We make a living by what we get.

We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give. Winston Churchill

When an organization is more than 98 years old as ours is, conventional wisdom calls it a treasure of the community that should be held in the highest esteem. But in truth, the real measure of The Music Settlement’s worth after so many years is not the organization itself, but rather the people who have worked here day after day to manifest its mission. I would like to tell you about two such people who made a difference in the lives of so many others that their impact is really pretty hard to quantify in concrete terms. Let’s just say they affected generations of people in our community for the better, in very meaningful ways. We are all deeply saddened to have lost both of these people within the last 10 days, but the stories of Richard Kauffman and Jocelyn Chang are about so much more than their passing; they are about lives lived heroically and selflessly.

Dick and Jocelyn represent two different eras at The Music Settlement. Jocelyn began teaching harp with us in 1991 and continued right up until her untimely passing on November 19th, while Dick was the legendary founder and director of the Extensions Division of The Music Settlement from 1953 to 1986. We learned this week of Dick’s passing on November 27th at the age of 94. Even though Jocelyn and Dick’s eras at The Music Settlement were five years apart, they clearly were contemporaries in their spirited and generous approach to music and music education.

I’m not exaggerating when I refer to Dick as “legendary,” for he was a highly respected, admired, and honored member of the arts community in Cleveland for many years. He had the foresight to develop and lead a department that provided outreach efforts in many of the communities that defined The Music Settlement for 30 years and beyond. These efforts included the organization’s first forays into Music Therapy, and Dick is credited with being one of the strongest advocates for the establishment of this prestigious department. But the one thing I hear consistently from his colleagues about Dick is his truly joyful approach to his job and his life. Dick brought people together and inspired them to go beyond themselves and their limitations, from which great things resulted. I understand he particularly enjoyed hosting gatherings for the staff and faculty that still evoke warm memories and big smiles from those who attended them. Sometimes it’s rare that individuals with great vision also possess great compassion and understand that motivation is much more effective when it’s delivered by someone who so obviously cares about others. Dick was a perfect fit for The Music Settlement for that reason, where caring and responsiveness to our community is our reason for being.

“Caring” and “compassion” are two words that defined Jocelyn Chang as well. Her important legacy as a musician and a teacher is a reflection of that, and she was instrumental in the renaissance of the harp in our community in the last twenty five years. As a high profile performer of both traditional and nontraditional music and instruments, Jocelyn’s efforts inspired countless young people who might not otherwise have discovered the harp’s lyrical allure to consider it in a new light and turn to it as an instrument of choice. She took teaching very seriously and expected her students to do so as well, and as a result there is a generation of musicians out there who honed their talents under her watchful eye.

Jocelyn also championed the performance of works by new composers at the regional and international level, and helped to keep original composition vital in the eyes and ears of our community. This dedication led her to be a founding member of the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, a resident partner program of The Music Settlement and an award-winning professional ensemble dedicated to music by 20th century and living composers. Efforts like hers have helped keep classical music alive and thriving in a time of great competition and concern, which is of true benefit to all us. I had the great fortune to work with Jocelyn during my time at The Music Settlement, and I can personally attest to her impact as an artist and as a person. She was fearless artistically, stretching herself and her instrument beyond the boundaries of what is considered safe and traditional. She even redefined our perceptions of the harp when she fell in love with the sound of the Dilling Harp, an instrument on which she performed in numerous concerts and original works. She had great emotional strength and a depth of feeling that was evident in everything she did, and teamed with her husband and a fellow Department of Music instructor, Michael Leese, to be one of the most sought after performing duos in the region.

It is a frustrating exercise to try to distill a life of artistry, generosity, and humanity into a paragraph or two. I understand that I cannot begin to do justice to Dick and Jocelyn’s respective legacies, but I can tell you this: they courageously shared their gifts with others without a concern for any personal gain. They directly influenced thousands of others for the better during their lives and into the foreseeable future. They made this world a better place, and it is a bit less bright now because they have left us. Whether you knew them or not, celebrate their lives by living yours with the same attitude and you will light their way on the path to their next adventures.

Thank you, Dick and Jocelyn.

Have a great week!