Robert K. Reed

Application for Promotion

Statement

In the six years since my last promotion and in the decade since I joined the artists and scholars at the Borough of Manhattan Community College, it has been my honor and privilege to teach and serve as an Associate Professor of Music, Deputy Chairperson and member of the Personnel & Budget Committee of the Department of Music & Art. I have dedicated significant amounts of my time to promote the growth and development of the Department through the founding of our new Music Major. The past six years have been an incredibly productive professional period in my career as an active concert artist, recording artist, clinician, scholar, guest lecturer, leader within my department, and executive board member of the Violoncello Society – one of the leading musical organizations for the cello in the world. I continuously seek out creative ways to draw on my wealth of professional expertise and experience to enrich our diverse students’ experiences and knowledge, to better my department, and to contribute to BMCC as evidenced by the extensive scholarly endeavors I’ve pursued.

Among my many professional activities, I have been fortunate to perform extensively over the past six years, including multiple times with the world-class Detroit Symphony Orchestra. I have performed in more than twenty solo and chamber music recitals demonstrating my expertise as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral performer. My knowledge and proficiency as a musician is also reflected in the breadth and range of the repertoire I have performed, from early Baroque chamber music to 21st-century post-modern works.

Since my last promotion I completed my Bach Six Solo Cello Suites project, funded in part by Professional Staff Congress-City University of New York Award Cycle 49. This successful endeavor included researching, recording, and performing all six of J.S. Bach’s Suites for Solo Cello on multiple occasions. I also utilized this grant to present lectures and master classes about the Suites at Ball State University, Western Michigan University, and at BMCC. I have also researched and continue to extensively explore cello repertoire by Latin-American and African American composers, utilizing this research while programming and performing in two recitals, with a third planned for February 2023 and additional recitals planned for 2023 and 2024. I will be applying for another PSC-CUNY Award to further explore this rich, underrepresented repertoire and to produce professional recordings of selected works.

In 2017 I was invited to join a select group of cellists reviving the prestigious Violoncello Society of New York. I was elected to the Board of Directors in 2017, elected to the Executive Board as Treasurer in the same year, and was elected and have served as Vice President since 2019. As part of the restructuring of the Society, I joined the Bylaws Committee to bring the organization into compliance with New York State non-profit regulations. I was selected by the Committee to write the new Bylaws adopted in 2019. 

My dedication to BMCC and the Department of Music & Art is demonstrated through my numerous contributions to the College and Department. This includes my position as Program Director, in which I oversee the finalization and implementation of our new music major. I designed and wrote the majority of the curriculum plan for the three of our specializations, and I served as the point person with the Teacher Education Department at BMCC, establishing a collaboration between our two departments. I also oversaw the articulation agreement with Lehman College and worked closely with Carei Thomas and Peter Palace in Academic Affairs, which ultimately led to the implementation of our new music major. In the fall of 2017 I began serving on the Department P&B Committee and in 2018 I became Deputy Chairperson of the Department.  For the past nine years I have also been responsible for music scheduling in the Department.

In addition to my work within my Department I have also demonstrated my support to the College in various ways. I served on the Hiring Committee for the Fiterman Art Center Assistant in the spring of 2022, and as an adjudicator for the BMCC Foundation Scholarship from 2016 to 2022. I participated on the E-Learning Faculty Resource Committee from 2016 to 2018, and was an adjudicator of applicants for the BMCC Faculty Development Grant in 2022. I have also designed a course hub for one of our most popular music survey classes – MUS102: Understanding Music.

In 2019 I was nominated for the Excellence in Teaching Award, and my peer observations and student evaluations demonstrate my effectiveness as a teacher. I have gone above and beyond my duties in the classroom to further our students’ interests, understanding, and appreciation of music, beginning with building a string ensemble when I first began teaching at BMCC. Since my last promotion, the BMCC String Chamber Orchestra has grown into a thriving ensemble which performs works ranging from the western canon of string repertoire to contemporary innovative works. I have also worked with students in Directed Study in a variety of subjects such as  music composition, music theory, and orchestra audition preparation–a specialized course designed for a very advanced violin student. For each of these directed studies opportunities I have drawn on my strengths and expertise to provide a deeper level of understanding and advancement for the students.

I am very proud of my accomplishments as a dedicated and passionate educator, administrator, professional musician, and scholar. With this promotion to Full Professor I will have the opportunity to further the development of the Department of Music & Art and to foster the knowledge of our students. I am highly motivated to look for ways to grow, improve, and adapt; I continuously draw on my experiences and achievements as a professional concert musician and on my extensive knowledge of the classical repertoire in order to engage with students and provide them with a deeper understanding of the entire musical world. I continue to effectively and accurately convey to my students what it takes to be part of a world-class caliber of artistry through my experience performing with The Detroit Symphony Orchestra. I perpetually seek to explore, learn, and perform innovative and underrepresented repertoire to better myself as a musician, and to expand the horizons of the Department and my students. I continue to  be a role model, mentor, and academic leader for our students to build and support our music program at BMCC that I have worked so hard to implement. Our students will have more opportunities to succeed in their education and career goals because of this program, and I am excited and proud to be a part of an institution that fosters this level of excellence in our students. I find it immensely rewarding to work with my fellow educators in order to meet and exceed expectations. I have dedicated myself to the betterment of my department, BMCC, and most importantly, our students, and I have proven my commitment and continue to fulfill my duty as a scholar, sharing my knowledge with the students of BMCC. I am grateful and honored to be part of the community that is BMCC, and I look forward to contributing to our academic community and the Department of Music & Art for many years to come.

Respectfully submitted,

Robert K. Reed, DMA