How Music Saved My Life
When I was a senior in Harvard College, in 1952, majoring in History and Literature, I took on a larger topic for my honors paper than I could handle. I went to pieces: couldn’t sleep at night, fell asleep in class during the day, and came very close to giving up on honors. My roommate, a good violinist, suggested I just stop worrying about it and come play string quartets with him that evening. We played three hours or more (I on the viola). I then went to bed, got a good night’s sleep, went in to my adviser the next day, and entirely changed my topic. I wrote my new honors paper in about 3 1/2 weeks, got a Magna Cum Laude, got into graduate school at Harvard, and here I am. Without string quartet playing I could be selling tires for Firestone.
—David Bevington, Phyllis Fay Horton Distinguished Service. Professor Emeritus in Humanities
Please consider ONE of following in 200 words or less:
- Tell us about an encounter with the arts that profoundly moved you or changed you.
- How do you experience creativity in your work?
Entries from the University of Chicago community, students, staff, faculty, and alumni welcome!
Email: coleman@uchicago.edu
I would buy tires from David Bevington in a heartbeat.