NYC Gazette

This winter, Juilliard student and alumni actors and musicians premiered six chamber pieces staged to vignettes adapted from Chekhov’s Three Sisters. The interdisciplinary project was part of Juilliard’s February residency at Chelsea Factory, under the direction of drama faculty member Richard Feldman in collaboration with chamber music faculty member and Arnhold Creative Associate at Large Nadia Sirota.

The project, titled Living Themes: An Afternoon of Chekhov + Music, was born out of Feldman's curiosity about the potential outcomes of a marriage between music and text. "I was curious about the possibilities that might arise from an interaction of music and text—how they might inform each other and encourage each artist to go places they wouldn’t have gone to on their own,” Feldman said.

The performance consisted of six original musical movements by composition students Nicole Balsirow, Daniel Lubin, Krishan Rai, Katrina Toner, Elise Winkler, and Christian Wray. Each movement drew inspiration from a prominent motif from the play: time, nature, love, happiness, farewell, and duet.

A total of 19 music alums, four drama students, and three drama alums performed text from Sisters in Smithereens - an adaptation of Three Sisters conceived by Feldman with drama faculty member Carolyn Serota. The composers workshopped their scores with the actors, musicians, and coaches while all performers shared the stage as one ensemble without a conductor.

Sirota noted that rather than having the music merely underscore each scene,"We wanted to create something of a hybrid that was satisfying in musical structure and form." She further added that both art forms were "both independent and interrelated."

Experimentation played a key role in shaping each rehearsal into a journey of discovery. The ensembles worked together on evolving the scores and scripts under Feldman and Sirota’s guidance.

Feldman joked that they chose Chekhov's work, thinking it could withstand their experiments. He highlighted the richness and detail of the play, stating that even fragments prove potent, a testament to Chekhov’s masterful poetic specificity.

Emily Duncan (MM ’18, flute) commented on the collaborative process, saying "The music really is another character in the piece." Brittany Bradford (Group 47), one of the drama alums in the project, echoed this sentiment. She also emphasized that the process required "connecting technique—like the Alexander work and the text work—with truth."

Feldman stated that collaboration at this level requires deep integrity, understanding, and mastery of skills. “Everyone has to learn their craft first. You can’t start collaborating before you know your craft.”

Nadia Sirota found great joy in collaborative experiences due to communication. Jocelyn Zhu (MM ’17, violin) praised the experience for stretching creative boundaries and proving that innovation thrives in spaces between disciplines.

Feldman expressed his excitement about future opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration at Juilliard, acknowledging that it will require tolerance for failure on the road to excellence and courage to ask questions.