Powerhouse violinist quits in Cleveland
OrchestrasWe hear that Stephen Rose, former head of violin studies, has quit the sinking Cleveland Institute of Music. We have not yet seen his resignation letter, but he’s at least the sixth faculty member to resign this year over the antics of an administration that seems barely functional.
Rose has been principal second violin of the Cleveland Orchestra since 2001.
UPDATE: Panic buttons.
There have been many notable departures from CIM over the past two years—Michael Sachs, Yolanda Kondanasis, Mark Jacobs, Cavani Quartet, Melissa Kraut, Jamie Laredo…the list could go on and on. Standing above and apart from all these exits is the lamentable news that Steve Rose is leaving his beloved CIM. Steve, a devoted alumnus of the conservatory, protégé of David Cerone and David Updegraff, is without equal in the character traits that matter to students, colleagues, and friends. Honest to a fault, humble, gracious, loyal, self-sacrificing, willing to always see the good in others when others are less than good. His passion and dedication to the art of violin playing, especially chamber music and the orchestra repertoire, is without equal. He built himself into the violinist he is today in the hallowed, sweaty, basement practice rooms that CIM students still to this day inhabit. He inherited the chair of a previous, revered, principal second violin of the Cleveland Orchestra and teacher at CIM, Bernard Goldschmidt, by sweating more than the rest of us, caring more than the rest of us, listening more than the rest of us, giving more than the rest of us…
If you know nothing about what has gone wrong with CIM behind its closed doors, know nothing about the foolish emperors without clothes who haunt its boardroom, president’s chair, and deaneries, if you know nothing about the accreditation issues, drastic enrollment decline, pitiful endowment, lack of scholarships, and bleak financial future — all you need to know is that an Honorable Man, teacher, and musician has turned his back, closed the door, and turned off the lights at an institution he once loved. As a fellow alumnus, spouse of an alumnus, and father of an alumnus, I am deeply saddened by this news. The rot appears to have necrotized so deeply that only a total amputation, preferably of the heads, can save CIM now. Let’s all pray for a surgeon.