a tempo winter2008
A Letter from the Dean
Dear Music Alumni and Friends,
I have just returned to my office following a walk around the halls of the Moore Musical Arts Center. In doing so, I passed through the tunnel now adorned with a very special mural depicting the history of music over the ages. The title of this work of art is To Live Out Loud.
Now seated at my desk, memories of Bernie Linden and Diana Barker Smith are fresh in my mind. Obituaries in this issue of a tempo confirm their untimely deaths, as well as others who have been part of this special learning community. As you know, the College of Musical Arts is more like a family than an ivory tower, and each day is filled with all of us Living Out Loud. Those who have passed will continue to live in our hearts.
At the same time, we have strong memories of many positive events, such as this year’s Hansen Musical Arts Series, the McMaster Endowed Professorship, New Music & Art Festival, and the 1642 Cavalli opera performed at both BGSU and the Eastman School of Music. We have just concluded the final concerts of this fall semester and I am proud to report that our students, faculty and staff in the College of Musical Arts share a profound confidence in the importance and creation of music, teaching music and making it, as well.
We also anticipate a very bright future for music and the arts at Bowling Green State University and take great pride in your accomplishments as alumni of the College. In the weeks ahead we will celebrate both the 50th anniversary of the Band Reading Clinic as well as the 90th anniversary of the founding of our campus orchestra. We continue to build on the proud heritage of talent and accomplishment that you have helped to create.
This past semester has been a roller coaster of emotions, from the heights of student and faculty success to the depths of sadness. The recent loss of dear friends and loved ones inspires us to celebrate the transcendent power of music and the importance of those who dedicate their lives to the highest standards of instruction, performance and scholarship. They remind us what it is about music that drew us all to its flame in the first place. They inspire us to live up to the title of the mural, to Live Out Loud!
With sincere best wishes,
Richard Kennell
Dean