The Juilliard Community Chorus has established itself as a central part of The Juilliard School, involving students, staff, alumni, and faculty. This ensemble recently participated in a performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 at Carnegie Hall, bringing together members from across the institution. The event included two choruses: one featuring Pre-College and Music Advancement Program (MAP) students singing from the balcony, and another treble chorus composed of faculty, staff, college students, alumni, and community members on stage.
For nearly twenty years, Juilliard did not have its own chorus and relied on external vocal ensembles for major projects. This changed with Adrian Rodriguez’s arrival in 2021 as a part-time community engagement staff member and MAP chorus director. Now serving as MAP’s director of community engagement, Rodriguez played a key role in forming the new choral initiative.
“It started with President Woetzel wanting a pop-up chorus for some holiday carols on the steps of Lincoln Center Plaza,” Rodriguez said. He explained how he gathered singers from throughout Juilliard to participate. “It was established at that point that we wanted singing back at Juilliard.”
Rodriguez emphasized the importance of inclusion within the group: “I think what makes my heart the fullest is that it provides an avenue for lots of people to be on stage from different corners of Juilliard,” he said. “Everybody from the registrar to the director of financial aid and the director of music admissions is singing in this chorus right next to college students.”
The effort gained institutional support from David Serkin Ludwig, dean and director of the Music Division and himself a former chorus member. Under his guidance, Rodriguez piloted a community chorus within the college division which eventually became a for-credit course. Ludwig commented: “There is something so fundamental in group singing that brings out the best of us, and I’ve been delighted to see the community chorus grow as an ensemble. The chorus offers a unique opportunity to perform repertoire otherwise unavailable to us—and for students, faculty, and staff to make music joyfully together.”
Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 provided an ambitious setting for this collaboration. The piece features an extensive orchestra alongside soloist Samantha Hankey and choruses performing texts by Nietzsche and German folk poetry.
In rehearsals, Rodriguez adapted his approach for instrumentalists and non-professional singers by using analogies familiar to their experience: “I’ll say, ‘Don’t start the phrase until you’ve set your bow,’ or, ‘Let this sound like the French horns.’ One of my gifts, I would say, is getting everybody to feel like they can sing and do it well.” He recalled MAP director Rebecca Reuter’s reaction after participating: “She turned to me and said, ‘This is the first time I’ve been able to engage with the Juilliard community in an artistic way.’ It changes the relationship of these faculty and staff and students to the institution and to each other.”
The Mahler concert was significant for many participants; some MAP and Pre-College students had never performed with an orchestra before this event led by David Robertson with The Juilliard Orchestra.
Following Carnegie Hall, in May 2025 members performed again with musicians from Juilliard’s Historical Performance program at Alice Tully Hall.
The Preparatory Division at Juilliard includes two programs for young musicians aged 8–18: Pre-College—a conservatory-style program designed for advanced international students preparing for further musical study—and MAP (Music Advancement Program), which is tuition-free and aims to broaden access for local youth.
A recent MAP alum named Jayson described his experience: “MAP has helped me understand myself as a musician. You have everybody from all different backgrounds getting together and making music. And honestly, it’s a really, really amazing experience to work with all these people.”
As it continues its activities both onstage and within rehearsals across campus venues such as Alice Tully Hall , The Juilliard Community Chorus serves as both an artistic outlet for its diverse membership and as a symbol of unity at The Juilliard School.
