Monday’s (8/4) Examiner.com, a Denver-based media company that operates a network of local news websites, features an extensive interview with Ara Guzelimian, dean and provost of the Juilliard School. The interview is the latest in a series of interviews of musicians by writer Elijah Ho. “Ho: What must be done for classical music to make inroads with the general public? What is Juilliard’s role in this future? Guzelimian: Very critically, one of the central beliefs and values of Juilliard since the presidency of Joseph Polisi is to shape not just the successful artist, but ‘the artist as citizen.’ That means not just all of the requirements of artistry, but a strong emphasis is also placed on advocacy and engagement of an artist within the community, a commitment to bring the arts to people who don’t readily have access to it, a commitment to speaking and writing about the arts and communicating the value of the arts, and a commitment to living a life as an artist fully engaged with the society around you. Ho: Ideally, in times like these, what is the role of the artist, especially in America? Guzelimian: I think it’s as a speaker of enduring truths and one who asks the bigger human questions.”
Posted August 6, 2014
