Piano Professor Packs His Bags for Nigeria

Instead of packing clothes and personal belongings to fill two free carry-ons for a week-long spring break trip to Nigeria, Senior Lecturer in Piano Bradley Bolen, D.M.A., packed scores of sheet music—nearly 100 pounds of it. (His personal belongings were the additional bags!)

Bolen's original spring break plan was to visit his wife, who was already at the University of Ibadan on a Fulbright. In a moment of inspiration, he called her and asked if they had a music department and when she said yes, he immediately reached out to the University's Chair of the Department of Music, Adeolu Ogunsayna, Ph.D.

"I emailed Dr. Ogunsayna to introduce myself and said that I would be more than happy to work with his students during my visit in March," said Bolen. "I also asked about the students, the instruments they played, and their music resources."

Bolen set out to find as much sheet music as possible. He relied on his friends and colleagues: Lesley McAllister, D.M.A., professor of piano and chair of the keyboard division; June Campbell, retired School of Music administrative assistant to the dean of academic affairs and a former band director; and Michael Clark, D.M.A., lecturer of piano. Together, they donated nearly 100 pounds of sheet music, including pedagogical materials and method books for beginners, as well as intermediate and advanced repertoire.

However, what he imaged before he arrived and what he saw when he got there were two totally different things.

"They said they had a library, so they took me to it," said Bolen. "It literally was a large shelf with one book on it." While the University says that it owns some sheet music, they keep it locked up so that it doesn't "go missing." The Department has at least three pianos for students to use for practice—one, a grand piano.

Feeling humbled, Bolen revealed the music he brought, and the music faculty was stunned and excited. They told him they would fill their library shelves and proudly show their new resources.

During his visit, Bolen spent the first two days giving private piano lessons. His masterclass drew the biggest audience—students wanted to hear their peers play.

"At the end of the masterclass, they led me into a large hall where they hold big ensemble rehearsals and performances when, all of sudden, I heard someone playing the piano and another singing and then they all dashed up on the stage to sing Ibadan's city anthem," said Bolen. "I was mesmerized by the sound. As a thank you, they sang me several folk song arrangements that one of the faculty members, Babatunji Dada, had previously arranged. They also wanted me to hear what they could do. It was breathtaking."

Bolen said he hopes to return soon with more instrumental music and lessons and hopes to continue making a bigger impact in places like Ibadan, Nigeria, where students study at the University for the love and passion of the universal language—music.