At its 120th commencement ceremony on May 24, The Juilliard School will confer honorary doctorate degrees upon six individuals “in recognition of their exceptional contributions to the arts: Gustavo Dudamel, music and artistic director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra and incoming music and artistic director of the New York Philharmonic; Alicia Graf Mack, dean and director of Juilliard Dance and incoming artistic director of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater; Marsha Norman, Pulitzer- and Tony-winning playwright, screenwriter, novelist, and co-director of Juilliard’s playwriting program from 1994 to 2020; Masaaki Suzuki, organist, harpsichordist, principal conductor of Yale Schola Cantorum, and frequent collaborator with Juilliard’s Historical Performance program; Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation and president of the board of the National Gallery of Art; and Ellen Taaffe Zwilich (DMA ’75, composition), first female-identifying composer to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music.
“‘Our 2025 honorary doctorate recipients exemplify how a life in the arts can be a life of impact through performance, leadership, education, and service,’ said Juilliard’s president, Damian Woetzel. ‘As we recognize their achievements, we also celebrate the newest generation of Juilliard graduates, who will carry forward this legacy of excellence and bring their own voices to the world stage.’”
Ellen was the first woman to receive a DMA in composition from Juilliard, in 1975.
