drama students in a series of fully-staged productions, including Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun and David Auburn’s Proof.

THE JUILLIARD ORCHESTRA

Alan Gilbert will conduct the Juilliard Orchestra on April 15. (Photo by Chris Lee) Conductor David Effron returns to the School to lead the Juilliard Orchestra in its opening concert of the season on October 4 at 8 p.m. in the Peter Jay Sharp Theater. The program features Strauss’s Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche; Bloch’s Suite for Viola and Orchestra (1919); and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 1. Juilliard collaborates with the Sydney Conservatorium of Music Orchestra in a concert on October 18 in Alice Tully Hall. James DePreist, Juilliard’s director of conducting and orchestral studies, and Imre Palló of the S.C.M.O. each lead a work with the orchestra from the other conservatory, and a joint orchestra with students from both conservatories also performs. The program features Schuman’s American Festival Overture; Dello Joio’s Mediations on Ecclesiastes; Richard Mills’s Sequenzas; and Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra.

Jeffrey Kahane, conductor, pianist, and music director of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, leads the Juilliard Orchestra for the first time on October 25 in Alice Tully Hall. The program features works by Kodaly and Brahms. Maestro DePreist leads the orchestra on November 18, also in Tully, in a program of works by Barber, Martinu, and Beethoven. DePreist returns to the stage for a concert of works by Berg and Mahler in Avery Fisher Hall on March 25, and also leads the orchestra in its May 19 commencement concert, presenting works by Brahms and Saint-Saëns.

The orchestra performs under the baton of Nicholas McGegan, who returns to Juilliard for a concert on November 22 in Alice Tully Hall. The program—which highlights the hall’s newly-restored Kuhn organ—features works by Handel, Haydn, Elgar, and Britten. The orchestra makes its Carnegie Hall appearance this season in a concert on February 18 led by renowned composer and conductor John Adams that features works by Strauss and Bartok, as well as Adams’s City Noir.

Alan Gilbert, music director of the New York Philharmonic and holder of Juilliard’s Schuman Chair in Musical Studies since 2008, wields his baton on April 15 in Avery Fisher Hall in a performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 9. Other conductors making appearances this season include Xian Zhang (December 6 in Alice Tully Hall), Yannick Nézet-Séguin (December 13 in Tully), and faculty member Jeffrey Milarsky (January 28 and April 1 in Tully).

JAZZ 

Juilliard Jazz opens its 10th season with the new faculty ensemble, Juilliard Jazz Quintet and Friends, performing a concert on September 21 at 8 p.m. in the Peter Jay Sharp Theater. The quintet headliners are Eddie Henderson, trumpet, and Ron Blake, saxophone, with Frank Kimbrough, Ron Carter, and Carl Allen on piano, bass, and drums, respectively; joining them are Steve Turre, trombone, and Ben Wolfe, bass. 

The Juilliard Jazz Orchestra performs with renowned bassist John Clayton on October 19 in the Sharp Theater, and on February 25, the ensemble is joined by trumpeter Jon Faddis in the Miles Davis/Gil Evans arrangement of Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess. On March 31, the orchestra performs alumni compositions in Sharp, and on April 2 the group performs original student compositions in Alice Tully Hall. 

Juilliard Jazz Ensembles present a variety of programs, including a performance with trombonist Curtis Fuller on November 2, and a concert of masterpieces from 1958 through 1965—including songs by Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck, Ornette Coleman, and John Coltrane—on December 6. Original student works are presented on January 19 and March 21, and the Artist Diploma Ensemble performs on October 5, February 14, and April 11. All Jazz Ensembles concerts take place in Paul Hall.

DRAMA

Niegel Smith will direct fourth-year drama students in Shakespeare’s Henry V. (Photo by Eliath Pineda) The Drama Division’s 2010-11 season includes a series of fully-staged productions featuring fourth-year students. The department kicks things off with Lorraine Hansberry’s groundbreaking 1959 work A Raisin in the Sun, directed by Jade King Carroll. The play, which runs October 20-24, is set on the South Side of Chicago and tells the story of a black family struggling to reach the American dream. Next up is David Auburn’s Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Proof, directed by Harris Yulin and playing November 11-15. The drama focuses on Catherine, a 25-year-old woman who spent her life caring for her father, a brilliant but mentally ill mathematician, and her struggle with her own emotions in the aftermath of his death. The students tackle a classic work with Chekhov’s The Seagull, directed by the Drama Division's associate director and faculty member Richard Feldman. Set in the late-19th century, the play explores life’s disappointments, unrequited love, and the power of art. The season concludes with fourth-year repertory, which cycles three plays in rotation during the month of February: David Mamet’s Boston, directed by Lucie Tiberghien; Bruce Norris’s Clybourne Park, directed by Stephen McKinley Henderson; and Shakespeare’s Henry V, directed by Niegel Smith. All performances take place in the Stephanie P. McClelland Drama Theater.

DANCE

Luca Veggetti was commissioned to choreograph a work for New Dances: Edition 2010, running December 15-19. (Photo by Pascal Delcey) The Dance Division’s season gets underway with its popular Composers and Choreographers … Plus (also known as ChoreoComp), the culmination of a semester-long collaboration among six pairs of student composers and choreographers. The production, which runs December 10-11 in the Peter Jay Sharp Theater, showcases works by third-year dancers set to music by graduate-level composers. The season continues with New Dances: Edition 2010, featuring four premiere commissions by choreographers Matthew Neenan, Raewyn Hill, Luca Veggetti, and Stijn Celis for each of the classes of the Dance Division. The production takes place December 15-19 in the Sharp Theater. 

The season continues in the spring with Juilliard Dances Repertory, running March 23-27 in Sharp. The production features Bronislava Nijinska’s Les Noces (“The Wedding”), set to music by Igor Stravinsky; Eliot Feld’s Skara Brae, set to traditional Irish, Scottish, and Breton music; and Mark Morris’s Grand Duo, set to Lou Harrison’s Grand Duo for Violin and Piano. The latter piece will be performed live by Juilliard musicians. Next up is the Senior Dance Production, showcasing the choreography of fourth-year dancers and performed by students from all classes. The performances take place April 21-26 in the Rosemary and Meredith Willson Theater. The Senior Dance Showcase, featuring senior class dancers in student choreography and various other selections, caps off the year on May 16 in the Sharp Theater.

OPERA AND SONG 

Emma Griffin will direct the Juilliard Opera production of Les Mamelles de Tirésias, December 6-12. (Photo by Heather Phelps-Lipton) Juilliard Opera presents three fully-staged productions this season, opening with Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea, a collaboration with the School’s Historical Performance program. Directed by Edward Berkeley and conducted by early music specialist Harry Bicket, the production runs November 17-21 in the Peter Jay Sharp Theater. The fall semester closes with Poulenc’s opera bouffe, Les Mamelles de Tirésias (“The Breasts of Tiresias”), directed by Emma Griffin and conducted by Mark Shapiro. The production runs December 6-12 in the Willson Theater. In the spring, Opera presents a double bill of Ravel’s L’heure espagnole (“The Spanish Hour”) and Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, running April 27-May 1 in the Sharp Theater. The production is directed by Tomer Zvulun and conducted by Keri-Lynn Wilson. 

The 14th annual Alice Tully Vocal Arts Debut Recital, which takes place on November 30, features tenor Paul Appleby, accompanied by pianist Brian Zeger, artistic director of Juilliard's Ellen and James S. Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts. Juilliard and the New York Festival of Song join forces again this year to present “Road Trip,” featuring American music from across the country—including works by Kurt Weill, Cole Porter, Emmerich Kalman, and Irving Berlin—on January 12 in Alice Tully Hall. Other performances include the annual Vocal Arts Honors Recital, featuring mezzo-soprano Cecelia Hall and baritone John Brancy, on October 6 in the Peter Jay Sharp Theater; and the Liederabends and Songbook concerts, which showcase singers from the Vocal Arts Department and take place throughout the year.

HISTORICAL PERFORMANCE

Jordi Savall will lead Juilliard415 on March 19. (Photo by Michael DiVito) The Historical Performance program begins its second year with an expanded schedule of offerings. Juilliard415 opens the season in a performance led by Monica Huggett, the program’s artistic director, on October 7 at 8 p.m. in the Peter Jay Sharp Theater. The concert features singers from Juilliard’s Vocal Arts program and includes two cantatas by J.S. Bach (Süsser Trost mein Jesus kommt and Ich habe genug) and the Orchestral Suites Nos. 1 in C Major and 4 in D Major. Huggett leads the ensemble in several other performances, including a program titled “Music from the Time of Monteverdi” on February 3 and a performance on April 21.  

The ensemble performs under the baton of Nicholas McGegan on November 20 in Alice Tully Hall. Other conductors making appearances this season include William Christie (December 3, Peter Jay Sharp Theater) and Jordi Savall (March 19, Alice Tully Hall). In addition, Historical Performance musicians will collaborate with Juilliard Opera in a production of Mondeverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea (see Opera and Song). They will also be featured in an evening of chamber music on December 16 and will collaborate with the Yale Institute of Sacred Music and the Yale Schola Cantorum in performances of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, led by Masaaki Suzuki, on May 6 in New Haven and on May 7 in New York City.

Juilliard Baroque, the program’s faculty ensemble, performs on October 21 at 8 p.m. in Paul Hall. The program includes Mozart’s Quartet for Flute, Violin, Viola, and Cello in D Major, K. 285, and Hoffmeister’s Double Bass Quartet No. 2 in D Minor. The ensemble’s second concert of the season, titled “The French Connection: Paris and the Symphonie Concertante” and part of the Music Before 1800 series, takes place on January 30 at Corpus Christie Church, located at 529 West 121st Street in Morningside Heights. The concert features works by Mozart, Haydn, and St. Georges.

NEW MUSIC

The Focus! 2011 festival, which surveys the world of Polish music since World War II, looks at the works of musical pioneers who were at the forefront of the post-war European avant-garde, as well as that of more conservative composers from the era. The festival opens with the New Juilliard Ensemble, led by Joel Sachs, on January 20 in Alice Tully Hall, performing works by Grazynza Bacewicz, Henryk Gorecki, and Wojciech Kilar, and closes with the Juilliard Orchestra, led by Jeffrey Milarsky, in all-Lutoslawski program on January 28 in Tully.

Axiom, an ensemble directed by Milarsky that focuses on classics of the last 100 years, opens its season on October 11 in the Peter Jay Sharp Theater, with a program featuring works by Stravinsky and Magnus Lindberg. Other Axiom concerts include a program of works by Juilliard alumnus Steve Reich on December 9 in Tully and a concert on February 24, also in Tully. The group will also perform three concerts at Le Poisson Rouge in Greenwich Village, each thematically related to the programs at Juilliard.

The New Juilliard Ensemble, led by Sachs, opens its season on September 25 in the Sharp Theater (see N.J.E. Opens 18th Season With U.S. Premieres), performing the U.S. premieres of works by Salvatore Sciarrino, Philip Cashian, and Poul Ruders, along with works by Harold Meltzer and Elliott Schwartz. On November 12 in Tully Hall, the group’s program includes the premieres of commissioned works by Juilliard alumnus Niccolo Athens and D.M.A. composer Edward Goldman. N.J.E.’s season concludes with a concert presented as part of Carnegie Hall’s Japan/NYC festival, on April 8 in Tully.

Also as part of the Japan/NYC festival, the Juilliard Percussion Ensemble, directed by Daniel Druckman, presents a program entitled “Ceremony and Ritual,” on Tuesday, March 29 in Tully Hall, featuring works by Toru Takemitsu, Maki Ishii, Akira Nishimura, Hiroya Miura, and Jo Kondo. 

FACULTY RECITALS 

The Daniel Saidenberg Faculty Recital Series opens with the Juilliard Jazz Quintet’s September 21 debut in the Peter Jay Sharp Theater (see Jazz). The American Brass Quintet performs its 50th anniversary concert on October 15 in Alice Tully Hall; and the Juilliard String Quartet presents two concerts this season, on December 2 and February 21, both in Tully. Other recitals include cellist Bonnie Hampton—with violinists Robert Mann and Earl Carlyss, violist Nicholas Mann, and pianist Seymour Lipkin—on October 13 in Paul Hall; harpsichordist Kenneth Weiss on January 31 in Paul Hall; the New York Woodwind Quintet on February 8 in Paul Hall; and cellist Joel Krosnick on February 10 in Paul Hall.    

CHAMBER MUSIC

Juilliard’s annual ChamberFest takes place January 10-15 at various venues at the School. It features performances by student chamber groups who have returned during the last week of winter break to immerse themselves in rehearsal and daily coaching sessions with faculty. A concert on Januay 11 in Paul Hall will include students from the Vienna University and Paris Conservatoire as part of the SYLFF Chamber Music Seminar.

The Afiara String Quartet, Juilliard’s graduate resident string quartet now in its second season, performs the Lisa Arnhold Memorial Recital on May 3 in Alice Tully Hall. The Sonatenabend concerts, which showcase Juilliard musicians in the Collaborative Piano Program with student instrumentalists, take place in Paul Hall throughout the year. 

OTHER EVENTS

A three-concert chamber music series, The Other Mendelssohn: Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, will be performed by Juilliard’s C.V. Starr Doctoral Fellows, September 30-October 2 in Paul Hall. The event features major works of the 19th-century composer who is often overshadowed by her younger brother, Felix Mendelssohn. The series includes lieder, duets, piano pieces and string quartets. Hensel biographer R. Larry Todd will give preconcert talks on September 30 and October 1. 

Other notable performances include Bachauer Piano Competition winners’ recital by Sean Chen and Eric Zuber on September 22 in Paul Hall (see Bachauer Winners Search for Truth Between the Notes); the Petschek Piano Debut Award Recital on May 5 in Alice Tully Hall (the recipient will be announced this fall); and a recital by Juilliard organists on February 9 in Paul Hall.  

Information about these and other Juilliard events are online at juilliard.edu/calendar.