Philip Sheegog | Life After Juilliard

Thursday, Jan 21, 2021
Juilliard Journal
Alumni
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Philip Sheegog with his cello

“Education is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire.”—William Butler Yeats

Juilliard was the sandbox in which I had the safety to explore and experiment, to discover the intersection of passions that define me, and to see them molded in the context of the higher purpose of artist-citizenship. Juilliard was the crucible through which I honed the hard skills of technique, ear training, speaking, and writing as well as the soft skills of entrepreneurship, adaptability, tenacity, and, perhaps most importantly, vision.

Just about every “unusual” activity I pursued at Juilliard—improvisation, music technology, event production, video and audio engineering, developing extended techniques, etc.—has now become a cornerstone of my artistic brand and creative practice. Since graduation, my genre-defying duo ARKAI with Jonathan Miron (BM ’14, MM ’18, violin) has produced a world music education program, Global Perspectives, at Juilliard through workshops and ChamberFest; brought our all-electric composition Letters From COVID to the TED@PMI conference; performed improvised 30-minute sets alongside the Met Breuer’s sound installation Oliver Beer: Vessel Orchestra; been invited to speak and teach at the Curtis Institute and Carnegie Hall’s Music Educators Workshop; and created SupportNYC to support small businesses and organizations through fundraising performances and storytelling videos.

One lesson I have been learning post-graduation is that while it is undeniably important what you are able to do, what kind of person you are is far more important. Our values determine our actions, which determine our habits, which define what kind of effect we have on the world, as artists and as human beings. Every skill and experience I cultivated at Juilliard is of value. My brand, my business, my career, and my artistry are the summation of those investments and a foundation for which I am truly grateful.

Philip Sheegog (BM ’17, MM ’19, cello)

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