How do great artists get their start? The misty-eyed will say it all begins with a dream. At Juilliard, it takes a bit more than that. On a recent gray evening, a group of drama students were in their sixth hour of rehearsals for a concert at Joe’s Pub. An upright piano, several music stands, and a Gretsch drum set were globbed together in a tiny, all-white room that could pass for a sanitarium. Loose lyric sheets littered the floor. The air was tropical. The door bore a sign with the words “Tesori Sessions.”

“Tesori” was the composer Jeanine Tesori, two-time Tony winner and Obi-Wan Kenobi of the workshop. As students buzzed about the room, grabbing pencils and tuning guitars, she leaned against a back wall with one foot up, as if ready to push off.

“O.K., let’s do it!” Tesori shouted. O

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