While I was at Brown, one of my concentrations was in music. Through this and through taking piano lessons with her, I saw Arlene every week, multiple times a week. It’s all thanks to Arlene that my aural skills improved so much while at Brown; to this day, I owe much of my ability to understand melody and harmony to her. It’s also all thanks to Arlene that I explored new repertoire: for the first time I played pieces by Messiaen, for the first time I dared to play a Liszt piece in a recital, for the first time I played so many duos with fellow students. My musicality improved massively because of her.
But it wasn’t just that Arlene made me grow musically. It was also that she was just a wonderful person. She baked brownies for every recital I did. She would check on me during my lessons to make sure I was adjusting to college life. And even though I graduated years ago, she would still meet me almost every year when she would come to California, welcome my parents and I into her home, and tell us stories and make us laugh. To put it simply, it was her kindness and warmth that made her so much more than just a professor to me.
I will always think of Arlene when I touch the piano or hear a German sixth chord. But I will also always think of her when I remember my fondest memories while at Brown and beyond — when I remember the important people I have met in my life who have nurtured and cared for me as I grow into an adult. I will miss her deeply, but I feel so blessed to have gotten to know her.
