James Quitman Mulholland
Professor Emeritus at the School of Music at the Jordan College of the Arts, Butler University
My quest for beauty in life began rather early. Of course, the beauty of music, but also the beauty of literature, (poetry). I was an only child; my home was in Laurel Mississippi, (also the home of great soprano and friend Leontyne Price). For entertainment most evenings, my Father quoted poetry and my Mother played the piano and sang. I had a strong boy-soprano voice and soon I began joining in, and at nine began studying voice and piano. I memorized Dad’s favorite poems by rote. At twelve, I began studying composition with a young composer who returned to his home in Laurel after suffering a nervous breakdown while working on his doctorate. He was a “God-send” to me musically. I’ve oft been asked when did I first begin my love for music. I’ve responded that the question is tantamount to asking me when I first began loving my Mother. She, like music, was always there nurturing me with belonging, comfort, and fulfillment, holding me with love.
On the advent of my ninetieth year on this earth, I’ve come to believe that music is the sixth sense. We can live without any of the senses, (sight, sound, taste, touch, and scent), not as happy or content, but we can survive. The same with music, we can live without it, but what a void it would leave in our lives. In addition, music serves as an aphrodisiac for all the other senses.