x Tim Bartholow Director Office of Performing Arts |
MICHAEL F. ADAMS • KAREN HOLBROOK • GEORGE BENSON • BETTY JEAN CRAIGE • CONRAD FINK • JAMES COBB • TIM BARTHOLOW
In a letter that is being published in the program books being distributed at UGA's concerts, Tim Bartholow writes:
To our patrons and friends:
We have entered a very troubled time. Recession has followed our boom years, employment security is in doubt for a growing number of people, and for the first time in nearly 200 years, foreign powers have brought violence to America. Our mood has been somber, and rightfully so. So why do we need concerts?
I recently heard Jerry Seinfeld discuss his benefit concert in New York as not only necessary, but appropriate. It's what he and his fellow comedians do: they entertain and uplift us through their art. To paraphrase the mission of this Office, the University expects us to present a diversity of quality performances to you. It's what we do; it's what the artists who appear here do. These performances allow us to offer instructional opportunities to students at UGA and in public schools while also educating and entertaining our audiences. These concerts also make new friends for the arts, and for the University.
There is an even greater value to these concerts, though; one offering a direct spiritual benefit to each of us. I was touched by the story of the students from Juilliard who volunteered to perform for rescue workers in New York. One of the students said afterwards, "I've never seen a more appreciative audience, and I've never understood so fully what it means to communicate music to other people." What better thoughts than the following could illustrate the healing power of music:
"Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life."
-Berthold Auerbach (1812-1882), German writer
"Music is the language of the spirit. It opens the secret of life, bringing peace, abolishing strife."
-Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931)
"So long as the human spirit thrives on this planet, music in some living form will accompany and sustain it and give it expressive meaning."
-Aaron Copland (1900-1990)
"Music can name the unnameable and communicate the unknowable."
-Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990)
"Music is well said to be the speech of angels; in fact, nothing among the utterances allowed to man is felt to be so divine. It brings us near to the infinite."
-Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881), historian and writer
We need music to soothe and enlighten us, and to uplift our spirits. Enjoy this performance, and go home feeling the better for it.
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SPECIAL REPORT / September 11, 2001 : UGA Responds is produced by the UGA News Service, a unit of UGA Public Affairs.
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