Much of what is written about Juilliard focuses on the outcome of the educational process at the School, extolling the accomplishments of those alumni who flourish as performers. Our fourth annual edition of Center Stage takes a look at what happens before the performance: the dynamic interaction between student and teacher, and the efforts of those Juilliard alumni who have made their mark as innovators in arts education.

As faculty member (and alumnus) Edward Bilous writes in these pages, these artist-teachers are leading a "quiet revolution" that is transforming pedagogy as well as the arts themselves. His article found on this page focuses on those educators whose specialty is music, while the Alumni Reflections columns—specially expanded for Center Stage—look at the worlds of drama and dance education through the eyes of, respectively, drama alumnus Blair Singer and dance alumnae Jerry and Mary Cochran—who happen to be mother and daughter as well. These dedicated people are but a few of the Juilliard-trained individuals who are rising to the challenge of fostering what Bilous calls "a new brand of arts advocacy" through education.

A Quiet Revolution: The Transformation of Education Through the Arts by Edward Bilous There is a group of Juilliard alumni who are quietly transforming the arts in America. While they may not be household names, they have earned positions of leadership at prominent institutions around the country and are bringing with them a new brand of arts advocacy that they first encountered at Juilliard. In this article, we explore the contributions of six remarkable musicians to the world of arts education: Nicole Cherry, Todd Frazier, Sarah Johnson, Paola Prestini, David Wallace, and Airi Yoshioka. More...

Setting New Standards All of the individuals featured in "A Quiet Revolution" are alumni of the Insights Into Learning class, an introduction to new approaches to music pedagogy taught by the article's author, Edward Bilous. A member of the Juilliard faculty since 1986, Bilous has spent the last two decades setting new standards for arts education. Students, he says, "are not empty vessels into which teachers pour information. Students come to every experience with a full body of ideas, expectations, skills, and talents. It is the responsibility of teachers to help them to discover the hidden truths that lie in a work of art..." More...

Alumni Reflections: Jerry and Mary Cochran by Emily Regas An artistic path might seem preordained in the case of both Jerry Bywaters Cochran (B.S.'58, dance) and her daughter, Mary Cochran ('81, dance), members of a Dallas family with involvement in nearly every aspect of the arts. Both mother and daughter danced professionally before turning their attention to the world of education, Jerry inaugurating a modern dance program at Texas Christian University and Mary directing the dance program at Mills College in California before winding up at Columbia University's Barnard College, where she is Dance Department chair. More...

Alumni Reflections: Blair Singer by Emily Regas "You take each kid at his or her own needs," says drama alum Blair Singer (Group 24). "That is part of the job, dealing with kids based on their individual personalities; each presents a challenge." Through his work with the DreamYard Drama Project and the Bronx Academy of Letters, Singer, now a staff writer on The Book of Daniel, a new mid-season drama for NBC television, and Monk, a comedy for the USA network, helped empower inner-city children to express who they are. More...

Visit the Alumni Photo Gallery.