Members of Brandeis University’s Lydian Quartet were stunned to learn that the school would end its support for the ensemble, just one month after the quartet welcomed a new violinist. This long-running chamber music group has been a mainstay of Boston’s classical music scene for more than 40 years, earning national acclaim.
Cellist Joshua Gordon, violinist Julia Glenn, violist Mark Berger and violinist Clara Lyon announced in an Oct. 1 Zoom meeting with university executives that Brandeis would not renew their contracts at the end of the school year. I was informed of this.
Berger said Lyon only joined the quartet in September and immigrated from the Midwest for the position. “That alone leaves us shocked that this happened so quickly," he said. “In fact, she was introduced to the faculty a few weeks before this meeting by the same person who broke this news to us.”
“Brandeis has long supported the arts, and we are committed to ensuring that music remains an integral part of our curriculum and community,” Joel Christensen, senior vice president for academic affairs, told WBUR. said in an emailed statement. “Due to the current challenging environment in higher education, we are forced to make some difficult choices and cannot discuss individual personnel decisions.”
The Lydian Quartet was founded at Brandeis University in 1980. In its early years, the ensemble studied with Robert Koff, founder of the famed Juilliard String Quartet. The quartet maintains a busy performance schedule, releasing and appearing in dozens of studio recordings.
“It was devastating for the four of us individually,” said Gordon, who has been a member of the quartet since 2002. … So I think not being able to offer that in the future would be a huge blow to the traditions of our campus. ”
In addition to performing, the quartet members form the core of the music department’s faculty, Berger said. They mentor undergraduate string players, direct chamber music ensembles, and teach music faculty courses. Each December, the quartet performs original compositions by students in the composition program and provides feedback.
One more music faculty position will be eliminated at the end of the school year, bringing the total to five, or about one-third of the music faculty, Berger said. The university suspended its music doctoral program last year, with plans to eventually end it, sparking outrage from music faculty and students.
“It certainly feels like the music sector is being unfairly targeted,” Gordon said. “Currently, we are not accepting graduate students in the doctoral program, so it feels like our capacity is decreasing.”
According to Brandeis’ student newspaper, The Justice, at a faculty meeting on Oct. 18, university leaders cited declining enrollment and increased competition from public universities as reasons for the budget cuts. The newspaper reported that Brandeis University plans to not renew many contracts with non-tenured faculty and to cut 8% of its faculty. The newspaper also reported that the university would save about $275,000 a year by ending support for the Lydian Quartet.
“This decision not only undermines the department’s core curriculum, but also goes against the values and interests of Brandeis University. It sends the public the wrong message about what Brandeis stands for. “Because we are here,” Yu Hui Chan, dean of the School of Music, said in an email. . “Currently, the ministry is still rescinding this decision and we hope that a workable solution can be found.”
The move comes amid continued financial difficulties at Brandeis. The university laid off about 60 administrative staff over the summer. In September, Brandeis President Ron Leibowitz announced that he would resign following a vote of no confidence by the faculty.
This is not the first time the university has targeted the arts in an effort to solve its financial woes. During the 2009 recession, Brandeis closed the Rhodes Museum and planned to sell its collection, but ultimately changed course after public outcry and a legal settlement that blocked art auctions. did.
Gordon and Berger said they wanted to pressure the university to reverse its decision. However, regardless of the outcome, Gordon said, “The quartet itself will not disband.”
