Intro to Musical Storytelling: Lecture and Workshop

Intro to Musical Storytelling: A Workshop for Creative Programming was a seminar first taught at The Juilliard School's Preparatory Division for in Spring 2025.

As the landscape of classical music changes, the question of how to enhance genuine connection between audiences and performers becomes paramount. For young musicians, musical storytelling – being able to creatively communicate and program for the vision behind one’s artistry – can be a rich ground for exploration.

In this 5-week workshop, students will be encouraged to think about concert formats that center their personal stakes, exploring storytelling techniques to connect artistic voice, music, and audience through authentic communication. Topics include tools for self-reflection, research techniques for establishing a theme, outlines to scaffold a show, musical entry points to repertoire, and methods for scripting and rehearsing. The course will follow a workshop format with the goal of developing a mini-recital and script by the end of the sessions.