Donor Stories

I was brought up in a genteel household and raised to be proper and truthful. My 31-year academic life turned me into a civil-rights leader. Is there such a thing as destiny? I’d marched many times in my native Korea, the first being “Stop the Stop- War” in Pusan, a Southern-most port city where the government was temporarily housed as the Chinese drummed to South Korean peninsula. We marched demanding the UN forces to keep on fighting until we gain our country back, which they did! Here’s this girl, with this “marching” background and an excellent English speaking and reading knowledge, landed in Los Angeles on July 7, 1963, an historic year that November! I was accepted to the renowned Aube Tzerko studio at UCLA, and I received an EdD with piano performance and pedagogy concentration from the University of Georgia in 1977, where I completed all DMA and EdD degree requirements.

Professor Dan Politoske introduced CMS to graduate students at Georgia. I went to my first meeting in San Antonio, Texas and liked what I saw. It was a small gathering of professoriate made up of diverse people in every sense of the way. I had gone to national meetings of MTNA and MENC, both of which were a sea of people scurrying about importantly where one can easily feel invisible. Contrarily, CMS was “real”: people looked into your eyes and said hello. Meetings were interesting mixes of subjects and disciplines. I decided that this was my association—and became a life member. What a deal it was— I had made a wise investment! Giving to CMS is a pleasure, at the least, to make up for all the annual membership fees that were waived. But that is beside the point. I give because where else would I meet and work with wonderful people? In the midst of the smallness of my musty office environment, news from CMS or an e-mail from CMS colleague lifts my spirit.

CMS continues to be the place where intelligence and common sense meet and is also the place where collegiality really means being nice and supportive of each other. Later, I went to University of Michigan and received a first–class education in the study of higher education. This education gave me knowledge and the know-how about university governance, finance, organizational conditions, dealing with internal and external constituencies, academic affairs, student affairs, law and higher education, and relationship between government and public higher education. My ensuing administrative tenure was productive and short-lived. My home College and School’s diversity has gone in the reverse direction since. I returned happily to my first love, teaching, performing and researching music.

My children are now grown and have their own family life. Now, my agenda is to give back. To me, CMS is the place. My agenda includes using my organizational skills to help CMS colleagues become more active in shared governance and diversity causes. All these years, CMS stood by me with its solid mission, “to promote music teaching and learning, musical creativity and expression, research and dialogue, and diversity and interdisciplinary interaction.”

Yes, life gave me destiny. I am to be a pianist as I’ve known since very young age. I’ve become an academic civil-rights leader too. I hope to give back by helping set the tone for all underdogs of any kind --minority, women, quiet and gentle men.., who may be subject to any kind of tyranny. Strange, but I believe academia is the place to do this; and CMS is the place to raise our consciousness. I support CMS’ posterity and its academic leadership.

100% of your donation will go towards innovative approaches to engagement and outreach programs. Overhead for expenses in managing CMS Beyond Fifty is being provided by The College Music Society.

 
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