Nortii Carolina School of the Arts 3
First Essay Poll Focuses On High School Students
A questionaire was recently
given to ISO high school juniors
and seniors in their
Elnglish classes. There were no
particular findings sought after
or expected. Since the students
questioned were asked not to
identify themselves, they could
give answers that they might not
otherwise give. In some cases,
not having to be re^nsible for
their answers led some students
to write in unusable material.
Do you plan to go to college at
NCSA?
Yes-15, No-70, maybe-65.
Only 10 per cent plan to go to
college here. The Dance
Department’s percentage was
the lowest with only 2 per cent
planing to remain or return.
Except in a few cases the reason
for such a low percentage of
returnees was not to be found in
their attitudes towards academic
or arts offering here. 70 per cent
answered that the academic
program was suitable. 80 per cent
ap|x*oved their art program.
Do you receive enough in
dividual attention in your Arts
progrom Yes-120, no-30;
Academic program yes-125, no-
25.
However, 93 j«r cent did feel
that the academic program could
use improvement, and 76 per cent
described tiieir academics as
“not interesting” or “dull.”
Social life seemed to be the
most disliked aspect of NCSA and
may be the single largest reason
for many of Ae students’ not
wanting to retiun. 33 per cent of
the students described life here
as being “stifling” and
“stagnant”, 50 per cent said it
was only “tolerable”, 13 per cent
said “invigorating.” 60 per cent
said they felt too restricted.
Many of those who felt properly
restricted agreed with those who
felt too restricted and together
Master Qasses:
they saw room for change in
regulations.
83 per cent checked visitation
rules, and 75 per cent checked
curfews. Some students ex
plained later that since many of
the rules that they consider
confining are not well enforced.
there is not much of a movement
towards change.
Myth has it that this school is
made up of 100 per cent “dope
addicts and fags.” This survey
showed that 50 per cent used no
drugs at all or oi^y alcohol, 20 per
cent had used alcohol and
marijuana, and 30 per cent had
used various others, including
psychedelics, stimulants, and
opiates. Unfortunately, the single
question on drugs was not enou^
to give any more information
than that, and even those per
centages don’t indicate if the
drug use was medicinal as it very
well could be in the case of
opiates, depressants and
stimulants. As to sexual
reference - 88 per cent checked
heterosexual, one-third of 1 per
cent (or one person) checked
homosexual, 8 per cent checked
bi-sexual, and 2 and two-thirds
per cent did not answer.
Various other findings were:
-of the 150,90 were female and
60 were male.
—2 per cent had had
professional psychiatric treat
ment.
-Design Department (Visual
Arts, Tech., and Design) had
highest percentage of drug
usage.
-Music Department, largest
number (33 per cent) of students
who felt college was given unfair
advantage over high school.
-Dance Department, highest
percentage of bi-sexuality.
-No corrolation seen between
number of years at NCSA and
desire to leave or not return.
-To 43per cent it is “probable”
that they “might meet the kind of
person” whom they would like to
marry here.
"One student feels that
“everything is probable.”
Sebastian de Grazia
Managing Director Janos Starker Begins Work With Music Students
Appointed For
Dance Company
Robert Lindgren, Producer of
the North Carolina Dance
Theatre, announced Wednesday,
October 20,1971, the appointment
of Janet Spencer of New York
Gty as Managing Director of the
new company, The North
Carolina Dance Dieatre. Miss
l^encer, a newcomer to the field
of dance, has been General
Manager of the Edison Theatre
for the past two years.
From 1966 to 1970, Miss
Spencer was the Producer and
Director of The Portable
Ftraenix, an educational pro^am
of Tlieatre, Inc., of New York. As
a part of this [xroject, she directed
four productions, designed
workshops including “Tlieatre
Games” for non-actors, and
arranged tours for schools,
colleges, hospitals, parks and
community centers in New York,
New Jersey and Connecticut.
A consultant in the performing
arts for the Ruppert Education
Center and the Roberson Center
in Binghamton, New York, Miss
^)encer was director of student
development for APA-Fhoenix
Repertory Company. From her
e^wrience as a consultant in
“Ttiea^e Games” for National
Training Labs and Southwest
Institute for Personal and
Organizational DevelojHnent, she
has written a book on Ae subject.
It is entitled “Tlieatre Games, A
Handbook” and it will be
published next year.
Miss Spencer’s e:qperience in
management has been associated
with such Broadway and off-
Broadway productions as “The
Ballad of Johnny Pot”, “Ht^y
Birthday, Wanda June”, “(Xi,
Calcutta” and “Max Merath at
the Turn of the Century”.
After her graduation from
Barnard College of Columbia
(Mversity, she directed for the
Barnard College Summer
Theatre, the Bamard-Columbia
Drama Workshop and was the
producer and director of the
Columbia University Arts
Festirid.
CoBtiinKd On Page 7
This year marks the first
significant faculty innovation in
the School of Music. Teachers of
world-wide renown have been
attracted to our school to teach on
a regular basis. Janos Starker is
one of those ^o has achieved an
enviable reputation and is in
terested in helping to pass on
what he has learned, through
decades of concertizing, to
tfdented string students. He has
presently begun teaching his
master’s class at the School of the
Arts.
Janos Starker occupies a
unique position. Barely into his
forties, he has already become an
institution. Starker is of the new
breed of 20th century musicians;
virtuosic beyond rational ex-
[danation but also the deeply
informed musical scholar with an
ear attuned to stylistic nuances.
He has been called “the king of
cellists” as well as the heir to the
pioneering of Pablo Casals.
Following a Louisville recital, the
local paper commented that
“"^ere was an age Miien per
formances like Starker gave last
night would have people
v^pering that he must have
joined hands with the devil.”
Taking into account his rather
stark appearance, one can well
understand this comment.
Bom in Budapest in 1924, Janos
Starker was introduced to music
by his parents at a very early age
and ^en he was 7 decided to
become a cellist. He attended the
Ftanz Liszt Academy, studying
with Leo Weiner. After finishing
his studies he held the chair of
first cellist with the Budapest
C^ra and Philharmonic Or
chestras. He left his native
country in 1946, because he “did
not like the atmosphere.” After
two years of concertizing in
various European countries, he
came to the l^ited States v^ere
he has since made his home.
After having spent a number of
years as solo cellist for sonK of
the major American orchestras.
Starker decided to devote himself
to appearances as soloist only. He
has toured all over the IMted
States and Canada, Europe and
the Far East- acclaimed
everywhere as one of the greatest
cellists of our time. Ifis New York
recital debut, to mention one
noteworthy performance, took
place on AprU 14, 1960, when he
played sonatas with Mieczyslaw
Horzowski at the Metropolitan
Museum of Art. The New York
Herald Tribune called him “a
superlative cellist, equipped with
an abundance of technique and a
magnificent tone” and con
sidered ^e concert “an artistic
event of the first magnitude.”
Starker’s musical activities
cover a much wider field than his
concert appearances. Since 1958
he has been active on the faculty
of Indiana University in
Bloomington. His pedagogical
interests go far deeper than the
average artist-teacher. He adds
string seminars and Master
classes to his concert career,
stopping twice a month at our
sdiool for teaching.
In making the announcement of
Starker’sengagement last April,
President Ward said, “Nicholas
Harsanyi, the newly appointed
Dean of Music, has, of course
made recommendations in the
area of repetory seminars for the
coming ^ool year. When he
advis^ us that Messrs. Starker
and Gingold (Joseph Gingold will
be covered next monUi), his
colleagues of long standing,
might be interested in an af
filiation with our school, I, of
course, encouraged the in
vitation, since they are two of the
world’s most outstanding
teacher-performers. Their
presence as they present their
repetory seminars to our
students will be a stimulation of
immense value.”
Another contribution Starker
has made- which might well turn
out to be of stunning impact- is
the so-called Starker Bridge, “ a
device so simple as to be almost
silly,” as he puts it. By drilling
cone-shaped ho'les into the
wooden bridge which rests on the
instrument, he created
Continued On Page 7