By Tom Kean
Rider University appears to be preparing their own private performance of Gotterdammerung — Wagner’s masterful ending of the four-part saga The Ring.
Faced with serious financial issues, they are seeking quick cash even if that means destroying the very institutions that define the school.
What has brought their strategy to a flash point is a plan by the Rider administration to sell off the historic Princeton campus of Westminster Choir College.
Experts suggest the property could bring in as much as $25 million, but Rider’s issues are so significant, those dollars would only be a stopgap measure in addressing the current crisis, while destroying Westminster as we know it.
Nevertheless, Rider, its president and its board are racing forward with little in the way of thoughtful discussion to put its 23 acres on the block.
There are precious few places in the nation and around the world where the music lives. s one of them, and it remains one of the central pillars upon which we have built the arts in New Jersey.
Since 1926, Westminster has allowed the human voice to find its full potential in song, while graduating performers, teachers and musicians celebrated around the world. It has been part of the educational fabric of Princeton that has welcomed individuals who have defined excellence within the performing arts.
Consider that the campus has been graced by such musical giants as Arturo Toscanini, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Leopold Stokowski, Eugene Ormandy, Leonard Bernstein, Ricardo Muti, Seiji Ozawa, Zubin Mehta, and Yannick Nezet-Seguin. These artists, among many others, have come to the campus to rehearse the college’s Symphonic Choir for performances in New York, Philadelphia, and beyond.
It is a place of incalculable musical history.
Nezet-Seguin the music director of the Philadelphia Orchestra and music director designate for the Metropolitan Opera, told me recently:
“The artistic legacy of the Westminster Choir College is wonderfully similar to that of my own Philadelphia Orchestra. From Stokowski and Fantasia to the great Requiems of Brahms and Verdi, to Bernstein’s Mass and our upcoming Britten, we have partnered together for decades and share a commitment to the highest ideals of artistic expression. While our music-making often strives for the ethereal, the places where we work, rehearse and learn together matter, as they are shaping the way we can share and transmit this beauty to our audiences everywhere.”
Challenging financial situations often influences how we listen and work together, the maestro went on to say, adding:
“I hope that as discussions proceed about the fate of the Westminster Choir College campus in Princeton, everyone in the conversation remembers that it is rare to be responsible for bringing beautiful things into our complicated world. Moreover, Westminster is a truly unique place in the world, where artistry is developed to such a profound level of humanity, it must be treasured and preserved to maintain Westminster’s artistic legacy. I personally look forward to all our future musical journeys together.”
I am not as artful as maestro Nezet-Seguin. The destruction of Westminster’s campus and the relocation of a vibrant and economically secure college is destructive and, in and by itself, will not save Rider.
As a governor who took enormous pride in supporting the arts in this state through increased program funding and the development of new facilities such as the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, I am particularly aware of what Westminster brings to Princeton, to its students and faculty, and to visiting performing artists. It is unimaginable to me that this historic space that has given so much to so many could be closed.
As a past President of Drew University, I also recognize the considerable economic issues facing Rider University.
As it looks for a means to an unclear end, Rider is considering putting the arts aside, taking an expedient course of action dictated by accountants. Rider is a fine school; it should sit down with a growing and potent national coalition representing Westminster Choir College alumni and its allies. Together, they need to explore how Rider may fund its future without destroying the integrity of a vibrant and respected New Jersey cultural institution and damaging its own reputation.
While Gotterdammerung didn’t end well it doesn’t mean Rider has to follow the same script.
Richard Wagner – Gtterdmmerung – Twilight of the gods – AWESOME
Tom Kean was governor of New Jersey from 1982-1990.
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