When I went to work in the music department in 1994, the head of the program was a wonderful woman who put her life into the program and the school. She had PhDs in music and education from Stanford. One very smart woman.
She took time to explain processes to me, exposed me to choral music which was totally new to me, showed me how to teach the music classes, made me sing with the alto section of three choirs which greatly improved my singing range, shared ways to manage the instrumental faculty, taught me how to produce a program, and how to write a paper for publishing.
She was generous with information. Often people in administrative positions keep information to themselves almost as a power play. She felt that I needed to know everything: problems with a music faculty member, a teacher, a parent or a student. She wanted one voice to come from the department.
She didn’t have a good reputation when I arrived. She constantly had to explain her program to new faculty members who felt they knew better. She was pragmatic in her running of the program. As each new head of the school arrived, they wanted changes. She would adapt but would fight for the core values of the program. She was tough.
When I first began working with GG, people would ask me how I could stand working with her. I thought that part of my job was to change this perception. I never complained about her. When something amazing happened in the class, I would tell members of the school faculty. Within the year, her reputation was restored and challenges to the program ended.
In 2000, she was forced to retire at 71-years old, before she was ready. She felt she had five more years in her. In truth, I noticed that her patience had grown short, she was yelling more at the kids in choir and the classroom, she was irritated in processes because she had done everything before, she was moving slowly and just looked tired.
She was not happy that I replaced her.
She sold her two homes in the Palo Alto area and moved to Florida to be near other family. I saw her about two years ago. She was still sharp but was in a wheelchair. It was sad to see this strong, feisty woman depleted.
The music program at the school has greatly changed since I left. This made her very sad. I told her that her program was continuing through Natalie. She was teaching in the same manner as the old program. That made her smile. I wanted her to know that what she taught me, I taught Natalie and it continues on.
That was the last time I saw her.
She died on January 25th at the age of 81.
The memorial service was yesterday.
The number of people who attended the service stunned me. The crowd included lots of former students and parents, former classroom teachers and administration people as well as many members of the music faculty. It was so good to see everyone who I have not seen since 2005.
The service included music performed by two extraordinary professional musicians. It was stunning. The pure beauty of the music brought tears to my eyes.
I can never thank her enough. I was a good head of the program when she retired because of what she taught me.
Next: More about the Memorial Service
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