Lesser and the Bach suites

Yum. If I have anything bad to say about NEC today I don't remember it. The concert was beautiful. My lesson was amazing as well. Long day but it ended so well. That's what was up at the conservatory today for me anyways.

I learned something incredible today at the concert. The mysterious sarabande of the 5th cello suite has a cousin in the 'Et incarnatus est' of the great B-minor mass. The semblance is unmistakable and both absolutely gorgeous.

Always look on the bright side of the pitch

Today is a holiday for the New England Conservatory, which to most of us means a free practice day. I've just finished two hours in a sunny (and very reverberant) practice room, and this compels me to say something nice about NEC today.

I love my Mozart class. Dexter Edge is a kick ass teacher and every time I go to his class, I'm always amazed when two hours goes by and not only does he still have more to say, I don't want to leave. It's a music history class on Mozart's operas, so granted, my point of view is a bit biased, but I find it wonderful that an adjunct professor who is probably trying to finish his book takes the time to put together two plus hours of information that is applicable not only to the singers in the class, but the instrumentalists, musicologists, and composers. The assignments, though time-consuming, are always enjoyable. I never find myself listening to a second-rate recording of some less-than-stellar work, the articles are actually interesting, and I ask myself, why can't all of my classes be like this?

I had the pleasure of studying musicology with a wonderful French harpsichordist who had a great sense of humor, always made me a cup of tea when I came to his office, and mercilessly edited my work. He always fostered my ideas, encouraged me to have my own trains of thought and, despite my chosen vocation of singing, pushed me to try publishing my articles.
I studied German with a professor who had an affinity for singers, so he wanted our spoken German to be as clean as our singing German. He wanted us to be able to use our language skills in multiple ways, so he made extra hand-outs of musicology terms in German. Reading the article in the original language is usually more interesting than reading a shoddy English translation.

So why is it that, at one of the (purportedly) foremost conservatories on the eastern seaboard, only one of my classes makes me eager to show up? And in response to an earlier post regarding liberal arts educators, I ask why can't we have the most enthusiastic professors of all areas - liberal and fine arts alike? Wouldn't it be best of all possible worlds if a literature professor challenged our minds about poetry and fiction while another challenged us to seek out higher musicianship?

That said, I'm going to work on my Mozart paper. My best to my colleagues on this sunny day. May your German be well-enunciated, your musicology articles without flaw, and your thirds tuned high.

Had a hard time registering for classes?

During registration week (yes, a few weeks ago) I overheard a teacher say to some of the office staff:

"Don't you think we should have offered one more liberal arts class this semester? You see so much anxiety because it's not about getting the class you want to take but just getting into a class. You look at the list of closed courses and there really isn't anything you can enroll in. We have Ph.D. adjuncts in musicology. How hard can it be to find someone with a liberal arts degree to teach here?"

A staff member replied, "There have got to be smart people out there who are good teachers who would like to have an extra thing on their resume."

The conversation sparked my interest and, lucky for me, I happened to be with some form of pen and paper. But the party broke up and some went to get coffee while others went back to work.

Back to the point: this is hardly the first time students have had trouble finding courses suited to their schedules and interests. The registrar's and advisor's suggestions of "make an appointment and register ASAP" can only do so much. With all the money we are paying it would be nice to have great lessons, chamber music coachings, opera scenes as well as some cool classes.

Yes, you can major in jazz, but...

And they are so proud of it. They'll tell you, sooner or later, that New England Conservatory was the first conservatory in the U.S. to offer a jazz department. (Translation: take that, Julliard!) But what do jazzers get for coming here? The school is run by classical people who have no idea what to do with jazz. Programs in jazz are offered more as a convenience; the infrastructure does nothing to cater to a jazz musician's talents and skills.

Take the history exam for example. The Masters History exam asks the student to prepare three topics on which s/he will write about during the exam. The three topics must be stylistically distinct. In classical terms, that means writing about Monteverdi, Verdi or Stravinsky. That's about 300 years in between. If you're going to write about jazz, the same might apply: you better find some music people were jammin' to in 1750, 1850 and 1950, otherwise, your topics will be rejected. Welcome to NEC wannabe jazz school.

Should she be teaching?

Every school has it. Students. Dumb ones.

But you can't do anything about them, except fail them (if you're the professor) or hope they fail (if you care about them.) That was easy.

What happens when dumb teachers get hired though? So they got the gig at New England Conservatory. Whoopee. There needs to be a way for us to get them out of here. You and I remember a teacher that was adored by all. NEC has a few of them: John Heiss is the first to come to mind; ask anyone--if there's an elective that is always full and over-the-limit, it's one of Heiss's classes.

NEC does carry more mediocre teachers than great ones though. We all know who they are. NECSA (New England Conservatory Student Association) should draft a friendly survey to find out who the worst teacher is. Then, we can start to do something about it.

What a beautiful concert

Homage to Schoenberg. "Transfigured Night" was phenomenal. Life as a music student does have ups. Moments like this remind us of why we are here and why we are able to put up with with crap at the Conservatory. To spend 30 minutes in communion with the masters is incredibly revitalizing. The Parker Quartet (and the wonderful guests) is doing just fine, it seems. For them, talent, opportunity and (no way!) a future have converged. I wish each of them the best from my heart.

But what of the rest of us? Look at some of the graduating seniors. Many are scared to think about what they will do with their shiny Bachelor of Music from New England Conservatory. So scared, they come back for a Masters and put up with more crap, more rising tuition, more funding cuts and more outrageous rents. As if four years wasn't enough, we decided to extend our stay by another 2 (or more!) years. But all for moments like the 30 minutes that those in Jordan Hall experienced tonight.

The things we give for music! Time, money, energy, our hearts, our souls, our minds... For a person in his/her 20's, that's pretty much everything. What a bargain!

Historical highlights at New England Conservatory

Founded in 1867. The history of New England Conservatory has been nobly written by generations of students.

NEC -- Not Exactly College
Perhaps the one truth that binds most of us. While most of us seem to understand what "conservatory" means, the part about "higher education" remains, to a large extent, a mystery. Of course, this is the path we have chosen, and when we graduate we will have no idea what to do, unless it's staying around to get a Grad Diploma.

NEC -- Not Enough Cash
Most schools are underfunded and go over budget anyways, so what's not to love? One should wonder how the "merit-based scholarship" is awarded. Let's stop kidding ourselves. Money (and power) is controlled by a few. One lady is a cross between Dick Cheney and Al Qaeda; one guy is Duhbuya. And yes, both are on good terms with each other. (Not that good, thank god.) You need to be good and you need to play the right instrument.

NEC -- Not Enough Cellos
There was a time when too many cellists roamed the conservatory. Cellists are lovely people but it's nice that we've moved beyond that point. To be fair, this school has a fair number of rockin' studios.

NEC -- No Ethernet Connection
None. Not even in the dorms. Way to make a statement. No Wi-Fi either. Strong. If you're picking up a signal you're probably stealing it.

Boston VS NEC

Tom Menino has announced his ambitious plan to have Boston WiFi-ed up within 4 years. 2010 sounds a bit far from today but is it really that far? What will wireless technology be like in 4 years? But the main issue here is, who will get unwired first, NEC or Boston? It could be a tight race folks, even if the city runs up against some delays and over-budgets, since NEC is very familiar with both of those problems too.

Welcome to What's Up!

First, why couldn't we just have abbreviated? "NEC" is endearing, isn't it? Yes, but Google will dig up other things before it finds the Conservatory you're looking for. By typing a few extra letters we avoid any possible confusion. Think of it as upholding a tradition of spelling everything out on the Web. It just wouldn't be the same if you had to go to nec.blogspot.com instead. You'll thank us for it.