Colleges music has been around for a hundred years. Actually the Department of course existed before that
the Macky Auditorium, Macky building is a major venue in this area since the 1930s over probably over 500
different international stars of varying kinds. Everything from the great guitarists Andres Segovia
to modern performers like Yo-Yo Ma, Thomas Hampson, Hilary Hahn.
Of course students first started coming here in 1877
I believe. It was a very small university at the time very small college really at the time
mostly training teachers, but we know there was music happening.
The first graduating class in 1882 had I think six members.
The first one alphabetically was a man named Henry Alexander drum. It's a nice music connection.
One of the biggest names of course is
Warner Imig, the the second Dean of the College of Music.
George Crumb was here before he became a Pulitzer Prize winning composer.
There were a few younger composers. Daniel Kellogg who's been here for quite a while. And just 2016, so a few years ago
Carter Pan also was a Pulitzer finalist. The predecessors to the takać string quartet,
the Hungarian string quartet, again an international quartet
of significance for over half of our history.
So I'm very excited about the new building coming up.
It's just gonna be helpful to feel like I can always be here and have a space where I can go.
I'm excited to have the new rooms especially for chamber rehearsals and
for sectionals and you know things you don't really
schedule out, so I'm excited for that.
It's really cool that not only has it been around for a hundred years, but it's been quality for 100 years.
You know, we are all here College of Music because someone influenced us in a positive way and
enabled us to have this opportunity to be here and to study.
So hopefully there will be a 200 year celebration and that'll be my generation passing it forward.
What I'm most looking forward to is all of the little events that I know the College of Music will have planned.
Yeah, it makes me think of the history and lineage of the college music
and my high school band director actually went to school here and
he's who really inspired me to be a music teacher in the first place. So to be able to come back here and
go through the same program that he did, it's really special to have that lineage.
With the small-town atmosphere
things that happen in the college immediately had a ripple effect in the community itself
I think and and outside the community as well.
kind of knowing that we've been around for a hundred years and
participating in whatever is available is exciting.