MUSIC WILL BENEFIT to the extent of $20,000,000, by the terms of a will made by the late Augustus D. Juilliard, New York financier, president of the Metropolitan Opera and Real Estate Company. The bequest, the largest ever made in the interest of music, provides for the establishment of the Juilliard Musical Foundation, which provides funds for the aid of worthy musical students, music for the public without profit and which will assist the Metropolitan Opera House in its productions.

Details of the administration of the Foundation are left, under the liberal provisions of the will, entirely to the discretion of the trustees of the Musical Foundation.

These trustees are to be the president of the Central Union Trust Company, who is at present James N. Wallace; the president of the Guaranty Trust Company, who is at present Charles H. Sabin; Frederic A. Juilliard, Mr. Juilliard’s nephew and former partner, and such other persons as these three shall select to assist them in the management of the foundation. These trustees are vested with ample discretion to provide that the Foundation shall have the necessary powers to carry out the expressed wishes and general scheme as outlined by the decedent.

The exact amount of the bequest will not be known until the will is probated, Aug. 4, but it is stated that the entire residuary estate will be devoted to the Foundation. Estimates vary from $5,000,000 to $20,000,000 and more. Under all circumstances the amount will exceed $5,000,000, which would still be the largest musical legacy of record.

Beyond the general statement, it was said, Mr. Juilliard left no directions as to the carrying out of his desires. The executors made the following statement:

“The will of the late Augustus D. Juilliard, who died April 25, was filed June27 for probate in the office of the Surrogate at Goshen, Orange County, N. Y. Mr. Juilliard, after making ample provision for his immediate relatives and providing terms for the disposition of his interests in the firm of A. D. Juilliard &Co. to his 1ate partners, made bequests of $100,000 each to the American Museum of Natural History, New York Orthopaedic Dispensary and Hospital Society of New York Hospital, Lincoln Hospital and Home, Tuxedo Hospital, Tuxedo Park, N. Y.; New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, St. John’s Guild, City of New York.”

After these bequests, Mr. Juilliard gave all the residue of his estate to the trustees named in his will with directions that they should form a corporation to be known as The Juilliard Musical Foundation, to which all the residuary estate should be given.

“The general scope of the Juilliard Musical Foundation, as stated in the will, is to aid all worthy students of music in securing complete and adequate musical education, either at appropriate institutions now in existence or hereafter to be created, or from appropriate instructors in this country or abroad; to arrange for and to give without profit to musical entertainments, concerts and recitals of a character appropriate for the education and entertainment of the general public in the musical arts and to aid the Metropolitan Opera Company in the city of New York for the purpose of assisting it in the production of operas. Ample discretion is vested in the trustees to provide that the Juilliard Musical Foundation shall have the necessary powers to carry out the expressed wishes and general scheme as expressed by the testator.

“It is provided that the Juilliard Musical Foundation must be established during the lives of Frederic A. Juilliard and Robert Westaway, and if for any reason the foundation is not formed, the residue of the estate shall be given to the American Museum of Natural History and St. John’s Guild of the city of New York in equal shares.

“The executors and trustees named in the will are the Central Trust Company of New York, Guaranty Trust Company of New York, Mr. Juilliard’s nephew and former partner, Frederic A. Juilliard, and his former partners, Chester A. Braman and Robert Westaway.

“The trustees of the Juilliard Musical Foundation are to be the president of the Central Trust Company of New York, the president of the Guaranty Trust Company of New York, Frederic A. Juilliard and such other persons as these three shall select to assist them in the management of the foundation.

“The will was executed by Mr. Juilliard on the 29th of March, 1917, and witnessed by Francis D. Schnacke, 401 West 118th Street, New York City; Francis L. Madden, Ossining, N. Y., and John M.Perry, 1308 Dean Street, Brooklyn.

“To those who are familiar with the great interest which Mr. Juilliard took in music and in assisting those who were seriously disposed to the study of music, the creation of this great public beneficence is not a matter of surprise.

“Mr. Juilliard during his lifetime was closely identified with the Metropolitan Opera House in this city and had always maintained a deep interest in the affairs of musical matters generally.”

The munificence of the bequest, never before equaled, aroused much comment. Although those connected with the will were loath to make any statements, on the grounds that these would be premature, all agreed that Mr. Juilliard had been a constant lover of music, and had been always eager to aid that cause in America.

Frederic A. Juilliard, the nephew of the late Mr. Juilliard, who is to be one of the trustees of the musical foundation, although feeling that no statement could be made, said to representatives of the press that it would be fully a year before the executors would apply themselves to the plans. Ample discretion, he said, had been given to the trustees to provide that the Juilliard Musical Foundation have the necessary powers to carry out the expressed wishes and general scheme as laid down by Mr. Juilliard.

Mr. Juilliard also said he believed that the trustees, if they so wished, could give special attention to American music, providing for its publication and performance. It was also within the possibilities of the fund, he intimated, to co-operate with the Metropolitan Opera House in the production of classics.

John M. Perry, personal counsel of Mr. Juilliard, said to a representative of MUSICAL AMERICA that definite statements, further than that made by the executors, would be hard to make. The will, he said, had provided that the presidents of the Guaranty Trust Company and the Central Union Trust with Frederic A. Juilliard should be trustees of the Musical Foundation, and that they should be assisted by any persons whom they might name. The working out of the terms would be left to their discretion. Before the will was probated, which would be on Aug. 4, no definite statement [remainder of sentence cut off] The present heads of the trust companies being Mr. Sabin and Mr. Wallace, he believed that these gentlemen would be the first trustees.

To the question as to what was meant by the statement that the sum for the foundation was to go to the Museum of Natural History, should it not be established during the lifetime of Frederic Juilliard and Robert Westaway, another of the executors of the will, Mr. Perry, said that this statement covered a legal point which necessitated that a foundation or corporation, such as this, must be established during the lifetime of two named persons.

Robert Westaway, one of the executors, when questioned, said it was too early to make any definite plans, but said that the working out of the foundation was entirely in the hands of the trustees. When asked whether he believed that Mr. Juilliard had aimed at developing American music primarily, Mr. Westaway said he thought that although this also could be determined by the trustees, his opinion was that the fund would be established and directed from New York, and its scope would be limited nationally to a reasonable extent.

Mr. Sabin was out of town when visited, but from his office it was said that he has been a close friend of Mr. Juilliard, and although not a musician, shared the latter’s love for music. Members of the Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Opera House were unable to say exactly how they thought his bequest would affect the policy and work of the Metropolitan Opera Company, all agreeing that the bequest was one of the most important events in music.

[Following the instructions in Augustus Juilliard's will, the Juilliard Musical Foundation was set up in 1920. A few years later, in 1924, the trustees created the Juilliard Graduate School, where students could complete their music education. In 1926, the graduate school began to share a board of directors and a president with the Institute of Musical Art (established in 1905). The two institutions functioned together as the Juilliard School of Music, and fully merged in 1946. In 1968, as the school had opened its doors to dancers and actors, its name was changed to the Juilliard School.—ed. 2019]