Sunday, June 12, 2011

'Maestro James DePreist, we honor you here today for your outstanding contributions to humanity through music.'

[From left: Trustee Emeritus Robert Brasler '58, honorary-degree recipient James DePreist, Associate Professor of Music Robert Pound and President William G. Durden '71.]

On May 7, 2011 AfriClassical posted: “Dickinson College: 'James DePreist will receive an honorary doctor of arts degree' May 22.” Dickinson College, of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, is a private school founded in 1773.

Maestro James DePreist, we honor you here today for your outstanding contributions to humanity through music.

"Though only four of the nearly 600 members of the class of 2011 are music majors who have actually studied conducting, your career and accomplishments evince the value and rewards of a liberal-arts education as well as the rewards of fortitude and perseverance in the face of overwhelming difficulties.

“A native of the great state of Pennsylvania, you received your bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Pennsylvania. Accepted to the prestigious Wharton School, you matriculated there specifically because its undergraduate program comprised a balanced, liberal-arts education, and we therefore note with great satisfaction that your extraordinary accomplishments in the highly specialized field of conducting began with a liberal-arts degree.”

“You have made over 50 recordings in your career including the highly celebrated series of the works of Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich with the Helsinki Philharmonic. You were hailed by the Chicago Tribune as 'one of the finest conductors the nation has produced,' and you were awarded the National Medal of Arts in 2005.” [AfriClassical.com profiles James DePreist (b. 1936), who also has his own website, http://www.JamesDePreist.com.]

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