John Adams commencement speech at Juilliard

chas smith R.I.P. · Post by **chas smith R.I.P.** » 16 Jun 2011 10:04 pm

This is John Adams', a very successful contemporary composer, commencement speech that he delivered at Juilliard. Besides being humorous it made some very incisive points about the arts.

http://www.newmusicbox.org/articles/jui ... nt-speech/

Daniel Morris · Post by **Daniel Morris** » 17 Jun 2011 3:30 am

Good stuff, Chas.
Thanks for posting this and other assorted nuggets you find.

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 17 Jun 2011 3:50 am

Beautiful speech.

"...But the truth is, all I really want to say is thank you. Thank all of you students who, against all odds and against all the pressures to do otherwise, have chosen to have a life in the arts. All the paradigms of success that we routinely encounter in our everyday lives—on television, in movies, in the online world, in the constant din of advertising, even from our friends and families—all these “models” for success and happiness American-style are about what is ultimately a disposable life, about a life centered around material gain and about finding the best possible comfort zone for yourself."

Very nice to see that Herbie Hancock was also honored by Julliard. His contributions to music cannot be overstated.

Bob Blair · Post by **Bob Blair** » 18 Jun 2011 4:10 am

Loved it. Thanks Chas.

Post by **Brad Bechtel** » 18 Jun 2011 8:25 am

There are a lot of good ideas and quotes in that speech. Thanks for sharing it, Chas!

"Be bold, be humble, don’t mind being difficult, and don’t ever feel that what you’re doing in this attention-deficit disorder country of ours is marginal or unimportant. You are in fact the heart and the soul of its very being."

Bill McCloskey · Post by **Bill McCloskey** » 19 Jun 2011 9:35 am

John Adams is one of my favorite contemporary composers, along with Arvo Part. His work is really brilliant. Nixon in China is a fantastic piece of music.

Bill Hatcher · Post by **Bill Hatcher** » 21 Jun 2011 3:03 am

i played acoustic guitar on his composition el nino with the atlanta symphony. he attended the concert. very nice fellow. his writing is just silly hard to play because every bar is different. nothing ever repeats itself. every section is different. never anything you can lock on to and expect to see again.

Earnest Bovine · Post by **Earnest Bovine** » 21 Jun 2011 9:29 am

Bill McCloskey wrote:John Adams is one of my favorite contemporary composers, along with Arvo Part. His work is really brilliant. Nixon in China is a fantastic piece of music.

Thus I am assured that Adams's music is better than it sounds, and hoping to develop a taste for it, I resist changing the station when he comes on the radio.