Know Thyself

I first met Linda, now my wife, when we were in graduate school together. She was fresh out of classical piano studies at the Conservatoire Rachmaninoff in Paris, and I wasn't sure if my musical tastes would be compatible with hers. I remember the delightful surprise of discovering Pat Metheny's Bright Size Life in her record collection. I thought to myself, "Her taste in music is very promising." We have since seen Pat perform at least a half dozen times and have become ardent supporters.

I admire his music of course, but I also admire his artistic vision. When you hear Pat, you know it's him and you also know who he is. That is a goal of Berklee: to help every student discover his or her unique voice and clearly convey it in all its facets to the world. Technique and knowledge are critical; but so are passion, feel, originality, and voice. At the recent concert for Song's Nothing Conservatory About It series, which featured Pat Metheny and Gary Burton, the the opening act was a student quintet. Throughout the semester the quartet had rehearsed with Burton in preparation to record a CD, which was produced by Pat during his weeklong residency at Berklee. What an honor for these students and what a fine example of passing the torch, much as Gary did when Pat was an eager teenager hoping to sit in on Gary's gig. In time, Pat joined Gary's band, and when Pat made his own first solo record, the previously mentioned Bright Size Life, Gary paid him the tribute of producing it and writing the liner notes.

Above all, what impressed me most about the student quintet was the students' willingness to listen to one another and leave ample space in their compositions, and in their playing. It's tempting for young musicians to want to say as much as they possibly can in one song or one solo. But these students had the maturity to say just what was called for at just the right time. That made each statement distinctive.

At Berklee, our goal is to give young musicians a place to grow and learn from our talented faculty and students, but ultimately to know themselves and their work well enough to say, "This is what I bring to the table. This is my gift that I offer to you." I have a mental image of Socrates speaking to our students, asking them probing questions about what they hope to achieve as musicians and why. As he listens to the performance of a piece dedicated to him called "Know Thyself," you can see the old philosopher tapping his foot, trying hard to suppress a smile.