Welcoming New Composition Faculty

By Yassmeen Angarola

Juilliard has announced the appointment of Valerie Coleman and Nina C. Young to the composition department faculty effective in the 2024-25 academic year. The appointments follow an extensive open search that began in the fall.

“We look forward to welcoming these remarkable composers and gifted teachers to Juilliard,” said Melinda Wagner, chair of the composition department. “Valerie Coleman and Nina C. Young will undoubtedly bring to our students their unique artistry, expertise, and abiding devotion to excellent mentorship.”

David Ludwig, dean and director of the Music Division, observed that "the composition department is the creative core of Juilliard’s music division, and Valerie Coleman and Nina C. Young will be invaluable mentors for our composition students.” He added, “Both composers represent our belief in a technique shaped by innovation, artistry, and openness. We welcome them to our learning community at Juilliard and are excited for both to have a lasting impact on creative work at the school."

Valerie Coleman is a Grammy-nominated artist who is one of the most performed living composers in the world. Commissions include the Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Carnegie Hall, Atlanta Symphony, Library of Congress, and Metropolitan Opera/Lincoln Center Theater. Her work has been performed by the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, and St. Louis Symphony, among many others. Award highlights include Performance Today’s 2020 Classical Woman of the Year, Orchestra of St. Luke’s 2022 Gift of Music, and Herb Alpert Awards’ Ragdale Prize. She is also the creator, founder, and former flutist of Imani Winds as well as a former fellow in the CMS Lincoln Center Bowers program. Coleman was an artist in residence in Juilliard’s Preparatory Division during the 2021-22 season and is director of the Woodwind Quintet Workshop at Boston University Tanglewood Institute. She will also join Juilliard’s chamber music faculty.

Nina C. Young joins Juilliard following her tenure as associate professor at USC Thornton. Her work has been performed by the American Composers Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Phoenix Symphony, Le Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, Aizuri Quartet, JACK Quartet, Matt Haimovitz, and wild Up. Winner of the 2015-16 Rome Prize at the American Academy in Rome, Young has also received a 2021 Guggenheim Fellowship, a Koussevitzky Commission, the Aaron Copland Bogliasco Fellowship in Music, a Civitella Ranieri Foundation Fellowship, a Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Salvatore Martirano Memorial Award, Aspen Music Festival’s Jacob Druckman Prize, and honors from BMI, IAWM, and ASCAP/SEAMUS. She serves as co-artistic director of the NYC-based new music sinfonietta Ensemble Échappé.