Juilliard to Win Capezio Award

A singular honor will be bestowed on Juilliard next month when the Dance Division becomes the recipient of the Capezio Dance Award. Lawrence Rhodes, artistic director of the division, pictured, will accept it at a ceremony in Juilliard’s Willson Theater on November 22. The award, one of the most important honors in the dance world, pays tribute to significant contributions to American dance, and it is given to “those who bring respect, stature, and distinction to dance and who exhibit qualities such as innovation, creativity, and imagination.” The award was established in 1953 and over the years many of the recipients have been affiliated with Juilliard—longtime faculty members Martha Graham, Martha Hill (the founding director of the division), Doris Humphrey, and José Limón as well as alumnus Paul Taylor, to name just a few. This year is unique in that it’s the first time that the award has been given to an educational institution. 

A Terrifying, Amazing Opportunity

In November 1884, a 20-year-old Richard Strauss was presented with a what was undoubtedly a terrifying, amazing opportunity when he visited conductor Hans von Bülow. Strauss wrote,

Bülow came to Munich and surprised me, when I visited him, by informing me that I would be giving a matinee performance before an invited audience, the program of which was to contain as its second item my Suite for Woodwinds, which I was to conduct. I thanked him, overjoyed, but told him that I had never had a baton in my hand before and asked him when I could rehearse. “There will be no time for rehearsals, the orchestra has no time for such things on tour.” The matinee took its course. I conducted my piece in a state of slight coma; I can only remember that I made no blunders.

Yikes! As we know, things worked out for Strauss, though, and on October 11, the Juilliard Wind Orchestra opens its second season with that same piece, Strauss’s Suite in B-flat Major. Read doctoral student Bryan Conger’s program note (the source of this anecdote)—and go to the concert, too! 

Got Brass

The 55-year-old American Brass Quintet will feature a rather home-grown program—albeit one that spans from the 16th century to the 21st—on October 19. The evening starts with Elizabethan Consort Music edited by faculty member and former A.B.Q. member Raymond Mase.

That’s followed by Steven Sacco’s Little Suite of Miniatures, which is the second movement of Quintet, which the A.B.Q. commissioned and which premiered at the Aspen Music Festival in 2004. The third piece, Shine, is also an A.B.Q. premiere—it’s by Robert Paterson, who was inspired by his father’s work as a sculptor who worked with bronze. The concert winds up with Canons of the 16th Century, also edited by Mase, and another commission, Sebastian Currier’s Cadence, Fugue, Fade. For more information, go to events.juilliard.edu.

Softball’s Bittersweet Finale

Although the Juilliard softball team had a great 9-1 regular-season record, sadly, we weren’t able to hold onto the Arts Division championship trophy we won last year. Our season ended on a windy evening in late August, when we were up against the New-York Historical Society Hyphens in our semifinal playoff game. We arrived at Riverbank State Park in Upper Manhattan for our late-evening game to find another playoff game still going on. The Guggenheim Museum’s Solomon’s Sluggers—whom we beat in last year’s championship—were locked in battle with the Intrepid Museum, whose team ultimately prevailed. Our team started out with a run in the first inning and our 18-person roster, featuring employees from 14 departments from the mailroom to the Dean’s Office, put up a hard fight, but the game ended in the seventh inning as our defense of our trophy came to an early end. Still, there was reason to celebrate a very strong season, with five new players and two returning old-timers. And as rookie Joel Turnham, the Willson Theater master electrician, said, “I’m already counting down until next summer’s season starts.”—Stephanie Gatton, special events manager, and James Gregg, production activities manager, are the co-managers of the Juilliard softball team.

Giving a Recital This Year?

ALL REQUIRED RECITALS MUST BE BOOKED BY OCTOBER 15.

Available recital dates will be listed in the Concert Office; a PDF version is available on MyJuilliard. Please be sure to check available dates before submitting your lottery application.

November-February lottery: October 6

March-April lottery: January 26

May lottery: February 23

• Lottery applications are accepted in the Concert Office only between 10am and 6pm on the day of the lottery or at recitals@juilliard.edu by 6pm.
• Your teacher must sign off on your recital before you can submit your lottery application.
• Application forms are available in the Concert Office and on the Concert Office department page on MyJuilliard.

All recitals and public performances must be approved by the Concert Office.