Terry Riley, the forefather of minimalism in music, offered the class of 2015 a command performance as well as words of inspiration at San Francisco Conservatory of Music commencement ceremonies on May 22. The Conservatory awarded Riley the honorary degree Doctor of Music as parents, faculty and staff gathered to celebrate the achievements of almost 150 graduates receiving bachelors, masters and postgraduate degrees.

In impromptu remarks, Riley traced his history at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music to 1955 when he arrived with thoughts of becoming a classical pianist. Instead, he began creating music and staging concerts in the Conservatory’s electronic music studio with pioneering composers like Ramon Sender '62 and Pauline Oliveros. Musing that books are now written about those early experiments, Riley reminded the current class of their place in history saying, “We still need the guys that are coming up to keep us all honest, the new musicians with ideas that have to be listened to.”

Riley, who turns 80 in June, also performed a lengthy, jazz-inflected improvisation at the piano [see video], including vocal chant and a narration that began: “All music starts from the point of nothingness… It’s inclusive of all the consciousness around it and draws on that presence to take its shape.” He then returned to the podium to read passages by the Dalai Lama, Winston Churchill, himself and others about the necessity of listening to one’s own voice.

That refrain was echoed by tenor Sidney Ragland [pictured] and guitarist Anthony Mariano, speaking for the graduate and undergraduate classes of 2015. Reflecting on the challenges his classmates have overcome and have yet to face, Ragland asserted, “It is important for us to remember why we came to music in the first place and what inspired us to do it. Music is not just a career. It is also a public service.”

President David H. Stull presided over ceremonies with Board of Trustees Chair Timothy W. Foo while Robert Fitzpatrick participated in his final Conservatory function as SFCM’s interim Provost and Dean before retirement. In closing remarks, Stull exhorted graduates to convert challenge into opportunity by using skills learned at SFCM, chiefly “great personal drive, optimism and a sense of adventure.” Stull said, “The study of music is often regarded as highly unconventional. And yet I suggest to you that the skills you have developed during this process will garner the greatest success in your future.”