New England Conservatory of Music - Neume Yearbook (Boston, MA)

Page 9 text:

STAFF Music can never be considered as static; there is always a dependence on past experiences to form a new style or interpretation. The advances in tech- nique, in instruments, and in the musi- cal expression itself all have their roots in those traditions that have preceded them . The Conservatory, also, is not inde- pendent of its past. The sweeping changes in curricula and educational objectives that N.E.C. has undergone are directly evolved from past experi- ence. Like music, the Conservatory must always seek to better both itself and the students in it; it does this by drawing on the experiences of the past, to mold them into some future greatnes s . Throughout the 1964 NEUME there are pictures of musicians through the ages. This serves to relate the experi- ence of the Conservatory to the great traditions that have preceded it . By look- ing at these musicians, and then looking into the faces of the students pictured within, we hope that you can find evi- dence of the great traditions that have molded N.E.C. into what we have today . 5

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DEDICA TIOJV Mrs . Ruth Capers McKay has taught literature here at N.E.C. for a total of six years, from 1951 to 1955 and again from 1962 to the present. In 1962 she returned here as Chairman of Academic Studies and last year she was appointed Dean of the Graduate Division . This year in addition to her duties in this office she has continued to teach one literature course . Mrs . McKay earned her Bachelor of Arts degree atWheaton College, and both her Master of Arts and her Doctor of Philosophy degrees at the University of Pennsylvania, where she was a Bennett Fellow in English. She has taught at Wheaton, Radcliffe and Smith Colleges in the English departments and has been a trustee of Wheaton College for a num- ber of years . During her undergraduate years at Wheaton College she studied voice as part of her program . While she loved singing and even seriously considered a career in music, her final decision was to teach in the field of literature . However, the background of voice and piano study has helped her to be more understanding and helpful to N.E.C. students . In addition to her work at American colleges and universities, Mrs. McKay has spent considerable time in Europe studying in both France and Italy, while her husband, Donald P. McKay, former professor of history at Harvard Univer- sity and Amherst College, was doing research. Because of her interest in Greek literature they took time to travel extensively in Greece. Thus travel has enriched her understanding of the litera- ture she has studied and taught. So it is with much pleasure that we dedicate the NEUME of 1964 to a woman who is not only well -educated but who has achieved through the use of her training what few women do. With admiration and respect we honor, in our way, Mrs. Ruth Capers McKay who has given her life to the education of the student who wants to learn . 7