A Message From Our Director

Dear Alumnae,

As most of you have heard by now, I’ll be retiring from Cornell this September and taking up a new post as Artistic Director of the Choral Arts Society of Washington DC. I am looking forward to this exciting new challenge, but saying goodbye to Cornell will not be easy. The countless rehearsals, concerts, tours and major works have provided a wealth of treasured moments.  Between my first view of the sunset from the Sage Chapel lawn to our recent performance of the Rachmaninoff Vespers lie thousands of memories, all of which have enriched me both as a musician and as a person.  I have been lucky in many ways:  to have been a professor in such an extraordinary department of musicians and scholars, to have followed the talented and gentlemanly Tom Sokol and to have had gifted assistant conductors such as Jeremy O’Connell, Vin Shende, Dimitri Shapovalov and John Rowehl. The counsel and friendship of so many of you, and the pleasure of teaching such remarkable students have made these 17 years unforgettable.  I thank you for the unexpected tidal wave of email I received when the announcement was made and apologize if I have yet to get back to you. It is comforting to know that so many of you have become friends, and I am certain that we will not lose touch. In a few years when the time is right and the new director is established, I hope to come back to the hill, gaze again at that sunset, and reminisce with all of you.

Until that day, and hopefully sooner, 

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.