Spring 2009 Potomac Term - Potomac School

PROFILE
Alex Ross ‘83
© David Michalek
“I always had a passion for music, and I always
had a passion for writing. I can’t remember when
I wasn’t excited by either. The wonderful thing
that happened to me was that I found a career
where I could pursue both of those passions at
once.” So says Alex Ross, music critic for The
New Yorker, bestselling author, recipient of the
MacArthur “genius grant” Fellowship, and K-7
Potomac School grad.
Alex reveals that among his many accomplishments
he is most proud of his 2007 book, The
Rest Is Noise, a history of classical music in the
20th century, which he said “took six long years
to write.” Though he says he feared the book
would not find an audience, it in fact became a
bestseller, won several important awards and
appeared on The New York Times’ list of the ten
best books of 2007.
“Potomac played a big role in my early musical
experiences,” Alex says. “I started playing oboe
and piano while there, and also writing music….
My greatest Potomac memory is of John Langstaff….
He had a glorious baritone voice that would
ring through the gym. His singing of ‘The Lord of
the Dance’ was perhaps my earliest experience
of music striking to the soul. Three teachers who
influenced me greatly were Alan Lentz, who energetically
guided my musicmaking; John Hebeler,
who gently cultivated my interest in painting; and
Imogen Rose, our fabulously strict Latin teacher.”
Alex says that the arts are severely neglected
today. “We need major reinvestment in the
arts. It’s impossible to quantify what they do for
young people, but all evidence suggests that
they sharpen the mind and expand our sense of
the possibilities of life.”
Alex is working on a second book, a collection
of classical and pop music essays entitled Listen to
This, due out in the fall of 2010.
“My mission as a writer is to get more people
interested in classical music and to help them
realize how relevant it is to contemporary lives. If
a few people became ‘converts’ after reading my
work, I can die happy.”
See Alex’s blog at www.therestisnoise.com.
14 The Potomac Term