Stephanie Shonekan, Ethnomusicologist and Dean of the College of Arts and Humanities at the University of Maryland, talks about the value of arts and humanities in a modern world.
You just never cease to amaze me with your Arts Engines moments. I wanted to share this email to Dean Shonekan with you and thank you for continuing to bring wonderful people to all of us who follow you. Keep up the fantastic work. I believe you would love to have Leah Claiborne (University of District of Columbia) on Arts Engines. Perhaps you already have an I missed it.
Your talk with Aaron Dworkin
Hilley, Martha F
shonekan@umd.edu
Dear Dean Shonekan,
I just felt that I must thank you for your talk with Aaron regarding the value of the arts and the humanities. I am Professor Emerita from the Butler School of Music at The University of Texas at Austin. I retired in August of 2019 in order to take the reins of president of MTNA from March of 2019 through March of 2021. We all know what happened in that period of our lives. All of us in education pray that the mending which must happen from Pre-School through Post Docs will happen and we will be able to recapture much of what was lost during the pandemic.
I have watched in horror as the State of Texas has “undone” visions, dreams of possibilities in our futures and those of our students as our Governor did away with any hint of DEI on the public college and university campuses. It warms my heart to hear that you do not hesitate to use the words “diversity’ and “equity.” UT Austin has recruited and then brought students to our campus with promises and then taken those promises away.
I love the thought of your Arts for All program. How glorious it would be to work on your campus. I worry about the future of higher education and see glimmers of hope when I hear you speak. Thank you for what you are doing on your campus. You are a model to all of us in the Arts and Humanities. Within the Butler School of Music and the City of Austin, we have the honor of being the new home base for invoke, a string quartet who came to Austin to study with our resident Miro Quartet. They fell in love with Austin and decided to make this their home for the time being. You may not have heard of the group since they left the University of Maryland before you arrived. Amazing young men who have brought new life to chamber music.
I won’t take any more of your time. I just had to say thank you for your values and standards and determination to “spread the word!” Since retiring and the pandemic, I have opened a group piano studio in my home and am having a blast teaching piano to beginning adults (age 60 and older) who have always wanted to play. It is truly Chapter 3 in my 80-year-old life.
Sincerely,
Martha F Hilley, NCTM, IMT
Professor Emerita, Group Piano and Pedagogy, Butler School of Music
Distinguished Teaching Professor Emeritus, The University of Texas at Austin
Dear Aaron,
You just never cease to amaze me with your Arts Engines moments. I wanted to share this email to Dean Shonekan with you and thank you for continuing to bring wonderful people to all of us who follow you. Keep up the fantastic work. I believe you would love to have Leah Claiborne (University of District of Columbia) on Arts Engines. Perhaps you already have an I missed it.
Your talk with Aaron Dworkin
Hilley, Martha F
shonekan@umd.edu
Dear Dean Shonekan,
I just felt that I must thank you for your talk with Aaron regarding the value of the arts and the humanities. I am Professor Emerita from the Butler School of Music at The University of Texas at Austin. I retired in August of 2019 in order to take the reins of president of MTNA from March of 2019 through March of 2021. We all know what happened in that period of our lives. All of us in education pray that the mending which must happen from Pre-School through Post Docs will happen and we will be able to recapture much of what was lost during the pandemic.
I have watched in horror as the State of Texas has “undone” visions, dreams of possibilities in our futures and those of our students as our Governor did away with any hint of DEI on the public college and university campuses. It warms my heart to hear that you do not hesitate to use the words “diversity’ and “equity.” UT Austin has recruited and then brought students to our campus with promises and then taken those promises away.
I love the thought of your Arts for All program. How glorious it would be to work on your campus. I worry about the future of higher education and see glimmers of hope when I hear you speak. Thank you for what you are doing on your campus. You are a model to all of us in the Arts and Humanities. Within the Butler School of Music and the City of Austin, we have the honor of being the new home base for invoke, a string quartet who came to Austin to study with our resident Miro Quartet. They fell in love with Austin and decided to make this their home for the time being. You may not have heard of the group since they left the University of Maryland before you arrived. Amazing young men who have brought new life to chamber music.
I won’t take any more of your time. I just had to say thank you for your values and standards and determination to “spread the word!” Since retiring and the pandemic, I have opened a group piano studio in my home and am having a blast teaching piano to beginning adults (age 60 and older) who have always wanted to play. It is truly Chapter 3 in my 80-year-old life.
Sincerely,
Martha F Hilley, NCTM, IMT
Professor Emerita, Group Piano and Pedagogy, Butler School of Music
Distinguished Teaching Professor Emeritus, The University of Texas at Austin