Since my first day as president of the Juilliard School in 1984, I have never been prevented from arriving at this remarkable place, but Tuesday, September 11, 2001 was no ordinary day. While driving to Juilliard from north of the city, I learned of the initial plane impact, then a second plane and the quick closing of all access to Manhattan.

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Like a parent searching for a lost child, I felt confusion, pain, anxiety, and then determination to protect all that has been so important to me in my professional life. Upon my return home, I found that all phone lines to Juilliard were inoperable, with the strange exception of the direct phone to my office, which was on voice mail! Fortunately, a call 30 seconds later connected me to my assistant, and for the next 10 hours my link to Juilliard was through one phone number.

Happily, the number never failed me, and allowed me to conduct constant conference calls to plan the evacuation of our residence hall, discuss security and dining issues, and eventually reopen the residence that evening. I will be eternally grateful to my colleagues of the administrative staff and faculty for their dedicated work, as well as justifiably proud of our students, who handled themselves with strength and focus during that horrible day.

Although Manhattan was still closed to automobile entry, on Wednesday I was able to get to school using Metro North trains and the city subway system, which worked flawlessly but was enveloped by an eerie silence. Clearly, no one was able to find words to speak. Juilliard remained closed on Wednesday as well, because there was still considerable anxiety in the city, and all public schools had been closed. However, except for a bank of computers in our lobby that had been installed to give students easy access to e-mail, Juilliard seemed unchanged. Yet the prevailing silence I felt in the subway was also in our building.

Classes resumed on Thursday, and faculty, students, and staff slowly edged back to some level of normal schedule, but we all shared a common concern for what was before us. I found myself dispensing with casual conversation and rather pausing to learn how the day was going for a student or colleague. Community members were bonding in ways I found deeply moving. I saw drama students at 1 p.m. and discussed their desire to volunteer, to help. Students wanted to reach out, but blood banks were already swamped with donors, and it was too early in the crisis for artistic presentations.

Since those first days, I have seen Juilliard and its people begin to heal, to shake off the silence so uncharacteristic of the Juilliard experience. On September 20, we gathered as a community in the Juilliard Theater to reflect on recent events through readings, dance, dramatic monologue, and music. I had been involved in planning the event, and felt a need to be close to the performance, as if the Juilliard Theater would be closed to me, as Manhattan Island had been on September 11. As a result, I watched most of the presentation from the wings. Toward the end of the gathering, the Juilliard String Quartet played the slow movement of Schubert’s G Major Quartet. Hearing this group of dedicated musicians perform put much in focus for me. Juilliard is about tradition, integrity, humanity. So much was lost on September 11, but the spirit of our school and our nation came alive and grew in my mind as I heard the last chords of the quartet.

On that day, I urged our students to understand that the moment will soon come when practice, rehearsals, and classes, now dwarfed by recent events, will be used for good as our young artists comfort their fellow human beings through their art in these days of sorrow and healing. In the aftermath of this great tragedy, we have seen so much that is positive about the human spirit. We send our deepest condolences to those who have lost loved ones and colleagues. All of us will be eternally grateful to the firefighters, police officers, and emergency personnel who risked and lost their lives to help others. To all members of the Juilliard community, please know that your security, and your artistic and intellectual growth, are our primary missions. Feel at peace and safe here. To our international students representing 47 countries, know that you are a very important part of the Juilliard family and we look to your growth and safety with total commitment and dedication.

This is a time when we as individuals, and as a community, need to find and focus our inner strength and discipline. I am convinced that such strength exists in us all as we move toward a new day.