Cultivating the creative spirit: Raymond Plank ’44BA leaves a legacy of support for drama and music students By Courtney McCarroll
I
t was March when Wyoming began to thaw. The trumpeting of thousands of sandhill cranes, making their way north, filled the sky outside the cabin of Samuel Adams ’10mm, a composer. “They became a soundtrack to my work,” remarks Adams, fondly recalling his 2018 residency through the Ucross Foundation. The annual migration is among the many marvels that encourage artists at Ucross’s 20,000-acre ranch to seek inspiration in nature.
“Ucross’s natural surroundings appealed to me,” adds Adams. “The residency gives you the gift of undisturbed time and space. Meeting other artists and learning about their work also helped me find new ways to express myself through music. It was an unforgettable experience.”
Human Potential In 1964, Raymond Plank ’44ba expressed an idea that would follow him throughout his life as a business leader and philanthropist: “The capacity of the individual is infinite.” His desire to nurture that capacity led him to establish Ucross Foundation. Its home is a working ranch where artists can explore both creativity and responsible stewardship of the land. Since Ucross’s residency program opened in 1983, the foundation has welcomed nearly 2,200 writers, visual artists, and composers for periods of focused work and camaraderie in an extraordinary setting. Many Yale alumni and faculty members have participated in the program, including Pulitzer Prizewinning playwright Doug Wright ’85Ba and Tony Award-winning composer-lyricist Adam Guettel ’87BA. Plank died in 2018. Carrying his legacy forward, Deborah Koehler, executive director of the Raymond Plank Philanthropy Fund, directed a gift from the Plank Fund to support Ucross residencies and student scholarships at Yale School of Music (YSM) and Yale School of Drama (YSD). “It was my honor to continue Raymond’s commitment to Yale, Ucross, the arts, and nature conservancy by establishing these endowed programs that will forge additional long-term bonds between two of his loves: Yale and Ucross,” notes Koehler.
Creating Opportunity The road to success in the creative professions is steep. As artists devote hours to their craft, they may find themselves having to work in unrelated fields or take 40 Music at Yale
