Message From The Dean

Artists are creators. Artists are citizens. Artists are community builders. And artists are advocates. Artists are people who imagine other worlds and share them with the human race. In creating art, artists seek not only to create beauty, but to change hearts and minds, influence decisions, and make the world a better place.

At the Meadows School, we challenge each student to develop his or her gifts to the highest level. We challenge students to find their unique voices and to develop the highest level of craftsmanship. If fame happens, we celebrate it, but few successful artists will become famous. Instead most artists make their living working in a community. While message and craft are the foundations of art, at Meadows we also practice entrepreneurship, outreach, and engagement because they make an artist employable and relevant.

A university is a place where learning changes lives. It is a place for deep and authentic dialogue, for encounters with the classic and the contemporary, the sacred and the profane, the complex and contradictory, the shocking, the mysterious, and the beautiful. Through art we show the world that dreams can be made real and that possibilities exist beyond our wildest imaginations.

At Meadows, we celebrate the gift of learning, growing, and imagining all of the things that a community of artists, dreamers, thinkers, and scholars can do for the greater good—in our community, in our country, and in the world. We invite you to join us.

I hope to see you on campus,

Sam Holland
Algur H. Meadows Dean and Professor of Music

Dean Samuel S. Holland is an award-winning educator, performer, author, and editor. His 70-plus critically acclaimed books and recordings are available throughout the world. Learn more.