Carol A. Hess Interview
Carol A. Hess teaches at the University of California, Davis, where she is Distinguished Professor of Music. Her book Manuel de Falla and Modernism in Spain, 1898–1936 won the ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award and the American Musicological Society’s Robert M. Stevenson Prize for Outstanding Scholarship in Iberian Music.
How did you get to where you are today, professionally?
I was fortunate to grow up in a musical family. My parents, my three sisters, and I all played the piano as well as various instruments. We also sang endlessly, making for a rather noisy household! All this activity was supported by a fine public school music program, with dedicated teachers and resources appropriate to the task. This meant that we had skills. For example, if we went to the movies and saw, say, Dr. Zhivago or Charade we could go to the music store, buy the sheet music, and play the theme at home.
I fear that such advantages are far too scarce today. Instead of teaching such skills—which anyone can master with proper teaching—school boards have seen fit to cut music and arts programs. Not even the Girl Scouts seem to sing any more! The result is that young people who love music, clamp on the earbuds and access Spotify instead of playing and singing themselves. Consequently, they miss the tremendous satisfaction music-making affords. Will we ever fix this problem as a society?