A new residency program supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation will provide a permanent home for world-class musicians at the University of Chicago. The program honors University President Emeritus Don Randel, who recently retired from a seven-year term as president of the Mellon Foundation.
The Don Michael Randel Ensemble-in-Residence, made possible by a $2 million grant from the Mellon Foundation, will allow for deep engagement between exceptional musical ensembles and UChicago faculty, students and staff.
Randel, a noted musicologist and UChicago president from 2000-06, went on to serve as president of the Mellon Foundation, from which he retired this past March. The foundation awarded the grant to the University of Chicago in recognition of Randel’s sustained and inspired advocacy of the value of music in a liberal arts education, as well as his transformational leadership for the arts and humanities throughout his career in academia and philanthropy.
In his University presidency, Randel worked to strengthen UChicago’s academic programs, with a particular focus on the arts and humanities, and oversaw the addition of major new facilities including the Max Palevsky Residential Commons, the Ratner Athletics Center and the Gordon Center for Integrative Science.
“Don Randel’s impact is still felt across the University, and the seeds that he planted have come to fruition most visibly and dramatically in the recent opening of the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts,” said Larry Norman, deputy provost for the arts, whose office will administer the new program. “We are exceedingly grateful to the Mellon Foundation for supporting this program, which is a fitting tribute to his remarkable achievements as president of both institutions.”
The Grammy Award-winning Pacifica Quartet, which has a long-standing relationship with the Department of Music and University of Chicago Presents, has been selected as the inaugural Randel Ensemble-in-Residence. The group has gained international stature over the past two decades for its virtuosity and exuberant performance style, and is known as one of the finest chamber music ensembles performing today.
“The University of Chicago is home to one of the premier programs for the scholarly study of music in the nation. The work of our scholars and students will only be further strengthened by the opportunity to collaborate in a serious and sustained way with the remarkable musicians of the Pacifica Quartet, who have already contributed so much to our community,” said Martha T. Roth, dean of the Division of the Humanities and the Chauncey S. Boucher Distinguished Service Professor of Assyriology.
In addition to new performance opportunities, the ensemble-in-residence program will support the Pacifica Quartet’s involvement the academic and extracurricular life of the University. Lawrence Zbikowski, chair of the Department of Music, noted that the ensemble will work closely with graduate students in composition in the Department of Music and, through workshops and classes, will share their expertise with undergraduates in the College.
“Our years of experience with the Pacifica Quartet give us confidence that the Randel Ensemble-in-Residence program will be mutually beneficial to the artists and the University,” Zbikowski said. “We’ve seen that professional musicians draw energy and inspiration from their interactions with the students, and through their encounters with gifted and accomplished performers the students expand their knowledge of the possibilities of musical expression.”
Ensembles will be appointed for a term of up to three years, with an option for renewal. The program will offer opportunities to exceptional ensembles pursuing daring repertory in any musical genre. The selection of the ensemble will be overseen by the chair of the Department of Music, the Deputy Provost for the Arts, the director of University of Chicago Presents, members of the music faculty and other members of the faculty as appropriate.
The Randel Ensemble-in-Residence program is one of several major Mellon-supported arts initiatives at UChicago. The foundation also supports the Mellon Residential Fellowship for Arts Practice and Scholarship program at the Richard and Mary L. Gray Center for Arts and Inquiry, and the Mellon Program at the Smart Museum of Art.
About the Mellon Foundation:
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation currently makes grants in five core program areas: higher education and scholarship; scholarly communications and information technology; art history, conservation, and museums; the performing arts; and conservation and the environment. The foundation’s grant-making philosophy is to build, strengthen and sustain institutions and their core capacities, rather than be a source for narrowly defined projects. As such, the foundation develops thoughtful, long-term collaborations with grant recipients and invests sufficient funds for an extended period to accomplish the purpose at hand and achieve meaningful results.
—Prof. Kunle Odunsi
