On March 11, we woke to the news that northeastern Japan had experienced a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and that a tsunami was on the way. In the following days, the news only got worse as problems with nuclear power stations began to unfold. And as the world tried to come to grips with these disasters, we started finding out how the Juilliard community had been affected.

Two Juilliard students were in Japan at the time. Violinist Marina Aikawa was practicing, and hid under her family’s piano during the quake for safety. Piano master’s student Hea Youn Chung was supposed to land in Tokyo just an hour after the earthquake struck. She was rerouted to northern Japan, where she spent 12 hours on the tarmac and then several days in the airport before being able to leave.

Two alumni and a Juilliard staff member have written reflections on the earthquake and its terrible consequences; their thoughts appear below.

In the meantime, members of the Juilliard community are searching for ways to help; plans for various fund-raising efforts were underway at press time. While it is impossible to foresee the full impact of the crisis, our hearts go out to all the people of Japan.

—The editors