James Wallace

Putney’s Music Director
"Music has always been a substantial part of Putney culture, beginning in the early decades when now legendary music directors created a conservatory-like atmosphere and when Sing occupied 90 minutes of the school day instead of today's 35. But today the School's other academic, artistic, and activity offerings are far more demanding of students' time. Given that and a host of other new constraints, what role can we realistically expect music education to play here? How should we apportion resources? Should we support performance over composition? Classical music over jazz and popular? Should we stretch to respond to student interests or should we rein students in to study only what has long been a sort of Putney canon?
These would be uncomfortable questions at any school.They are especially so for a school like Putney that proudly remembers its golden age of music but that considers itself both progressive and responsive. I think that, for us, nostalgia can be a trap. Yes, surely we need to build on our legacy and push ourselves always to offer the best music education and performance opportunities we can to players who come to Putney with an already highly developed skill. But we also need to offer a broadening, inspiring music education to students with middle-level or beginning skills, or even with no skills at all. Any Putney students interested in any aspect of music should find themselves enjoying this program's time, respect, resources, and support. To satisfy that obligation we have to be prepared to constantly re-examine and re-invent our relationship to our own legacy."

B. Mus. Church Music and Organ Performance, Pacific Lutheran University , M. Mus. Church Music, Westminster Choir College
Advanced Studies Certificate in Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television, University of Southern California.