Student expresses concern about Lanz resignation
Issue date: 5/8/09 Section: Opinion
If I had to choose one professor to call my mentor, it would be Dr. Lanz. He is the reason this school is the one I continue to choose for my undergraduate education when I have so many options that would put me in a better position for a career in professional conducting. He is willing to go out of his way to help me prepare for conducting workshops, and to even take the time copying and preparing music so that I can experience conducting said music with CSO before departing for such events, even if the music is not on the upcoming program, so long as it doesn't use up an unreasonable amount of rehearsal time. He makes monumental efforts to meet the needs of everyone, yet expects nothing in return.
There are several people (both faculty and students) within the school of Crane that are not positively disposed toward conductors. This condition was magnified by the particular nature of Dr. Lanz's, for lack of a better word, "battle" for tenure. This is mostly the result of the fact that another member of the Crane faculty also auditioned for the role of CSO director. He did not win audition. Many of his students began a campaign to prevent Dr. Lanz from receiving tenure. I believe this also planted the seeds for discontentedness in the faculty. Thus, in combination with their negative disposition toward conductors, they were ripe to hear and support complaints against Dr. Lanz.
I feel that at the very least, Dr. Lanz's case should have been heard before action was taken. I know for a fact that he never had a chance to present any evidence in his own favor before the decision was made. In fact, he had no idea of the decision until the morning of May 5th when he was informed that the decision was months old.
Since both the Dean of Crane (Dr. Solomon) and the Chair of Performance at Crane (Dr. Rubio) will no longer be serving in those capacities next year, I thought it best to approach you with my cry for help.
Bishop Robert South once said: "If there be any truer measure of a man than by what he does, it must be by what he gives." His words could not be more true. Dr. Lanz has done nothing but give to all of his students and we at the very least owe him the courtesy of supporting him in his time of need. I expect that you will be receiving many emails over the next few days from current students and alumni and I apologize if they flood your inbox. There are even alumni that are prepared to fly in to meet with you personally to speak in his favor.
Thusly, I implore you to hear his case. I know that there is a huge group of students and alumni of Crane that would appreciate you doing this.
Thank you very much for hearing me out on this subject. I appreciate the amount of work you must do at this point in the semester and apologize for putting more on your plate.
Sincerely,
Ryan Taussig
There are several people (both faculty and students) within the school of Crane that are not positively disposed toward conductors. This condition was magnified by the particular nature of Dr. Lanz's, for lack of a better word, "battle" for tenure. This is mostly the result of the fact that another member of the Crane faculty also auditioned for the role of CSO director. He did not win audition. Many of his students began a campaign to prevent Dr. Lanz from receiving tenure. I believe this also planted the seeds for discontentedness in the faculty. Thus, in combination with their negative disposition toward conductors, they were ripe to hear and support complaints against Dr. Lanz.
I feel that at the very least, Dr. Lanz's case should have been heard before action was taken. I know for a fact that he never had a chance to present any evidence in his own favor before the decision was made. In fact, he had no idea of the decision until the morning of May 5th when he was informed that the decision was months old.
Since both the Dean of Crane (Dr. Solomon) and the Chair of Performance at Crane (Dr. Rubio) will no longer be serving in those capacities next year, I thought it best to approach you with my cry for help.
Bishop Robert South once said: "If there be any truer measure of a man than by what he does, it must be by what he gives." His words could not be more true. Dr. Lanz has done nothing but give to all of his students and we at the very least owe him the courtesy of supporting him in his time of need. I expect that you will be receiving many emails over the next few days from current students and alumni and I apologize if they flood your inbox. There are even alumni that are prepared to fly in to meet with you personally to speak in his favor.
Thusly, I implore you to hear his case. I know that there is a huge group of students and alumni of Crane that would appreciate you doing this.
Thank you very much for hearing me out on this subject. I appreciate the amount of work you must do at this point in the semester and apologize for putting more on your plate.
Sincerely,
Ryan Taussig
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