Taos School of Music: Shifting the paradigm
FOR MILLENNIA, music has played a healing role in ritual and magic — a medicine for the soul. A ubiquitous language understood. And for the first time in the 60-year history of the Taos School of Music, there is a musical performance paradigm shift from exclusive high alpine summer concerts to inclusive performances in schools, retirement centers and the library in town. This trend is the beginning of what the school’s executive director, Erik Christian Peterson, says is the future.
Peterson’s childhood mentor and coach, Richard Young, the illustrious violist of the Vermeer String Quartet and an inner-city volunteer for disadvantaged children in Chicago, shaped his ethos as a musician. “Young refused to take payment for his services, with the stipulation that you must share the music.” Performing for children with challenges in life was a powerful experience of the transformative power of music for the musicians and the audience, “People who never smiled or responded to touch or talk changed — It is the universal language, and it transcends all.”
Peterson revealed that “studies have shown that populations thrive when they have access to arts. The school is increasing that access for Taos and Taos Ski Valley beyond the school’s traditional summer season. And, the school hopes that Taoseños will recognize that they have in their backyard this incredible and unique resource. The Taos School of Music is perhaps the country’s most important chamber music training program and attracts the world’s best young musicians every summer to Taos.”
Peterson is also aware the role of the artist is expanding beyond the stage. “Musicians are encouraged to engage and share with their communities, to communicate with people of all ages and backgrounds. This is a skill we hope to foster for our Young Artists — the musicians who will be the next generation of arts leaders.”
This year, alumni Alexander Goldberg and Clara Neubauer, violins; and Laura Liu, viola, led by faculty cellist Nina Lee of the famed Brentano Quartet, are returning to Taos. The quartet has been deep in rehearsal in New York and are thrilled to return to the land of enchantment and perform with world-renowned musician Lee.
They’ll visit local schools and perform for residents of the Taos Retirement Village. During their school visits, the quartet introduces students to the world of string instruments and important composers with a repertoire chosen for its relevance to Taos, including music inspired by indigenous populations.
Faculty member Nina Lee and her family have been a constant in Taos with the Brentano Quartet for over 20 years. “The Taos community has always held a special place in my heart. The thoughtful and visionary program that the School of
Music offers to talented young musicians from across the country has long been admired for its pure focus on cultivating and pushing these young artists to make the best chamber music they are capable of. As a faculty member, Taos has also pushed me to be a better educator in trying to guide this incredible talent towards a way to make their ideas vivid and potent. The life of a musician can feel very isolated, but Taos has always felt so warm and welcoming to the faculty and young artists alike. I look forward to seeing old friends and making new ones every summer.”
Lee said when asked to assemble a group for the first-ever tour of young artists from the School of Music, she knew she wanted to showcase the power of chamber music inspired by nature. “This is our opportunity to give back to Taos. What better way than Haydn and Dvorak to convey this love? I tell my students that the point of performing is not to
execute what is rehearsed but to explore many visions so that, when the moment of creativity hits them, they are free to follow the inspiration of the moment. We have found our collective quartet voice and cannot wait to share it with the local schools, library and retirement communities in town. Hopefully, the discussions that happen among us through these works will feel so potent that the audience will want to eavesdrop on what we are conversing through our instruments. I look forward to sharing all our hard work with a community that means so much to me.”