Just got off the phone with a favorite professor I had in college, Dr.
Bob Bennet.  Not only is the man a great piano teacher, but he is also a
true gentleman.  He is retired now and dealing with arthritis in his hands
and fingers, which has taken its toll on his playing.  This makes me sad.

This man not only taught piano, but he also made sure he passed along all
the performing tradtions that he could, either by recounting his own
experiences, or bringing personal friends to our campus, such as Gaby
Casadesus, for instance, who could talk to us first hand about Ravel.

Some innocent and sincere questions for a certain contingent of our
listers.  Over the past few weeks I have gotten the feeling that some of
you around here *seem* (I repeat *seem*) to distrust what goes on in the
academic arena.  Some of your statements have been subtle and some have
not.

First, you would like to hear your music performed.  I am not a full-time
composer, but I write when the fit takes me, and out of the 5 substantial
pieces I have written, all 5 have been performed.  By going to college, I
know wind-ensemble/orchestra directors, choir directors, string players,
brass players, etc.  Sometimes my music makes it to the stage, other times
it's done in the living room, (old instrumentalist friends lured over by
the promise of beer and burgers afterward).

How do you plan to get your music at least run through privately?

Secondly, I contacted a professor at UC Davis that I didn't even know, for
some orchestration tips.  Not only did the professor, Dr.  Richard Swift,
invite me to his home, but he refused money and only asked that I move some
firewood in the house for him.  We spent all afternoon talking and never
once did he make me feel less than human, even though our styles and tastes
were totally different.  (Him-Martino, me-Martinu, for example) He knew
exactly what I wanted to do and helped me get there.  He never asked for
my pedigree.

Have some of you been treated poorly by a professor?   What happened?

Some of you have said that you are self-taught.  Aren't you afraid that
you might end up unveiling the musical equivalent of a Tandy 64 at a
Pentium III convention? (Of course, Schoenberg was largely self taught....)
Couldn't those old academic types help you both cover old ground more
efficiently?

Just some questions as I think back to my college days....

John Smyth