Liz Doyle Waller
Retired travel agent
“Today I was looking for a print to embellish a greeting card so I was perusing some art books. One was Gustav Klimt, a book I purchased many years ago after we had been to the Secession Building in Vienna on our Beethoven tour. I hadn’t looked at it for ages. I poured myself a cup of coffee and enjoyed looking at his amazing colors and designs and beautiful women. Then I decided to look up Klimt, “Ode to Joy,” and the Secession Museum and whatever else appears on the internet. This resulted in finding a couple of YouTube videos that I listened to. One was a scholarly discussion of the Secession movement. The other was a recording of the “Ode to Joy” with videos of the room we visited along with the music. It was wonderful. Thanks to you, who introduced me to all of this a long time ago.”
Viviana Sofía Millán Alioto
Master of Arts in Music Performance, SJSU
“Thank you for your generous praise on the occasion of receiving my masters in music. My pursuit of education has been full of creativity; after all my studies and performances at San José State University over the years, I feel quite deserving of having reached this prestigious milestone. I would not have been able to complete my degree without your help. You allowed me to bring my son to class and play while I sat during lectures—I still have all my notes and exams and read them sometimes to remember the days of school. Going to your home and revisiting all of my turmoil with academic theory demands was perhaps the most wonderfully healing experience of my entire schooling.”
Paul M. Ellison
Ph.D., Cardiff University, author of The Key to Beethoven
“Dr William Meredith has been one of the most formative influences in my academic career, and I can safely say that I would not be where I am today were it not for his teaching. A graduate history class initially inspired my master’s thesis and led to the formation of a PhD topic on Beethoven and key characteristics, since published and dedicated to him. He has gone from being a superb teacher to a cherished colleague.”
Rashel Pakbaz
Ph.D., University of Cambridge, England
“Thank you so much for all your support last year. Your help and encouraging words helped me get into my dream school. You have no idea how much your help has meant. This has been a challenging time, and I appreciate you so much. Thanks for being such a great teacher and mentor.”
Dr. Hugo Barrera
Surgeon, San Diego
“I was a biochemistry major, and I have to tell you that your class was one of the most memorable of my four years at Berkeley. I just saw an article today (3-22-2023) in the New York Times about Beethoven and there was a link which led to your name and you looked so familiar and it brought me back to your class. You had a wonderful style of teaching, and you brought Beethoven and his music to life. Thank you so much for your dedication and passion.”
Natasia Sexton
DMA, Associate Professor of Music Fine Arts Department, Chair Westminster College Fulton, Missouri
“As a graduate student pursuing an MA in choral conducting at SJSU between 1992 and 1994, I had the good fortune of taking two courses with Dr. Meredith—a music history course and a Beethoven studies course. I was a young and naive graduate student, but Dr. Meredith managed to guide me through an important and wide gap that crossed the expanse between the many holes of my musical experiences and knowledge and the skills and insights that were necessary to complete that degree. He did so by treating me with dignity and honoring those musical experiences that had informed my knowledge at that point. As a conductor, performer, and scholar today, I still rely on some of the fundamental principles of score analysis that I learned from him when we analyzed Beethoven piano sonatas and string quartets. Ultimately, Dr. Meredith became the professor who guided my thesis writing at SJSU. To this day, when I write, I continue to imagine his scrupulous eye and his ability to hone a paper into a vital document containing only the most necessary parts.”
Lynea Diaz-Hagan
Master of Arts in Music Performance, vocalist, multimedia Artist, educator, Entrepreneur
“When I was in graduate school, Dr. Meredith was one of the most engaging, inspiring, and inspired professors I had the good fortune to study with. He was dedicated to cultivating the scholarship abilities of his students in a way that struck me as exceptional; he was also very generous and accessible as a mentor, taking the time to challenge me and fellow students to think about deeply about our academic pursuits, as well as the long-term trajectory of our careers. I’m very grateful to have had Dr. Meredith as a professor. His thoughtfulness and warm presence stand out as highlights of my graduate school experience.”
Mary Hamilton
(junior high school teacher, Mountain View, California)
“Your passion for telling the stories of the giants of our Euro-musical past (which I also personally share) and making them human and relatable is palpable and inspires further learning. Recreating/illuminating the humanity of composers and the structure of and environments for their compositions is how we now can relate to incredibly creative people long gone. I am currently teaching 7th & 8th grade Chorus during the school day, grades 1-6 choir after school at a different site, a large, adult non-audition community chorus, and a church choir.”
Summer C. Latimer
(web designer, Stanford’s Graduate School of Business)
“Dr. Meredith is the type of professor that approaches teaching in a holistic way. He doesn’t just want his students to learn the material, he also wants to make sure they succeed and have the support that they need moving forward in life.”
Kathleen Taketa
(contract grant writer and singer, SF Bay area)
“William Meredith is the most inspirational professor I have ever encountered. I hope others get to experience his teaching.”
Allison Collins
(voice teacher and singer, San José)
“Thank you for sharing your time and expertise to help me prepare to sing the Bach St. Matthew Passion solos. I had such a fun time working with you and am even more excited about singing these pieces. I’m so glad I had the opportunity to take two graduate seminars with you—I still remember so much. What I remember guides me often in my teaching and studying.”
Professors Alice Carter, J. Courtney Granner, and David Chai
(Art and Design, San José State University)
“We have never seen our senior class at a loss for words before. They are a curious, boisterous bunch and have questioned and challenged speakers in studios and lecture halls in San José, Los Angeles, New York, and London. On Friday, you did the impossible. Our group listened in stunned and respectful silence for almost two hours while they learned more than they ever thought they wanted to know about Ludwig van Beethoven. When they finally did start talking, they expressed gratitude for a superb class. The highlight for the students, notwithstanding the unique and privileged look at Beethoven scholarship, was your evocative rendition of the [first movement of] the ‘Moonlight’ Sonata [on the Center’s fortepiano]. They were amazed. Sometimes (although admittedly rarely) things absolutely exceed your most optimistic expectations. Your lecture falls into that category. We could not be more grateful. With such an auspicious start to the project, we are anticipating great results, which we will be sure to share. Stay tuned!” (January 2008)