Jonathan Bellman Interview
Professor Jonathan Bellman is the area head of academic studies in music at the University of Northern Colorado. He’s a pianist, musicologist, and the author of many books, including Chopin's Polish Ballade: Op. 38 as Narrative of National Martyrdom and The Style Hongrois in the Music of Western Europe.
How did you get to where you are today, professionally?
Those close to me know about my initial rock’n’roll ambitions, but I’ve never admitted them publicly. I took piano lessons starting at age 6, and had a certain knack for it (playing by ear, natural speed, etc.). It was part of my persona (“brand”?) through high school, where persona is all. My parents—Dad was an English professor; Mom trained as a teacher—were very clear that I should choose my career, not my elders (they had their own experience to bring to the table on that one). So I decided to be a piano major, and I really had to make up for a lot of lost time, since I had never really considered piano anything but fun. So eventually I made it up to the University of California at Santa Barbara, with a secret ambition to be, believe it or not, a classical-rock artist. (Think early ELO, the Strawbs, Procol Harum, lesser known groups—that music just sucked me in.)
My parents knew of this ambition but wisely figured that since I was going to college…well, good; I could dream of life onstage but they had confidence that I would be exposed to all kinds of things in class and in lessons, and the rock and roll life wouldn’t be a worry. (And there is no one on earth less suited to it than I!) And they got it exactly right—beginning my first quarter, I started studying with the international scholar who taught medieval and Renaissance music, and my world blew open. I had known none of that music, and it just rearranged my DNA. Of course, I still played piano, under the watchful eye of a wonderful teacher, still pursued the piano major, but was strongly drawn to the academic side. No, this did not disappoint my parents at all. And I think that virtually all the faculty knew which way I would end up going, and encouraged me in piano … confident nature would take its course. And it did.