Piano Accompanist Raymond Beegle: The Classics Are Our Hope

Piano Accompanist Raymond Beegle: The Classics Are Our Hope
Raymond Beegle at the piano in his home in New York City on May 19, 2016. Samira Bouaou/Epoch Times
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“The primary function of great art, that is classical art, is to convey the feelings, the deeper feelings of one person to another. This kind of communication is sacred, an old-fashioned word; it signifies the reverence of one human life for another. If one can say ‘yes, I have felt that too!’ one has the key to mutual respect, to the sacred nature of every single life,” said Raymond Beegle, an accompanist for classical vocalists. In this profound communication, we offer a kind of reconciliation, “a kind of peace treaty, the only chance for peace in the world.”

Any of the classical forms of art offer this hope, said Beegle, who currently teaches vocal accompanying at the Manhattan School of Music and writes for top classical music publications.

Raymond Beegle (C) with his Manhattan School of Music students in spring 2016: (L–R) Nicholas Espitia, Yisak Seo, Hyowon Lim, Kilee Park, Yang Chen, Jung Won Na, Gee Seop Kim, Yu Yi Lei, Leiyun Liu, WeiTong Li, Shuwen Zhang, Jieun Jang, and Quan Chen. (Courtesy of Raymond Beegle)
Raymond Beegle (C) with his Manhattan School of Music students in spring 2016: (L–R) Nicholas Espitia, Yisak Seo, Hyowon Lim, Kilee Park, Yang Chen, Jung Won Na, Gee Seop Kim, Yu Yi Lei, Leiyun Liu, WeiTong Li, Shuwen Zhang, Jieun Jang, and Quan Chen. Courtesy of Raymond Beegle
Sharon Kilarski
Sharon Kilarski
Author
Sharon writes theater reviews, opinion pieces on our culture, and the classics series. Classics: Looking Forward Looking Backward: Practitioners involved with the classical arts respond to why they think the texts, forms, and methods of the classics are worth keeping and why they continue to look to the past for that which inspires and speaks to us. To see the full series, see ept.ms/LookingAtClassics.
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