LISTEN DEPAUW SCHOOL OF MUSIC NEWSLETTER
FALL 2016
21CMposium: DePauw School of Music Leads the Conversation with Boots on the Ground Effort Mark Rabideau, director, 21CM
To reimagine how we train the next generation of musicians for a 21stcentury world — that was the simple premise behind 21CM.
DePauw is leading the conversation on change.” 21CMposium was a boots on the ground effort to bring the national conversation to DePauw’s campus (September 9–11, 2016). Conceived of, by now President Mark McCoy, this “conference like no other” was a deliberate effort to assemble the most innovative artists, profound thinkers, and dynamic change agents to collectively reimagine our shared, most promising future.
9 Horses, winners of the inaugural 21CM Emerging Artist Competition, take the stage during DePauw’s 21CMposium attended by over 300 international participants (Sept. 9–11, 2016). The brainchild of a world famous artist, a brilliant businessman and a forwardthinking music school dean, 21CM was the entrepreneurial response to a paradox. Music is embraced throughout every culture without boundaries. An increasingly connected world offers influence and inspiration for opening our imaginations, as technology provides unprecedented access to global audiences. Communities gather around music to mourn collective hardships and celebrate shared moments, and every parent
understands that music enhances their child’s chances to succeed in life. Yet it has never been more of a struggle for musicians to make a living at their art — at least when following traditional paths. By any measure, DePauw’s launch of 21CM has advanced the national dialogue about the role musicians must play in modern society. 21CM.org, an online music journal, now attracts nearly 20,000 unique, monthly readers. And if New York Times writer, Greg Sandow has it right, “It’s no longer disputable.
Gathered were the Kronos Quartet, the “inventors” of 21st-century performance practices, and Decoda, the adventurous, nimble Gen Xers that followed. New Amsterdam Records’ Judd Greenstein, Stanford Thompson of Play On, Philly! and Sarah Robinson, author of Clubbing for Classical Musicians, were among many other big thinkers and doers. Change Sessions were led by DePauw trustee Judson Green; Jeff Kimpton, president of Interlochen Center for the Arts; and Ayden Adler, DePauw’s newly appointed dean of the School of Music, among others, sharing ways forward with more than 60 music executives from across the country, including representatives from such prestigious institutions as University of Michigan, Curtis Institute of Music, Eastman School of Music, and New England Conservatory. (Continued on page 2) Fall 2016 I 1