Faculty Spotlight: Brian Levy

I was apprehensive and pessimistic at first, but on my first day of classes, students came together and they were excited to connect. Everyone was opening up and sharing what they were going through.
 

This is an opportunity to think about how everything is so fast paced in our society. A chance to think about a new challenge with making music. What does it mean to make music, and how to address these challenges. 

The idea of getting together and playing music, we can’t do that now. But would we play music at all if we lived in our own worlds by ourselves? We wouldn’t. Making music is something personal, but we are trying to communicate something, and not just to ourselves. 

Before all of this happened, I had assigned a mid-term to one of my classes where each of them was asked to get together with a group and record two of their compositions based on our study of Coltrane’s music. Then COVID-19 happened. So I told them to just see what you can do. If you don’t want to present, that’s okay. But all of the students found a way around it. I was amazed at what was produced. They created things that blew my mind.

We take it for granted when everything is working. I realize now how fortunate we are in America once the “normal” is taken away.

How, if at all, could this affect the way you teach in the future once we are back on campus?

It won’t change how I teach, but I will be thinking more about what’s really important and what the focus should be.

Why are we playing music to begin with? What was the first sound that made you want to become a musician? How can we reframe our performances into something more meaningful?

In the fall, I’ll take a little more of that and integrate it into my teaching. 

Do you have any words of encouragement for students? 

A teacher told me once that even in a music school we are trying to learn things about somebody else: their music, how they did it, who it was.

But you should also think about something that each of us has that’s unique. Being in touch with who we are individually. Whatever it is that you have to offer beautifully—making that the greatest possible thing it can be.