Julliard President to Speak on Steinway

The dedication of a new Steinway concert grand piano brings President of the Julliard School, Dr. Joseph Polisi, to the Kevin P. Mahaney ’84 Center for the Arts on Saturday, Mar. 1 for a public lecture on “The Arts, Education and the Human Experience.” Awarded an honorary Doctor of Arts degree from the College in 2010, Polisi has served as the sixth president of the prestigious conservatory of dance, music and drama for 29 years, establishing a revised curriculum with an emphasis on the humanities and the liberal arts.

Polisi’s history with the College started decades ago. He worked at a summer festival at the University of Vermont in Burlington, frequently making trips to Middlebury to shop, dine and tour the College. His wife, a French teacher, was well aware of the prestigious language programs at the College and his daughter eventually attended a Language School program at the Vermont campus over the summer. Upon receiving his honorary doctorate, Polisi became better acquainted with the President, his wife and the Middlebury community.

“I’m very honored to be asked back to inaugurate this new instrument,” Polisi said.

Polisi looks forward to discussing the lasting positive impact the new piano will have on the College in years to come, as well as exploring the relationship between conservatory and liberal arts study. Julliard’s 600 undergraduate and 300 graduate students thrive in the world renowned Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, but Polisi sees many possible connections between his school and Middlebury’s rural community of around 2,500 undergraduates.

“I’ll be talking about the value of the study of the arts in the context of a liberal arts education, but also how the arts are an important part of the fabric of our society,” Polisi said.

In 2005, Polisi wrote The Artist Citizen, discussing the responsibility of the artist to present their art to communities around the world and to make people understand the importance of the arts in any environment.

“I’m very passionate about the idea that within the context of a liberal arts environment like the wonderful program at Middlebury that students, faculty and administrators understand how the integration of the study of the arts and the appreciation of the arts on campus can really enhance the entire environment, not just the artistic environment,” Polisi said. “People who can participate in a serious digestion or understanding of the arts really are more empathetic, more involved in their own society and more able to have a positive influence on everybody in their communities.”

An accomplished scholar of music, public policy and the arts with two books to his credit, Polisi is also a successful bassoonist with a solo recording of 20th century bassoon. In addition to holding three graduate degrees in music from Yale University, Polisi also has a Bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Connecticut and a Masters of Arts degree in international relations from Tufts University. Frequently speaking on issues of arts and education, Polisi has founded many programs that focus on mentorship and the importance of an interdisciplinary education. In 2006, he helped to found the Carnegie Hall/Julliard Academy, a program designed to prepare post-graduate musicians to be leaders in the arts and education.

“I’m always speaking to our Julliard students about their sense of mission and their need to really be effective advocates of the arts once they get off stage,” Polisi said. “The performance is one thing and that’s extremely important, but then they have to be active as missionaries, so to speak, for the arts.”

President Polisi’s free lecture will take place on Mar. 1 at 4:30 p.m. in the Concert Hall of the Kevin P. Mahaney ’84 Center for the Arts.  An evening concert will take place at 8 p.m. on the same day.

The concert will be a festive celebration of the new instrument featuring performances and discussions from several members of the College community. Audience members will first be shown a short film describing the selection of the piano at the historic Steinway factory in Queens, New York.

The Steinway model D concert grand piano arrived at the Concert Hall of the Kevin P. Mahaney ’84 Center for the Arts on Nov. 26, a gift of the Ray, Meredith and Nathaniel Rothrock ’12.5 family in honor of President Liebowitz and his wife, Jessica. The 9-foot, 990 pound piano will reside in the Concert Hall for use by faculty, students and performers participating in the College’s Performing Arts Series.

Chair of the Music Department Greg Vitercik is excited about the new musical opportunities created by the piano.

“It opens up a sound world that is simply not available on the instruments any of us encounter in daily life,” Vitercik said in an email. “And that new sound world offers a range of expressive and coloristic effects that cannot be produced on lesser instruments, as well as possibilities — and challenges — of control that only exist at the rarified level.

In January and February, President Liebowitz sent out a campus-wide email inviting students, faculty and staff to register for ten minute slots to play the Steinway over the second week of J-term and the first week of the spring term.

Steinway enjoys the reputation of being the concert piano of choice around the world, with each instrument containing over 12,000 parts and taking over a year to manufacture by hand. A selection committee of concert soloists Richard Goode and Paul Lewis, Middlebury Affiliated Artist Diana Fanning ’71 and Gwendolyn Toth ’77 traveled to the legendary New York factory in late October, testing five potential candidates that might suit the acoustics of the Concert Hall.

Nathaniel Rothrock was an active participant in theater, musicals and the College Choir in his time as a student.

“Middlebury actually approached us about acquiring a new piano,” Rothrock said. “The old concert piano in the hall was close to 15 years old, maybe more, and the school had decided that it was time to get a new one.  We discussed it and decided to help fund the gift. As we thought about it, we realized something important.  President Liebowitz and his wife, Jessica, who is a concert level pianist, have been and continue to be huge supporters of the performing arts at Middlebury.  So with the proviso that the piano be named in their honor, we decided to make the gift.”

The concert will showcase the piano’s versatility by presenting a unique mix of genres. Cameron Toh ’17, Shannia Fu ’17, and David Heschel Liebowitz, all students of Fanning, will perform works by Barber, Debussy and Satie, while Gwendolyn Toth will present early keyboard pieces by Beethoven. Affiliated Artist and Director of Jazz Programs Dick Forman will pair with Felix Klos ’14 to play jazz selections. Bass/baritone Rothrock will close the program with songs by Schubert, Lerner and Loewe and Sondheim, accompanied by Associate Professor of Music Jeffrey Buettner.

Vitercik thinks that both performers and audience members will benefit from the high quality craftsmanship of the Steinway.

“We have a long record of bringing some of the finest pianists in the world to our stage, and to have an instrument of this quality will allow them to perform at the highest level of their artistic potential,” he said. “Audiences, too, will experience an unparalleled richness, subtlety, and expressive range in those performances.”

The concert will be followed by a reception in the Mahaney Center lobby. The event is free but requires the reservation of tickets through the Box Office.

The community has an excellent opportunity to hear Dr. Polisi’s lecture and watch the combination of arts and education in action at the concert celebration of the new Steinway piano. The dedication marks what is sure to be just the start of many years of enjoyment for the College.