Re: Re: Re: Re:

[Richard Zvonar <zvonar@zvonar.com>]

Title: Re: Re: Re: Re:

At 2:24 PM -0800 2/15/05, Larry Cooperman wrote:

> > You went to CalArts?
> Yes Richard.

CalArts is a curious place. Many talented artists have passed through there, but it also has its share of wankers. I was never a student there, but I taught at the Music School part time for three semesters. I had several students who were quite impressive and with whom I still have warm relationships. I also had a few students who were spoiled brats and who didn't deign to attend class.

> Yes, well I have to be my own person on
> the education thing that's why CalArts.  They encourage you to
> take charge of your edu.  I have no work to pass on about other
> people's work.

I once had to make a choice between the Center for Contemporary Music at Mill College and the Music Department at UC San Diego. I was attracted to Mills for cultural reasons but opted for UCSD for practical reasons. It proved to be a reasonable choice in that I experienced a degree of pedagogical rigor at UCSD that was not available at Mills during those years (1977-82). However I'd probably have had more "fun" and might have made more relevant connections at Mills.

In the end I think it's pointless to play "what if" with one's life decisions. We all make something personal out of the situations we put ourselves into.

> I did what I did Richard and the
> intervention of a teacher at CalArts was to encourage growth as an
> artist.

We establish different sorts of relationships with different teachers. From some of my teachers I learned craft and intellectual rigor. From others I was influenced on a philosophical level. Still others provided me with models of what I didn't want to do.  The further along I got the more self-reliant I became. Of course part of my own trajectory was due to the fact that i re-entered academia at age 29 after a rather lackluster undergraduate experience and after some years of real-world music making, film making, and struggling to make ends meet.

> I am no scholar on other people's work
> unless there is a particular thing that they do I want to know so I
> get scores or these days, email and ask.  Some composers will
> answer.

I'm also an autodidact, in areas that catch my attention. This was always the case, even in childhood. I rarely did well with standard curricula, but fortunately was smart enough to slog through the requirements without major effort. In the end I've come to be scholarly in my own way, and I try to pass along what I know to others who might find it useful.

> Yes!  I am sure that your partner
> grabbed what she wanted.

She was also smart enough, infuriatingly self-disciplined, and possessed of a remarkable memory, so she was able to negotiate all the standard requirements without breaking much of a sweat.

> I waited until I was old to go to
> college

I recommend this approach. I sometimes think that it can be a better choice to postpone university study until one is in one's late 20s or early 30s.

> to find out that literature would have
> been a better degree for me.

My undergraduate degree was in Humanities (Literature and Film) and Engineering (Aeronautics and Astronautics), with only a smattering of music courses. This worked fine for me.

> My wife has this degree and I am more
> interested in what she is reading than what i am playing.  Words
> are clear, music is abstract.  Love the words
> though.

A nice thing about literature is that it is open to anyone, without any special training.

-- 

______________________________________________________________
Richard Zvonar, PhD      
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