Lee Todd on the "fire" at the UK Music School

University of Kentucky President Lee Todd speaks at the 2007 spring commencement ceremony. Copyrighted Herald-Leader/Kentucky.com photo by Matt Goins.

University of Kentucky President Lee Todd has recently praised the School of Music as being, "On fire." For a story previewing this weekend's Holiday Collage concert presented by numerous soloists and ensembles at the school, we asked Todd to expand on his remarks. Here are his responses to several questions we submitted via e-mail:

Copious Notes: What are the most impressive things happening in the School of Music, from your perspective?

Lee Todd: There are a number of impressive things happening in the School of Music -- and the entire College of Fine Arts, for that matter -- that prompted me to talk about it 'being on fire.' In addition to the incredible gift recently made to the opera program, UK Opera Theatre's first opera production of the year was, as you know, the second portion of a world premiere of Thomas Pasatieri's new opera, The Hotel Casablanca. The unique aspect of this production was that UK is home to both the set and costumes, so opera companies wanting to present this opera in the future will be able to get the set and costumes from us.

Since 1995, in fact, the School of Music has produced at least 10 Metropolitan Opera winners at the district level, four at the regional level, and one -- Gregory Turay -- at the national level. Recently, at the district level, UK Opera took three of the four finalist positions.

You have extensively covered the work of our symphony orchestra. In Times Like These was recorded with Arlo Guthrie and released in July. It has received positive reviews and mentions, including publications such as The Washington Post. UKSO joined Guthrie, at his invitation, on the Carnegie Hall stage this past weekend, where he plays annually.

Our wind ensemble is touring China in 2008 and take part in events in honor of the upcoming Olympic Games. Our Jazz Ensemble was the only collegiate one selected to perform at the upcoming international conference, Midwest Clinic. And our UK Percussion Ensemble won its collegiate competition and will perform at an upcoming international conference. No other colleges that we know of have won the collegiate competition three times in a row as our ensemble has done.

That, of course, is not an exhaustive list, but it gives you a good sense of the high level of accomplishment and breadth and depth that exists.

CN: What does it do for the University as a whole to have the School of Music performing at such a high level?

LT: I think, among other things, it demonstrates that large, public research universities like UK can, should be and are places where the liberal arts and the fine arts not only exist, but excel. There's not another institution in the area -- large or small, public or private -- that has that level of excellence across such a broad array of disciplines involving so many students. That can only happen at a large institution where the depth of faculty can be housed and where the numbers of students can be nurtured and developed.

CN: Where does the School of Music fit into the Top 20 plan?

LT: I think the arts are at the core of the Top 20 business plan and our efforts to become Top 20. So many people think Top 20 is about chasing research dollars and producing degrees. And those certainly are important aspects of our efforts. But if you look closely at the plan, you will see a premium placed on two other things -- the development of a nationally recognized undergraduate curriculum and a university that is engaged with the state we serve. The arts are critical to both endeavors. We live in a world that increasingly interdependent and international. We need students with a broad base of knowledge and appreciation a number of fields. The arts are critically important in that effort. Consider just two ways in which the arts are important as we think about how the university interacts with communities and the world around us:

1) Vibrant communities are ones that embrace the arts. If you read some of Richard Florida's outstanding work on both the rise and the flight of the creative class, one of the elements of strong, growing communities -- communities with strong economies -- is a commitment to the arts. An educated workforce, which Kentucky must have to move forward in the 21st century, wants a strong presence in the arts. That presence is part of what knowledge workers and their families consider when choosing a community in which to live.

2) To that end, we also must be an institution engaged in the challenges confronting our state. We know, for example, that a greater appreciation of and indoctrination in the arts at an early age helps develop students intellectually and academically. That's why Everett McCorvey's work, bringing opera to students throughout Kentucky, is so critically important. Think about what that can mean in terms of developing students and helping them grow and in terms of, perhaps, opening up a student's eyes to the wonder of creativity and artistic expression. That's the kind of work a Top 20 institution can and should be doing. It's the kind of work we are fully engaged in as we seek ways to serve Kentucky and make it a better place to live.

CN: What else would you like to see happen at the School of Music?

LT: I think we need to continue to seek gifts and apply them to specific needs as we recently did with the opera program. The public dollars we seek are both competitive and scarce and while the fine arts should be a priority, it is a shared one along with the teaching and research enterprise at UK. So, private giving, and targeted gifts for specific, programmatic needs and initiatives can be extremely helpful. They can be what is often characterized as the margin of excellence for this growing program of excellence.

Finally, I think we need to continue to promote the excellence that is occurring in this and other programs. Putting our orchestra students on a football field to be honored is, perhaps, a different venue that what might be ordinarily expected. But it's a way to shine a spotlight on a program and a way to, perhaps, give other people a glimpse at the variety and depth that marks their University of Kentucky. We have to explore those ways and others to market these programs because I firmly believe that word of mouth and "buzz" will help open up other opportunities.

Comments

[Thomason]

Dr. Todd might need to consider the College of Fine Arts, in toto. Bragging on one part of it, and overlooking how UK is falling behing in the other arts, seems something like a false positive.

[Joe Tackett]

What the school of music really needs is a new building. My grandfather attended classes in that same building after WWII! The practice rooms are like dungeons.