founded 1867
PUBLICATION DATE CONTACT: Paul Marotta,
December 12, 1996 Director of Public Relations
e-mail : pmarotta@copernicus.bbn.com
Tel .: (617) 262-1120, ext. 260
Fax : (617) 262-0500
NEW ENGLAND CONSERVATORY announces appointment of
DR. robert freeman as president-designate
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Retiring president Laurence lesser to return to nec faculty
BOSTON, MA New England Conservatory Board Chairman David W. Scudder
today announced the appointment of Dr. Robert Freeman as
NEC's president-designate, effective January 1, 1997. Freeman has been the
director of the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York since 1972,
and replaces Laurence Lesser, who joined the faculty in 1974 and became
president in 1983.
NEC CHAIRMAN DAVID W. SCUDDER
"Dr. Robert Freeman is highly regarded
as the dean of American music school administrators and I know that I speak
for members of Board, faculty, administration, and student body in saying
that we look forward to his return to Boston as NEC's president-designate
with great anticipation," said NEC Chairman David W. Scudder
. "His accomplishments at the Eastman School of Music have been tremendous
and his insight into the music world has given him an exceptional ability
to develop new programs with an especially keen eye toward precisely how
to train students to best fit into that world. Robert Freeman is an outspoken
advocate for musical education and we look forward to his activity here,
not only within the walls of our own institution, but also as an integral
part of the fabric of both Boston and this country's musical life. Under
the leadership of retiring President Laurence Lesser, NEC has thrived these
many years. The foundation laid by president Lesser and the faculty and
administration has positioned NEC well for the next century and, I believe,
will give Freeman much to work with as we move toward the future."
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NEC President-elect Dr. Robert Freeman, page 2
NEC PRESIDENT-DESIGNATE DR. ROBERT FREEMAN
"I, like many others in the world of music, have long
held NEC in the highest regard. One can measure the quality of a music school
in many ways by its faculty, its administration, the quality and innovation
of its degree programs, and its board but the appointments last year of
two very recent NEC graduates to the Chicago and Boston Symphony Orchestras
speaks volumes about the quality of training available here at NEC,"
said president-designate Dr. Robert Freeman . "And,
NEC graduates are succeeding in other ways as well, influencing the music
industry as performers and managers around the world. I look forward to
working with the already excellent foundation established by my colleague
Laurence Lesser and I can think of no better way to start than by simply
acknowledging the hard work and creative energy put into all that is done
here at NEC by its ambitious and active Board, by the dedicated faculty
and staff, by its talented and committed students, and especially by Acting
Provost Alan Fletcher, who has carried the responsibility of three people
by serving on the faculty, as well as Dean of Faculty and Acting Provost."
NEC PRESIDENT LAURENCE LESSER
"It is difficult to imagine any other individual more
ideally equipped to direct our fine institution. Robert Freeman has been
a friend since our college days, an advisor in the early days of my presidency,
and a splendid colleague over the last decade," said retiring New England
Conservatory president Laurence Lesser. "His accomplishments at the
Eastman School of Music, combined with his knowledge of music and the music
profession, make him splendidly qualified. We, as an artistic community,
have accomplished an incredible amount in recent years, and I think the
momentum of energy that has been built will continue without any pause under
Bob Freeman's stewardship. While I am sad to step aside as president, I
look forward to returning to the faculty full-time in January and working
with students in my studio, as well as working very closely with Bob as
he makes his transition to Boston in the coming months. In the short period
of time that Alan Fletcher has served as Acting Provost, he has magnificently
demonstrated his ability to fulfill the obligations of this important post.
I am delighted to announce that he has agreed to serve as a further bridge
between this and the new administration by becoming Provost, effective Wednesday,
December 11."
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NEC President-elect Dr. Robert Freeman, page 3
NEC EXTENSION DIVISION DEAN MARK CHURCHILL
"New England Conservatory's Preparatory School and School
of Continuing Education are central to the mission of the institution and
I look forward to working very closely with Dr. Freeman to further share
NEC's resources with the broader
community," said Mark Churchill, Dean of NEC's Extension Division.
"We are an
integral part of the New England region and I believe that Robert Freeman
will be a terrific spokesperson for our programs, enhancing NEC's role as
one of the foremost musical training institutions in the world."
NEC FACULTY SENATE CHAIRMAN ROBERT S. SULLIVAN
"On behalf of the faculty of New England Conservatory,
I would like to say that we are delighted Robert Freeman has accepted the
position of president of NEC," said Robert Sullivan
, faculty member and chairman of the NEC Faculty Senate. "We have all
admired Dr. Freeman's work at Eastman and look forward to the opportunity
to work very closely with him here at NEC. As we the faculty continue to
bear the privilege and tremendous responsibility of training our young people
for careers in music, we need to know that our institution is pointed in
the right direction. We have every confidence in Dr. Freeman and his ability
to help us guide our students toward fulfilling and rewarding careers in
music."
ROBERT FREEMAN- biography
Robert Freeman, Director of the Eastman School of Music
since 1972, is an accomplished pianist, musicologist, and administrator.
While an undergraduate at Harvard, he studied piano with Rudolf Serkin.
He has been a soloist at Boston Pops and Esplanade concerts, and with the
National Gallery Orchestra of Washington, the Jacksonville Symphony, the
Rochester Philharmonic, and the Princeton Chamber Orchestra. He has appeared
in recital as a collaborative pianist throughout the United States and Europe,
and is featured on recordings for Desto, Vox, and Pantheon.
As a musicologist, he earned a master's degree and a Ph.D. at Princeton,
and has published articles on a variety of 18th-century topics. Prior to
joining the Eastman faculty, he was a faculty member at Princeton and the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
He has held leadership positions in several professional and scholarly
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NEC President-elect Dr. Robert Freeman, page 4
organizations, among them the American Musicological Society, the College
Music Society, and the National Association of Schools of Music. From 1987
to 1991, he was Chair of the National Advisory Board of the Center for Black
Music Research in Chicago.
Dr. Freeman has received numerous awards, including a Fulbright Fellowship
and a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship. In 1982, he was awarded the Rochester Chamber
of Commerce Civic Medal, in recognition of the role he has played in the
revitalization of the city's downtown area.
NEC PRESIDENTIAL SEARCH COMMITTEE
A Presidential Search Committee, chaired by NEC Trustee Daniel
Steiner, was formed in January 1996 to identify and interview qualified
candidates, and was composed of NEC Board president David W. Scudder and
members Carmen Dillon, Alexander d'Arbeloff, Samuel Hayes, Richard Morse,
Jody Hill Simpson, and James Terry. The Committee worked very closely with
a specially appointed nine-member Faculty Advisory Committee, and sought
counsel and advice from the NEC administration and student body, as well
as from more than 150 leaders in the music profession across the country,
before identifying a select group of candidates.
NEW ENGLAND CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC
New England Conservatory, the only music school in America to be designated
a National Historic Landmark, was founded in 1867. New England Conservatory
presents more than 450 free concerts each year in Jordan Hall at NEC and
throughout New England. The college program instructs more than 780 undergraduate,
graduate, and doctoral music students from around the world, and has a faculty
of 200 artist-teachers. Through its Preparatory School, School of Continuing
Education, and Community Service Programs to pre-college students, adults,
and elders, NEC offers a comprehensive music curriculum. Educated as complete
musicians, NEC alumni fill orchestra chairs, concert hall stages, jazz clubs,
and recording studios worldwide. Nearly half of the Boston Symphony Orchestra
is composed of NEC faculty and alumni. In October 1995, Jordan Hall at NEC,
a National Historic Landmark, was reopened following a six-month, $8.2 million
restoration.
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EDITOR'S NOTE: For more information, press kit, photographs,
and biography, please contact Paul Marotta, Director of Public Relations,
New England Conservatory, at (617) 262-1120, extension 260. For this press
release and more information about NEC and the appointment of Dr. Robert
Freeman as president, please visit NEC on the web at http://copernicus.bbn.com/nec.
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