Retiring Faculty Feature: Lodowick Crofoot (1976)
By ROXANE PARK
“Lod is a living legend of the Music department,” said Instructor in Music Silvana Sokolov when asked about the soon-retiring Instructor in Music Lodowick F. Crofoot III. “Not only is he a wonderful pianist and musician, but he has graced our department with so much knowledge, experience and wisdom.”
Whether they have heard his effortlessly virtuosic arpeggios through the door of his studio in the music building, conversed with him about the brilliance of Arthur Rubinstein’s recordings in the halls, studied piano with him for their high school years, or been a close friend for decades, everyone can agree that Crofoot is a cornerstone of the Exeter community.
Crofoot graduated from Harvard University in 1962 with a degree in Music, then studied piano privately in Cambridge until he was accepted to The Juilliard School, where he graduated in 1966 with a Masters Degree in Piano. He taught piano briefly at the Academy in 1967 and 1968, filling in for a friend, before enrolling at the Boston College Law School, where he earned his Juris Doctor (JD) in 1974. After two years of involvement in anti-Vietnam work and politics, Crofoot returned to his musical passion at the Academy, where he has been an irreplaceable faculty member for 49 years.
“Above all, Lod was passionate about Exeter’s students,” said Instructor in Music Peter Schultz. “He loved teaching them and talking about music and life with them. He mentored them and kept in touch with some of them long after they had graduated. The ripple effects of his influence extend far beyond the boundaries of the Exeter campus.”
Crofoot taught nearly one thousand students during his time at Exeter; each and every one remembers him for his musicality, kindness, and inspiration at the keyboard. Crofoot has never hesitated to spend time supporting his students. “Mr. Crofoot stands out for his generosity in investing countless hours into making me the best pianist and person that I could be,” shared alumnus James Choi ‘94. “Thirty years after having left his tutelage, the pieces I learned under him still flow easily from my fingers. Exonians are fortunate to have benefited from such a legendary teacher. In my own teaching, I am inspired by the life he modeled for me during my four years at Exeter.”
“I’ll always remember when he came to my chamber concert and rushed out after my performance to tell me how I played well,” said lower Ellen Jin, who has been a student of Crofoot’s for the past two years. “I’ve enjoyed being his student so much and the lessons are always entertaining. He has really helped me with my piano technique and is so kind.”
Students also appreciated Crofoot’s unique teaching style. “Mr. Crofoot is a firm believer in the paramount importance of slow practice,” recalled alumnus Chris Vazan ‘16. “Not merely slow enough to comfortably hit all the right notes, but EXTREMELY slow practice, allowing the pianist to focus on the color of every sonority, the balance of every harmony, and the physical sensation of moving from one note to the next. With Mr. Crofoot, practicing became, in a way, a lesson in meditation — yet one of intense concentration and creative drive. For a musician with a fundamentally impatient temperament like myself, this was a radically different way of approaching music from anything I had experienced before.”
“As for technique, I warn any prospective student of his that although the notes matter, he insists that the pedaling is even more important,” added emeritus Instructor in Music Philip Mallinson. “And he will be really happy if you tell him that your most productive practicing technique is sloooow practice.”
One of Crofoot’s defining traits is his ability to discover and appreciate magic in every second of music he creates. “Although equipped with deep knowledge of piano technique and pedagogy, Mr. Crofoot has always made piano study about searching for the meaning behind the notes written on the page,” said Instructor in Music Rohan Smith. “This is why so many serious and reflective students, from beginners to brilliantly accomplished pianists, sought him out as their teacher and stay in touch with him years after they graduate. Many students of Mr. Crofoot who have gone on to distinguished careers in music and academia speak of Mr. Crofoot’s enduring influence on their understanding of art and life.”
“Mr. Crofoot is one of the most inspiring people that I met during my time at Exeter,” reflected alumnus Darius Shi ‘16, one of these students. “Studying music with him was an intense experience that almost felt like reading a novel by Proust, for he has the emotional sensitivity to visit and revisit every note, every harmony, and every musical gesture that speaks to him. His passion was infectious. And by the end of an eight-hour marathon session, which became a recurring ritual at the end of every academic quarter, we would have found, after many scenic detours, ten different ways to pedal and finger just four measures in a Chopin prelude. I think he was the reason I really fell in love with piano music, and these musical experiments will always be some of my fondest memories about Exeter.”
Crofoot has inspired and supported not only his students, but also his colleagues in the Music Department throughout his years at the Academy. “In 1994, new to the Academy, I fell in with Mr Crofoot after a recital in Powell Hall, many years before The Bowld existed,” reminisced Mallinson. “I had had some experience at the piano and was looking for a teacher. On the spur of the moment I asked him if I could take lessons from him and he, also on the spur of the moment, agreed. Neither of us quite knew what to expect. I was not in the least disappointed. Twenty years later, I retired. He had been my musical mentor for all my years at the Academy.”
“I have greatly enjoyed my years at his piano and I have greatly appreciated his patient advice and suggestions,” Mallinson continued. “My only regret is that I did not find him many years ago before I developed all sorts of bad habits which he has spent patient hours trying to eradicate.”
Instructor in Music Eva Gruesser recalled her favorite memory with Crofoot: “Mr. Crofoot created serious excitement playing the piano part of the Debussy Violin Sonata with me at a Faculty Potpourri Concert. I knew Mr. Crofoot would stay up until 4:00 a.m. working to achieve brilliance in the most beautifully hair-raising places in the music, so I had to work hard to keep up with him!”
“Since our teaching studios were right next to each other in the old Lewis Perry Music Building, I first met Lod Crofoot during my first week of teaching at Exeter,” explained Instructor in Music Eric Sinclair, who joined the Academy in 1979. “I soon learned that Lod was an extremely dedicated and enthusiastic teacher with an extensive knowledge of classical piano music and its composers. As time went on, I discovered that Lod and I shared a love of the Boston Red Sox and the music of Bob Dylan. Many a conversation ensued over the years around these shared interests!”
Every conversation with Crofooot leaves you with a sense of wonder for his deep passion, curiosity, and musical knowledge. “As with all the best teachers,” said Vazan, “I learned at least as much from Mr. Crofoot outside the classroom as within, spending untold hours chatting whenever I would run into him in the music building, in the dining hall, or on the quad. More than anyone I have ever met, Mr. Crofoot is an endless treasure trove of anecdotes, both about other musicians and from his own fascinating life.”
“Mr. Crofoot is a dear friend and colleague with whom I have spent countless hours vehemently discussing music, literature and politics,” continued Smith. “Mr. Crofoot has a deep passion for the music and literature of Eastern Europe and Russia and enlightened me about the way that artistic expression from this part of the world grew out of so much painful turmoil and oppression. He is one of the most highly educated musicians I have ever met, and this is reflected in his teaching, which is about so much more than instrumental technique.”
“Mr Crofoot is a demanding and inspiring teacher with an encyclopedic knowledge of all things musical and especially the piano literature,” added Mallinson. “However, it turned out that we often spent the lessons talking about all sorts of non-musical topics. Mr Crofoot is very well read and has never failed to come up with a suitable anecdote or literary reference which seldom has anything to do with the piece we are working on.”
“Mr. Crofoot’s boundless passion for learning and thinking extended far beyond classical music,” agreed Shi. “Our spontaneous conversations often started from a particular piano recording, and wandered off to European history, Chinese politics, and sometimes to the latest breakthroughs in observational astronomy.”
“The day when gravitational waves in a binary black hole system were discovered for the first time in history, I was so excited that I told everyone I ran into on campus,” Shi recalled from his time at Exeter. “While most thought I was crazy, Mr. Crofoot actually asked me numerous questions about the discovery, so many that he reached the limits of my own understanding. His curiosity and intellectual stamina exceed many of the scientists and scholars that I have encountered in academia after Exeter, and I am truly grateful to him for never letting me turn off my brain!”
As Crofoot now retires, students, faculty, and friends reflect on the impact that he has had on their musical and personal lives, and wish him the best as he begins a new chapter in his life. “I took classes with Mr. Crofoot my spring term at Exeter as a senior,” shared alumna Alexa Murat ‘23. “Although we didn’t have much time together he is genuinely the most passionate teacher a student could’ve asked for. We spent hours speaking about his life and accomplishments while I learned piano and his enthusiasm made me come to class excited to learn. As an alum I know he will be greatly missed and I wish him nothing but the best in his well deserved retirement.”
“Mr. Crofoot, thank you for all the awesome knowledge and lessons you passed onto me throughout the years,” said alumnus Maxwell Li ‘23. “I hope you enjoy your retirement!”
Alumnus Andy Park ‘93 added, “Whether listening to our recital run-throughs over 30 years ago, discussing esoteric recordings outside practice rooms, or sharing music history with recent students including my own children, Lod has enriched so many musicians. His daughter (and my classmate) Catherine’s words have stuck with me: ‘I won the parental lottery.’ Musicians at the Academy have likewise been fortunate to have a teacher, mentor, and friend in a timeless Mr. Crofoot.”
“I certainly wish him all the best in his retirement, and I will certainly miss seeing him and talking with him in the halls of the Music Building,” said Sinclair.
“I will always remember stories he told about famous pianists, literature, and anecdotes from his life,” said Sokolov. “He will be remembered as one of the most influential teachers at the Academy.”
“There may never again be a teacher with a longer association with Phillips Exeter Academy than Lod Crofoot’s,” agreed Schultz. “Lod taught many generations of Exeter students with unsurpassed dedication, a deep knowledge of music, and an encyclopedic understanding of the piano’s literature and technique. His enthusiastic participation in the Music Department’s events was unflagging. He came to concerts, workshops, masterclasses and all manner of other department offerings with curiosity and a desire to soak up anything music related in any form in which it was offered.”
“Having completed the longest tenure of any faculty member in the Music Department,” concluded Schultz, “I wish him well and hope that his retirement from the Academy affords him more time to do what he loves best—make music.”
