Lise's Lens: May 19, 2022

Today Lise celebrates Diné composer Raven Chacon and a moving choral performance featuring a CSW alum. She also checks in with our students in Maine this mod, and shares a pic from an incredible faculty/staff-focused community reading presentation yesterday.

WHAT I’M READING
 
  • Earlier this month, Diné composer Raven Chacon became the first indigenous composer to win the Pulitzer Prize in music for his 2021 piece, Voiceless Mass. I’ve been reading more about him and thought this particular quote was fascinating:

    “My pieces aren’t improvisational, but there’s agency in how long things will last, and given there’s a conductor...maybe they can determine how many times things repeat. I like to put these things into the work to make it more fluid, more malleable in terms of time and duration; stretching time like that is also going to affect the volume, spacialization and the mood and the tone of the piece. I like to put these things into the work to make it more fluid, more malleable.”
     
WHAT I’M LISTENING TO/WATCHING

  • I just found out that Larson Miller ’14, one of our alumni, sang in this incredible performance. Give it a listen! “The piece, titled "A Knee on the Neck," begins with a ‘commandment’ Black parents give to their children: always be on their best behavior to avoid getting hurt, thrown in prison or even killed. To come home in one piece.”

WHAT I’M THINKING/TALKING ABOUT
 
  • I am thinking about our Marine Bio students who have safely arrived safely at Hurricane Island in Maine for the off-campus portion of their course. They only just left on Tuesday and have already jumped into the program — quite literally, in fact, with a handful braving the frigid Maine waters. Beholden to the tides, they even had to get up at 6:30 a.m. yesterday to start conducting their field research. Be sure to follow along with their blog! I will be especially envious of their seaside adventures this weekend, as temperatures are expected to hit the high 90s here in Weston! 

WHAT CAUGHT MY EYE

Yesterday, English Department Chair Jeannette Lee-Parikh and Library Director Jenna Wolf put together an incredible “menu” of book choices for our faculty and staff as each of us decides what we would like to read as part of our community reading initiative this summer. There was a “Book Buffet” for readers seeking inspiration on their own and a guided “tasting” — a librarian-crafted menu designed to help people tap into their interests and discover potential book connections. I was in awe of these adorable book cookies Jenna made herself! I left so inspired and can’t wait to start reading. 

Null

More News from CSW

List of 5 news stories.

45 Georgian Road | Weston, MA 02493 | 781-642-8600

CSW—a gender-inclusive day and boarding school for grades 9-12—is a national leader in progressive education. We live out our values of inquiry-based learning, student agency, and embracing diverse perspectives in every aspect of our student experience. Young people come to CSW to learn how to learn and then put what they learn into action—essential skills they carry into their futures as doers, makers, innovators, leaders, and exceptional humans who do meaningful work in the world.