Wednesday, August 17, 2011
The loss of Boris Kersting is serious........for his family, for his colleagues, for his students present and past, for music education, for good music anywhere, for a feeling of friendship on the part of many Canadians. As one of his "bosses" --for the 13 years in which I was so honoured --- the word that comes to my mind about Boris is "dependable". He had, of course, many other fine qualities: kindness, humour, dedication, reliability, etc., but the thing I remember is the number of times when I needed advice, about a situation, about a decision, about a personality, and I knew that I would get the best kind of advice if I asked Boris his opinion. I knew I would get the truth and I knew I could follow that advice and everything would work out. Boris was so respected by his colleagues. I cannot remember a negative word spoken that could be connected to him. As a teacher he did not make many noises about his successes, but everyone knew that his students were getting the best instruction available. His teaching reflected his character: quiet, dependable and notable. And that quality of respect was evident when you talked to his pupils. He was a model teacher, and that was because of his musicianship, as well as his personality.
