University shoots the harpsichordist
NewsFrom the University of North Texas Daily:
One hundred and fifty people, including students, faculty and alumni, signed a petition, and faculty wrote letters urging the College of Music to reconsider its decision not to renew the contract of its only lecturer of harpsichord.
In summer 2023, College of Music Dean John Richmond made the decision to let Lecturer of Harpsichord Bradley Bennight’s contract expire at the end of the spring 2024 semester. The petition says the loss of the harpsichord lecturer position and the changes that would follow, in combination with previous cuts and any future cuts, could “severely cripple, if not destroy” the college’s early music program.
One commenter observes that ‘the enfuckening of UNT is almost complete.’
Stupid. The Early Music department is one thing to help distinguish UNT from the crowd.
Glad to see this story now so I can send it to people I know who are considering the school and EM was one of the selling points.
This is the same school that, last I heard, supposedly ditched Music Theory as a major for undergrads, even as their own website was still promoting it as available. Very odd. This, and they have/had the top Schenker scholar in the country – don’t know what has happened with him.
Someone I know wanted to attend there and do a second double major and was told by an administrator that the Theory major was no longer available despite the fact that the school website indicated no such thing and that at least some teachers knew nothing of it having been disbanded.
One more of something like 400 Blows to the world of classical music I’ve read about in Slipped Disc the last few years…
Someone could write a new book “The Killing of Classical Music, part 2”. The plotline would be: first hire a team of diversity equity and inclusion, then claim that underrepresented composers should replace Bach, Mozart, and all the white privileged classical composers. Then scrap music theory, early music, and the harpsichord instructor. The end.
Unfortunately that would not end so easy.
Seems a Bennighted institution – or, rather (now) an unBennighted one.
More info and a link to a petition here:
https://www.earlymusicamerica.org/web-articles/texas-uproar-over-harpsichord-education/?fbclid=IwAR3vtpXx40dYi2jsVcyyIQRpXAFuaww1Bwjt0TAlyyvARJUk5RFb0lVC3Sw
If someone could enlighten me as to why all these American early music departments with basically glorified amateurs in teaching positions exist, I’d be grateful.
A lot of early music was composed for the amateur public.
So what ? So we should have people on salary? What a stupid justification —but ironically indicative of the mentality of these people. The people teaching at these institutions are not professionals in any meaningful sense of the term. Resources thus should be devoted elsewhere.
That was a joke. But it’s true.
🙂
You are quite mistaken about the Professors at UNT. Many have had distinguished performing and recording careers.
The real issue is the possible loss of an important position at a large and respected institution. I hope those making this decision come to see the error they have made, and correct it.
Who composes music for a “professional” public?
In fact, the composers of the 17th and 18th c. composed for the Church, the Court, and wealthy aristocrats.
Much harpsichord and fortepiano music was composed for a given composer’s students. Paradisi, Scarlati, and Giustini are prime examples.
As Opera was the dominant genre, at least in Italy, France, Austro-Hungary, and England, composers were composing for whoever the patrons were who supported those institutions.
I might recommend you read some of Robert O. Gjerdingen’s wonderful work “Child Composers in the Old Conservatories.”
The unidentified commentator should be congratulated on inventing a most useful neologism.
Is a lecturer of harpsichord different from a teacher of harpsichord?
It is the same.
The law of supply & demand is fully bearing down on the Classical Music scene. Sadly but inevitably it will only become a deeper entrenchment. Large ensembles with cavernous halls to fill, rareified styles and instrumentalists should also be wary of a perilous future. I venture to guess in this case the supply of harpsichord students to be pitifully low.
Largest harpsichord studio in the US.
Largest harpsichord studio in the US
Based on the university’s unduly lengthy reply, I would say that they have way too much time on their hands and one of them needs to be put on leave.
Just an opinion: the decline of hard science and the Rise of all sorts of social expression masquerading as college education, hurts all departments. San Francisco is even worse, the core of the city is full of drugs, people dying on sidewalks, stench. Why donate?.?? SFSU MBA 1990.
Now, now. SF is doing its best. It has upped its spending on homelessness from $200M/yr 10 years ago to $1.5B today. Blame the Idaho judge who ruled that SF could not move someone off the sidewalk unless they offered them immediate housing.
If the professor had only thought to serve beer at all harpsichord recitals, this never would have happened.