March 2023 - Julia Mortyakova

CMS Southern Chapter President Julia Mortyakova currently serves as Chair of the Mississippi University for Women’s Department of Music and was recently elected to the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) Commission on Accreditation. Julia also sustains an active career as a concert pianist and researcher, with research focuses that include applying existential philosophy of Jean-Paul Sartre to piano teaching and the life and music of Cécile Chaminade. She also leads the CMS Southern Chapter in her spare time!

I asked Julia a few questions about her experience as a member of the CMS Chapter Leadership, and I hope you enjoy learning more about her work with CMS!

Q: How did you begin your work with CMS, and what led you to run for the role of Chapter President?

A: I began my participation in CMS upon hearing about the organization from one of my faculty at the University of Miami, Dr. Dennis Kam. From the time I was a doctoral student I have participated, presented, performed, and attended almost every single one of the Southern Regional conferences and many other regional and national events.
I ran for president because I was nominated and wanted to serve an organization which has helped my professional growth over the past two decades. I also wanted to continue the legacy of the great previous leaders in the chapter, such as Dr. Kam.

What music faculty can learn from the Kobayashi Maru

Some of our members will identify as “Trekkies”: those super fans of the science fiction, cult-classic television show turned movie dynasty, comic book series, and (least appealing to me) worldwide network of conventions. I do not. But like any other kid growing up in the late 1960s and 70s, there was no escaping the grip of Captain Kirk and the crew of the Starship Enterprise.

Perhaps the allure was embedded within the intentionality of its diverse characters? So many of us could see ourselves as part of that crew. Or because of its optimistic view of cohabitating within the universe amidst the divisiveness over America’s involvement in the Vietnam War? Or maybe the appeal was quite simply found in the astonishing imagination of the creators and of those who continually reinvented the franchise?

What I remember most about the Star Trek enterprise (lower-case “e” and not so clever pun intended) are those adorable tribbles that caused so much trouble. (But that doesn’t have anything to do with what I want to talk about today.) What I want to reflect upon is Captain James T. Kirk’s defiance against systems that were structured so that they could not be overcome.

Introduced in the 1982 film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, we learn that Kirk was the only cadet in Starfleet history to ever beat the Kobayashi Maru. After taking the test and failing on two occasions, Kirk controversially reprogrammed the computer to make it possible to win the simulation. Kirk then went on to become the first (and only known) cadet to beat the “no-win” scenario.