From the Dean

December 2023
Volume 9, No. 2
Music.baylor.edu

From the Dean

This has been a year of intense musical activity in all areas of our creative output. The position searches we have done this calendar year will impact our growth, direction and creativity for decades to come. We are poised to do great things in 2024 with significant performances slated at TMEA in February, at the Kimbell Museum and Bass Hall in Fort Worth in April, and in Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall and St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City in May. The musical growth we have accomplished during the fall semester will serve our students well in the spring as we “fling our green and gold” across Texas and New York.

Our unwavering commitment to musical excellence, to the glory of God, permeates every activity that we undertake in the School of Music. Our faculty and staff facilitate every aspect of the training required to do this at the high levels we do year in and year out—but the quality of our students is what I want to highlight in this column. We live in an age where so many things compete for our attention, and it is so easy to be distracted and unfocused in our day-to-day lives. We also live during a time where the inhumanity of the world and the disregard for human life has reached tragic proportions. I cannot imagine what it is like to be young, at the start of your adult life, and to be bombarded by the calamity and disruption that surrounds us. Where can we turn for guidance and hope?

For me, the great hope I see in this world resides in the quality of student I witness in the School of Music. Without fail, when I attend our concerts, recitals, seminars, and lectures, I hear a consistent level of integrity that is borne through hard work, dedication to improvement, and a burning desire to make the most of every opportunity life affords to the students we serve. I am inspired when I see and hear the results of our students’ dedication to musical excellence through our public performances. The level at which they perform transcends their chronological age and I can only imagine how they will continue to grow as they move through the world beyond their brief time on our campus. Our students are an inspiration to me and have been from my first moment on campus.

There is simply no way I’ll be able to express the thanks in my heart, so I’ll simply say that my brain and my heart overflow with gratitude to the hundreds of people who have given me so much joy during my time here at Baylor. I wish all our readers a joyful Christmas season and a prosperous and productive 2024 as we look to a new year and new opportunities to celebrate the power of music.

Thank you for your support and interest in the Baylor University School of Music. Enjoy this issue of the Semper Pro Musica newsletter.

Musically Yours,

Gary Mortenson, Dean