CELEBRATING 80 YEARS
BREVARD MUSIC CENTER: CELEBRATING 80 YEARS by Jason Posnock – Director of Artistic Planning & Educational Programs
1936
Jesse Owens wins four gold medals at the Berlin Olympics; FDR is elected for a second term; the Spanish Civil War begins; King Edward VIII abdicates the throne to marry Wallis Simpson; the Hoover Dam is completed; BBC debuts the world’s first television service; Margaret Mitchell’s epic novel “Gone With the Wind” is published; and Davidson Music Camp for Boys opens for business in Davidson, NC. It all began for us in 1936. Actually, it really started in 1929, when a teen-aged James Christian Pfohl attended the second-ever session of the Interlochen Music Camp. Even back then, he believed the South needed one of those – its very own center of music. And this young, audacious, visionary genius was going to be the one to make it happen. Pfohl initiated the project at Davidson College, where he served as Director of the Music Department. Seven years later he moved the venture to Brevard after he happened upon this very land, an abandoned boys camp, during a visit to the western part of the state. He and his wife looked out and knew immediately. “This is the spot.” Brevard Music Center, née the Transylvania Music Camp, was christened in 1955. Full of artistic aspiration and a commitment to education, it was a “vacation with a purpose.” This musical oasis was dedicated to developing the ability and broadening the horizons of young musicians, promoting fellowship among the participants, and enriching our musical culture. And oh, did it do just that. The faculty comprised musicians from the best schools and orchestras; talented students flocked from all over; and Dr. Pfohl presented the first complete performance of Beethoven 9 in the South, programed monumental works like Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde, invited the likes of Isaac Stern and Beverly Sills, and so much more.
Years have gone by, centuries and millennia have turned, and BMC is still committed to the mission of teaching gifted young musicians to prepare and perform great musical works at a high artistic level. The mantle has been passed to Henry Janiec, David Effron, and now Keith Lockhart – BMC’s Artistic Directors and keepers of the flame. They in turn have stood on the shoulders of passionate board members, donors, administrators, and Presidents John Candler and now Mark Weinstein. And of course the hundreds of teachers, thousands of students, and hundreds of thousands of audience members. It truly takes a village, and Brevard Music Center has been blessed with one that remains loyal, generous, and connected. Throughout our festivities this season, let’s not only celebrate that we are here, a huge accomplishment in itself – but also why we are here. Classical music is as relevant now as it ever was – and will always be. It still matters to young and old alike, performers and audiences, students and teachers. The discipline of learning an instrument, and the intentional act of listening to great music, makes us more focused, more capable, more complete. Important, whether you are a musician, or a doctor, lawyer, or engineer. And no other art form touches the depths of our soul in quite the same way, evokes that kind of emotion, captures the human spirit. So here’s to 80 more years of Mozart, Beethoven, and Mahler…80 more years of world premieres and genreblending innovations…80 more years of faculty members coming home each summer to teach, perform, be the artists they are…80 more years of talented, wonderful students learning, growing, being more than they ever dreamed they could be…80 – no 180 more years of music in Brevard. Here’s to the Brevard Music Center. Bravo…Encore!!
Davidson College Summer Band Camp James Christian Pfohl, Director
2016 Summer Institute & Festival
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