Juilliard Announces the Kayden Music Commissioning Program at Juilliard Pre-College

NEW YORK, March 18, 2024—Juilliard announces the creation of a new commissioning program for Pre-College, which will fund eight to ten new works annually in perpetuity. This program is made possible by Pre-College alumnus and Juilliard trustee Jerold S. Kayden, who along with his wife, Stephanie, has established a new endowed fund to support the school’s continued work to build a more representative world of classical music that includes repertoire by composers from diverse gender, racial, ethnic, and cultural heritages.

Known as the Kayden Music Commissioning Program at Juilliard Pre-College, the first of the solo and chamber commissions from this program will receive their premieres as part of the Juilliard Pre-College Faculty recital on Saturday, April 20 at 5 pm in Juilliard’s Paul Hall. The program comprises four new solo works for brass and piano, and two new brass chamber works. 

The commissions, which will include orchestral, solo, and chamber compositions, offer opportunities for collaboration with other organizations, institutions, and/or internally across Juilliard’s departments and disciplines. Composers are selected through a thoughtful process guided by Pre-College faculty members and administrators. The premieres on April 20 are performed by faculty members who have worked with the composers as part of the process.

“We are incredibly grateful to Mr. Kayden for his generosity in supporting an inclusive future of repertoire for young musicians," said Weston Sprott, Dean and Director of Juilliard's Preparatory Division. "The Preparatory Division's commissioning of over 50 new works in the last three years reflects our commitment to an artistic education that connects students with composers from a vast diversity of backgrounds, and we are thrilled that this vision will be realized for generations to come.” 

Jerold Kayden (Pre-College ‘63, piano, trumpet), shared “My mother Mildred Kayden was a Juilliard Preparatory Division alumna (Pre-College ‘37, piano) and full-time theatre composer. Although it is not my full-time job, my own composing benefited greatly from my early experience studying at Juilliard. Marrying diverse living composers with Juilliard’s superb Pre-College faculty and student performers is an amazing opportunity to broaden the field of classical music. I hope these compositions enjoy a subsequent life with performers around the world.”

For the first orchestral concert, as part of the new program, Juilliard Pre-College has partnered with the Interlochen Center for the Arts to co-commission a new orchestral work by Mary Watkins. The People's Awakening by Watkins will premiere on April 12 at Interlochen and will receive its New York premiere by the Juilliard Pre-College Symphony on May 4 in the Peter Jay Sharp Theater. Juilliard and Interlochen will debut two orchestral commissions per year for three years starting in the 2024-25 season with support from the Kayden Music Commissioning Program at Juilliard Pre-College. The collaboration with Interlochen increases the educational impact and reach of the commissions, exposes a larger audience to the composers’ work, and builds a greater artistic connection between the young musicians in both programs. 

The Kayden Music Commissioning Program at Juilliard Pre-College expands the Preparatory Division’s commitment to broadening the classical music repertoire. On Saturday, April 20, in addition to the Pre-College Faculty recital, Juilliard’s Pre-College Orchestra will perform side-by-side with musicians from the New York Philharmonic at Lincoln Center’s David Geffen Hall as part of the second orchestral performance in the Composing Inclusion program, a current partnership with the New York Philharmonic and the American Composers Forum. Additional details will be announced later in March and can be found on juilliard.edu. 

Information about the Preparatory Division’s commissions from recent years and its work to build a more inclusive and pedagogically valuable repertoire for young musicians can be found on the newly created webpage on juilliard.edu. 

Pre-College Faculty Recital Featuring commissioned works from the Kayden Music Commissioning Program at Juilliard Pre-College
The Juilliard School 
Paul Hall
April 20, 2024, at 5pm

Composer: Kevin Newton                Hill House for French Horn and Piano 
Bradley Gemeinhardt, Horn
Martha Locker, Piano

Composer: Tim Higgins                   Leap for Trumpet and Piano
David Krauss, Trumpet
Martha Locker, Piano

Composer: Kevin Day                       Apricity for Trombone and Piano
Joseph Alessi, Trombone
Martha Locker, Piano

Composer: Horacio Fernández Vázquez
                                                          Natalia for Bass Trombone and Piano*
 Nicholas Schwartz, Bass Trombone
Martha Locker, Piano

Composer: Kara Talve                      Inner Voices for Tuba and Piano 
Andrew Bove, Tuba
Martha Locker, Piano

Composer: Karen Tanaka                Dark Horizons for Brass Trio and Piano 
Javier Gandara, Horn
Kevin Quill, Trumpet
Weston Sprott, Trombone
Orli Shaham, Piano
 
Composer: Jordyn Davis                  Impressions for Brass Quintet
Terry Szor and Maximilian Morel, Trumpets 
Javier Gandara, Horn 
Weston Sprott, Trombone 
Andrew Bove, Tuba

*Commissioned in 2022 as part of Preparatory Division Commissioning Initiative 

This performance will be livestreamed at juilliard.edu/calendar via Juilliard LIVE, the school’s free digital platform, which provides access to performance livestreams and programming from the music, dance, drama, and preparatory divisions. Juilliard LIVE is available on a web browser or on a TV, tablet, or smartphone through the Apple iOS, Apple TV, Roku, and Amazon Fire TV apps.

Pre-College Symphony
The Juilliard School 
Peter Jay Sharp Theater
May 4, 2024, at 6pm

Pre-College Symphony
Kalena Bovell, Conductor
Irene Lee, Oboe

Stella SUNG Loco-Motion
KALLIWODA Oboe Concertino, Op. 110
Mary WATKINS The People's Awakening
(co-commission with Interlochen Arts Academy)
DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 8 in G Major, Op. 88

The Kayden Music Commissioning Program at Juilliard Pre-College has been funded by a substantial gift from Jerold (a Pre-College alumnus) and Stephanie Kayden.

The May 4 program is co-commissioned by the Kayden Music Commissioning Program at Juilliard Pre-College and Interlochen Center for the Arts. 

The Juilliard Preparatory Division is made possible, in part, by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

Bloomberg Philanthropies is Juilliard’s lead digital sponsor. 

About Jerold S. Kayden
Jerold S. Kayden, an urban planner and lawyer, is the Frank Backus Williams Professor of Urban Planning and Design and Founding Director of the Master in Real Estate program at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Among other things, he has composed “Inauguration Theme and Fanfare” for brass and percussion ensemble which was performed at the inauguration ceremonies for the past two Harvard University presidents.

About Juilliard Preparatory Division and Pre-College
Juilliard’s Preparatory Division comprises two Saturday music programs for students ages 8 to 18: Pre-College and the Music Advancement Program (MAP). Juilliard has an ongoing commitment to the principles and practices of inclusiveness and strongly encourages applications from students of diverse backgrounds. Financial aid, up to and including full-tuition scholarships, is available for both programs.

Pre-College offers a comprehensive conservatory-style music program for students 8–18 years old who exhibit the talent, potential and ambition to pursue serious music study at the college level. Students work with world-class faculty—many of whom are on the Juilliard college faculty—to develop technical proficiency while fostering creativity and intellectual curiosity. Full- and partial-tuition scholarships are available for eligible admitted students.

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. Juilliard is led by Damian Woetzel, seventh president of the school, who has prioritized affordability and access to the highest level of artistic education while championing Juilliard’s tradition of excellence.
 
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). More than 800 artists from 42 states and 50 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 U.S., and the world. The continuum of learning at Juilliard also includes nearly 400 students from elementary through high school enrolled in the Preparatory Division in its Pre-College and Music Advancement Program (MAP); MAP serves students from diverse backgrounds often underrepresented in the classical music field. More than 1,200 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 preparatory and graduate studies at The Tianjin Juilliard School in China.

juilliard.edu | @juilliardschool

About Interlochen Center for the Arts
The nonprofit Interlochen Center for the Arts is a recipient of the National Medal of Arts and the only organization in the world that brings together a 3,000-student summer camp program; a 550+-student fine arts boarding high school; a year-round source of expert online arts education for children, teens, and adults; opportunities for adults to engage in fulfilling artistic and creative programs; two 24-hour listener-supported public radio services (classical music and news); more than 600 arts presentations annually by students, faculty and world-renowned guest artists; a robust hospitality division that curates on-campus lodging, dining, and transportation services; and a global alumni base spanning nine decades, including leaders in the arts and all other endeavors. For information, visit Interlochen online at www.interlochen.org.
 

CONTACTS:

Allegra Thoresen
[email protected]

Villa Albertine, Dylan Hadida:
[email protected]

Image: Juilliard Pre-College Orchestra, led by Earl Lee, performing at Alice Tully Hall on Saturday, November 18, 2023.
Photo by: Rachel Papo, courtesy of Juilliard 

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