A Global K-12 Valentine

In this school year, Juilliard’s Global K-12 Programs have rolled out curricular resources in music, dance, and drama in 45 schools (with 40,000 students) worldwide; worked with 127 Juilliard alums through engagement, afterschool, and summer programs—and resulted in one impending wedding.

Even though Kathryn Andersen (MM ’09, violin) and William (Liam) Day (MM ’07, trumpet; Ensemble Connect) didn’t overlap at Juilliard, it seems like they should have known one another somehow. Now a couple, both graduated knowing that to live and work in New York City as a professional musician could be challenging. Both had taken Joseph Polisi’s Artist as Citizen class and had been inspired by the idea that there were creative ways to respond to this challenge. Both had had teaching experiences at Juilliard—Kathryn had taken David Wallace’s class and loved working in a K-12 setting, and Liam had taught in a New York City public school as a member of what is now called Ensemble Connect (the performing arm of the Carnegie Hall-Juilliard engagement and performance collaborative). Still, it took a few more years, a few more career maneuvers, and Southeast Asia to bring Kathryn and Liam together.

In 2015, after six years of freelancing and teaching, Kathryn returned to Juilliard as a music curriculum specialist with what is now Global K-12 Programs. This role drew on her entire background—her rigorous music training, her liberal arts background as a Harvard undergraduate, her love of working in K-12 classrooms, and the managerial elements that she had excelled at in previous jobs. She and her colleagues were to write and oversee implementation of a music curriculum in the Nord Anglia schools, an international network of K-12 schools, and she was in charge of Southeast Asia.

Meanwhile, Liam was playing second trumpet in the Malaysian Philharmonic and was in his seventh season in Kuala Lumpur when a former Ensemble Connect administrator, Betsie Becker, who’s now the managing director of Global K-12 Programs, asked if he would be interested in becoming a visiting artist.

Liam and Kathryn’s relationship began unassumingly with a few calls to discuss schedules and get a sense of what he would like to do in the Pattaya (Thailand) and Singapore schools. Their first meeting didn’t occur until Liam, by then acting second trumpet in the New York Philharmonic, came to debrief about his previous and possible future school visits in Asia. A few hours after the debrief, Kathryn received a text from their mutual friend Alexander White (BM ’08, MM ’10, trumpet) asking if he could pass along her number to Liam. She permitted the exchange but made it clear that she was in a relationship.

Fast-forward to 2017. Liam had returned from another set of successful visits to schools in Chengdu, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, and Phnom Penh, this time in collaboration with Conor Hanick (MM ’08, DMA ’13, piano). Kathryn, who was visiting the Phnom Penh school, received a text from Liam, who wanted to chat about Cambodia. Now single, Kathryn happily accepted. It wasn’t too long before they moved to Washington Heights together and Liam, after convincing Kathryn to take a break from painting their new apartment, dropped to one knee and asked her to marry him.

Andrea Lee is senior curriculum specialist for Juilliard’s Global K-12 Programs