Susan Miron excels at most everything she tries. Professional harpist and accomplished literary critic, this 1990 MAJS alumna and Hebrew College Trustee embraces new ideas and rarely shuns risks.
"But two things I'm really bad at," she says, laughing. "Learning Czech and tap dancing. I tried Czech when I was 40, but my teeth couldn't get around the consonants. Tap dancing is my great passion now—I've gone from being perhaps the worst in the world to the third worst—but I keep trying."
Such self-effacing humor characterizes Miron, who, at age 50, speaks confidently about who she is and where she's come from. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, where she majored in literature, Miron received a master's degree in harp performance at Boston University's School of Music in 1975.
By her own report, however, much of her confidence stems from her experience as a student at Hebrew College in the late 1980s. "Sam Schafler was one of my earliest mentors," she says, referring to Dr. Samuel Schafler, former president of the College. "He challenged and guided me, as did many of my professors. I felt like I'd come home—Hebrew College was such a welcoming place intellectually, accepting people at different levels of knowledge—and helping them reach the next level."
In a class on Jewish-American literature taught by Sylvia Rothchild, Miron discovered her identity as a writer and critic. "Sylvia was a spectacular teacher and a book reviewer for the
Jewish Advocate. She encouraged me to do some reviewing, which I'd never done but often dreamed of. Had I not met Sylvia, I probably wouldn't have taken the first step," she says. Among the many essays and reviews Miron wrote over the next ten years were the 70 pieces she did for
The Forward.
With the encouragement of professors Nehemia Polen, Steve Copeland and Gila Ramras-Rauch, Miron went on to write extensively on Jewish culture and civilization, publishing her reviews in
American Scholar, the
Partisan Review, the
Philadelphia Inquirer as well as the
New York Times, Miami Herald and the
Wall Street Journal. Miron specialized in Eastern and Central European literature during the politically tumultuous times in that region in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Miron's love of literature has continued long after her graduation. She enjoys lectures, workshops and adult learning offerings at the new campus. A three-week course on Esther, with Dr. Judith Kates, was "an absolute revelation," she recalls, and studying Leviticus with Polen, and Agnon and Kafka with Ramras-Rauch, were also highlights. "My teachers genuinely wanted me to succeed and were selfless in their dedication—they're still helping me after all these years."
"Hebrew College is the best thing that ever happened to me. I wanted to study literature and I got this whole package instead."
With Miron's flair and talent, her writing career satisfies only part of her quest for self-expression. As a concert harpist for more than 20 years, she has performed throughout the world and plays at the College's annual Lown Award Dinner. Her CD of music for harp and voice was released by Chandos records last April, and her original harp transcriptions of Scarlatti's piano music will be released by Centaur in the spring.
"Where literature is my brain, music is my soul," she says. Married to Boston Symphony Orchestra violist Burton Fine for 22 years, Miron is currently a candidate for the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study's prestigious fellowship program. With the fellowship—or even without, she says happily—Miron's next project involves transcribing the piano and lute music of Bach and Debussy, a two-year undertaking. Notably, she intends to share her transcriptions, an act relatively rare among professional harpists, who tend to prefer exclusive ownership.
"My legacy will be these transcriptions and recordings. It's very much like translating poetry, doing math or crossword puzzles. Working out ornamentation and articulation with my coach, pianist Sergey Schepkin, is a fabulous experience!"
"My teachers genuinely wanted me to succeed and were selfless in their dedication—they're still helping me after all these years."
Sharing her love of music with the College, Miron has established the David and Jeanette Katchen Green Concert Series, a program of the Jewish Music Institute. The concert series is named in memory of her grandparents.
"I'm thrilled to give something back to Hebrew College, which gave so much to me," she says. In addition, Miron is a donor to the Campaign for Hebrew College, a member of the President's Circle and, having included the College in her will, one of the youngest members of the Morasha Society.
"Hebrew College is the best thing that ever happened to me. I wanted to study literature and I got this whole package instead," she says. "Friends, mentors, a place for lifelong learning and a sense that I can be who I am and go where I want to go in my life."
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