The Score | French Immersion

Each year since the Juilliard Historical Performance Program was established in 2009, conductor William Christie and a group of musicians from the French Baroque ensemble Les Arts Florissants have served extended residencies at the school. This August, a group of eight alumni and current students from the two-year graduate-level program headed to southwestern France to perform side-by-side with members of Les Arts Florissants and work with Christie. Their residency coincided with the “Dans les Jardins de William Christie” festival, which is held annually on the magnificent grounds surrounding Christie’s restored 17th-century house in Thiré. Juilliard musicians performed with LAF musicians in the festival’s opening weekend main concert, as well as in a late-night concert conducted by Les Arts Florissants Associate Music Director Paul Agnew; two late-night concerts led by Robert Mealy, director of the Juilliard Historical Performance Program; and informal “promenades musicales” throughout the week