From Dean Lowry\u2019s inaugural address, October 2007<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nThe spirit and collaboration will be central to the survival and splendor of music\u2019s next great era, as music tumbles about in the combustion chamber of the real world, the robust theatre of ideas; not just musical ideas inspired by somebody else\u2019s musical ideas, but the mosh pit of literature, visual art, drama; of the sciences, of social friction, of politics; in short, in the mosh pit of the human condition \u2013 the human condition with which you must and will engage. Trust me, it needs you. \u2026<\/p>\n
To be sure, walking into that minefield of human paradoxes requires a good dose of courage, and perhaps a hint of giving up something of the context within which we\u2019ve been trained \u2026 Yet the process is liberating, that process of yielding a bit of your own self-importance. Maybe a lot.<\/p>\n
From Dean Lowry\u2019s first commencement address, May 2008<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nIn finding our musical voice we discover our ancestral musical undercurrent. But we must also, to become authentic, mesh with the diverse human elements that enrich our collective voice. Somewhere in there, we\u2019ll be able to say we discovered our own musical mythology.<\/p>\n
From Dean Lowry’s convocation address, September 2009<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nFor us, here and now, our urgent task is to create \u2026 more \u2026 community. This is where I believe we\u2019ve sometimes failed. Although we as musicians want community, some of us have lost the notion of what it takes to create one, or have felt mistakenly that just generating an audience constitutes creating a community. But that is such a dim view of the audience. It diminishes their purpose to simply a bunch of people gathered to pay us attention; it is not enough. The audience IS our community, like the community many of you graduates have developed over the last few years. These are people with whom you have laughed, cried, became strong friends, and shared perhaps one of the most personal experiences ever invented: you\u2019ve made music together. Because music is such a powerful conduit through which to create an authentic communal bond.<\/p>\n
From Dean Lowry’s commencement address, May 2012<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nPlease understand that time is precious. I urge you to not take anything for granted. To raise your awareness to the height of revelation, for every moment in your life will be rendered much richer if the light of your attention burns brighter.<\/p>\n
From Dean Lowry’s commencement address, May 2012<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nSchools of music have complicated missions but one simple purpose: to educate talented young performers, scholars, composers, and teachers in the critical functions of their chosen professions. We have a responsibility to furnish experiences that not only teach the art, but also bear some resemblance to the world that our students will inherit. This includes preparing them in the musical rudiments and<\/em> the real-life challenge of inspiring and building an audience, knowing important aspects of the business, and becoming entrepreneurs \u2026<\/p>\nThe attentive musician listens to the pulse of the times\u2013not to curry favor with current stylistic trends, but to form an understanding of how music\u2019s presentation and enjoyment have evolved. To assume that the musical experience of 1813\u2013how it looked, felt, dressed; where it took place\u2013would and should remain the same in 2013 ignores some basic laws of nature.<\/p>\n
From \u201cSpecial Effects,\u201d Eastman Notes, Fall-Winter 2013<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"During his six years as Dean of The Eastman School of Music, Douglas Lowry gave many speeches and addresses, and wrote numerous articles and letters. All display proof of Lowry\u2019s engagement in what he called \u201cthe robust theatre of ideas, the mosh pit of the human condition.\u201d He displayed a wide-ranging intellect, a fluent way…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-66","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","description-off"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esm.rochester.edu\/lowry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/66","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esm.rochester.edu\/lowry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esm.rochester.edu\/lowry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esm.rochester.edu\/lowry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esm.rochester.edu\/lowry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.esm.rochester.edu\/lowry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/66\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esm.rochester.edu\/lowry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esm.rochester.edu\/lowry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=66"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Douglas](\"https:\/\/www.esm.rochester.edu\/lowry\/files\/2013\/10\/2007-09-06_Convocation_0045.jpg\")
<\/a>I believe that reports of the demise of serious music are exaggerated. But we must create new engagement possibilities for music with those legions of intelligent, curious, informed people that are missing out, or going elsewhere for their aesthetic inspiration. We must figure out a way to captivate them in a way that is steeped in the fundamental essence of great music, yet urgently means something for future generations. To be blunt, I think it\u2019s this urgency that has been lost. Something tells me that the \u2018serious music\u2019 profession has been a little asleep at the wheel. But another way, we have not been courageous and passionate public advocates for our art form.<\/p>\n