Juilliard’s Preparatory Division Announces 31 Commissions to Build More Diverse Future for Classical Music

CONTACTS:
Rosalie Contreras
Rachelle Roe
[email protected]

NEW YORK – Juilliard announces its new Preparatory Division Commissioning Initiative, which focuses on composers from historically underrepresented backgrounds in classical music showcasing the diversity of talent within the field. The cohort of 30 composers includes voices from a broad range of genders, ethnicities, backgrounds, and generations. The new works commissioned by Juilliard’s Preparatory Division will support the musical development of students ages 8-18 years old and are intended to join the existing repertoire of solo works and etudes available to the wider educational field.

Each new work was carefully developed in consultation with Juilliard faculty members to create either a new performance piece or set of etudes that are exciting to play and appropriately challenging for students of intermediate to advanced levels of musical development. The project consists of 19 instrumental or vocal solo works of approximately 6-8 minutes in length for each Pre-College department, and 12 books of 8-12 instrumental etudes for each department in the Music Advancement Program.

“Increasing the diversity of etudes and solo works introduced to young musicians is central to the creation of a more inclusive future, and we are grateful to this talented group of composers for partnering with us to forward that mission,” said Weston Sprott, dean and director of Juilliard’s Preparatory Division. “We look forward to the premieres of these pieces not only for our live audiences but via livestream for listeners all over the world. These commissions continue the broader effort across Juilliard to meaningfully elevate the diversity and talent of creators from every walk of life.”

Five of the new works will be premiered at the October 15 Pre-College Faculty Recital, 10 additional works will be premiered at the November 12 Pre-College Faculty Recital, with the remaining four premieres taking place at later dates. Attendance is free, and tickets are not required. The performances will both take place in Juilliard’s Paul Hall and will also be livestreamed at juilliard.edu/calendar.

The Preparatory Division faculty is comprised of musicians with prominent solo, chamber, and orchestral careers. Many perform with other Lincoln Center constituent institutions including the New York Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, New York City Ballet Orchestra, as well as leading presenting organizations for chamber and solo performance. 

Under the direction of Weston Sprott, who became dean in 2019, the Preparatory Division encompasses Juilliard’s Pre-College and the Music Advancement Program (MAP). Pre-College is a global program serving advanced students from over 10 countries in a comprehensive conservatory-style program reflective of musical study at the college level. Led by Anthony McGill, named artistic director in 2019, MAP enrolls intermediate and advanced music students from New York City’s five boroughs and the tristate area who demonstrate a commitment to artistic excellence. MAP actively seeks students from diverse backgrounds underrepresented in the classical music field and is central to Juilliard’s commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging.

October 15, 2022 - Pre-College Faculty Recital

The recital begins at 5:30pm EST in Juilliard’s Paul Hall and will be livestreamed.

Allison Loggins-Hull Gifts
Bart Feller (Pre-College ’91), Flute

Sharon Farber Morrisiano Oriental Fantasy\
Tali Roth (MM ’93), Guitar

Homay Schmitz First Bloom
Andrew Bove (MM ’01), Tuba
Martha Locker (BM ’99, MM ’01), Piano

Adolphus Hailstork Blue Bag 2
Marc Goldberg (Pre-College ’79; BM ’82, MM ’83), Bassoon
Martha Locker (BM ’99, MM ’01), Piano

Nirmali Fenn When Shadows Hold Their Breath
Ayako Oshima Neidich, Clarinet
Martha Locker (BM ’99, MM ’01), Piano

November 12, 2022—Pre-College Faculty Recital
The recital begins at 5pm in Juilliard’s Paul Hall and will be livestreamed.

Roberto Sierra Sonatina
Javier Gándara (BM ’88), Horn
Julius Abrahams (Graduate Diploma ’12), Piano

Jeff Scott God of Thunder
Weston Sprott, Trombone
Julius Abrahams (Graduate Diploma ’12), Piano

Kevin Day Pine Lake
David Krauss (Pre-College; BM ’93, MM ’95), Trumpet
Julius Abrahams (Graduate Diploma ’12), Piano

Xavier Dubois Foley Latin Paradise
Timothy Cobb, Bass
Julius Abrahams (Graduate Diploma ’12), Piano

Karen Tanaka Sensation
Orli Shaham (Pre-College ’93; BCJ exchange ’97), Piano

Horacio Fernández Vázquez (BM ’22) Natalia
Nicholas Schwartz, (BM ’06), Bass Trombone
Julius Abrahams (Graduate Diploma ’12), Piano

Derrick Skye In thy presence, I melt them all away
Amy Barston (MM ’98), Cello
Noreen Polera (BM ’84, MM ’85), Piano

Brian Raphael Nabors Ad Terram
Elaine Douvas, Oboe
Julius Abrahams (Graduate Diploma ’12), Piano

Manuel Sosa (BM ’91, MM ’94, DMA ’02) Stillarum
Matthew Lewis (MM ’90, DMA ’95), Organ

Nina Shekhar Hush
June Han (DMA ’04), Harp

Separately, the Music Advancement Program commissioned the following solo etudes for students:

Luis Casal Solo Etudes for Violin

Jessica Meyer (BM ’96, MM ’98, viola) 8 Etudes for Viola

Rufus Reid Melodic Etudes for Double Bass

Brian Raphael Nabors Ten Images Etudes for Solo Flute

Tamar Muskal 12 Etudes for Clarinet

Huang Ruo (MM ’02, DMA ’08) The Lunar New York, Day Dream, The Winding Road, ACTIVATE (for bassoon)

Chen Yi Impressions From Chinese Zodiac (for saxophone)

Joshua Pantoja (BM ’04, horn) Basics and Colors (for French horn)

Wayne J. du Maine (BM ’89, MM ’91, trumpet) Etudes for Trumpet

Ehren Valmé (BM ’21, trombone) Studies for Trombone

Kenneth Amis The Blown Through Etudes (for tuba)

Ivan Trevino Music for the Young Percussionist

The following works will be premiered at later dates in the coming months:

December 3, 2022, 11am—Pre-College Winter Songbook
Nkeiru Okoye Love and Longing: Sung Monologues Inspired by Classic Literature
1. “Whatever our souls are made of” (inspired by Wuthering Heights)
2. “Mr. Rochester” (inspired by Jane Eyre)
3. “Darcy Proposes” (inspired by Pride and Prejudice)
Pre-College Voice Students

December 10, 2022, 6:30pm—Pre-College Percussion Ensemble Concert
Keiko Abe Toki no Nagare
Eriko Daimo, Marimba

April 22, 2023, 5pm—Pre-College Viola Studio Recital
Kenji Bunch Blue Hour Duo
Molly Carr (BM ’09, MM ’11), Viola
Anna Petrova, Piano

Fall 2023
Kenji Bunch Sketches for Mr. South
Francesca DePasquale (MM ’14), Violin

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About The Juilliard School
Founded in 1905, The Juilliard School is a world leader in performing arts education. The school’s mission is to provide the highest caliber of artistic education for gifted musicians, dancers, and actors, composers, choreographers, and playwrights from around the world so that they may achieve their fullest potential as artists, leaders, and global citizens. Under the leadership of President Damian Woetzel since 2018, Juilliard is guided in all its work by the core values of excellence; creativity; and equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging (EDIB).

Located at Lincoln Center in New York City, Juilliard offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in dance, drama (acting and playwriting), and music (classical, jazz, historical performance, and vocal arts). Currently more than 800 artists from 43 states and 44 countries and regions are enrolled in Juilliard’s College Division, where they appear in more than 700 annual performances in the school’s five theaters; at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully and David Geffen halls and at Carnegie Hall; as well as at other venues around New York City, the country, and the world. The continuum of learning at Juilliard also includes nearly 400 students from elementary through high school enrolled in the Preparatory Division, including its Music Advancement Program (MAP), which serves students from diverse backgrounds often underrepresented in the classical music field. More than 800 students are enrolled in Juilliard Extension, the flagship continuing education program taught both in person and remotely by a dedicated faculty of performers, creators, and scholars. Beyond its New York campus, Juilliard is defining new directions in performing arts education for a range of learners and enthusiasts through a global K-12 educational curricula and graduate studies at The Tianjin Juilliard School in China.
 

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