Eric Hung interviews Robert Rockabrand, Westminster Choir member during the 1956-1957 world tour. Rockabrand later went on to become a faculty member at Westminster Choir College, working closely with Warren Martin. He reflects on his sight-seeing adventures, how the tour influenced him personally, and his later conducting career.
- 0:21 Musical training, overview of academic career from graduation to the present
- 7:17: Upbringing and early musical memories
- 10:07: Choral music at Principia College, outbreak of Korean War, relationship with Warren Martin
- 15:03: Lack of vocal training before Westminster, trajectory from student to faculty member at WCC
- 18:19: Finding out about the world tour
- 19:52: Preparation for the tour, beginning tour in U.S.
- 25:18: About the tour programs
- 26:30: Leaving Princeton, contact with State Department
- 27:33: U.S. leg of the tour
- 28:43: First impressions overseas
- 34:49: Food while on tour
- 36:41: Communicating without a shared language
- 40:45: Thanksgiving in Japan
- 42:28: Sight-seeing and people in Japan and Korea
- 45:42: Reconnecting with former friends while abroad
- 46:21: Other countries visited, Christmas in Vietnam, New Years Eve in Malaya (now Malaysia)
- 51:18: Change in plans– trip to Singapore instead of Indonesia
- 52:23: Experiences in the Philippines, meeting royalty
- 54:55: Watching movies on tour, Indian movies
- 57:17: Free time activities
- 59:50: Favorite sights and souvenir shopping
- 1:05:30: Sights in Japan, India, Burma, and Laos, tales of travel
- 1:18:10: Visiting a tea plantation with Dr. Williamson, Indian dancing in New Delhi
- 1:21:27: Observing English colonial influence in India
- 1:22:33: Performances in Iran and Iraq
- 1:23:37: Multiculturalism in Lebanon
- 1:25:06: Importance of his faith during the tour
- 1:30:00: Encountering communism in Yugoslavia
- 1:31:52: Being welcomed back onto campus
- 1:35:28: Reflecting on the experiences he had
- 1:37:06: Effects of the tour on his conducting career
- 1:41:35: Return trips to India
- 1:55:24: The lasting impact of the tour on his life, documents in Westminster archives, pictures from the tour
- 2:04:05: Story about Dr. Williamson, picture of Rockabrand with von Karajan
Leave a Reply