Ray Loring

We lost a wonderful colleague this past weekend with the unexpected death of composer Ray Loring. He was a remarkably humble man, who inspired a lot of students in just a couple of years on our faculty - although he had a very successful career as a composer (including regular work for shows such as Nova), he wore these impressive accomplishments quite lightly, always seeming more interested in the potential of his students. Hearing many of these students talk about him today was heartbreaking but inspiring and made me realize how great things can be achieved very quietly and inconspicuously. As problematic as the last 50-60 years have been for composers in terms of finding audiences and appreciation, there's something gratifying about knowing this man of wide-ranging gifts and interests who made a career that he found satifsying and that enabled him to be such a model for the young composers he's mentored.