Off-Campus

New York, NY – The Charles Ives Concert Series will make its New York debut at Symphony Space’s Leonard Nimoy Thalia on Monday, May 13th at 7:30 PM.

The Series is presented by the Danbury Music Centre, an 84-year old community music organization based in Ives’s hometown of Danbury, CT. Founded in 2015, the Series brings some of the most exciting emerging solo and chamber musicians in the United States to the greater Danbury area to perform the music of Ives and related works of others, American composers, and music that transcends the traditional boundaries of classical music. The Series is led by artistic director Paul Frucht and associate artistic director, Jon Cziner, both of whom are composers and Juilliard graduates.

On May 13th, the Ives Series will, for the first time, present a concert in New York City, in an effort to bring Danbury’s iconic composer’s legacy further out into the tri-state area. The program, entitled ‘The Ives Series in NY: Charles Ives and His Living Legacy,’ will feature Ives Series Artist-Faculty performing works by Ives, the series two artistic directors – Frucht and Cziner, 2019 Composer-in-Residence Robert Paterson, and Nina C. Young and Justin Dello Joio, two previous composers-in-residence. The goal of the concert is to tell his incredible story from Danbury’s perspective to a broader audience, outside of the greater Danbury area. Artists featured on the program include pianist Marika Bournaki, violist Molly Goldman, cellist Mitch Lyon, violinist George Meyer, pianist Mika Sasaki, violist Jacob Shack, cellist Julian Schwarz, and violinist Chelsea Starbuck Smith.

Tickets to the concert can be purchased and more information can be found here: https://www.symphonyspace.org/events/charles-ives-concert-series

Funding for the Charles Ives Concert Series is generously provided in part by Connecticut Family Orthopedics and Orthoprompt, the Anna Maria and Stephen M. Kellen Foundation, Maron Hotel and Suites, Hotel Zero Degrees Danbury, Associated Chamber Music Players, a Juilliard School Project Grant, William Frucht and Candace Ovesey, Peg Heetmann, and Joan and Steve Howard – a donor-advised fund of the U.S. Charitable Gift Trust.

Formed in 2018, Versoi Ensemble debuts on Tuesday, November 13th at Merkin Hall at Kaufman Center (129 West 67th Street, between Broadway and Amsterdam).

Versoi Ensemble features musicians from Helsinki and New York, who previously collaborated in 2017 for the Juilliard Orchestra x Sibelius Academy tour in celebration of the Finnish Centennial.

PROGRAM:
SIBELIUS – Romance in C Major for String Orchestra, Op. 42
DVORAK – String Quintet No. 3 in E-flat Major, Op. 97
SALONEN – “Homunculus” for String Quartet
ELGAR – Introduction and Allegro for String Quartet and String Orchestra, Op. 47

Purchase tickets here: https://www.kaufmanmusiccenter.org/mch/event/versoi-ensemble-debut-concert/

Student tickets: $10 (limit 2 with ID)
General admission: $30

For more info, please visit www.versoiensemble.org

Photo credit: Antonia Stoyanovich

Editors’ Note: This is not a Juilliard-sponsored event.

On October 4th, there is a call for survivors of assault and their supporters to walk out of work, school, and housework at 4:00 pm. Since it is labor that runs the world, when there are those who are denied dignity and safety, we have the power to stop the world from running.

Join us to show solidarity with survivors everywhere, raise our voices in protest, discuss how we can build a movement to block Kavanaugh, and fight the horrifying, misogynistic culture that exists in our society. This is the culture that future judges, politicians, CEOs, and presidents are steeped in, and as has been made apparent by the near constant revelations of the crimes of famed conductors, directors, actors, and pedagogues, this too is the culture of the arts. It is time to take the nature of power and sexual assault seriously and take action.

~ THURSDAY, October 4th 2018
– 4PM WALK-OUT
We will meet meet in Lincoln Center on the lawn to coordinate travel and make signs for…
– 5PM RALLY and SPEAK-OUT outside Trump Tower

Press Release: 

Performers from The Juilliard School Foster Community Through Artistic Collaboration in Botswana with Creative Borders

Creative Borders is a team of dancers, actors, and musicians from The Juilliard School dedicated to offering free workshops designed for people of all ages. In June of 2018, for the the third consecutive year, a new Creative Borders team will be traveling to Gaborone, Botswana with the hope to inspire communities that crave artistic outlets, opportunities, and training through the universal language of the arts. This year we are proud to announce that we are including workshops in jazz music, as well as drama and dance. Our program aims to provide people with the tools to express themselves through art beyond our three-week visit.

Gaborone, the capital of Botswana, is a small and vibrant city right above the South African border that lacks arts education. The people pride themselves in pursuing an education in math and science. At the Maru-a-Pula school, an exception has been created, which is why it has become the perfect fit for Juilliard students to foster a cultural exchange through the arts.

During our time there, our schedule includes teaching creative movement and rhythm to children with special needs, conducting dance, drama, and music classes every afternoon to the students of the Maru-a-Pula school, as well as teaching older members of the community each evening. On some mornings, the team gives workshops to younger primary schools, and on the weekends we give our time to health organizations that help people affected by HIV/AIDS.

The program ends with a performance at the Maitisong Theater, the only theater in all of Gaborone, located on the Maru-a-Pula campus. Tefo Paya, Director of the Maitisong Theater declares the project, “…a much needed catalyst in the process of growing the creative industry here and inspiring people and artists who have lost hope.” The performance is a true culmination of the cultural exchange between young professional artists and the community of Gaborone.

This year’s team includes:
Amanda Bouza (Dance ’18)
Austin Reynolds (Alumni, Dance ’17)
Sean Lammer (Dance ’19)
Darryl Daughtry Jr. (Drama ’19)
Bianca Norwood (Drama ’21)
Taurien Reddick (Jazz ’21)
Abdias Armenteros (Jazz ’21)

For more information, please visit www.creativeborders.org or email us at contact.creativeborders@gmail.com.

The Sing for Hope Pianos places artist-designed pianos throughout NYC’s parks and public spaces for anyone and everyone to play. We are looking for volunteer painters to help paint a Juilliard Sing for Hope piano over spring break! The design was created by Juilliard students, Matthew Quigley and Avery Roth-Hawthorne.

If you would like to help sand, prime, or paint, sign up at https://goo.gl/forms/TuPG9tTU9xvXb4Wk1. Sign up for 1 hour or 5 hours! Up to you! We will be painting the piano Wednesday, February 28 to Sunday, March 4 from 2-7 pm each day at the paint studio downtown on Liberty St (just off the Wall Street stop on the 2/3 line). Visit Sing for Hope to learn more about this special organization and their piano project.

ARTreach was a Juilliard-based service organization that, among other things, planned a trip to New Orleans every year in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Want to help organize and get involved with other service efforts at Juilliard?

Fill out this form (open in a new window)! Your contact info will be shared with other Juilliard students with similar wishes, and with the OSA. NOTE: although the end goal is to have an official student organization and project, this form and post are not associated with Juilliard or the OSA. And, your information will only be used for the purposes mentioned above.

If you are in any way involved with the performing arts scene of New York City, or just a theater and/or dance buff from around town, then you have most likely heard of Sleep No More. Procuring its name from a line of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Sleep No More is billed on its website as “an award-winning theatrical experience that tells Shakespeare’s Scottish tragedy through a film noir lens.” And that is the most pre-show information I would recommend for anyone who has not experienced this show yet. So, if you have not been fortunate enough to be immersed in the world of Sleep No More prior to now, do not read any further… I arrived at the McKittrick Hotel down on 27th Street around 7pm on a Thursday. The guest information sent to me in advance of my stay at the hotel provided me with instructions upon my arrival. I was placed on the ever-coveted guest list of Maximilian; a man whom no one is really sure exists. This privilege brought me to the front of the already long line of guests excitedly waiting their chance to enter the hotel where the doorman checked my ID (Sleep No More is a 21+ experience only) and a staff member escorted me in.

From there, I checked my coat and bag (this is required of all guests), I was given a playing a card, an ace of hearts specifically, and then I was pointed down a long dark hallway. From there, I was alone. I walked aimlessly for a bit until I came upon a security guard who asked me if I was here alone and if it was my first time. When I answered yes to both questions, he chuckled, shook his head at me and let me along my way. Needless to say this unsettled me a bit, but even more so excited my thrill seeking, fright loving side.

I finally found my way to a lounge. This is where you enter the world of Sleep No More. As you walk through a set of heavy velvet curtains, you are transported into a hazy speak easy jazz lounge of the 1920s. You no longer feel that you are in a controlled, monitored performance event, and soon forget that reality. This is life now. You are encouraged to indulge in the bar and then to sit and relax until a man, who was yet to be seen within the lounge, calls your playing card. I chose to sip on some sweet prosecco and then took my seat at my reserved cocktail table in Maximilian’s roped off section.

After watching the other bemused guests trickle in and grab drinks for a while, a man finally did appear out of what seemed to be nowhere and called for all guests holding ace cards. We followed obediently into a small, dark room where we were finally given our famous Sleep No More audience member masks. We were then given brief instructions: keep your masks on all evening, no talking for the rest of the night, no phones, anyone who becomes too overwhelmed can return to the lounge at any point, and finally, that fortune favors the bold in the McKittrick.

At this point, I will leave the rest of my night and personal experience to the imagination. For Sleep No More thrives on the imagination and the mind’s natural ability to expect what is next. And, honestly, you cannot possibly expect what ever comes next in the McKittrick.

Sleep No More guests have access to five massive floors of the hotel, all with innumerable hidden rooms and passage ways (early reviews boast that there are over 100 different rooms to be explored). Anywhere you go, you are never reminded that this is not real life and that these are artists doing their jobs. The details from the lights to furniture to the books on the bookshelves are all fully thought out and completely well done.

The same sentiment is easily extended to, and is applicable twenty times over, when concerning the “residents” of the hotel (i.e. the performing artists of the company). Each performer embodies their character and goes above and beyond while performing in this over three-hour show. The physical and psychological demands on the artists are unreal and virtually unimaginable. However, you would never be able to tell how exhausting such a feat is when experiencing the production.

In the Sleep No More environment, the audience surrounds the performers. The audience is part of the scenery and is basically the final character of the entire show. As an audience member, you are able to be as involved and up close with the artists as you want. This element of Sleep No More is what makes what these performers do each night that much more incredible. The ability to stay in character, remember three hours of material, and dance and act fully while being surrounded by dozens of strangers in strange white masks is astounding and easily explains why this dance-theater experience is, and has been, constantly in such high demand, even six years after the show’s 2011 opening.

As a current student of the Juilliard School’s dance division, I greatly appreciated and whole-heartedly admired the difficulties and intricacies of this kind of performance. It is a marathon of high quality, high intensity dancing and acting with little to no margin for error. The level of skill, technique, experience, and artistry to be a part of this amazing world is sky-high. To shameless segue from that statement, it was even more thrilling for me to experience such marvelous artists due to the fact that a very dear friend of mine as well as a Juilliard alumnus, Nate Carter III, performed Banquo the night I was fortunate enough to attend. In fact, there are nearly a dozen artists currently performing with Sleep No More who are Juilliard alumni. Such alumni include current faculty members, Risa Steinberg and Bobbi Jene Smith. Besides school pride, I mention this because it continues to prove the fact that Sleep No More at the McKittrick Hotel deserves the praise it receives and more. Many may write off this production because it is a huge draw for tourists; however, so many of the audience members that I know of are fellow performing artists and repeat guests.

Sleep No More is an experience that will stick with you for years afterwards. It affects everyone who walks, and at times runs, through it in very personal ways, and in no way that any other theatrical experience could. It is a one-of-a-kind production that will never disappoint and will always leave you wanting more.

Show Juilliard student solidarity and protest white supremacy on our campuses today. Email jdp AT juilliard DOT edu to connect with other Juilliard students.

Rally @ 7 PM, 124th and Morningside
March @ 7:30 PM
Meet @ Lernner Hall Columbia University @ 8 PM

Join the Liberation Coalition, Columbia & Barnard students, and Harlem community members in solidarity as we rally and march to Columbia University’s Lerner Hall where White Supremacist Mike Cernovich will be speaking at a CUCR event.

Looking for all Musicians, Actors, Writers/Poets, Vocalists or spoken word, visual artists(try it?!), anyone with an artform to collaborate in a free improv session! All are welcome – a piano is available on the premises.

Improv You Are Enough! is a series of free improv sessions specifically geared to getting artists of different disciplines together in the same space to create an instant composition.

RSVP on Facebook
Contact Joey Chang at ic3 AT juilliard DOT edu for more info