How do you react when you encounter an early compositional gift so extraordinary that you can't even begin to comprehend it? How do you explain to others a compositional talent so exquisitely developed at such an early age that you can barely believe it yourself? What would you do if you personally met an 8-year-old boy who can compose and fully notate half a movement of a magnificent piano sonata in the style of Beethoven, before your very eyes and without a piano, in less than an hour? How do you let the world know that the same boy, at age 10, composed a probing, original viola concerto in three movements, fully orchestrated, in just a few weeks?

Jay Greenberg

I am speaking of Jay Greenberg, the 11-year-old composition student of Ira Taxin and Samuel Adler, known by his own nom-de-plume, "BlueJay"—perhaps the first student ever to attend both the Pre-College and the College Divison simultaneously (even if the latter on an ad-hoc basis). In addition to his essentially unprecedented compositional talent, Jay's command of music theory and his ability to read, assimilate, analyze, memorize, and master scores stand at such a high degree of accomplishment that it is a challenge to know what is the best academic, musical, and social environment for him to develop to his fullest potential.

It's not that Jay has nothing more to learn. Rather, he learns so fast and has already mastered so much, that he simply doesn't fit into the established academic channels and structures of study at Juilliard or anywhere else, especially when one considers his age. Still, I am convinced that Juilliard is the best place for him to be. After all, Juilliard is, precisely, a magnet for talents of the highest caliber, and it seemed to me that this was an environment where Jay could learn and grow, and where his works could find ample expression and be appreciated.

Sure enough, a rather special friendship has developed between Jay Greenberg and Cameron Carpenter, a superb young organ virtuoso who is a student of John Weaver. Cameron and Jay have much in common: As a child prodigy, Cameron performed Bach's complete Well-Tempered Clavier at age 11, and now dazzles audiences with his virtuosity and improvisations in his international recital tours, even while a full-time, third-year student. Hence, a concert of works by Jay Greenberg, as performed by Cameron Carpenter, started to take shape.

Works by Jay Greenberg Paul Hall Tuesday, May 27, 8 p.m. Free, no tickets required.

The program will include a diverse sampling of Jay's recent growth: from his Three Ballades (romantic heavyweights for solo piano) to the atonal Fugue, for piano; to various other piano works demonstrating a profound understanding of a breadth of musical thought. Jay's monumental, orchestral Symphony No. 2 in four movements, subtitled "Four Places in Macedonia," will be interpreted by Cameron Carpenter from the orchestral version as a transcription on the new concert organ in Paul Recital Hall.

Jay Greenberg's background is interesting. He was born to parents Robert Greenberg and Orna Weinroth in New Haven, Conn., on December 13, 1991. Jay and his family soon moved to Chapel Hill, N.C., where Jay's younger brother Michael was born. In 2001, Jay's family went to live temporarily in the city of Ohrid, in the newly independent country of Macedonia. By the summer of 2002, the family was ready to return to the United States.

When I first met Jay a few years ago during a visit the family made to New York, it did not take me long to realize what an amazing gift he had. I had one fundamental bit of advice for his parents: Bring Jay to Juilliard. Thus, after truly enormous efforts and sacrifices, which are still ongoing, the family moved to New York City. Thanks to Andrew Thomas, the director of the Pre-College Division; Dean Stephen Clapp; President Joseph Polisi; piano faculty member Yoheved Kaplinsky; composition faculty member Samuel Adler, and many others within the Juilliard community who have recognized and supported his talent in a variety of ways, Jay's musical gift has indeed been flourishing in our midst. Since September 2002, Jay has studied composition with Ira Taxin of the Juilliard Pre-College faculty, while studying simultaneously with Samuel Adler in the College Division.

How does the Greenberg-Carpenter recital fit into the regular Juilliard season? Strictly speaking, it doesn't, because the concert actually takes place shortly after graduation, and it involves a rare collaboration between a Pre-College and a College student. However, in a deeper sense, this recital fits perfectly, because The Juilliard School, as an institution and a community, knows full well that when something as extraordinary as Jay's talent comes along (and my guess is that it only happens every few hundred years), it will enthusiastically recognize, foster, nurture, and celebrate such a talent as much as it can. I hope you can come to hear Jay's music on Tuesday, May 27, at 8 p.m. in Paul Hall, and in this way cap a memorable 2002-03 Juilliard season.

Samuel Zyman, a faculty member in the College Division since 1987, teaches literature and materials of music.