Board Profile: Dagmar Cushing
Posted: July 17, 2017
AFCM is managed by volunteers who, in addition to having outstanding experience and qualifications, are passionate about chamber music. This season they tell us about their relationship to music.
Q: What would you tell your younger self about music?
Dagmar Cushing “Just keep going and have fun with it.” I didn’t need much encouragement. I enjoyed music at a very young age
Q: What piece do you find yourself returning to again and again?
DC: Rachmaninoff and Chopin Cello Sonatas
Q: What CD would we be surprised to find on your shelf?
DC: Old time blues
Q: You’re headed to a deserted island; what album would you take?
DC: Bach Cello suites
Q: Has music ever made you think differently or changed your outlook?
DC: When I travel, I always make a point to listening to local music and yes, it gives you a much better feel for a culture.
Q: Does music serve a moral purpose in your view?
DC: Maybe people who are avid music lovers have less time to wage wars? (It’s probably not true but would be nice.)
Q: Which of this season’s concerts looks particularly appealing?
DC: Lineage percussion Trio–they do some fabulous stuff. How often does one get to hear a percussion trio?
Q: What was the last good book you read?
DC: Fox 8: A Story, by George Saunders. Very sweet and also hilarious!
Q: What composer would you play for someone who’s never listened to chamber music?
DC: The Dvorak Piano Trios or Piano Quintet. They are so gorgeous, I can’t imagine anyone not being sucked in by those!
Q: What piece of classical music should everyone hear before the age of 21?
DC: Rachmaninoff’s 2nd symphony
Q: Why chamber music over other kinds of music?
DC: It is the intimacy that makes it special. It appeals in a very personal way!