Indiana University Research & Creative Activity April 2001 • Volume XXIV, Number 1
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The
Indiana University School of Music
at Bloomington houses a world renowned faculty, numerous students who
make their marks in the musical world, and fantastic facilities that produce
more than 1,000 operas, concerts, and recitals every school year. It is a
center for musical experience that cannot be compared to any university setting
in the world. Having recently celebrated the fifty-year anniversary of the
IU Opera Theater, the
seventy-fifth birthday of Distinguished Professor Janos Starker, and the turn
of the century, it seems fitting to ask: What drives the IU School of Music
forward?
The early central vision of
opera for the “masses” held by beloved leaders Herman B Wells and
Wilfred C. Bain was certainly one way to build a great music school. Bain
needed to put together a stellar vocal faculty, experienced conductors, a
strong choral department, brilliant orchestras that could play Wagner and
Berg with equal facility, a corps de ballet, and professional-level production
teams of scenic, costume, and lighting designers. But Bain didn’t stop
there. The instrumental, composition, and piano faculties grew to be legendary.
Students were inspired by studying with some of the great artists, and there
were many opportunities to see those artists perform.
Charles Webb, dean of the School
of Music from 1973 to 1997, brought the school to new heights with the residency
of Leonard Bernstein and tours to Tanglewood, the Kennedy Center, the Metropolitan
Opera, and the Opera Bastille in France. Distinguished artists continued to
be added to the faculty. New venues dedicated to higher music education—Ford
Hall, Auer Hall, and the William and Gayle Cook Library—were added.
Yet, the question remains: What
continues to drive the IU School of Music forward? The answer, I believe,
is that the School of Music has found a way to honor the past as it looks
to the future. Great artist-teachers on the School of Music faculty have mentored
students and produced a new generation of artist-teachers at IU and throughout
the world.
Although departments within
the school are strong individually, it is the spirit of collaboration that
synergistically energizes and revitalizes the school. This has always been
true in the Opera Theater, where the departments of voice, instrumental, choral,
ballet, and technical production mingle. But other departments throughout
the school interact as well, including choral and ballet, composition and
applied instrumental, jazz and dance, early music and opera. Collaborative
projects such as new operas or the 2000 Summer Festival may seem daring, but
they are a catalyst for artistic growth.
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Mark
Ross Clark is associate professor of music and opera production
adn stage director at Indiana University Bloomington. |
Has the IU School of Music flourished
despite its geographical location, or because of it? Regardless of the location
of the campus, I believe that what spreads the word about an institution is
the student. The IU School of Music may be enormous and the number of its
activities staggering, but the mentoring spirit remains strong, nurturing,
and challenging: Students sing major roles in double-cast main-stage performances
supported by the highest standards of production. Instrumentalists play under
the direction of Imre Palló, David Effron, Thomas Baldner, or Paul
Biss, as well as Kurt Masur and many other well-known conductors. The Choral
Department presents Bach’s B Minor Mass while ballet majors take the
stage to dance The Nutcracker with visiting artists Julie Kent and José
Carreño. Members of Pro Arte and the Early
Music Institute record under the direction of Paul Hillier, and the composition
faculty hosts national symposia and presents numerous student composition
concerts. Ray Cramer takes the band on a tour of Japan; David Baker continues
his popular Monday evening jazz series. There are solo concerti competitions,
the International Harp Competition, and the list goes on and on.
All of these activities drive the school forward. They represent a collective student experience fostered by a faculty and staff who are proud of the IU School of Music. We dwell on the fact that it is inspiring for the IU music student to be mentored by great artists, but the fact is, music faculty are inspired by their students. The passion of young artists demands vision from the teacher. The needs of students help artist-teachers define their own feelings about their art and nourish their own artistic passions. It is this passion that drives the IU School of Music forward, into the twenty-first century.
—Mark Ross Clark
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