Vol. XIX No. 5
February 2004
Music Advancement Program Hosts First Alumni Reunion

By AARON A. FLAGG

There are times when a thing feels just right; natural, obvious even. Such was the case with organizing the first Music Advancement Program alumni reunion. Begun in September 1991, the Music Advancement Program (MAP) works with public school children at the beginning level of instrumental instruction, offering a broad music curriculum and level of support singular among music programs nationally. MAP has been a longtime fixture on Saturdays at Juilliard, bringing tangible access to children while giving the School an opportunity to demonstrate its commitment to issues of inclusion and diversity in the world of the arts. It was time to celebrate this 13-year-old experiment and check in on its results.

MAP alums clarinetist Shawn Coleman and violist Suzanne Morello perform with faculty member Cristina Stanescu.(Photo by Nan Melville)
Saturday, December 20, 2003, included an alumni reception featuring speeches by President Joseph W. Polisi and Vice President Laurie Carter and an alumni performance, as well as a photo gallery, luncheon, raffle, and the opportunity to enjoy the current MAP children in their winter concert performance in Paul Hall. There were 86 alums and 174 guests confirmed to attend. In addition, CBS's 60 Minutes II was on hand to record this event for a future follow-up to a 1994 story on the Music Advancement Program.

The event allowed for informal reconnecting with fellow classmates and MAP faculty. The day also let us stop and marvel at where MAP alums have gone. A financial analyst, a Peace Corps volunteer in Mali, a medical student, doctoral candidates, a soldier fighting in Iraq, an English teacher in Japan, and a number of professional musicians, as well as current Juilliard College and Pre-College Division students, make up the approximately 425 MAP alumni. All counted their experience at MAP as invaluable to their continued development, and welcomed the invitation to reconnect with their alma mater.

Return to the MAP Reunion index page.
We asked clarinetist Shawn Coleman and violist Suzanne Morello, two alumni of the program, to share their experiences at the reunion and their thoughts about MAP with Juilliard Journal readers. Their responses appear below, left and right, respectively.

—Aaron Flagg

Director of Educational Outreach

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