{"id":547,"date":"2008-02-18T16:29:02","date_gmt":"2008-02-18T16:29:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/2008\/02\/18\/who-is-embarassing-the-school-now\/"},"modified":"2008-02-19T17:47:19","modified_gmt":"2008-02-19T17:47:19","slug":"who-is-embarassing-the-school-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/2008\/02\/18\/who-is-embarassing-the-school-now\/","title":{"rendered":"Who is embarassing the School now?"},"content":{"rendered":"

It is a grey, February afternoon in 1986. A blast of arctic air has settled across the <\/span>Midwest<\/span> that promises to chill the bones for several days to come.\u00a0<\/span>In this climate the cozy college town <\/span>looked rather austere and foreboding. Your author had grown up on a Big-Ten campus, and a bigger campus at that, but where his home-town school has a laid back, Bohemian vibe, this one looks and feels more conservative, more old-world.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Having gotten lost on the short walk from the <\/span>Union<\/span> to the music building, this observer was nearly late for the fateful tour of the <\/span>School<\/span> of <\/span>Music<\/span>. Not that it would have mattered- when he returned as a student five months later, he was amazed at how misleading many of his initial impressions were.\u00a0<\/span>Starting from the office of admissions, the imperious sounding Associate Assistant Dean of Admissions, or whatever his title was, led us in a loop through the main buildings- the \u201cold building\u201d and the \u201cround building.\u201d We then made ready to cross to the \u201cnew building\u201d (now, 20 years later the \u201cmusic practice building\u201d), gathering for the first time in front of the fa\u00e7ade at the front of the world\u2019s biggest music school.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Across the top of the building were a number of names of great composers. Our host was keen to draw our attention to one in particular.\u00a0<\/span>\u201cYes, we\u2019re quite embarrassed about that one. Apparently he was very popular in the 1950\u2019s, when this building was put up. It\u2019s amazing how wrong people can get things! Such horrible, simplistic, na\u00efve, clich\u00e9-ridden music!\u201d He chortled in smug satisfaction.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve looked into tearing it down, but because of the age of the building there is a concern that if we replaced him with a more legitimate composer, the stone wouldn\u2019t match. Anyway, it really is a huge embarrassment to the whole <\/span>School<\/span> of <\/span>Music<\/span> that he\u2019s up there.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>The composer?<\/span>Jean Sibelius.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Hear KW conduct Sibelius\u2019 2nd<\/sup> Symphony this Saturday, February 23rd<\/sup> in Bute Hall, <\/span>Glasgow<\/span> with the musicians of the Kelvin Ensemble. Also on the program is Wagner\u2019s Overture to Rienzi, and Bloch\u2019s Schelomo.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>And the outcome of the campus tour?\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Lord forgive me\u2026. I went there anyway.\u00a0<\/span><\/span> \u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n