Julliard School History

Not many get the opportunity to survive four years of training at one of the most prestigious and demanding performance schools in the country, one that has been around for over a century. According to the article “A Brief History,” “Juilliard was founded in 1905 as the Institute of Musical Art by Dr. Frank Damrosch; in 1926 the Juilliard Graduate School and the Institute of Musical Art merged to become the Juilliard School of Music” (par. 1-2). Dr. Frank Damrosch, who was the godson of pianist and composer Franz Liszt, created the Institute to allow American musicians to study music without having to go abroad. Augustus Juilliard, a wealthy textile merchant, left behind a settlement for the development of music and the two schools soon merged

However, throughout the school’s prosperous years, The Juilliard School of Music has had 6 presidents, created additional divisions with superb instructors and the school altered its name and relocated to a lively center in New York. An article published by The Juilliard School’s dance division, “History,” states, “The Juilliard School’s Dance Division was established in 1951 during William Schuman’s tenure as the School’s president. Its first director was Martha Hill” (Par. 1). Martha Hill was an inspiring dance instructor who taught at The Juilliard School of Music when the dance division was established in 1945. Hill and Schuman transformed The Juilliard School of Music’s identity from a school solely for musicians to one of the greatest teaching institutions to offer education in multiple dance genres. Hill passed away in 1995 after being employed at Juilliard for 50 years (Par. 1-2). Dance was not the only division added to The Juilliard School of Music. According to the article, “A Brief History,” “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” (Par. 4). Saint-Denis, a French director, producer, teacher and theatrical innovator assisted American producer and director John Houseman in producing the Drama Division in 1968. After The Juilliard School of Music created the drama division the institution altered its name to The Juilliard School [Juilliard] as a result of the school 's various divisions and programs. In 1969, The Juilliard School relocated from Morningside Heights to its present home in Lincoln Center New York City and is currently managed by its sixth president Dr. Joseph W. Polisi (Par. 4-5). In 1926, The Juilliard School of Music emerged as the finest institution solely for gifted musicians. After a century of advancement, designing and