The school year now officially closed, and there are so many non-fatal casualties, along with the covid-19 victims.

Colleagues leaving us through retirement, new opportunities or, worst of all, massive budget cutbacks requiring elimination of positions.  Along with graduating students, there’s no opportunity for career closure.

One among many valued colleagues, the director of our bands, Scott Carter, is retiring after a long and distinguished career.  He was an undergrad here at ECU, then taught in a public school system for years before pursuing his graduate degrees, and ultimately joining the School of Music’s faculty long before my arrival in ’98.  His words in a recent correspondence, about what we do in this field of music-making: “To be a part this experience, for no other reason than the experience itself, for me, is the best our profession has to offer. I think the virus has confirmed that so much of what we do can just go away—confirmation of what really matters and that is the collective experience itself. The meaningful doing where there is no why.”

The meaningful doing where there is no why.  I like that.