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Juilliard Announces Plans to Celebrate 100th Anniversary
By CHRISTOPHER J. MOSSEY
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Richard S. Fuld Jr., the chairman and C.E.O. of Lehman Brothers, spoke at a press conference on October 12 at which plans for Juilliard’s centennial were announced. (Photo by Peter Schaaf)
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The Juilliard School will celebrate its 100th anniversary in the 2005-06 season with a yearlong, artistically broad program that will include performances of more than 35 newly commissioned works, international and national tours of the School's principal performing ensembles, exhibits, and special publications and events.
In a press briefing on the stage of the Juilliard Theater on October 12, President Joseph W. Polisi—joined by Bruce Kovner, Juilliard's chairman; Richard S. Fuld Jr., chairman and C.E.O. of Lehman Brothers; Lawrence Rhodes, director of the Dance Division; and Michael Kahn, the Richard Rodgers Director of the Drama Division—welcomed 110 members of the press and special guests to announce the 100th-anniversary season. At the briefing, Bruce Kovner named Lehman Brothers as the principal corporate sponsor of Juilliard's centennial celebration, in recognition of that firm's $1 million contribution toward the costs of a national tour and many other centennial year initiatives (see story on Page 12).President Polisi remarked that the centennial plans "have been developed in concert with our faculty, students, trustees, alumni, and administrators to create a unique celebration. Our planning meetings often dwelled on the theme of inclusiveness, since we see Juilliard's legacy as a national and international one in which the performing arts have been enriched by members of the Juilliard community." As detailed by Dr. Polisi, Lawrence Rhodes, and Michael Kahn, the centennial season promises to celebrate Juilliard's legacy through education, performance, and the creation of new work.
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| Lowell Liebermann has been commissioned to write an opera, titled Miss Lonelyhearts, for the Juilliard Opera Center. |
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The opening of the 2005-06 year provides an example of the wide range of tour activities, world premiere performances, exhibits, and special events that will permeate the entire season. In August 2005, the Juilliard Orchestra performs at the Lucerne Festival under the baton of Maestro James DePreist, with Juilliard alumna Sarah Chang as soloist; thereafter the orchestra will perform at the Aldeburgh Festival and other locations outside of London. Selected members of the Juilliard Orchestra will then travel to London to combine forces with musicians of the Royal Academy of Music Orchestra in special performances led by Sir Colin Davis. At the same time in August, the Juilliard Jazz Orchestra, led by Victor Goines, will undertake a weeklong residency at the Eugene O'Neill Theater in San José, Costa Rica. These performances follow the success of a quintet of Juilliard jazz musicians who performed there last May.A multimedia exhibit about Juilliard's history, co-curated by Juilliard and the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, will open in September 2005 at the library's Astor Gallery. Other exhibits will be mounted at the School, and will be presented in digital format on the Juilliard Web site. World premiere performances of major works in all three Juilliard divisions follow thereafter. On September 28, the Juilliard Dance Ensemble presents the first of five performances of a newly commissioned creation by Eliot Feld set to alumnus Steve Reich's Drumming. This 60-minute dance will feature the entire corps of 80 Juilliard student dancers, performing on a ramp of equally large scale built to fit onto the stage of the Juilliard Theater. The Drama Division opens its season the following day with the first performance of a new play, titled The Registry of Light, by prizewinning playwright Craig Lucas commissioned by Juilliard expressly for the fourth-year Group 35 actors; Bartlett Sher will direct the play, which includes new music by Michael Torke.
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| Eliot Feld. His work Drumming, set to music by Steve Reich, will be premiered by the Juilliard Dance Ensemble in September 2005. (Photo by Bruce Weber) |
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Alumnus Dennis Russell Davies leads the Juilliard Orchestra in Carnegie Hall on October 11 (designated as Centennial Day) in the world premiere of Manhattan Trilogy, a three-movement symphony by leading Finnish composer and Juilliard alumnus Einojuhani Rautavaara. Alongside these world premiere events, Juilliard will welcome its alumni in all divisions to take part in special events marking Juilliard's anniversary. Celebratory events for Juilliard students are also planned.In the midst of these performances, in late September Juilliard will host a one-day lecture program titled "The Arts and American Society," which will bring leading American thinkers to Juilliard to speak about the arts in relation to various fields. The dean of American history, David McCullough, and Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia are among the scheduled speakers that day.This is just the beginning of a full year of 100th-anniversary performances and events. Here are some highlights of other exciting elements of the centennial celebration in the 2005-06 season:
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| Craig Lucas’s play The Registry of Light will be given its premiere by fourth-year drama students, September 29-October 3, 2005. (Photo by Philip Friedman) |
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The Juilliard Orchestra tours in December 2005 to Washington's Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to present Mahler's Third Symphony under the direction of alumnus James Conlon. In March 2006, James DePreist, director of conducting and orchestral studies, joined by pianist and Juilliard faculty member and alumnus Joseph Kalichstein as soloist, leads the orchestra on a five-city tour with performances at Chicago Symphony Center and Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas, and three venues in California: the Irvine Barclay Theater in Irvine, Copley Symphony Hall in San Diego, and the new Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.The Dance Division will present 10 world premieres—nine with new music—during the 2005-06 season. In addition to the creation by Eliot Feld, three works with new music have been commissioned by Juilliard for performance in February 2006: Alumnus Adam Hougland makes a creation on a new score by Juilliard faculty member Christopher Rouse (a co-commission with the New York City Ballet); alumna Jessica Lang collaborates with British composer Pete M. Wyer; and Daniel Ezralow will create a new work to the music of Juilliard faculty member and alumnus Edward Bilous. In March 2006, the Dance Division will also embark upon a tour to Los Angeles and to Chicago's Joan M. and Irving B. Harris Theater for Music and Dance, performing a program of Mark Morris, William Forsythe, and the new Hougland-Rouse commission. Six additional world premieres by Juilliard students will be presented as part of an expanded version of the pioneering Choreographers and Composers workshop in December 2005.
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| Anne Manson will lead the Juilliard Orchestra and Choral Union at the Focus! Festival on February 3, 2006. (Photo by Nick White) |
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New commissions, distinguished directors, and touring characterize the Drama Division's centennial year program. In addition to the newly commissioned play by Craig Lucas, Juilliard has commissioned 10 of its alumni from the Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program to create 10-minute plays on the subject of the number 100. Juilliard's Group 36 actors will perform the 10 plays in a single program to be called "Ten Times Ten." The renowned directors Joe Dowling and Kenny Leon will also be at Juilliard that year to lead the fourth-year plays. Beginning February 28 and continuing in March 2006, the Group 35 actors tour with the Craig Lucas play and a play by Shakespeare, presenting two performances of each in Chicago and Los Angeles.Juilliard has commissioned the legendary saxophonist and composer Benny Golson to write a new work for the Juilliard Jazz Orchestra. The jazz orchestra also embarks upon a tour in March 2006 to the Chicago area, California, and South Carolina.
Juilliard has commissioned a number of other composers. Alumnus Lowell Liebermann will write a two-act opera titled Miss Lonelyhearts, based on the 1933 novella by Nathanael West, with a libretto by J. D. McClatchy. Paul Schoenfield will compose Channa, a symphony with chorus, as part of the 2006 Focus! Festival, while Roberto Sierra writes a new concerto for bongos and chamber orchestra specifically for the New Juilliard Ensemble. Solo and chamber pieces have been commissioned from Juilliard faculty members Samuel Adler and Milton Babbitt; alumni Mason Bates, Daniel Brewbaker, and Ezequiel Viñao; and from Franghiz Ali-Zadeh, Mario Davidovsky, and Joan Tower. All of the commissioned artists will be in residence at Juilliard around the time of the premieres of their works. Finally, through a project called "Juilliard Choral Book" and spearheaded by Judith Clurman, Juilliard's director of choral activities, the School has commissioned alumni Marvin Hamlisch, Laura Karpman, and Thomas Pasatieri; Howard Shore; and alumnus John Williams to compose brief choral pieces to be performed by the Juilliard Choral Union in April 2006.
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| Milton Babbitt’s work More Melismata is to be premiered at the Focus! Festival in January 2006 and a 90th-birthday celebration for Babbitt will be held in May. |
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Special educational and performance programs abound throughout the year. Steinway & Sons will present four master classes at Juilliard in the centennial season: two solo master classes, a piano trio chamber music class, and a special class on Beethoven's "Emperor" Concerto in January 2006, with Leon Fleisher coaching student pianists and conductors. Also in that month, the New York Festival of Song, under the direction of faculty member Steven Blier, collaborates with Juilliard to present an evening of 24 songs by 24 Juilliard alumni composers. Other special performances include the Juilliard Electric Ensemble at the Chelsea Art Museum and the Allen Room at Jazz at Lincoln Center, and a 90th birthday celebration for composer and faculty member Milton Babbitt. Throughout the entire performance season, Juilliard will promote "Juilliard Century," an initiative to program notable works created since 1905 onto regularly scheduled concerts.
Juilliard will mount a festive gala on April 3, 2006, in a Live From Lincoln Center telecast. Chaired by Cynthia and Dan Lufkin, the event is to feature appearances by pianist Emanuel Ax, sopranos Renée Fleming and Leontyne Price, the Juilliard String Quartet, and many more distinguished Juilliard alumni.
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| Dance students will perform a new work by Adam Hougland (above) in February 2006 with music by faculty member Christopher Rouse. (Photo by Michael Slobodian) |
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Professional organizations from around the world will pay tribute to Juilliard in special dedicatory performances. The Aspen Festival and School, European American Musical Alliance, Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Music Academy of the West, Seattle Symphony Orchestra and St. Louis Symphony Orchestra are among the organizations generously recognizing Juilliard's anniversary that year. Special publications to celebrate the centennial include an annotated timeline of the School's history and a book about Juilliard's incomparable rare string instrument collection. The latter contains photography of more than 25 of Juilliard's most valuable and historic instruments, with a short essay detailing the history and characteristics of each.The planning and support of the centennial would not be possible without the generous support of Lehman Brothers and its family of companies, the principal corporate sponsor of the centennial; Mr. and Mrs. Lester S. Morse Jr., centennial patrons of the Music Division; Stephanie and Carter McClelland, centennial patrons of the Drama Division; the Peter Jay Sharp Foundation; the Trust of Francis Goelet; the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation; the Howard Gilman Foundation; Roger Hertog; Sidney R. Knafel; Mont Blanc, and Steinway & Sons.Visit Juilliard's Web site (www.juilliard.edu/press) to view a press release detailing the dozens of special centennial year events.Christopher J. Mossey is the director of centennial planning and associate director of The Campaign for Juilliard.
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