My name is Kanwal Sumnani and I am President of UCLA’s chapter of the American Choral Director’s Association, a student group which has helped to supplement and support UCLA Choral Activities over the past two years.
I am writing to you all because I know that you cherish and value the power of choral music as we do.
Unfortunately, the future of choral music at UCLA is in grave peril.
We have been informed that with the retirement of Prof. Neuen, the music administration’s current plans for next year will shrink choral music to one quarter of what it has been. Additionally, given the lack of financial and administrative support of the School of Music, unless we find a multi-million dollar donor to endow a chair, choral music may cease to exist at all in 2015-2016 and for all years thereafter.
To take one of the nation’s leading choral programs and destroy it upon the retirement of its great conductor is a crime to all future UCLA students and an embarrassment in the academic and music worlds.
We would be the only UC school not to have a choral music program. Choral music serves the entire campus, the entire community, and it is so important to us.
We would like to appeal to the Chancellor and Board of Regents to take a closer and more thoughtful look at what is happening to choral music at UCLA.
We have tried to have a dialogue with our own department in the School of Arts & Architecture; however, we have received absolutely no response, and not even an acknowledgement of our concern.
As some of the strongest supporters of choral music, we invite you to join your voice to ours to keep Professor Neuen’s legacy alive through the continuation of choral music at UCLA.
Please take a moment to visit the following link and sign the petition to Save UCLA Choral Activities:
Please also share this petition with all of your colleagues, friends, and family who support music, higher education, and learning passion in the classroom. As Professor Neuen says, choir is still the only place where that is possible.
Thank you for all you have done to support Choral Activities at UCLA! Please help us save this program!
Gratefully,
Kanwal Sumnani
President, CEA @ UCLA
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