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(Posted 06/10/07)
Honorary degree citation to Erich Kunzel '57 (Doctor of Arts)
Erich Kunzel '57
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Growing up in Greenwich, Connecticut, the child of German immigrants, you excelled at music. But on your application to Dartmouth you expressed doubt about whether, in fact, you had the talent to become a professional musician. You suggested chemistry as a possible career option. Your musical skill quickly eliminated, however, any need for you to pursue any other major.
Following graduation from Dartmouth, you continued your musical studies at Harvard and Brown and, then, with Pierre Monteux, the great conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra. You began teaching as a faculty member at Brown University and the University of Cincinnati, and thereafter became the conductor of the Cincinnati Pops and a popular and regular conductor of many others. You have conducted thousands of concerts and have recorded scores of CDs, and through these you have brought the joy of music to millions of people around the world. Music's gain has surely been chemistry's loss!
Your eclectic style and willingness to take risks are evident in the breathtaking range of your recordings and television specials. A Grammy-winning artist, in 2006 you were honored for your commitment to the arts with a National Medal of Arts Award. You are, sir, the "Prince of Pops." Dartmouth is delighted to welcome you back for your 50th reunion and to bestow upon you the degree Doctor of Arts.
-James Wright
Return to Commencement 2007
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