Wayne Berman, \u2787 (BardCorps)

Wayne came to Bard when he was twenty five years old. He remembers Leon Botstein\u27s advice at orientation, which would inform not only his mode of thinking as a student, but his approach to learning throughout his life. Leon charged the freshmen to take another class every time they thought that they had too much on their plate. These words resonated with Wayne, who states: I live my life that way. I\u27ve found that your plate just keeps growing—if you take on more, your plate grows. Wayne also learned to \u27talk to the texts,\u27 to interact, not just accept what was written. He believes that these two strategies have allowed him to absorb more knowledge than he would have ever thought possible. Wayne describes the music scene at Bard in the eighties as a time when students would cover each other\u27s songs rather than the ones that were popular. His moderation show, which he describes as almost a cabaret, combined his association with \u27Robbins Readings\u27 with his ever-growing appreciation of music. His senior project was called Knee Bends of a Puppet, an enormous production that utilized film, slides, a theater troupe, dancers, and an extraordinary range of musicians. He also describes Professor Ben Boretz as a mentor who changed his world and challenged his way of thinking. Ben\u27s \u27Open Space\u27 classes were a way of making sound together that were not exclusive based on some skill set, ie: jazz, classical, or rock. Wayne\u27s senior project prepared him well for his work at Wayne Berman Music Studios in Florida, where he is able to compose music, direct plays, and teach children and people of all ages. He also discusses his philosophy of teaching, first learned at Bard, which he calls invitational education, finding a balance between three things that he believes to be profoundly different: instruction, teaching, and education.https://digitalcommons.bard.edu/oral_hist/1061/thumbnail.jp