4. Finding An Accompanist

All Pre-College students must only engage accompanists who appear on Juilliard’s Preparatory Division Accompanist List (PDAL). (Students may not engage any accompanist whose name does not appear on PDAL. Current Juilliard students who are not on the list, or outside accompanists who are not affiliated with Juilliard, may not work with Pre-College students.). This includes accompanists working for lessons, studio classes, recitals, competition, masterclasses, and any other activities taking place at Juilliard. Students found in violation of this policy may be barred from performing, as late as day-of the performance. 

 

To avoid running into any issues with this policy, begin your accompanist search well in advance and at least 4-6 weeks before your need. If your request is unusual (obscure repertoire, etc.) allow even more time. Accompanist schedules fill up very quickly; do not wait until the last minute!

 

Should you run into difficulties (ex. no one is responding to your request, or your accompanist cancelled after confirming) reach out to Molly Skardon at mskardon@juilliard.edu right away. Do not attempt to solve the problem by reaching out to accompanists who are not on PDAL. If you have any questions or need to report an unusual circumstance, please reach out to me at dwongkittiroch@juilliard.edu any time. 

 

Below is more information, including how to access PDAL and make requests. Please read this information thoroughly. We thank you in advance for you attention to this very important matter. 

 

  • Pre-College students may ONLY work with accompanists from the Preparatory Division Accompanist List (PDAL). Pianists who are not affiliated with Juilliard may not be used.  Juilliard pianists who are not on the PDAL also may not be used.
  • In accordance with Juilliard’s policies, all accompanists listed on the PDAL have been vetted, background checked, and approved to work with minors. They have set aside their Saturday for this work and are expecting to be contacted. 
  • PDAL accompanists will be compensated by Juilliard for lessons, studio classes, performances, competitions, masterclasses, and other approved school activities.Rehearsals beyond these listed activities must be compensated by the family. 
  • The maximum permitted fee for payment for rehearsals outside a lesson is $60 per hour.  Fees for non-Juilliard-related activities are also the family’s financial responsibility.

 

To access PDAL:

  • Go to https://juilliard.knack.com/accompanists. You must be logged into your Juilliard Okta account to access.
  • Type “prep div” in the search bar to see a list of accompanists who are eligible to work in Preparatory Division. If they don’t appear when you type “prep div”, they are NOT approved to work with Preparatory Division students. 
  • You can click on any name listed under “prep div” to reach out directly. You can also submit a general request form which will be seen by all accompanists. To do this, go to the "My Requests" tab and select “Open a New Request”. When making any request, be sure to include the repertoire and weekly lesson time in your description. 
    • IMPORTANT NOTE: If you choose to submit a general request, it will be seen by ALL accompanists at the school, even those who are not eligible to work with Prep Division. You should not receive responses from anyone who is not eligible to work with you, but it is your responsibility to check if they are listed under “prep div” before you agree to work with them.
  • After submitting a request, please wait 24 to 48 hours for a response.  If you do not hear from anyone, contact Molly Skardon for help at mskardon@juilliard.edu or 212-799-5000, ext. 352.