By MIKE FINN

One morning in October 2002 I received a phone call from Francis Menotti, the executive and artistic director of the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy. He wondered if the Juilliard Orchestra would be interested in serving as the resident orchestra for the 2003 Festival. I was interested, knowing full well the artistic history of the festival (and loving Italy), so preliminary discussions were held within Juilliard.

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In November, both Gian Carlo Menotti (the founder and artistic inspiration of the festival) and his son Francis came to Juilliard to have further discussions. They were also curious to hear the Juilliard Orchestra in rehearsal, and sat in on a very early reading of Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin. The Menottis were very impressed with the orchestra, and increased the pressure for us to say yes by inviting me to come to Spoleto the very next week! This tactic worked well, because to visit Spoleto is to fall in love with the place. The city is magical—the theaters are beautiful, the piazzas inviting, and the food and wine superb. I was ready to accept the invitation—but there were other matters to settle. Where would everyone stay; what would the schedule be like; what was the repertoire? Over the next few months, the details began to come together. (Housing was not one of them, so back I went to Spoleto over the spring break, to look at housing options and meet with the festival staff to iron out some more detailsâ€| and to have a few more incredible meals.)

The months of March through June were furious with planning. On June 8, the Juilliard Orchestra finally headed to J.F.K. Airport to spend five weeks in sun-baked Italy. The performances were superb—and, in fact, The Juilliard School received the Festival Prize for "Best Artist," as voted by the Italian press!

—Mike Finn, Associate Dean and Director of Performance Activities