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Mentoring Program Provides Double-Sided Inspiration By BÄRLI NUGENT
What exuberance spilled forth from the faculty and staff in May 2002, with the announcement that, through the extraordinary generosity of June Noble Larkin, Juilliard would begin its new Mentoring program the following January. In the ensuing two years, the program has evolved and grown. Open to the entire student community, the Mentoring program now serves 67 students at the undergraduate, master's, and doctoral levels, and offers two distinct components. The first, Faculty Mentoring, pairs students with mentors outside of their own discipline to broaden understanding for both. The other, Professional Mentoring, allows students with career-specific projects to be matched with faculty members who prepare them for work with mentors outside of Juilliard.
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Mentoring nurtures artistic and personal growth, opening up both the student and the mentor to new ways of thinking about art—and life.
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The process begins when interested students submit written applications in the fall and are then interviewed by Eric Booth, artistic director of mentoring; Derek Mithaug, director of career development; and me. Booth characterizes the process as one in which students are paired with mentors "whose aesthetic sophistication and artistic spirit will make them an excellent colleague and leader in any exploration, allowing all students to flex their learning muscles to turn this opportunity into one that really provides what they are curious about." Students are also challenged to exercise leadership with their mentors, to raise questions, and direct the conversation.Mentoring relationships, which may continue for two years, come without requirements, other than periodic communications or meetings that will be of value for both mentor and student. They are intended to nurture artistic and personal growth, opening up student and mentor to new ways of thinking about art—and life. This does not conflict with the work done with one's teachers, nor is it traditional advising. Along the way, mentors and students alike are asked to consider what habits of mind characterize a creative individual. How does one make choices, stay open to innovation, and face daily challenges of the studio and stage? Patrick Cook, a second-year voice major, said: "Meeting with my mentor, even if it is only for a quick cup of coffee or a shared elevator ride, gives me the chance to get another opinion or point of view from someone who isn't in my division. These encounters spark so many thoughts and ideas of my own that influence my work and performance."Gatherings between mentor and student—via e-mail, over coffee, dinner, or at a performance attended together—also have yielded discoveries for the mentors. Vocal Arts faculty member Steven Blier said: "My story is a simple one: I don't get to many student recitals, not even my own students' recitals. Time is impossibly tight. But I thought I should first get to know my mentee as an artist, so I went to hear him play a program of Bach, Babbitt, and Strauss. It was one of the most bracing musical experiences I have had in a long time. I think he should be mentoring me. What a musician, and what a mind, and what a work ethic. Humbling."With a primary focus on exploration outside ones' own concentration, Mentoring has yielded unexpected discoveries. Eric Roberts, a first-year percussion major, acknowledged, "The program lets me go outside my profession to explore other things. My mentor gives me much inspiration every time I see him." Liberal Arts faculty member Greta Berman said that one day her mentee told her that she'd had the best voice lesson ever. "I asked her, in a moment of inspiration, if I could sit in on one of her voice lessons. She'd love it, she said. I then asked her teacher if it would be O.K. She was, in turn, thrilled. What an experience and a privilege! I learned so much. I have watched her progress, her singing getting better and better. She's no longer my official mentee, but we see each other often; we have bonded ... and I've learned something about teaching in the process."Special events are also scheduled for mentors and their students to attend together. Offerings this year include a conversation with jazz greats and lifelong friends, Wynton Marsalis and Victor Goines; a mock audition with the casting director of Cirque du Soleil; a performance by the Vienna Philharmonic; and tickets to see Denzel Washington in Julius Caesar. Alex Fink, a first-year cellist, has made full use of these opportunities. He said, "So far, my mentoring experience has been fantastic. My mentor is an awesome person to talk to and exchange ideas with. The program has enabled us to do some pretty cool things together. I only wish I could find more time in my own schedule to meet with him."As hoped, attendance at these events has yielded unpredictable artistic discoveries. Booth, who also serves as a mentor, said: "I went to see a Shakespearean play with my string playing student-mentee. We met early to have coffee, and she confessed she had never seen Shakespeare before, and was a bit scared. We did two things—talked about what that fear really is and why it usually shuts most people down, especially around classical music; and we planned how she might watch the show so she wouldn't feel lost. At intermission, she was bubbling about the staging and the surprise moments she found moving. After the show we talked about what makes Shakespeare so good. In an e-mail the following day, she had ideas about enlivening the staging of music performances based on the visual excitement she had seen the night before."But perhaps the jewels of learning this program offers, even in the midst of relentless time pressures on all in the community, was best summed up by Patrice Jackson, a second-year cellist, who said, "My mentoring experience has been a blast. I have an incredibly busy mentor who still manages to find time to meet with me and help me with any situation that I am going through. He has provided me with advice that I will forever cherish."Assistant Dean Bärli Nugent is the director of chamber music and administrative director of the Mentoring program. She holds a bachelor's and a master's degree from Juilliard and a D.M.A. from SUNY-Stony Brook.
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