Life After Juilliard

Grüezi aus Lozärn! After finishing at Juilliard, I worked for a year as a Vocal Arts piano fellow before taking a job as an assistant conductor and coach at the opera house in Lucerne. It’s been an interesting transition from the Upper West Side to the Swiss Alps. Lucerne is mostly known for its international summer music festival but the cultural scene is quite vibrant year-round. The Stadttheater, where I work, hosts a full season of operas, plays, musicals, and a contemporary dance ensemble. I mostly work with the opera ensemble and the Luzerner Sinfonieorchester, coaching singers, playing for staging rehearsals, and assisting the music director and guest conductors. Currently we’re rehearsing Massenet’s Manon, and I’m excited to be making my conducting debut with Die Zauberflöte. Switzerland is amazingly beautiful so we try to take advantage of the mountains and lakes as much as possible. Traveling is so easy—it’s an ideal part of Europe to now call home.
Will Kelley (MM ’16, collaborative piano)

After Juilliard, I received my master’s degree from the New England Conservatory of Music. Since then, I’ve performed in all sorts of capacities, fortunately often as a soloist and chamber musician, including playing Schumann’s Cello Concerto in Carnegie Hall in November, a dream come true. I recently received a Sphinx Medal of Excellence, so I spend time in between concerts planning a recording and cello concerto commissions with the prize money. I fell in love with weight training a couple years ago, and staying in shape is something fun to do to complement my musical work. I enjoy keeping up with the news, drawing, and the occasional Netflix binge. I live in Philadelphia with my partner, Michael Martinez, who is dean of student life at Haverford College.
Christine Lamprea (BM ’11, cello)

Shortly after I graduated, my play Judy, which had appeared in Juilliard’s new play festival, polarized audiences downtown and my play Snore had its first and only production in a gorgeous third-year rep rendering. I also wrote a libretto for the Brooklyn Youth Chorus and taught for four semesters at NYU. Last fall I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, but after a difficult period, I’m learning to manage the disease and am grateful to be working again. My play The Treasurer just had a wonderful extended run at Playwrights Horizons and I’ve started teaching at Saint Ann’s School in Brooklyn. I love seeing my Juilliard Playwriting pals and their work: Abe Koogler’s Fulfillment Center, Jen Silverman’s forthcoming short story collection, Boo Killebrew’s Hollywood takeover. The bonds formed across that hexagonal table formation on the fifth floor continue to deepen. I’m made better by the sound of Marsha Norman’s voice in my head, I recently saw Christopher Durang’s harrowingly funny new play and he came to see mine, and I still see my Juilliard therapist!
Max Posner (Playwrights ’15)

Right after graduation I had the most hectic summer of my life. First I flew to Japan for the Toru Takemitsu Competition (I won, yay!). Who knew you can have sushi served by a robot?! From there I discovered the wonderful world of artist residencies at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in Florida, where I was put in a beautiful cabin with the primary mission of making art and the secondary, unspoken, mission of avoiding snakes and spiders. My time was divided between trying to keep a manly composure as I leaped on chairs screaming “Oh my god, help me please!” and writing music. In that residency I completed a piece called breathe (a coincidence?). After that I went to the French-Italian Alps for a premiere of a new piece. I had a window facing the Alps with a cable car at the bottom taking skiers to the top of the ridge. And so, after my premiere, I headed to the cable car which took me 8,000 feet to the mountain top. When I got there I graciously greeted confused skiers while wearing a suit and tie.
Michael Seltenreich (MM ’16, composition)

I joined the Martha Graham Dance Company right after graduation, and since then, I’ve performed leading roles in iconic Graham ballets in places like Italy, Spain, Germany, Haiti, Cuba, and China. Sometimes I have to pinch myself to remember this is actually my job! Aside from Graham, I have a passion for fashion. This year, I danced/walked for the Desigual New York Fashion Week show and will be featured in a Dior campaign. I have also danced with singer-songwriter-producer Blood Orange in two of his videos, been featured in Teen Vogue as a Rising Star Personifying Black Excellence, and was featured in Dance Magazine as a dancer on the rise. I’m learning French and Japanese and working with a voice and acting coach, I signed with a talent agent, and I’m enrolled in a class at Parsons. Life is a whirlwind, so when I have free time I enjoy riding a Citi Bike around New York with my boyfriend—we live together in the Sugar Hill section of Harlem.
Leslie Williams (BFA ’15, dance)