When the Juilliard Orchestra takes the stage at Alice Tully Hall on May 21, it will give the world premiere of a new work by one of its own, composer Paola Prestini (BM \u201898, MM \u201800), the latest in a series of commissions placing alumni work at the center of one of New York\u2019s most celebrated stages.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The school has made a practice of commissioning new works from composer alumni, performed by the all-student Juilliard Orchestra: Ascending Creatures by Eunike Tanzil (MM \u201923) in October 2025; Two Lives One Body by Molly Joyce (BM\u201814) in May 2025; Awakening by Katie Jenkins (BM \u201822, MM \u201824) in September 2024; and Sercy by Hilary Purrington (MM \u201815) in May 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As a champion of new voices in contemporary music, Prestini sees the program as a model worth celebrating. \u201cThey\u2019ve done this with quite a few women alumni to support their career trajectories,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd it\u2019s been really inspiring to me.”<\/p>\n
Prestini\u2019s new work, My Brilliant Friend: The Story of a New Name, is her second tone poem based on the celebrated series of novels by Italian author Elena Ferrante<\/a>, which are set in Naples and follow two young girls\u2019 lifelong friendship even as their personal lives and professional paths diverge.<\/p>\n Prestini is also composing an opera based on My Brilliant Friend, but she is working her way toward it differently than usual. \u201cUsually, a composer writes the opera, then creates the orchestral pieces based on it,\u201d she explains. \u201cBut I\u2019m doing the opposite: I\u2019m writing the tone poems first.\u201d Her first tone poem based on Ferrante\u2019s writings, My Brilliant Friend: Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay, was premiered in\u00a0January by the Tucson Symphony. (The opera is scheduled to premiere in Croatia in 2028.)<\/p>\n The composer has a personal connection to Ferrante\u2019s books, since she grew up in Nogales, Arizona, a gritty border town that reminds her of Ferrante\u2019s Naples. \u201cI fell in love with the books when I read them,\u201d Prestini says. \u201cI was inspired by the idea of a friendship between two women\u2014it mirrored my growing up with my best friend, who is still my best friend to this day. That\u2019s what inspired me to write an opera that follows the lives of these women rooted in friendship as children and how they transition to adulthood.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Also on the May 21 orchestra program are Maurice Ravel<\/a>\u2019s Daphnis et Chlo\u00e9 Suite No. 2 and Ottorino Respighi\u2019s The Fountains of Rome, conducted by JoAnn Falletta (MM\u201883, DMA \u201889), music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. Falletta sees a common thread.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThese works are all about colors and impressionism,\u201d she says. \u201cFountains, the most superbly written of his tone poems, is a masterpiece. Respighi\u2019s orchestral colors define the colors of Rome.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s always such a privilege to work with such a good orchestra,\u201d Prestini says. \u201cOrchestral writing is so exciting\u2014that\u2019s where the whole thing comes to life.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n For Falletta, coming back to work with students reminds her of her time at Juilliard, where she earned her master\u2019s and doctorate degrees. \u201cI\u2019m always very grateful to comeback here, because I\u2019m so filled with gratitude that they took a chance on a woman conductor,\u201d she says, acknowledging the barriers women have historically faced in the conducting world.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I meet with students, we discuss what they should be prepared for,\u201d she continues. \u201cThey have lots of questions, especially for those who are about to graduate: what\u2019s the next step? Everyone\u2019s blueprint is different. There\u2019s a brilliant future ahead for these musicians\u2014but everyone creates their own.\u201d<\/p>\n The Juilliard Orchestra also performs at Alice Tully Hall on April 24. David Robertson<\/a>, the school\u2019s director of conducting studies and distinguished visiting faculty, leads a program of Johannes Brahms\u2019 Piano Concerto No. 2, Jean Sibelius\u2019 Symphony No. 7, and John Adams<\/a>\u2019 Doctor Atomic Symphony.\u00a0<\/p>\n