Juilliard's Pre-College Division

Since 1916 The Juilliard School has offered classes in musical performance to students younger than college age. Known since 1969 as Juilliard’s Pre-College Division, it is an internationally preeminent program for the education and development of young artists. Many of the world’s youngest high-profile musicians have been drawn to Juilliard’s Pre-College Division from around the world, among them are Han-Na Chang, Sarah Chang, Helen Huang, Rachel Lee, Midori, Yo-Yo Ma, Alan Gilbert, Marvin Hamlisch, Itzhak Perlman, and Gil and Orli Shaham. 
     
      During the 2008-09 school year, the Division’s 100 faculty members will work with 300 students between the ages of seven and eighteen. High school age musicians comprise two-thirds of the Pre-College enrollment. Most students are from the United States and, specifically, the New York Metropolitan area, but others represent places of origin as distant as Europe, South America, and Asia. Many also are accomplished academically and go on to colleges, universities, and conservatories throughout the world. Typically about half of the graduating class continues studying at Juilliard or other conservatories and many graduates go on to Ivy League and other elite schools. 
     
      The Saturday-only classes include private study, theory, ear-training, orchestral, choral and chamber music coaching, as well as major-specific courses such as Piano Performance Forum, Vocal Performance and Diction, and Brass Class. The Division also offers secondary instruction and conducting. Included among the Division’s many ensembles are two symphony orchestras, two choruses and more than 65 chamber music groups. Performances by these ensembles as well as recitals by individual students and faculty members make up the Division’s season of more than 250 free concerts. Soloists for certain performances are chosen by competition and announced approximately two months prior to performance. In addition to concerts by young performers, the Pre-College division showcases young composers throughout the year.