MUS 103 taught me to appreciate live music. I took the class to fill a core requirement my junior year. “Understanding and Enjoying Music” sounded easy, especially for someone who already understood and enjoyed music, and besides, it filled a gap in my schedule.
Thirty students sat in a thick semicircle three times a week and talked about music. Baroque, classical, romantic. Bach and Mozart and Beethoven. I’ll admit: it was easy, and I don’t remember much from that class, other than $5 symphony tickets and a few Beethoven binges while writing essays for other classes, but something Professor Nordling said on the first day stayed with me. Or maybe it was the second day. He played some sort of concerto through the speakers, and then, halfway through, he paused it.