Carnegie Hall

For nearly a century, Juilliard and Carnegie Hall—two of New York City’s most renowned artistic institutions—have shared a deep and evolving friendship. Together, they nurture the next generation of creative voices while championing innovation in music, dance, and drama.

A Century-Long Partnership

Juilliard students have been performing at Carnegie Hall since the 1920s. From student recitals and galas to landmark performances by the Juilliard Orchestra and the Katarina String Quartet—including the world premiere of Robert Rogers’s Amphitryon Overture and the New York premiere of Aaron Copland’s Letter from Home in 1947—this enduring partnership has given young artists the rare opportunity to perform on one of the world’s most prestigious stages.

Over time, the collaboration has continued to evolve. In 2007, Juilliard joined forces with Carnegie Hall and its Weill Music Institute along with the New York City Department of Education to create Ensemble Connect, a postgraduate fellowship program for young professional musicians that reimagines a career in classical music in the 21st century. For nearly 20 years, Ensemble Connect has prepared exceptionally talented musicians for careers that combine musical excellence with teaching, community engagement, advocacy, leadership, and entrepreneurship.

In addition to Ensemble Connect, Juilliard students across music, dance, and drama are offered unparalleled chances to work with influential creative voices who also have close ties to Carnegie Hall. These include Meredith Monk, who served as the Hall’s 2014–2015 Debs Composer’s Chair, and Caroline Shaw, whose music has been co-commissioned and performed at the Hall on numerous occasions.

A New Performance Series

The Juilliard at Zankel Hall performance series that began in the spring of 2025 serves as a place where new art can take root and grow. Part of Juilliard’s Creative Enterprise initiative(opens in a new tab), the program connects students with today’s leading creative artists, giving them a first-hand experience in developing and performing new work. Its inaugural program featured world premieres by Matthew Aucoin (The tracks have vanished and This Earth) and Caroline Shaw (Unstudy No. 1), as well as pieces by Juilliard alum Jessie Montgomery, performed by Juilliard students in collaboration with these and other distinguished guest artists.

Juilliard students take part in making music, dance, and theater that is new and in development, actively shaping the performing arts of the future. Just as Tony Kushner workshopped part of Angels in America at Juilliard in the 1990s, today’s major creative voices are cultivating ideas that may one day transform the cultural landscape.

Keeping Collaboration at the Core

Many of Juilliard’s performances at Carnegie Hall emerge from collaborations with the school’s Arnhold Creative Associates, distinguished artists who engage with students in creative projects that connect studio to stage. Bringing new generations of developing artists into collaboration with today’s artists who push at the frame of creative possibility is an integral part of Juilliard’s educational mission.

The New and the Now on November 18 features new and recently created works by composers Nicholas Britell, Nathalie Joachim, and Caroline Shaw (as part of Ringdown with Danni Lee Parpan), and choreographers Jamar Roberts and Bobbi Jene Smith in collaboration with Or Schraiber. Roberts is a Juilliard Arnhold Creative Associate at Large and Distinguished Visiting Faculty; Britell (Pre-College alum), Shaw, and Joachim (MAP, Pre-College, and college alum) are Arnhold Creative Associates; and Smith is a full-time Juilliard faculty member as well as an alum.

Many of these artists have deep roots at Carnegie Hall—through past commissions, premieres, and residencies—and their return to work alongside Juilliard students extends a longstanding creative friendship between the two institutions.

A Unique, Multidisciplinary Approach

There’s a vibrant, interdisciplinary spirit to these performances. Monk’s ethos of the “dancing voice / singing body” highlights the seamless integration of the different disciplines found in all of Juilliard’s Zankel Hall programming. This fusion of disciplines offers both student performers and audiences a rare, immersive experience that reflects the school’s innovative approach to arts education.

Performing at Carnegie also deepens the student artists’ collaboration with Juilliard Arnhold Creative Associates, allowing them to explore fresh, artistic perspectives and experiment with new creative processes. Central to the Juilliard at Zankel Hall series—and to Juilliard’s educational mission—is the dedication to fostering original creation that builds on tradition while shaping the future of the performing arts.

A Front-Row Seat to the Creative Process

These performances offer audiences a rare opportunity to witness the creative process in motion and to experience the excitement of new work taking shape, all while experiencing the excellence, rigor, and artistry for which Juilliard is known.

All of these artists are expanding boundaries, redefining forms, and engaging deeply with the issues and ideas that shape our time. Their work challenges conventions while showing what it means to create in today’s world—a tradition that continually renews itself through collaboration between Juilliard and Carnegie Hall.

Photography: Ensemble Connect by Fadi Kheir, courtesy of The Juilliard School.