It was at the University of Akron where I met teacher, friend, and collegue, Charles McDonald. Charles is one of those remarkable people who can see talents and abilities which others do not see. Charles spent much of his teaching time challen ging excuses, encouraging excellence, and reinforcing success. He firmly believed that anyone who had a talent for music could do just about anything. Many jokes about "becoming a surgeon" were exchanged amongst the students but the lesson was clear to me, and I never forgot it. Most musicians are inclined to take a better job as it becomes available, and Charles McDonald was no exception. He moved to a position in the Minnesota Orchestra in 1972. This was a cue to me to move on as well. In 1973, I transferred to The Ohio State University to complete my musical training and a degree in music education.
Working with Dr. James Jones at The Ohio State University my musical skills were honed, and I learned the repetoire needed for a performing career. Sciences were almost completely lost to me by this time, except a few degree requirements. Even still, one of my favorite classes was basic biology. It is particularly remarkable that many of the biological structures which were examined in detail in my medical school classes were unknown in 1973. The lipid bi-layer and protein structure of the cell membrane, which is fundamental knowledge today, was a new discovery in 1973! None the less, I was moving forward on a musical path which was difficult to leave at that time. I finished in November, 1975 with the degree Bachelor of Music education. As it turned out, I never used this degree. My efforts were almost exclusively in the performance area.
The musical instructors to whom I owe a debt of success and gratitude:
The Mature Medical Student
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