“As with anything in life, it’s important to remember that the road to success is rarely a straight line,” says Reuben Kebede, one of this year’s Honors Competition winners. “Things are likely to work out in your favor eventually if you put in the work.” In this edition of our monthlyĚýDean’s Downbeat, John Davis reflects on our students’ successes, introduces new violin faculty—welcome, Alex Gonzalez!—and celebrates Susan Thomas’ BFA Excellence Award. Transcending pandemic burnout, “our faculty offer anchorage through their teaching excellence, and their wonderfully consistent artistic achievements as performers, composers and researchers,” he writes.ĚýĚý
Photo: Flutist Courtney Badura (BM ’23) and violinist Reuben Kebede (AD ’22) took the “gold” in this year’s Honors Competition. Honorable mentions include cellist Matthew Wiest and mezzo soprano Gabrielle Razafinjatovo. Congratulations to all who participated!Ěý
