The Juilliard School

The School was named for Augustus Juilliard, a wealthy textile merchant whose bequest was used to establish the Juilliard Graduate School in 1924. In 1926, it merged with the Institute for Musical Art to become the Juilliard School of Music. With the additions of a Dance Division in 1951 and Drama Division in 1968, the name was shortened to The Juilliard School.

The Juilliard School has maintained a commitment to providing the highest caliber of artistic and educational experience to exceptionally talented young performing artists from around the world. Juilliard was founded in 1905 as the Institute of Musical Art by Dr. Frank Damrosch, the godson of Franz Liszt and the head of music education for New York City’s public schools. Damrosch was convinced that American musicians should not have to go abroad for advanced study, and created the Institute as an American music academy that would provide an educational experience comparable to that of the established European conservatories.

Succeeding Hutcheson in 1945, composer William Schuman expanded Juilliard’s identity as a conservatory devoted exclusively to music study with the establishment of the Dance Division, under the direction of Martha Hill, in 1951. In 1968, during the tenure of Peter Mennin, a Drama Division was created, with John Houseman as its first director and Michel Saint-Denis as consultant. The School changed its name to The Juilliard School to reflect its broader artistic scope, and moved to its current home at Lincoln Center the following year. The first production of the Juilliard Opera Center, Igor Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress, celebrated the opening of the Juilliard Theater at Lincoln Center in 1970.

Mission
The mission of The Juilliard School is to provide the highest caliber of artistic education for gifted musicians, dancers, and actors from around the world, so that they may achieve their fullest potential as artists, leaders, and global citizens.

Library
Juilliard’s library is the proud home of the Juilliard Manuscript Collection — one of the world’s greatest collections of autograph manuscripts, composer sketches, engraver proofs, and first editions. (View a list of the collection’s holdings.) Complementing this extraordinary resource is the Peter Jay Sharp Special Collections, which includes numerous rare printed editions, manuscripts, manuscript facsimiles, and archival collections.

Courses Offered

• Dance
• Drama
• Music
• Liberal Arts
• Scholastic Distinction
• Barnard-Columbia Cross-Registration
• Accelerated B.M./M.M. Program

Contact Details
The Juilliard School
60 Lincoln Center Plaza,
New York, NY 10023
(212) 799-5000
Official Website: http://www.juilliard.edu/