Winter Convocation 2004

Osvaldo Golijov, associate professor, music department

Good Afternoon. My name is Osvaldo Golijov. I teach in the music department, and am a composer.

It seems that there is too much to be done. The answer to today’s question, "What are our obligations to one another?" can be so daunting that it may lead us to complete inaction. But I would like to tell you about two people that I met and have answered, in their own way, to this question. I have learned from them and will try to share with you those lessons.

The first person is a former Holy Cross student, Liz Dunn. She graduated about six or seven years ago and is now Liz Alvarez, and a new mother. Liz was a brilliant student and is a gifted musician. During her senior year Liz went through her mother’s illness and death. Still, Liz’s Honor’s Thesis was the most memorable concert in my Holy Cross years. Not because of her skill as a pianist and singer-songwriter, but because it was a transformative experience for all the students involved in the performance and the audience. She truly had something to say, something that at times hurt, but ultimately elevated us.

Despite her great talent, when Liz graduated she chose not to pursue a career as a performing artist. Instead she went to teach at the Nativity Preparatory School in Roxbury, which has since moved to Jamaica Plain. (Joanne McClatchy will tell us about that remarkable school model later.) Liz used her charisma to work with the children there, touching their lives in an irreversible way. In the process she created and performed some amazing music, together with her students. I think she probably grew as an artist and person even more than if she had hit the road with her songs immediately after Holy Cross.

In my 12 years at the College I have learned great lessons from many of my students related to the question we are posing today. I think of what Liz has done not only in the Christian spirit that guides her and Holy Cross but also in the spirit of where I come from, the Jewish tradition. There is a saying that I always remember when the world’s troubles seem overwhelming: "In saving one life, you are saving the whole world."

Two months ago I had quite an amazing experience. There was a "Concert for Peace" in Washington D.C., attended by former President Bill Clinton and many other powerful and influential people. The orchestra was a mixture of great artists, such as Yo Yo Ma, and young players from Israel and the Arab countries that was founded by the Palestinian scholar Eduard Said and the Israeli conductor Daniel Barenboim.

So, there we were, probably everyone thinking how good we all are by participating in such an event. That is until Bono came onstage, officially to perform a piece of his. But, instead, he spoke about the unraveling of peace in Ireland. He didn’t speak as a "temperamental artist." He did not present himself as a powerless outsider that can only criticize. He spoke in the eye of these leaders, articulately and with a mind-boggling command of the facts. And then, because he is a great artist, he read a poem that he had written, which ended (I am paraphrasing) like this: "The least we expect from our politicians is that they stick to their guns. I say ‘we are wrong.’ They should lay their guns down and walk towards the enemy."

After the performance I witnessed how a man of great means came to Bono and offered to send money for Africa. Bono explained to him that what Africa needs is not money but help to eventually achieve self-reliance. He then described the situation of several countries, outlining concrete programs for each of them, that in his view could be implemented and be much more effective in the long run than just "sending money somewhere."

Bono taught us that "good intentions" are not enough. He taught me that, many times, "enough" is really not "enough." Without him, that evening would have been forgotten, or remembered as a "feel good" event populated with celebrities. He has transcended what we expect even from well-meaning rock stars. He lives by the lines of his own poem, working together with people with whom he has profound disagreements, trying to change what can be changed in this world.

Both Bono and Liz know who they are. They have answered our question, one by devoting himself to change the lives of a great number of people, the other by changing the lives of a small number of children. I have been and am inspired by them. I hope that today’s activities will help us to find our own answers to our question.