Derek Mithaug 1966-2021 | In Memoriam

Alum and career development office leader has died

Derek Mithaug (BM ’92, MM ’93, piano; faculty 1995-2008), Juilliard’s founding director of career development, died January 30, a month after his 54th birthday. He is survived by his wife, Linda, three stepchildren, and two grandsons.

In tandem with other Juilliard roles, Mithaug was a columnist for the Juilliard Journal; he also wrote for numerous other publications. After leaving Juilliard, he served as executive director of the Wharton Music Center and as an arts consultant. In addition to his Juilliard degrees, Mithaug earned a master’s in higher education administration from Teacher’s College. Bärli Nugent (BM ’76, MM ’77, flute), assistant dean and director of chamber of music, paid tribute to him.

By Bärli Nugent

Those bright eyes stared at me insistently. They belonged to Derek Mithaug, who had just suggested that we co-teach a graduate class. “Absolutely not,” I replied, “I’ve never taught a class.” But he persisted—and as a result, I’ve had the deeply nourishing privilege of teaching hundreds of students in the Career Development Seminar. Derek did that for countless people and programs.

Growing up as a child actor, dancer, violinist, and pianist, Derek came to Juilliard to study piano with Martin Canin (BS and MS ’56, piano; faculty 1955-2016). As a student, he formed the Juilliard Jazz Sextet and persuaded Steinway to co-sponsor a national piano tour to raise funds for leukemia research. In 1995, he released Alternate Sides, a classical/jazz CD, and joined Juilliard’s administrative team. Four years later, he became the founding director of career development, and in 2002, he and Eric Booth (faculty 1994-2001) and I co-created the cross-discipline mentoring program.

Derek was a visionary educator with boundless energy for serving the community, and whether we were working late with the mentoring team, huddled with our seminar students, talking about chamber groups or our families, this man who skydived 2,000 times showed us how to dream big, live large. The only time I heard him perform, Derek—whose days were filled with endless meetings, administrative tasks, and little time to practice—offered a Bach Chaconne that left me in tears. A model of the artist-citizen that Juilliard encourages us all to be—we owe him so much.