Sometimes you just need a little perspective. Sometimes you need a way to look at things, a prism through which you shine an idea so that on the other side it reveals a new aspect, previously hidden but clearly latent within. Today I experienced both: a prism and then a little perspective. This morning Kennedy Center's acclaimed President, Michael Kaiser, spoke to a roomful of arts leaders in Kalamazoo, Michigan. I drove two hours to get there and, upon arrival, found that the room was full and the mood was surprisingly upbeat. In the … [Read more...]
Archives for July 2009
Finding a Tibetan Voice in Beijing
In June of 2006 there was a concert at Beijing's Central Conservatory of Music devoted to new works by young Tibetan composers. Four of them were students while the fifth was their teacher from Lhasa, Professor Jorgar. This multi-year program was his dream - a way of taking a promising generation of composers from Tibet and training them in the music of both the Western and Eastern traditions at the highest levels China could offer. Replanted back home some of them would surely teach, and a home-grown Tibetan school of composers might then … [Read more...]