Whenever my parents' wedding anniversary rolled around, my father would say, with obvious pleasure (and filling in the blank for the appropriate number), "It's been 37 years," to which my mother, with a very sweet glint in her eye, would inevitably reply, "It doesn't seem like a day over a thousand!" This is how I sometimes feel when I realize that the New Juilliard Ensemble, which was only a glimmer of an idea in the early spring of 1993 and officially came into existence later that spring, began its first season on September 21, 1993. The then dean, James Allen, President Polisi, and I wanted the ensemble to represent the vital presence of the School in today's musical world, so essential to the survival of fine music. Adapting the name of an ensemble of the 1960s, we called the new chamber orchestra the New Juilliard Ensemble, implying not only a new ensemble but also a new Juilliard. We also agreed that the ensemble would send another signal by opening Juilliard's concert year.

Frederic Rzewski Photo by Françoise Walot

Every so often I wonder—as I nervously contemplate holding auditions and assembling the N.J.E. over the first weekend classes, getting out the rosters and the music in time to begin rehearsals by the second Thursday of the term at the latest, so that the concert can take place in style nine days later—whether opening the season is an action suggesting that I am a glutton for punishment. Fortunately, the concert has always taken place and has been an unspoken tribute to the abilities of Juilliard's students to jump right in and fulfill a difficult task in the best style. Since its early days, the New Juilliard Ensemble has gone on to complete some exceptionally difficult musical challenges, such as performing Elliott Carter's magnificent Penthode.

The name New Juilliard Ensemble also describes its mission to perform a repertory for chamber orchestra that is seldom heard—for 13 to 20 players—and to draw almost all of it from the music of today. "Today" does not mean "since Brahms"; an N.J.E. season usually contains virtually nothing that is more than 10 years old. This is truly an orchestra for new music. However, a season sometimes includes a post-war work posing particular challenges that students should confront. Such compositions have included Roger Sessions' Concertino, Stravinsky's Abraham and Isaac, and several pieces by Stefan Wolpe.

A large part of the repertory has been composed for the New Juilliard Ensemble—as of last season, 44 compositions, perhaps 20 percent of the total programming. These new pieces, often generous gifts of composers delighted by the opportunity to write for extraordinary young musicians,

NEW JUILLIARD ENSEMBLE Saturday, Sept. 21, Juilliard Theater, 8 p.m. For time and ticket information see calendar.

have come from all over the world, including Argentina, Bolivia, Israel, the Philippines, Uzbekistan, many European countries, and the United States. One of the most memorable was a chamber opera, The King's Witch, by Indonesian composer Tony Prabowo and the distinguished Indonesian writer, editor, and political commentator Goenawan Mohammad. A generous commission of Lloyd Erickson, it was delayed for several years by the chaos surrounding the fall of the Indonesian dictatorship, including a terrifying day when the composer, engrossed in a meeting near the Arts Center in Jakarta, was beaten up by soldiers, probably because he wore his hair long. With the Suharto dictatorship over, Mr. Mohammad suddenly found himself immersed in the post-dictatorship politics, and by the opportunity to reopen his newsmagazine, which had been shut down by Suharto. More delays resulted. The premiere, in November 2000, was well worth the wait, but has become even more unforgettable because of the truly remarkable performance of alto Makiko Narumi, who died tragically after a long illness last spring. (See tribute.)

Colin Matthews Photo by Maurice Foxall

In addition to these compositions, the ensemble has had the enormous pleasure of playing one or more new pieces each year composed by Juilliard composition students who are selected through an annual blind audition. I subsequently had the pleasure of conducting one of those works, Kenji Bunch's entertaining Arachnophobia, in Switzerland with local musicians and in Leipzig with a mixture of Juilliard and Leipzig conservatory performers.

What I have been describing represents only the world premieres by the New Juilliard Ensemble. Each season has also included countless American and New York premieres.

In addition to having the experience of playing the music of today, the members of the ensemble have been able to work with exceptionally interesting composers from around the world. Among the many who have come to help at rehearsals have been Tony Prabowo (Indonesia), John Psathas (New Zealand), Agustin Fernandez (Bolivia), Mark Kopytman (Israel); Americans Steve Reich, Elliott Sharp, Robert Beaser, and John Corigliano; and many others.

One other important aspect of the concerts has been concerto or other solo opportunities. This year's season will include concertos for tuba, cello, and violin, as well as a major work for two narrators, chamber orchestra, and tape.

Since the first years, the ensemble's concert season has gradually expanded to include touring. Unfortunately, these trips have only been feasible with smaller ensembles, usually seven or eight performers. Of the four international voyages to date, the first was a weeklong residency at the Seminars for Young Composers near Warsaw, which included a concert of American music that was repeated in Warsaw, and a concert of music by the young composers taking part in the seminars. Some months later, a group had a weeklong residency at the Moscow Conservatory that included a concert of American music and a concert of music by composition students in that institution. Then another group spent a week at the Rubin Academy of Music in Jerusalem, as part of an international conference on the teaching of composition in the late 20th century. In 2001, an ensemble performed in a festival marking the opening of the Leipzig Hochschule's new auditorium; it also performed jointly with Leipzig students. Last spring a larger ensemble performed at the University of Maryland, near Washington, in conjunction with the opening of its new performing arts center.

Hartmut Schmidt

This season on November 28, a group of eight will appear in the Festival Whynote in Dijon, France. This unusual program, which was requested by the festival, will comprise music by Japanese composers who have lived extensively in the West, and American composers who have been influenced by Japanese music and culture. Two works will include Dijon conservatory performers. The concert will be previewed in Paul Hall on November 22.

In New York, the New Juilliard Ensemble has been involved in other projects. It regularly gave four performances in the Summergarden festival that I direct at MoMA, which unfortunately is suspended while the museum builds its new wing. In 2001 and 2002, N.J.E. was invited to be part of the great Lincoln Center Festival, for which it performed music by Salvatore Sciarrino (2001) and Guo Wenjing (from Beijing) and Chinese-American Bright Sheng (2002), each time in conjunction with operas by those composers.

And so, here we are in September, preparing the 10th season. There will be five concerts at Juilliard: on September 21, November 22, December 10, January 24 (the opening concert of Focus! 2003), and April 15. Among the new pieces, one is by Alisher Latif-Zadeh, a Tadzhik who has lived in Uzbekistan since the disastrous civil war in his homeland. We shall premiere a new version of Khara Khorum, by Mongolian composer Sansargereltekh Sangidorj. This piece originally featured the incomparably beautiful morin khuur, the Mongolian string instrument that is a cousin of the violin family; Mr. Sangidorj is rewriting it as a viola concerto. Paul Chihara is generously writing a piece for the concert in Dijon. In addition, there will be new works by Juilliard composition students Kati Agocs (Canada), Jonathan Keren (Israel), and Dinuk Wijeratne (Sri Lanka). The usual number of New York and American premieres will complete this 10th year.

For those whose appetite has nearly been whetted, I'll add that the opening concert at the Juilliard Theater on September 21 will include a real rarity: a tuba concerto by Austrian composer Hartmut Schmidt, to be played by Ben Love. We'll also have the United States premieres of music by Frederic Rzewski (U.S.), Colin Matthews (U.K.), and Askell Masson (Iceland). In a nice double coincidence, a piece by Matthews was the first piece on the very first N.J.E. concert-which also took place on September 21, 10 years ago. The concert is free and open to all.