Column Name
Title
1934
May 1, a four-day Bach Festival opened with a program of the Magnificat and Cantatas Nos. 51, 53, and 104, performed jointly by the Juilliard Orchestra and the chorus of the Oratorio Society of New York conducted by Albert Stoessel (faculty 1920-43). Among the soloists were the following Juilliard students: trumpeter William Vacchiano, tenor Roland Partridge, bass Harold Boggess, soprano Josephine Antoine, and contralto Risë Stevens. The festival concluded with organ works performed by George William Volkel and Hugh Porter, the Peasant Cantata, the “Brandenburg” Concertos featuring pianist Ernest Hutcheson and flutist Georges Barrère, and the St. Matthew Passion with combined ensembles from Juilliard, St. Thomas Episcopal Church, and the Oratorio Society of New York.
Richard Rodgers (’24, music theory; right) presents the first award from the Richard Rodgers Scholarship Fund to composer Louis Calabro (center) at Juilliard’s 48th commencement, on May 29, 1953, while President William Schuman (left) looks on.
(Photo by Frank Donato, Impact Photo, Inc.)Body
1943
May 5, a Music Week Neighborhood Rally was presented under the auspices of the Civilian Defense Volunteer Office. The event honored Juilliard students in the military and included readings of letters from men in the armed forces as well as performances of works by Howard Hanson and Ralph Vaughan Williams.
1953
May 29, Richard Rodgers (’24, music theory) presented the first award from the Richard Rodgers Scholarship Fund to composer Louis Calabro, a Postgraduate Diploma recipient at Juilliard’s 48th commencement. As part of the commencement exercises, Jean Morel (conducting faculty, 1948-71) led the Juilliard Orchestra in performances of Concertato for Orchestra by Robert Witt (B.S. ’52, composition), which was selected by the composition faculty as the best work by a graduating student-composer, and excerpts from Berlioz’s La Damnation de Faust with baritone soloist Barry McDaniel (B.S. ’53, voice).
1986
May 6, award-winning stage, film, and television actress Julie Harris spoke with Drama Division students.
1994
June 20-30, the Dance Division participated in the International Theaterschool Festival in Amsterdam. The Juilliard Dance Ensemble made its European debut with performances of former faculty member Colin Connor’s The Wind is a Knife, Esplanade by Paul Taylor (B.S. ’53, dance), and Findings by Sungsoo Ahn (B.F.A. ’92, dance). Esplanade was also featured in a combined program with the Amsterdam School of Modern Dance and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center. Former Dance Division Director Benjamin Harkarvy and current faculty members Linda Kent (B.S. ’68, dance) and Laura Glenn (B.S. ’67, dance) taught workshops and training sessions for participating schools.
