Commencement
Remarks
Mark Alan
Taggart, Chair of the Faculty
December 16,
2006
Thank
you, Chancellor Ballard. Good morning,
graduates, families and friends! On behalf of the faculty At East Carolina
University, please allow me to extend my heartfelt greetings and
congratulations to each and every one of you on this special day!
As
a professor of composition, I have celebrated a special moment many times with
my students when they have just finished a musical
composition. I congratulate them for
reaching that “final double bar, ” which is a musical
term for the notation that we use at the end of our musical score to inform
that the work is complete. The level in
which I celebrate this accomplishment with my students is in direct ratio to the
efforts and struggles the young composer had to go through in order to complete
it. Sometimes it’s just a handshake and
a smile, or a pat on the back for a job well done. If the composer struggled more in order to
complete the work, I would spring to my feet and do a little dance. On one occasion, after a student completed an
especially difficult and complex work, I recall actually leaping onto my desk,
grabbing armloads of papers and assignments, flinging them asunder, and singing
the “Halleluiah” chorus while doing a gig.
Provost
Smith informs me that there are 2,811 of you who have reached that “final
double bar” today. Holy cow! This is tremendous! This is a time to dance, sing, and
celebrate! If there were a desk up here,
I just might repeat my “Halleluiah” performance. But, in the hopes of preserving a little
professional comportment, you’re just going to have to imagine me doing this,
even though I am dancing “on the inside.”
Returning
to my composition students, after our celebration ends, I then inform them that
they will need to create a set of parts for their musicians. They will have to set up a rehearsal
schedule. They will have to coach their
musicians. They will need to make all
the necessary preparations in order to have their musical work performed
successfully. And, after they’ve finally
completed their premiere, I remind them what the friendly folks at
Merriam-Webster say, that the word “compose” is a verb. You have to keep doing it! Over and over. One successful double bar does not a career
make.
Graduates,
let me tell you that the word “educate” is
a verb, too. The learning process never stops. We’ve celebrated as you have
achieved your goals. You’ve been through
much, but your work is only beginning.
We hope that we have given you the tools to be inquisitive, creative,
and to keep the process of education going!
We hope the education you’ve received at East Carolina University will
provide a firm foundation for the next phase in your life. And don’t forget to let us know about your
continuing successes and accomplishments, your future double bars, because, I
just love to dance!