Majors find success, while ensembles enrich entire University
Members of Manchester’s music faculty aren’t inclined to sing their own praises or toot their own horns.
如果是的话, they might say that they have exceptional success preparing their students for graduate schools and careers and enriching the entire University community – music majors and non-majors alike. They do it all with a 70-year-old Winger Hall that no longer meets the needs of their dynamic department.
By measure of the fewer than 20 students who are majoring in music, the department is small. 但它是非常广泛的, 开设音乐教育专业, 仪器性能, 声乐表演, theory-composition, 一般音乐. It also fields a range of ensembles open to students across the University – A Cappella Choir, 交响乐团, 曼彻斯特交响乐团(MSO), 斯巴达骄傲军乐队, 剧院, 室的歌手, 爵士乐团, 适于歌唱的(女子合唱), 曼彻斯特交响合唱团, 金黑攻击(篮球乐队), 打击乐合奏, 字符串合奏, 和橡树叶黄铜.
It’s a formidable lineup and a heavy lift for only four full-time faculty members – Professor Debra Lynn (choral organizations and vocal studies; MSO conductor), 蒂姆·里德教授(理论与写作), Associate Professor Scott Humphries (bands and music education) and Assistant Professor Pamela Haynes (piano studies).
“Our primary function is to educate music majors and minors,林恩说。, whose personal voice studio has a 100 percent placement in graduate school or employment. Her graduates place very high in graduate school entrance exams, too.
“One of the reasons that we are this successful is that we are small,林恩说。, 谁也是系主任. “他们没有120个. They get a lot of personal attention from our small faculty. 我们真的是一家人.”
The department’s vocal ensembles, in particular, attract a wide range of students. “当我们招收学生时, 我们不只是在为自己的部门招聘, 我们正在全校招聘,林恩补充道。. “There are many students who choose to come to Manchester because they can participate in an ensemble and be an athlete,她补充道.
Lynn and Humphries don’t want any student to have to choose between sports and music, for example. “It’s a wonderful manifestation of our liberal arts goals and our values about the liberal arts,她继续说道。. “The students are supposed to be discovering what they love here. 我们需要给他们空间去探索.”
不管学生是不是音乐专业, Lynn says that participating in a music ensemble creates a more well-rounded college experience. “It gets them out of the lab or out of their textbooks and generate something really creative,她补充道. “Our alumni will tell you that when they look back on their years at Manchester, 如果他们在一个音乐合奏团, 这是他们的一个高潮.”
有时，这些经历甚至超越了毕业. Lynn will conduct her oratorio, “A Family Portrait,” at New York’s Carnegie Hall in May. MU’s A Cappella Choir, its alumni and friends, will be among the performers.
对他来说, Humphries has completed his second season directing the 斯巴达骄傲军乐队, 自20世纪60年代中期以来马里兰大学的第一支军乐队.
Spartan Pride是一个相对较小的乐队，但声音很大. “听起来很棒。. They sound fantastic,” Humphries said several weeks into the season. “我真的为他们感到骄傲.” The band has performed at MU’s home football games and at several area high school games.
Faculty believe that MU’s ensembles could be even stronger if it weren’t for Winger’s considerable limitations. Many prospective students have better facilities in their high schools, 林恩表示, 所以这栋建于1952年的建筑并不能吸引新员工.
The original south portion of the building does not have central air conditioning, 蒸汽锅炉的供暖不均匀. 学生必须携带乐器, 哪些存储在Winger中, 到科迪尔进行排练和演出. “We don’t have anything that’s climate controlled for the storage of instruments and that’s really bad for them,汉弗莱斯说。, adding that mold has ruined some instruments stored in the Winger basement.
The music department lacks adequate practice, studio and rehearsal space. There is no soundproofing in the building, even in the practice rooms and recording studio.
“Music study is more about the mistakes you make and how you correct them than it is about perfection,林恩说。. Students should be able to practice without being self-conscious of what other people hear. “你的练习时间是神圣的，”她补充道. “The part nobody sees, which is 90 percent of their job – they’re really stifled at that. 这让我很伤心.”
其他部门需求包括:
- Adequate (and climate-controlled) storage for music libraries
- A choir rehearsal room with chairs so that students don’t have to stand for the entire period
- 所有大学乐队和MSO的排练场地
- Secure instrument storage in Cordier that is accessible to music majors and minors every day
- More studio and office space to accommodate the department’s many adjuncts who give music lessons
- A keyboard lab so that Haynes can teach piano to multiple students in a classroom setting
- 拥有更好技术能力的计算机实验室
在理想的情况下, MU’s music program would have a performing arts center or at least an addition to Cordier Auditorium.
林恩承认，设施并不代表一切. “是人民让我们变得伟大. But our greatness would be more obvious to others if we had better facilities.”
Humphries contends that Manchester’s Music Department is the best-kept secret around, 林恩也同意. “我们很容易成为曼彻斯特的旗舰项目.”
But the ones who choose to enroll at Manchester “come here because of the people,” she says. “他们会见了全体教员. 他们与学生见面.”
“We’ve done some remarkable things in spite of our facilities,她补充道. “I think when the time comes for us to have an upgrade, we already have a wonderful foundation.”