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As this issue hits the stands and goes online, 885 students will be arriving at Juilliard to begin the school year, filling the halls with excitement and promise. In just a few weeks this year’s performances begin with the Playwrights Festival and with the first faculty recital. And for a taste of the full season’s bounty of more than 700 performances, see the Season Preview.
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Sadly the excitement of the new year has been tempered with sorrow as Juilliard has been mourning Jim Houghton, theater world visionary and head of the Drama Division, who died in early August. Trustee and alumna Laura Linney wrote, “He encouraged us to align ourselves with the person we wanted to be and to realize that growth.” Her tribute is one of many that poured in.
As we begin the year, I hope we’ll all keep in mind Houghton’s words when he was accepting a Lucile Lortel Lifetime Achievement Award in May, when he knew he didn’t have much time left in the world. He said that Juilliard students “remind me every year what passion and heart and discipline and a dream can achieve.” (The whole speech can be found here.)
May your year be filled with passion and heart as you work on achieving your dreams.
