John Adams, Herbie Hancock, Derek Jacobi, Twyla Tharp to Receive Honorary Doctorates from Juilliard

Composer and conductor John Adams, jazz pianist and producer Herbie Hancock, actor Derek Jacobi, and choreographer Twyla Tharp will receive honorary doctoral degrees at Juilliard’s 106th commencement ceremony, to be held on Friday, May 20 at 11am in Alice Tully Hall. In addition, Adams will deliver the commencement address.

During the ceremony, Juilliard will also award 273 (111 undergraduate and 162 graduate) degrees to its actors, dancers, playwrights, and jazz, operatic, and classical instrumental musicians.

Adams’ most famous works include On the Transmigration of Souls; Harmonielehre; and Naïve and Sentimental Music. His stage works include Nixon in China, The Death of Klinghoffer, I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky, El Niño, Doctor Atomic, and The Flowering Tree.

Hancock’s illustrious career spans five decades. He is the recipient of 14 Grammy Awards, among other honors, and won an Oscar in 1986 for scoring the film ‘Round Midnight, in which he also appeared as an actor.

Jacobi will return to the New York stage later this month, starring in the title role of King Lear at BAM. He won a Tony for his performance in a 1985 production of Much Ado About Nothing and a 2009 Oliver for Twelfth Night. Additional Broadway credits include Uncle Vanya, Breaking the Code, Cyrano de Bergerac, and The Suicide.

Tharp won Tony and Drama Desk Awards for her choreography of Movin’ Out, for which she was also nominated as a director. In addition, she received a Tony Award nomination for her choreography of Come Fly Away, which she also directed. Her other credits on Broadway include The Times They Are A Changin’, and Singin’ in the Rain.