Many people know Martin Bookspan, the long-term host of Live from Lincoln Center on PBS who retired in 2006. For those of you around long enough, you may even know Martin from his tenure at ASCAP.
Janet Bookspan was Martin’s wife and I remember her today in this blog because she was one of the first people to prepare artists to work in the community and schools. Essentially, among a handful of people like Janet and my former boss Mitchell Korn, the term “artist training” was most likely born after they began work in this area. Everyone knows Eric Booth, and they should!, but you may not know the people who preceded him in this work before arts education was quite a field.
The field of arts education is relatively new. That being said, it has a longer history than many people realize. Young Audience chapters appeared as early as the 1950’s. Young People’s concerts were being led by Walter Damrosch and the New York Philharmonic by late 19th century. In the early 60’s, the Ford Foundation placed composers in residence in public school systems for three-year terms. There is a long defunct organization named Affiliate Artists, which placed concert artists in long-term residencies in communities across the United States. It’s the organization which put artists residencies on the map. Jesse Rosen, who runs the League of American Orchestras worked at Affiliate Artists during its last few years of existence. When you look at what Ford did back then and at the approach of Affiliate Artists, you’re looking at residencies that are of a duration rarely seen in the United States today. (That’s the topic of a future blog.)
Janet Bookspan worked with artists in places like Affiliate Artists, the New World Symphony, Manhattan School of Music, and others, to help prepare the artists to serve effectively through communications, presentation, and other skills. While she may not have been tackling specific K-12 issues, she was helping to build a field of artists seeking to communicate effectively on and off the stage.
I once had the pleasure of co-training an ensemble at the Manhattan School of Music with Janet. She had superb skills in helping the artists to talk (yes talk!), to walk, to center themselves on the stage. She helped musical artists think through how to use their space effectively, as well as how to handle audiences. I stole a number of her tricks for use in my own work training artists.
The field of arts education, which has grown immensely since the days of Affiliate Artists, has people like Janet to thank, who took on this work without any previous script or model. Janet’s role is certainly one of the bricks that this work has been and will continue to be built upon.
I never met Mrs. Bookspan but I had some knowledge of her great work in the Arts. I want to note that in addition to her great work in the area of the Arts, she was a great mother as well. I have worked with her daughter (Debbie Margol) and she too is passionate about the arts and works very hard to help, promote, and sustain community art groups.
Janet Bookspan was an incredible woman. Funny, sensitive and sensible. I will always believe that it was because of her that my daughter became a student at the Jullliard School. She helped Dawn overcome panic attacks that occurred at every performance and audition. Her encouragement and words of wisdom will endure through at least another generation as another incredible young musician takes the stage for flawless performances. She will be missed but we know that God holds her in the palm of His hand. He needed another angelic voice in the choir.
just found out that a lovely, warm and supportive woman director and teacher has left us. She was so positive and enthusiastic whether she was directing or schmoozing.
Sorry to discover that Mrs. Janet Bookspan is np longer with us.
As a well over-40 amateur operatic student I was most fortunate in taking lessons with Mrs. Bookspan for a couple of years. She was a magnificent person, a superb teacher and a sensitive coach, sincere and truthful.
It was both a blessing and an honor to have known her and have received her teaching and friendship.