Nepedia
Back to Discover
Advanced Reader
🎨

Juilliard School

arts Maturity 7-9 Next article →

The Juilliard School is a private conservatory located in New York City.

Juilliard School at the Lincoln Center in 1969
Juilliard School at the Lincoln Center in 1969

A conservatory is a specialized school for the performing arts. This institution focuses on high-level training for musicians, dancers, and actors. It matters because it serves as a premier training ground for world-class artists. The school maintains extremely high standards for its students. Consequently, it has one of the lowest acceptance rates in the United States.

Learning at Juilliard involves several distinct academic divisions. The three primary divisions are dance, drama, and music. The music division is the largest and the oldest of the three.

Students can pursue various paths within these divisions. Some earn undergraduate or graduate degrees. Others earn non-degree diplomas for professional work. There is also musical training for pre-college students. This structure allows artists to develop their skills at different career stages.

The school operates from a single campus at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. This campus includes many different facilities for study and performance. Students use numerous studio rooms for individual practice. They also perform in various professional-grade performance halls. The campus houses a library containing special collections, such as the Juilliard Manuscript Collection.

Grosse Fuge Manuscript
Grosse Fuge Manuscript

Additionally, a dormitory provides housing for the student community on site.

The history of the school began in 1905.

Picture of Frank Damrosch
Picture of Frank Damrosch

Frank Damrosch founded the Institute of Musical Art (IMA) during this time. He was a German-American conductor and the godson of Franz Liszt. Damrosch wanted to create a premier music school within the United States. He believed too many American students were traveling to Europe to study. The IMA was one of the first endowed music schools in the country.

Institute of Musical Art, Claremont Ave. & 122nd St. LCCN97506440
Institute of Musical Art, Claremont Ave. & 122nd St. LCCN97506440

Changes occurred as the school grew and merged with other institutions. In 1919, a textile merchant named Augustus D. Juilliard died. He left a large sum of money to the Juilliard Musical Foundation. This led to the creation of the Juilliard Graduate School in 1924. By 1926, the Institute and the Graduate School merged to form the Juilliard School of Music.

John Erskine crop
John Erskine crop

Later, in 1946, President William Schuman consolidated these entities into a single institution. He also established the Juilliard String Quartet as the main quartet-in-residence.

Juilliard has a massive impact on the professional arts world. The school has about 950 students enrolled at any given time. Its alumni have achieved incredible success in many different fields. They have won 105 Grammy Awards and 62 Tony Awards. They have also earned 47 Emmy Awards and 24 Academy Awards. Some alumni have even achieved the rare "EGOT" status.

Tianjin Juilliard School
Tianjin Juilliard School

Furthermore, alumni and faculty include more than 16 Pulitzer Prize winners. Many graduates serve as concertmasters in professional symphony orchestras.

Today, the school continues to expand its reach globally and socially. In 2015, Juilliard announced an expansion into Tianjin, China.

Tianjin Juilliard School
Tianjin Juilliard School

This was the school's first full-scale move outside of the United States. The Tianjin campus opened in 2020 to offer Master of Music degrees. Domestically, the school focuses on accessibility through the Music Advancement Program (MAP). This program helps underrepresented students who face music education budget cuts in public schools. Through these efforts, Juilliard connects local talent to the global stage.

529 words

Where will your curiosity go next?

Keep exploring at your chosen reading level.

🖼️ Images & Media (7)
File:Picture of Frank Damrosch.jpg
Picture of Frank Damrosch.jpg
Institute of Musical Art, Claremont Ave....
File:John Erskine crop.jpg
John Erskine crop.jpg
File:Juilliard School at the Lincoln Center in 1969.jpeg
Juilliard School at the Lincoln Center in...
File:Tianjin Juilliard School.jpg
Tianjin Juilliard School.jpg
File:Grosse Fuge Manuscript.jpg
Grosse Fuge Manuscript.jpg
File:WTM NewYorkDolls 056.jpg
WTM NewYorkDolls 056.jpg
More to explore

🪜 Step back

Simpler topics to build understanding

What is Nepedia?

A free, ad-free encyclopedia for children. Every article is written at five reading levels, so the same page works for a five-year-old and a fifteen-year-old — use the level switcher above to see this one change. No account needed to read.