Juilliard’s 117th commencement ceremony celebrating the class of 2022 will take place on Friday, May 20, at 10:30am ET, outdoors at Damrosch Park on Lincoln Center Plaza.
Composer and conductor Michael Tilson Thomas will deliver the commencement address. This year’s honorary doctorate recipients are Tilson Thomas, teacher and stager Masazumi Chaya, bass-baritone Dr. Simon Estes (’64, voice; former faculty), playwright Suzan-Lori Parks, and Afghanistan National Institute of Music founder Dr. Ahmad Naser Sarmast. Read more about these five arts world luminaries.
All are invited to watch this year’s commencement livestream at juilliard.edu and celebrate this milestone virtually. Additional information on in-person attendance and more can be found below.
This page will be updated with the latest information as it becomes available. For all other questions, please contact [email protected].
In-Person Attendance and Ticketing
We look forward to celebrating this year’s commencement in person, with family and friends in attendance. Please be aware, however, that the commencement ceremony is a ticketed event with limited capacity. Each graduate will receive four tickets that they are responsible for sharing with their invited guests. These tickets will be distributed via email to each graduate’s Juilliard email address in the weeks leading up to the ceremony. Those who wish to attend commencement in person should reach out to their graduate for ticketing availability and information.
All attendees are required to wear appropriate face coverings during this event. Should bad weather require the ceremony to move indoors (see “Weather Plan” below for full details), all commencement attendees are also required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Read more information on Juilliard’s health and safety policies.
Weather Plan
Commencement is scheduled to take place outdoors, at Damrosch Park on Lincoln Center Plaza. In the event of bad weather, however, commencement will move indoors to the Peter Jay Sharp Theater, which will further limit the number of guests who can attend. Should the ceremony be relocated due to weather, each participating graduate will be reissued two tickets for the Peter Jay Sharp Theater.
Please note that in this scenario, previously issued tickets for Damrosch Park will no longer be valid, and graduates are responsible for sharing these new tickets with their two invited guests. All other family and friends are invited to watch commencement via livestream at juilliard.edu. Graduates will be notified by noon ET on Thursday, May 19, if the ceremony will need to move indoors due to forecasted weather events. We thank you in advance for your understanding.
Hotels and Transportation
Family and friends attending commencement have many options for hotel accommodations throughout New York City as Lincoln Center is centrally located and easily accessible via public transit. If you prefer to stay near Lincoln Center, many travel websites, such as Hotels.com or Kayak.com, allow you to search for hotels by proximity to the campus.
