Chapter 13 - A New Era at Eastman

Summary

Having helped to steer the Eastman vessel into calmer waters, I thought I had completed my duties in academic governance. That however turned out to be an illusion. At the end of the 1972-73 school year, Wayne Barlow wanted to retire, and I was appointed chairman of the composition department. This was at first to be a three-year term, but my “dear” colleagues voted to extend my tenure in that position until I retired in 1994, and then I stayed at Eastman for one more year since my replacement, Augusta Reed Thomas, wanted to extend her tenure at Harvard for one year before coming to Eastman. I had no prob¬lem with the chairmanship because we had the most terrific faculty and, even though our compositions were very different one from one another, we had the closest personal relationship, with mutual respect and love for one another. Though there were some heated arguments about policy and students, we were always able to solve everything amicably. During my time as chairman, the department consisted of Warren Benson, Joseph Schwantner, Allen Schindler (who taught electronic music), Robert Morris, Sydney Hodkinson (who mostly conducted the Musica Nova Ensemble), and, a little later, Christopher Rouse and David Liptak.2 Building this department was a great joy for all of us, and we were able to attract some of the finest talents in the world to come and study with us. Early on, we came to agree that the more varied points of views the students could get, the better off they would be. Thus, we decided that every student should study for one year only with a certain teacher. This would mean that every undergraduate would have four different teachers in the four years of his or her Eastman matriculation. Some composers outside the school felt that this was too extreme a system, and that students would get confused by the dif¬ferent styles of instruction. But this never became a problem, and many of the Eastman students who have become distinguished members of composition departments in schools all over the world have carried on that tradition.

Every department in the school was strengthened even during the first few years of Bob Freeman's directorship. The names are too numerous to mention, but I want to mention a few who completely revitalized the School. Jan DeGaetani brought a whole new outlook to the voice department.