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‘’’Constance Old’’’ (b. April 10, 1929 – d. July 11, 2023)

Attended Stanford University 1947-49. Graduated Colorado College 1951. Constance Old was a landscape designer and horticulturalist who had a lifelong interest in the performing and visual arts and their relationship to culture. She worked for many years as an historian of music and dance iconography and established The Performing Arts Index of Music and Dance for The Metropolitan Museum of Art in conjunction with the Research Center for Music Iconography at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. She served on the board of the Dance Perspectives Foundation, which published the International Encyclopedia of Dance (Oxford University Press), and on the board of the Isadora Duncan Dance Foundation. Her interest in dance led her to establish youth programs for the San Francisco Ballet. After her brother, Lloyd Old died, she funded and established the Music in 21st Century Society, The Lloyd Old and Constance Old Lectures. The series allowed her to carry on the interest she shared with her brother in the role of music in contemporary society.<ref

Constance described her thoughts to originate this series of lectures in a revised forward for the printed volume<ref as follows:

“The purpose and meaning of modernism is still a matter of debate, and the texts that form the published book are meant to be a contribution to an ongoing discussion. The book gathers the text from the recordings of six lectures presented as public events held at the Elebash Recital Hall of The Graduate Center of the City University of New York from 2012 to 2016. The ontology and financial support of this project was initiated by Dr. Lloyd J. Old and his sister Constance Old. The events were organized and presented by the Barry S. Brook Center for Music Research and Documentation. Constance Old a Stanford University student and Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Colorado College who was Founder and Director of the Metropolitan Museum of Arts Index; a member of the Board of Directors for the Encyclopedia of Dance, Oxford University Press; and a Visiting Scholar at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York provided the initial impetus for the creation of a new project under the auspices of the Brook Center, “Music in 21st-Century Society” that would sponsor a public discussion of this topic.

A genuine passion and perplexity concerning the issues and controversies that surround modern music, especially classical music, and its teleology resulted from Ms. Old’s study on Critical Theory and Deconstruction with Jacques Derida and understanding the purpose of music became a topic of discussion between Dr. Old and his sister. Lloyd Old was a prominent cancer researcher and administrator and founder of the field of modern cancer immunology. In his youth he studied the violin seriously considering a career in classical music. Throughout his life Dr. Old maintained a genuine passion for music.

Dr. Old found the current paths of music, the domination musical styles on the airwaves (jazz, rock ‘n roll, hip hop, and others) and the direction in which certain avantgarde music was taking, distant from his own sensibilities formed within the core of the classical repertoire.

Before he died, the idea was developed to finance and present a series of lecture/discussions on the topic. Scholars and musicians would be invited to discuss “modern music” in an abstract, open way. It was hoped that the talks might offer new perspectives and perhaps some answers to Dr. Old’s concerns about the present state of music. To judge by the attendance at the events, Dr. Old’s apprehensions were widespread.”

‘’’Sources: ‘’’

1.Antoni Pizà, ed. (2022). The Way of the Moderns: Six Perspectives on Modernism in Music. Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols. ISBN: 978-2-503-59773-7

‘’’External Links:‘’’

Music in 21st-Century Society Founders webpage 2012: https://music21.ws.gc.cuny.edu/founders-committee/

Music in 21st-Century Society news website 2017: https://music21.ws.gc.cuny.edu