A JOB SEARCH is underway at the moment and its outcome will greatly affect the nature of performing arts at the University. The Music Department is searching for a director of choral music to fill the vacancy left open since 1998.
The applicant pool has been narrowed down to three, but the only worthy candidate for the job is the man who unofficially has been in the position all along.
The University is blessed with a tremendous musical talent in the form of Bruce Tammen, conductor of the University Singers and the Glee Club. In two years, Tammen has single-handedly turned a second-rate university choir into the flagship college performance group for the Commonwealth.
He took the position merely as an interim director, but he threw himself into the job with rare enthusiasm, and his work has paid off. It is beyond question that the permanent position of director of choral music must go to no one but Tammen.
Not only is Tammen one of the best conductors to be found anywhere, but for the first time in recent memory, Music Department choir events have enjoyed booming success under his leadership.
This past October and December the University Singers put on two sold out concerts for standing-room-only crowds in Old Cabell Hall. It is thrilling to imagine the heights that the Music Department could achieve if Tammen were given the opportunity to continue his work as the University's best conductor.
Despite the search committee's insistence on the importance of student opinions on this issue, as well as Tammen's current successes with the University Singers and the Glee Club, there is still a large obstacle keeping the position from his reach. The Music Department tends to focus more on the modern and the experimental whereas Tammen is strictly grounded in the classical styles.
In a personal interview, Music Department Chair Judith Shatin shares some of her views on her musical interests: "I am interested in many types of music. I love traditional Western music and I am also interested in innovations in new technologies in music."
Regarding his own somewhat contrasting musical beliefs, Tammen said in a personal interview, "One can't be all things; I make choices, value judgments. I try to reflect in my work a broad vision, but also a deep craft and understanding - never a smorgasbord of shallow choices."
Tammen's students embrace his love of classical styles and shy away from the more modern approach that the Music Department is taking. This is not simply a blind loyalty to their conductor. His beliefs place above all other things a pursuit of beauty and high craft, a constant attempt at perfection.
Fourth Year Singers member Bill Bennett illustrates, "Bruce inspires focused practice and great performances. Every time he makes music, even in his dirty jeans and plaid shirts, he wants it to sound like a starched tuxedo. There is no time for 'in between'."
In the past few years Tammen has given many young people a passion and energy for vocal music. He has amassed a fiercely loyal following, not to mention the support of the Music Department's performance faculty. The search committee members can't expect his students' passionate feelings to be transferable to whomever comes along next, especially if that someone plans to move in the direction that the Music Department would like.
To be fair to the students it is here to serve, the Music Department should also recognize that students voluntarily put in many extra hours of work - particularly for the University Singers - in the name of Tammen and their group.
Tammen causes his students to want to go the extra mile, whether it's staying late to help stack chairs or spending hours researching and organizing out-of-state trips. The 80-odd members of University Singers would feel personally cheated and betrayed if the music department were to dismiss out of hand all of their passionate devotion to the group by hiring someone else.
The Music Department must not ignore the immeasurable devotion - both from Tammen and from his own students - that has gone into the choral music program at the University. He deserves more than anyone the permanent position of director of choral music because of his passion, skills and devotion to both his students and his musical beliefs.
The least the search committee members can do is put aside their differences and give back to Tammen a little of the gratitude and recognition he has earned.
(Maverick McNeel is a Cavalier Daily viewpoint writer. He is a member of the University Singers.)
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