By IRA ROSENBLUM

What's this? The Juilliard Journal … in color?!

Yes, dear reader. As the School's 100th-anniversary season draws to a close, the Publications Office wanted to wrap up the centennial year in style and acknowledge the many colorful events of the last 12 months, to create something that members of our community could hold as a keepsake, a reminder of the extraordinary year that we've shared. What better way, we thought, than to do a special edition of the newspaper (which also celebrated a milestone anniversary of its own this season: its 20th)? And how better to make it special than to print it in full color, on high-quality paper?

The result is what you hold in your hands: 24 pages of color—a first (but not last, I hope!) for The Journal. In them you'll find a photo essay featuring high points from the year's performances along with a complete list of works commissioned by the School for this historic season; an expanded version of our popular Juilliard Portraits column, in which 13 longtime faculty (including some emeriti) share their thoughts about Juilliard then and now; six Alumni Reflections, representing an actor, opera singer, violinist, choreographer, conductor, and composer; and other special features we hope you will find as memorable as this entire year has been. (Space limitations forced us to omit some of our regular columns this month, but look for them again in the fall.)

This special color edition of The Juilliard Journal was made possible in part by a grant from The New York Times Foundation, for which we are extremely grateful. I also want to take this opportunity to publicly thank a number of people whose contributions to The Journal are outstanding. (If I've left anyone out, I beg his or her forgiveness.) First, our regular columnists, who devote enormous time and energy, month after month, to their assignments: Greta Berman (Focus on Art); Jeni Dahmus (this year's Past Times column of archival reprints and, in previous seasons, Time Capsule); Caroline Greenleaf (Shrink Rap); Derek Mithaug (Career Beat); and Brian Wise (Discoveries). Many faculty and staff members write for the paper, but a few deserve special mention for their frequent—and excellent—contributions: Judith Clurman, Daniel Druckman, Jane Gottlieb, Christopher Mossey, Lisa Robinson, Joel Sachs, and Loren Schoenberg. Hats off to the many Juilliard students who take time out from what, by anyone's standard, can only be described as an impossibly demanding schedule, to don reporters' hats and write stories for The Journal. Thanks are also due our colleagues, Liberal Arts faculty members Ron Price, Gonzalo Sanchez, and Jo Sarzotti, for their behind-the-scenes help in finding contributors for our regular student columns; the staffs of the Alumni Relations and Student Affairs Offices for their assistance with articles related to their areas; and the many department heads, administrators, and staff members—too numerous to name individually—who suggest stories and student writers. A special word of gratitude to our wonderful printer, David Chusid, who always goes the extra mile to ensure The Journal's high-quality appearance. Finally, the Publications staff: senior editor Jane Rubinsky and assistant/production editor Lisa Yelon, whose hard work and dedication are evident in every issue. The contributions of all these people, and so many more, add an element of depth and professionalism to this newspaper that I have come to relish.