Arlene was the only professor that I (and most other people I know who knew her) consistently called by her first name. She insisted on it, and I think that’s indicative of the type of relationship she’d build with her students – warm and familial. That didn’t keep her from also holding you to a high standard in her class – everyone still had to do the three part rhythm exercises! I am convinced to this day I got more redos on those than I was technically allowed for exams just because she knew I’d worked hard even when my execution was poor. I came to Brown expecting to study economics, and I can safely say that how she made me feel learning musicianship skills is why I ended up concentrating in the music department. I struggled with that decision to study music solely for my own enjoyment and not because I expected to make my career in music. Arlene helped me honor that choice, which allowed me to feel comfortable sharing it with my parents. Her sound advice drove me to ask her to become my faculty advisor sophomore year. For the record, she always did give me good advice even when I didn’t take it (looking at you sophomore fall course & activity load). I still cringe when I see people put drinks on a piano just as she would, and I have since adopted her perfect pitch policy of “not doing machines.” She impacted my life and the lives of so many others of her students for the better, and I’ll miss her very much. May her memory be a blessing to all whose lives she touched.
Madeline Sall ‘13