The Compleat Musician: The Edge Effect, Examined

This year at Curtis, the all-school project has centered on the “edge effect” in music. This principle, borrowed from biology, describes the burgeoning biodiversity at the point where two ecosystems meet. Liberal arts and musical studies instructors at Curtis have incorporated this idea in their courses all year. Liberal arts chair Jeanne McGinn notes that for performers, scholarly endeavors may operate as an ecological forest to the savannah of the stage. The classroom is the meeting place between these two ecosystems, and the biodiversity found there can be a stimulus for unforgettable performances. As the current school year draws to a close, it’s clear that the “edge effect” has proved to be a stimulating idea—so much so, that it will remain the subject of the all-school project in the 2018–19 school year as well.

Read Dr. McGinn’s article in the most recent issue of Overtones, where you’ll also find more stories by and about Curtis’s notable students, faculty, and alumni.