In Her Honor and in Her Footsteps: Remembering Liz Hollander
Our dear friend, mentor, and long-time leader of Community MusicWorks, Liz Hollander, has passed away. I met Liz in 1999 after a chance meeting with Vartan Gregorian, the past president of Brown, who suggested that Liz would want to know about Community MusicWorks. I called Liz, she took me to lunch, and so began a sixteen-year friendship that would lead to her becoming a central figure in the growth and life of Community MusicWorks. Liz joined the Community MusicWorks board in 2005, worked closely with Karen Romer, our then President, including chairing the strategic planning committee that produced CMW’s 2010 strategic plan, and served as President for four years. Liz “got it,” as she would say, and helped other people “get it” too. At one point we were sitting with a potential supporter who didn’t seem to understand that CMW was about students and professional chamber musicians, and didn’t understand how the two groups were related. She said, “think of it as socially responsible chamber music. Right?!” Then there was her manner—forthright, determined, focused, combined with a bright smile and easy laughter. Part of this style was the speed of her intellect. Liz would be sitting in a board meeting with her needlepoint, looking at her stitching and listening to a presentation, and then pick her head up and say, “Sebastian, we need to emphasize that it’s about social justice, and we need to get to the black preachers, because they’re the ones who have the ear of people, right?” And then that look—raised eyebrows, nodding, waiting for you to see the conclusion she had reached so quickly! And that’s the thing—she was right. Then she was ready for the next item of business. Liz set up the board buddy system, and she paired herself with Kirby Vasquez as her board buddy—our beloved student cellist who, with Liz’s mentoring, became an awesome role model and leader among students. Liz’s frank, honest warmth worked with anyone sitting in front of her—a CMW parent or student, a staff member, a donor, or a national foundation representative. I remember sitting with Karen and Liz at the Mellon Foundation in New York in 2007, explaining CMW to the five foundation officers sitting around the mahogany conference table. Liz, with total ease, said to them “and you know what’s really amazing to me about this is that the musicians are making their careers doing this. It’s really a model for our communities and for musicians around the country.” (We got the grant.) One of the many people who thought of Liz as a central mentor was Michelle Obama. Liz served on her board when Michelle was running the Chicago Public Allies office, and they remained connected in Michelle’s subsequent work at the University of Chicago. When the Obamas won the election, Liz served on a transition committee for service and helped write plans for the first administration. But she was disappointed that there was no easy way to get a message to Michelle to congratulate her. Although Liz didn’t once ask, I knew it would be great fun to somehow pass along a message when CMW won the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award from the First Lady in 2010. We were instructed in the protocols meetings before going to the White House that we were not to speak to the First Lady, but just to shake her hand, say thank you, and accept the award. However, being who she is, the First Lady was warm and inviting with everyone, and I decided to use my 15 seconds on stage for a quick comment. When shaking her hand I said that Liz Hollander sent her greetings, and that she was our Board President. The First Lady smiled a huge smile and said, “I should have known Liz was behind this! Send her my love!” Community MusicWorks is indebted to you, Liz, for the incredible blessing of mentorship, leadership, and example-setting. We weren’t finished learning from you, but we will keep on working toward beauty and justice in this world in your honor, and in your footsteps. –Sebastian Ruth Read this wonderful piece about Liz in the Chicago Sun-Times Please join friends and family in a memorial service for Liz on Friday, Nov. 20 at 1pm Photo of Liz Hollander by Jori Ketten |
