Webinar: The Future of the School of Music

Presenter:
Dr. Franklin Larey
Director and Professor of the School of Music
Moderator: 
Todd French '93, President, String Works, Inc.

This session will introduce the Director of the School of Music at Illinois Wesleyan University, Dr. Franklin Larey. After 10 years in the U.S., Franklin Larey returned to his native South Africa to teach at the University of Cape Town, where he was appointed Director of the South African College of Music, the first black person named to this position. Dr. Larey is a leading South African pianist of his generation and acclaimed for his performances by Brahms, Mozart, Scriabin and Ravel. He will share moments in his career as a pianist and academic leader and his contributions to transformation and diversity at the University of Cape Town. Most importantly, he will share his vision for the School of Music and how alumni and friends play a critical role in its future success.

Franklin Larey began his tenure as the Director of the School of Music just over a year ago. Internationally recognized music scholar and renowned concert pianist, Professor Larey’s focus is on recruitment and retention as well as increasing the visibility of the School of Music and expanding the school’s commitment to excellence.

A native of South Africa, Franklin received a Fulbright Scholarship to study at the University of Cincinnati where he earned a doctorate from Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music. After a decade in the U.S., Larey returned to South Africa where he taught at the University of Cape Town and served as director of the South African College of Music. He also served on the National Arts Council. Most recently, Larey taught at Gustavus Adolphus in St. Peter, Minnesota.

Larey received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music in 2003. In South Africa, he has served on the National Arts Council, a documentary of his career was aired on national television and he was featured in the Human Sciences Research Council’s series Living Treasures in 2003. He is featured in the Oral History Project of the Association for Diplomatic Studies, first published online by the American Library of Congress, and, in 2014, by SUNY Press as the book Outsmarting Apartheid. He has won several awards, including first prize at the 1991 Young Chang International Piano Competition, and third prize at the 1996 New Orleans International Piano Competition. In 2003, he was awarded a prestigious Fulbright Researcher Award and spent six months in residence at the University of Cincinnati.