The Juilliard School has announced that a $20 million dollar gift from its board chairman, Bruce Kovner will fully endow the school’s graduate-level historical performance program.

The program provides specialized study in informed performance practice of music composed from 1600 to roughly the early 19th century, with full scholarships to all historical performance students. The students perform frequently in New York—about 17 concerts each year—as the critically acclaimed ensemble Juilliard415.

The first class of students, who arrived in the fall of 2009, graduated at Juilliard’s 106th commencement in last May.

Juilliard received the first half of Kovner’s gift in December.

In a prepared statement, Juilliard president Joseph W. Polisi made the announcement, saying, “This extraordinary gift exemplifies the vision and generosity of spirit that has been the foundation upon which Bruce Kovner has embraced his leadership of the Juilliard School. With a strong financial base, our historical performance program can now look toward the future with confidence that we can create an educational experience of excellence that addresses the best practices of this important field in today’s musical environment. All the members of the Juilliard community are deeply grateful to Bruce for his exceptional support of this significant program.”

The 17-member historical performance faculty is led by violinist and artistic director Monica Huggett, shown above, who also leads the program’s faculty ensemble, Juilliard Baroque, which was formed last season.

Residencies and master classes with leading early music artists from around the world are a major component of student studies. A roster of guest artists includes violinist and Baroque specialists Fabio Biondi and Jordi Savall as well as members of Les Arts Florissants.