American mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato is nervous. Very, very nervous. On Friday, she'll give the commencement address to the 289 students who graduate from the Juilliard School of Music this year.
It's an honor, DiDonato says, but it's also a big responsibility. She'll also receive an Honorary Doctor of Music degree from Juilliard — and the ceremony will be streamed live.
Di Donato joins an esteemed list of former Juilliard commencement address speakers, including Wynton Marsalis and John Adams, and she recently shared some thoughts with host Julie Amacher about what she'll say in her speech tomorrow (Friday, May 23).
Julie herself has been a commencement speaker, having addressed the University of Wisconsin-Platteville Class of 2012. Julie's speech is archived on the UW-Platteville website (note: the entire ceremony is posted; Julie's address begins shortly after the 16-minute mark).
And our friends at National Public Radio have put together this collection called The Best Commencement Speeches, Ever.
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