Juilliard to Present Commencement Week Performances Featuring JoAnn Falletta, Juilliard Orchestra & More

Juilliard School will mark the close of its 2025-26 academic year with a week of public performances leading up to the school’s 121st commencement ceremony.

The lineup will feature graduating students from the Music, Dance, and Preparatory divisions, as well as performances by the Juilliard Orchestra and Pre-College Orchestra.

The commencement week events will begin with the Deans’ Commencement Chamber Music Showcase on May 19 and 20 at 7:30 p.m. in Paul Hall. The free performances will spotlight graduating chamber musicians from the conservatory.

On May 20 at 7:30 p.m. in the Peter Jay Sharp Theater, Juilliard Dance will present its Senior Graduation Concert, featuring members of the class of 2026 performing a solo or duet of their choice as their final performance at the school.

The Juilliard Orchestra will perform at Alice Tully Hall on May 21 at 6 p.m. under the direction of JoAnn Falletta. The concert will include the world premiere of Paola Prestini’s My Brilliant Friend: The Story of a New Name, commissioned by Juilliard, alongside Ottorino Respighi’s The Fountains of Rome and Maurice Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé Suite No. 2.

Prior to the performance, DMA student Marshall Estrin will lead a Prelude pre-concert lecture from 4:45 to 5:45 p.m. at Juilliard Station on the corner of Broadway and 66th Street. The lecture is free for ticket holders.

On May 23 at 1 p.m. in the Peter Jay Sharp Theater, the Pre-College Orchestra, conducted by Adam Glaser, will present Beyond the Stars: Music of Film and Imagination. The program will include Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s Overture to Captain Blood, Michael Abels’s Global Warming, “Adventures on Earth” from John Williams’ score for E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and Richard Strauss’ Also sprach Zarathustra.