The players are young, but those who attend the precollege division of the Juilliard School are unusually talented, and many of them grow up to be stars.

Mr. Jarvi attended the precollege division of the Juilliard School, but his next great formative experience, supplementing his father's attentions, came at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia.

His moment came when he was concertmaster of the orchestra in Juilliard's precollege division, and the conductor asked if anyone would like to try his hand at leading one of the rehearsals.

Alice auditioned and was accepted on a partial scholarship into the precollege division, an intensive program on Saturdays.

Mr. Shillea coaches the wind ensemble at the Juilliard School's precollege division, and teaches clarinet at Fairfield University.

She graduated and received a master's degree in music from the Juilliard School, where she now teaches music in the precollege division.

By 1982, Midori had begun studying with DeLay at Juilliard's precollege division.

Two of the finest students now in the Juilliard School's precollege division, teachers there say, are a Chinese clarinetist and a Chinese marimba player.

Unlike Juilliard, which has a special precollege division, the handful of youngsters Curtis admits take classes with the college undergraduates.

"Look at the focus," said Andrew Thomas, the director of the precollege division, as he watched a violin section that looked like it was recruited from a jungle gym.