I was very sorry to receive the news of Arlene Cole’s passing. Arlene was indeed the beating heart of Brown’s music department. Whenever I entered Orwig I could count on running into Arleen in the building, buzzing around the hallways, classrooms and practice rooms upstairs and down and exuding her ever-present joie-de-vivre. Inevitably she would stop and ask me what piano or clarinet repertoire I was working on with Linda (Jiorle-Nagy) and Robert (Annis), how was orchestra going, how much time was I spending directing The Higher Keys, the a cappella singing group I’d recently started, or on PW and Sock & Buskin shows (instead of practicing!)…there would be more. Her dedication to her students and passionate interest in all our activities was exemplary. Arlene, along with Linda, Robert, Mary Lewis, and James Baker, played a huge role in shaping who I am today and in my decision to make a life in music; first in music programming at Lincoln Center and now in publishing at Schott. As I write this, I am with the composer and pianist Vijay Iyer in London for the rehearsals and world premiere this evening at Royal Festival Hall of his cello concerto with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. I know that Arlene would have stopped me and asked about that!
Norman D. Ryan ’85