Core & Lasting Commitments

Photo by Natasha Moustache

CFA Faculty

Core & Lasting Commitments

October 11, 2022

Everyone wanted to be a preacher or a musician.

Back in 1872, there was a brief—but pivotal—moment in the history of Boston University when every BU student pursued a degree in either theology or music. Those were the options.

Today, a student can choose among 300+ areas of study. A lot has changed.

What hasn’t changed are BU’s core commitments. Those aspiring theologians and musicians understood that they had a moral and ethical obligation to improve society. They sought training to attend to the well-being of others and to uplift the communities in which they lived. Selflessness, not self-aggrandizement, was what unified Boston University. It gave students a sense of purpose.

In time, music offerings would expand beyond sacred music, choral singing, and European classical performance to include other genres of music-making. Over the years, other artistic practices—theater and visual arts—would emerge and develop into prominent academic units on par with the School of Music.

The core commitments remain our guide star. Our Prison Arts Project offers educational programs at regional correctional facilities. Our Arts|Lab initiative, in partnership with the Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center, provides music as care to patients and physicians. Our art galleries and orchestra concerts, including performances at Symphony Hall, are free and open to the public. We aim to remove cost as a barrier to experiencing impactful artistry. Currently, we are designing a new initiative that will explore the connections between the arts and social justice.

This year, we celebrate the sesquicentennial of the School of Music; 150 years is a big deal! Boston University was the first college or university in the United States to offer a degree in the study of music. Although being the “oldest” and the “first” are major achievements, the embrace of our core commitments across generations is a rare, distinguishing accomplishment. Regardless of your area of artistic interest, I hope that you will take pride in this milestone.

Please consider joining me in Boston on April 1, 2023, for our anniversary concert at Symphony Hall. Whenever your travels bring you back to the area, please email me at cfadean@bu.edu. If my schedule allows, I would enjoy meeting you.

If you would like to assist in the education of a new generation of citizen artist-scholars, please visit our website (bu.edu/cfa) and select “Support CFA.”

Harvey Young, Dean of CFA