My Humanities Moment happened when I realized that Art and Music actually saved my life when I needed it. I remember walking in New York City at night. I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. I was so depressed about how New York City is changing. I didn’t see the Old … Continued
I was in middle school back in 2010. I would spend most of my time avoiding school work and indulging in online comic books, video games, movies and listening to massive amounts of music. Consuming all this media, you develop a taste for archetypes (this isn’t speaking towards the quality of the archetypes but more … Continued
Since our historic site is closed, I’ve been trying to connect OTHER people to the humanities via our social media channels. I had heard on NPR that Andrea Bocelli would be broadcasting an Easter concert from the Duomo, so I made it a point to tune in. Being single and in lock down, one day … Continued
After 40 years of attending rock concerts I still get excited about them. There’s nothing like counting the days until the band is in town or when I am going to leave to attend a concert or festival in another state. I think about the many conversations I have had with complete strangers in the … Continued
My mother received her undergraduate degree in Art History after her three children had graduated. As siblings with the label first generation college students, we like to think we inspired her to get her BA. But in reality she was the inspiration by making sure we were prepared and supported for our post-high school graduation. … Continued
Heitzenrater describes his transition from an early focus on classical music to the revelation that multi-track recording could enable him to reach new creative heights in musical composition and engineering. Curator’s note: John Heitzenrater, a founding member of the band Hindugrass, is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, and educator whose performance career spans more than three decades … Continued
Peter Holsapple describes his dismay as a Beatles fan growing up in Winston-Salem, North Carolina when subsequent pop rock, in his opinion, failed to live up to their high standard. That all changed one day when he listened to an album by the band Big Star. He reminisces about how the opportunity to play with … Continued
Parthenon describes his experience growing up as a musically-minded American expatriate in Greece in the 1960s and early 1970s. After a Greek military coup, opportunities to see live American rock shows ceased entirely. As a result, when the film Woodstock came to Greek theaters, the excitement and desperation young people had to reconnect with their … Continued
As a child, Ken Stringfellow had difficulty relating to others and understanding seemingly inscrutable social cues. Turning to his parents’ collection of LPs changed all that. By immersing himself in symphonic compositions, he was able to understand and translate the emotions of others as they were represented artistically. Curator’s note: Ken Stringfellow is a singer, … Continued
Crawford recalls how a potentially traumatic move to a new high school at the age of fourteen could have been a distressing experience, but ultimately showed him the power of community, acceptance, and music.