By JUDITH CLURMAN

Richard Rodgers, whose music is being celebrated in a concert at Carnegie Hall on March 16. (Photo courtesy of Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization)

In December, the Juilliard Choral Union performed a piece on its holiday program that was written for the group by Broadway and film composer Stephen Schwartz. On Friday, March 16, the chorus will be featured in a concert of music by Richard Rodgers, on a Carnegie Hall subscription series with the New York Pops, under the direction of the composer Marvin Hamlisch. You may recall that Hamlisch also wrote a piece for the Choral Union that was commissioned by Juilliard for last year's centennial celebrations.

What do these three men—Rodgers, Hamlisch, Schwartz—have in common? They all attended Juilliard! They all studied "serious" music even though they are best known for their work in musical theater and/or films.

Rodgers, who studied theory and piano at the Institute of Musical Art (Juilliard's predecessor institution) from 1920-24 and was also an alumnus of Columbia University, famously collaborated with lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II. His shows, too numerous to mention here by name, are some of the greatest and most beloved works of American music. May I suggest that you Google his name and listen to the wonderful music he wrote with both Hart and Hammerstein.

Hamlisch and Schwartz each claim that Richard Rodgers greatly influenced their music. Hamlisch got excited about every Rodgers song we discussed during our numerous meetings while we were organizing the Carnegie Hall program. We often got sidetracked and talked about how perfect so many of Rodgers' melodies are. Schwartz claims that Rodgers influenced his compositional styles in all ways, especially harmonically. We discussed the chord progressions and melodic shape of Rodgers' "Carousel Waltz" and how the piece had an impact on his forthcoming opera, based on the 1964 film Séance on a Wet Afternoon, which was commissioned by the Santa Barbara Opera and will be premiered there in 2009.

Juilliard alums who have left an indelible mark on American musical theater (above, photo by Shel Secunda) Marvin Hamlisch, who is conducting the concert; and composer-lyricist Stephen Schwartz. (Photo by Joan Lauren)

I recently caught up with both Hamlisch and Schwartz and discussed their early musical training. I asked them what they learned at Juilliard, and how their "serious" training influenced their later work.

Marvin Hamlisch began playing the piano at a very young age. His father, a refugee from Europe, played the accordion, and brought home "fake books." As Marvin recalled, they "introduced me to the hits of the day!" His older sister studied the piano and when she completed her lessons, Marvin used to sit down at the keys and pick out the melodies he had just heard her play. When he auditioned for the Juilliard Preparatory Division (now called the Pre-College Division) he said he knew only one hit song. However, he could play it in any key. Juilliard's faculty recognized his brilliance and accepted him. He attended the Preparatory Division from 1951 to 1963, studying piano with Anne Hull and Edgar Roberts, who drilled the young boy on scales and arpeggios. "I remember Edgar Roberts being very patient with me," Hamlisch says. "He was a great teacher. I think that, upon looking back, he was making sure that I became a complete musician. He understood me and gave me the skills that enable me to play my own compositions well."

Hamlisch also remembers the classroom teacher Frances Goldstein: "She was the best," he says. "I answered all the questions perfectly because I had perfect pitch and a great ear, but she decided that I had to know the reasons why I knew the answers. She made sure that I did. She made me think about music. She stretched my mind and made me a musician and she enabled me to understand what I was doing." Hamlisch said that his Juilliard studies grounded him and influenced his work throughout his long career. He told me that the song "One," from his Pulitzer Prize-winning musical A Chorus Line, might sound deceptively easy, but, he said, he "used the skills I learned in Juilliard theory class to write that piece."

Stephen Schwartz grew up in the New York suburbs on Long Island, where his next-door neighbor was George Kleinsinger, whose claim to fame was the children's piece Tubby the Tuba. He remembers hearing Kleinsinger playing songs for his parents and then plunking out the pieces he heard on the family piano. It was Kleinsinger who suggested that Stephen take piano lessons, which he did. Stephen then studied in the Preparatory Division during his high-school years from 1960 to 1964. He was a piano major, a student of Santos Ojeda, but also immersed himself in theory and ear-training courses. He switched to composition for his last two years at Juilliard, working with the composer Hugh Aiken. He attributes much of his musical knowledge to his Juilliard training and claims that his understanding of choral structure in music was greatly influenced by his studies in the Prep Division. Interestingly enough, he says he regrets not taking full advantage of his time at Juilliard and wishes that he had studied more orchestration and gotten more immersed in symphonic writing. However, as a young student he did write woodwind quintets and piano pieces.

Even though both these men were classically trained, their passions and talents motivated them to write for what I believe to be the greatest American musical form—the musical theater. In describing his compositional style, Hamlisch told me that even though he has written a successful symphony, his love lies in the theater.

“The Sweetest Sounds: The Music of Richard Rodgers” The New York Pops, Marvin Hamlisch, conductor and pianist With the Juilliard Choral Union, Judith Clurman, director, and special guest artists Carnegie Hall Friday, March 16, at 8 p.m. For ticket information, visit the Carnegie Hall Web site: www.carnegiehall.org Please see the Calendar of Events for more information.

"I write what is necessary, I write what is needed, and I write with an emotional tie," Hamlisch says. "I am writing music that fits—be it for your Juilliard Choral Union or for Barbra Streisand. When I wrote for the chorus for the Juilliard centennial last year I searched for a poem that worked as a choral piece. When I wrote the song "The Way We Were" I thought about how a half note or a quarter note would best work for Streisand." Schwartz also loves writing for the theater. "I need to be passionate about what I write and what is meaningful to me," he says.

Both Hamlisch and Schwartz say they are extremely grateful for the time they spent at Juilliard. Their knowledge and breadth of musical skills have enabled them to compose what, in my opinion, are some of our most beautiful songs and meaningful theater pieces. I am thrilled to call them my friends, and we all should be grateful that the Juilliard Preparatory Division accepted them as students. Do make sure to catch their shows. They both have hits currently on Broadway: Schwartz's Wicked and Hamlisch's A Chorus Line. And never miss a revival of a Richard Rodgers musical. You will love every note you hear.

Judith Clurman, the School's director of choral activities, is director of the Juilliard Choral Union.