Polisi to Be Inducted Into Classical Hall of Fame

President Joseph W. Polisi. (Photo by Christian Steiner)

Juilliard President Joseph W. Polisi is one of six honorees who will be inducted into the American Classical Music Hall of Fame. Also among the 2010 honorees are Juilliard alumni conductor Marin Alsop (M.M. ’78, violin) and composer Philip Glass (M.S. ’62, composition).

The three other honorees are the composer William Bolcom, whose 12 New Etudes for piano earned him the 1988 Pulitzer Prize in music; the Grammy Award-winning Emerson String Quartet, whose members are Eugene Drucker (Professional Studies ’73, violin) and Philip Setzer (M.M. ’74, violin); Lawrence Dutton (M.M. ’78, viola); and cellist David Finckel; and the music service organization ASCAP/BMI, whose 390,000 members include American composers, songwriters, lyricists, and music publishers. 

Joseph Polisi became the sixth president of The Juilliard School in 1984. Previously, he was dean of the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music; he also served as the dean of faculty at the Manhattan School of Music and executive officer of the Yale University School of Music. An accomplished bassoonist, he is also the author of two books, The Artist as Citizen (Amadeus Press, 2005) and American Muse: The Life and Times of William Schuman (Amadeus Press, 2008). “I am greatly honored to be included in this distinguished group of inductees to the Hall of Fame,” President Polisi said upon learning that he had been selected. 

The first woman to head a major American orchestra, Alsop, 54, is the 12th music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, conductor emeritus of the Bournemouth Symphony in the United Kingdom, and conductor laureate of the Colorado Symphony. She has been the music director of California’s Cabrillo Festival since 1992.

One of the most prolific composers of our time, Philip Glass, 73, has written more than 20 operas, including the groundbreaking Einstein on the Beach and Satyagraha. Often called a “minimalist” (a label he eschews), Glass has written, in addition to the operas,  eight symphonies; concertos for violin, piano, timpani, and saxophone quartet; soundtracks to many films; string quartets and other chamber works; and music for solo piano and organ. He has collaborated with a vast array of artists, including Paul Simon, Twyla Tharp, Allen Ginsberg, Woody Allen, Doris Lessing, and David Bowie.

The Cincinnati-based American Classical Music Hall of Fame was founded by businessman David Klingshirn. This year’s honorees will join 102 other distinguished musicians, philanthropists, educators, and organizations inducted by the Hall of Fame since its inaugural ceremony in 1998. For more information, visit americanclassicalmusic.org.