CMS Histories—A Time for Reflection
Kathleen Lamkin
This Newsletter contains reflection pieces, filled with interesting facts and personal viewpoints, from Barbara English Maris and David Willoughby, who have provided histories of CMS from their perspectives as past presidencies. As you read these essays you may begin to think about your own history with CMS. Histories vary because of our unique experiences, that is, with our involvement in the many offerings of the Society. Your history may be a long one or it may be just beginning. CMS can be different for each one of us, meeting a variety of needs at each stage of our professional lives. It is a society providing valuable services for all. The Music Vacancy List often brings us into the membership at the beginning of our careers, and remains a valuable tool throughout our work in music in higher education, as we either seek new positions for ourselves or search for qualified faculty for our institutions. The Directory of Music Faculties is another indispensable source, one to which we may refer on a daily basis, either in book format or online. At every level CMS is beneficial to career musicians. From our initial associations through retirement, the Society continues to address our professional needs.
After reading Past Presidents Maris and Willoughby’s histories with CMS I began to think about my own. Like many of you, I joined CMS as a graduate student perusing job openings in my area of emphasis. From there my journey continued when I learned from colleagues that a new regional chapter, the Pacific Southern, was holding its inaugural meeting at California State University Northridge on September 19, 1987. Those on the steering committee for the first meeting were Patricia Harpole, Marshall Bialosky, Anthony Ginter, and Jeanine Jacobson. Partially out of curiosity, I went to the meeting and found a dynamic, active group of professional musicians from all music disciplines, networking and sharing information about music in higher education. The first officers of the new chapter were elected. They were Larry McFatter, President, Patricia Harpole, Vice-President, Jeanine Jacobson, Secretary, and Sr. Bernadette Kopp, Treasurer. It was exciting to be a part of the inaugural conference of the new chapter. Invigorated by the dialogue with my fellow musician colleagues in this region and in the scholarship and creativity of the collective group, I knew that CMS was important to my professional life.
Continuing to participate in regional chapter meetings each spring, I became more involved and served as the second president of the chapter in the early 1990s. This led to attending my first national conference in Washington D.C. as a member of the Council of Presidents of Regional Chapters. The vibrancy of the national conference with its interdisciplinary program of scholarly papers on historical and theoretical studies and thoughtful pedagogical innovation, combined with a rich menu of performances of new compositions, illustrated yet a further level of professional activity. By then I was really committed to the work of The College Music Society.
Later, in the capacity of national vice president, I enjoyed three years working with our ten thriving regional chapters while also serving on the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee. It was rewarding to see the regional chapters flourish at their annual conferences, and working with the Board of Directors added yet another dimension. As president, I continue to be amazed at the vast benefits and opportunities CMS offers to our profession. With outstanding colleagues, new directions, diversity of interests, and the possibilities of collaborating with other organizations, such as ATMI and NASM, we guide and create the future of our profession.
I have been in conversation with several members of CMS about their personal histories with the Society. Reed Gratz, a colleague at the University of La Verne, related that he and his fellow graduate students at the University of Miami in the mid 1970s were encouraged by their professor Dennis Kam (current Board Member in Composition) to join CMS. They all took advantage of the life membership, an option available at the time. Professor Gratz recalled, “I knew that since music in higher education was going to be my profession, CMS was the society I needed to belong to throughout my career”. David Williams (current national Secretary) and James Briscoe (Board Member in Musicology) also joined as life members at that time and have been highly active in the Society throughout their careers.
Reflect for a moment on your history with The College Music Society. What is your story; what role has CMS played in your professional life? Whatever your history with CMS, consider exploring further the possibilities of involvement with the Society, see what CMS has to offer you that you have not taken advantage of before and what you could offer to CMS. If you would like to become more involved and have innovative ideas for new directions, the Society is eager and open to your best thoughts. Let us know and together from our various histories we can continue our tradition and chart new ground for music in academia and in our society. If you have a history with CMS that you would like to share, we would welcome hearing about it in a short reflection piece. You should contact Ann Sears, editor of the Newsletter, or me ([email protected]). Of course we cannot publish all 9,500 histories! But a select few will be published, along with those of past presidents, as we continue our 50th anniversary celebrations.
History helps up to understand where we come from, how we have developed, where we are currently and where we want to see ourselves in the future. The telling of the history of CMS comes from all of us as members. We are each a part of the history and we can be a significant part of the future. Let’s celebrate the story, the history of CMS for fifty years!