by JENI DAHMUS February 2002

February 26, a 16-piece dance orchestra of Juilliard students made its debut at the Manhattan Towers Grand Ballroom. Organized by Frank York, the jazz ensemble consisted of six brass players, five saxophonists, three percussionists, and a vocalist, Dorothy Free. Prior to the establishment of York’s band, a few other attempts had been made to form a dance orchestra at Juilliard. In 1942, 22 students rehearsed as an extra-curricular training group, but the ensemble was unable to perform due to financial impracticalities and union issues.

February 1, Frederick Prausnitz conducted a concert of contemporary music for chamber orchestra with baritone Frederick Fuller and pianist Joseph Bloch as soloists. The program included Goffredo Petrassi’s Récréation Concertante, Third Concerto for Orchestra (U.S. premiere); Luigi Dallapiccola’s Cinque Canti per Baritono e alcuni strumenti (New York premiere); Paul Hindemith’s Kammermusik No. 1, Op. 24, No. 1; and Karl Amadeus Hartmann’s Konzert für Klavier, Bläser und Schlagzeug (U.S. premiere).

February 6, the Juilliard Dance Ensemble performed excerpts of Marius Petipa’s Sleeping Beauty, directed by Antony Tudor. The program was a joint concert with the Philadelphia Orchestra, conducted by Eugene Ormandy, at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia. Among the dancers were Linda Shoop, James Flowers, Chieko Kikuchi, Carl Wolz, Bruce Becker, Koert Stuyf, and alumnae Ilona Hirschl and Jennifer Masley. Also on the program were excerpts from Wagner’s Das Rheingold and Verdi’s La Traviata, with Curtis Institute students Patti Jean Thompson and Rodney Stenborg as soloists.

February 6, 1961, the Juilliard Dance Ensemble performed excerpts of Sleeping Beauty in a joint concert with the Philadelphia Orchestra.

February 17-22, the 25th anniversary of the New York premiere of Tennessee Williams’s The Rose Tattoo was celebrated during a week of drama productions at Juilliard, which included the first Lincoln Center performances of T.S. Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral. The Rose Tattoo opened at the Martin Beck Theater on February 3, 1951. Juilliard’s revival, directed by Gene Lesser, was given February 17-18, 1976 in the Juilliard Theater—the first occasion the theater had been used for plays. Original music by David Diamond was restored for the first time since 1951 (the score had been lost for years). The sets were designed by Anthony Straiges, costumes by Zach Brown, and lighting by Joseph Pacitti. February 20-22 in the Drama Theater, Stephen Aaron directed Murder in the Cathedral; Roger La Voie designed the sets and costumes and Peter Ehrhardt was responsible for the lighting.

February 23-24, the Juilliard Orchestra appeared in a star-studded production of “Roger Daltrey Sings Pete Townshend” at Carnegie Hall, arranged and conducted by alumnus Michael Kamen. Pete Townshend, John Entwistle, Linda Perry, the Chieftains, David Sanborn, Eddie Vedder, Lou Reed, Spin Doctors, Alice Cooper, and Sinead O’Connor were among the guest performers. A live recording entitled A Celebration: the Music of Pete Townshend and The Who is available on the House of Blues label. Carnegie Hall was the first stop on Daltrey’s 1994 touring project; other local orchestras were used for the remainder of the tour.

The Juilliard Orchestra rehearsing with Michael Kamen in preparation for the “Roger Daltrey Sings Pete Townshend” concert at Carnegie Hall in 1994.

Jeni Dahmus is Juilliard’s archivist.