Vol. XIX No. 2
October 2003

Dear Editor:

I just want to thank you very much for printing Renée Fleming's absolutely wonderful Juilliard commencement address in your September issue. Having been on the faculty of the University of Vermont for 35 years, thus having attended about 30 university commencements before retiring, I must say that I cannot remember hearing a better address, certainly not one more meaningful and inspiring for graduates and faculty alike, nor better leavened with wit and goodwill.


William Metcalfe
Burlington, VT

Note: This letter originally appeared in the Sept./Oct. issue of American Record Guide and is reprinted with permission.

Dear Editor:

It is with profound sadness that I read about the death of David Walter in the September 2003 issue of The Juilliard Journal. I was a student of Mr. Walter's in the mid- to late-1970s—one who reluctantly entered and managed to survive in the "real world," one who never became a musician.

What do I remember about him? Mainly, his tremendous appetite for life, which rivaled that of his more famous sybaritic friends and contemporaries, Casals and Rostropovich. Food, wine, world travel, art, the "fair sex"—he talked about all of these with enormous enthusiasm and delight. Lessons with him were never just about music, and this is something of his I took with me. When I was teaching communication skills to adults at a job training center, classroom discussions always went far beyond the subject at hand, into current events, my students' lives, their memories, their children, and somehow, everything would lead back to the point. Not to sound too metaphysical, but Mr. Walter taught me a lot about the interconnectedness of everything.

I have reflected on my Juilliard education many times over the past 25 years, and realized how many things music has helped me do—things that have nothing to do with music per se. Mr. Walter valued my critiques of other students so much that he had me attend his master classes at the Manhattan School of Music, which eventually made me realize that I was a good writer, critic, and teacher. My musical training has also come in handy in the strangest situations—editing tapes of spoken-word performances, and even in writing my own poetry. Of course, the discipline and structure of daily practicing is a valuable skill transferable to any "real world" occupation.

I was invited to his 90th birthday celebration, but could not attend. I will probably regret this forever. David Walter inspired generations of successful (and unsuccessful) musicians to "go for the gusto" in whatever they put their minds to do. My condolences to his family and to all of his students.

Sharon Lynn Griffiths
(B.M. '78, M.M. '79, double bass)
Jersey City, NJ

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