Late music professor Hawkins remembered for her kindness and honesty

Jane Hawkins, professor of the practice in the department of music, is remembered by colleagues and students for her kindness and poise in performance. Hawkins died Nov. 27 at the age of 67. 

Hawkins, who had been a member of the piano faculty since 1978, was the chair of the department of music from 2010 to 2014 and also served two terms as director of performance. She frequently appeared alongside the Ciompi Quartet, the resident string quartet at Duke, and her husband Fred Raimi, cellist of the Ciompi Quartet and professor of the practice of music.

“She was a wonderful colleague,” said Stephen Jaffe, Mary D.B.T. and James H. Semans professor of music composition and interim chair of the music department. “She had a real good humor about her in all stages of her work.”

Jaffe said that she played with a special kind of poetry and poise, especially in chamber music literature. 

Hawkins—who was born in Swansea City, South Wales—also had a broad view of what music could be as department chair, as she was the first woman to hold the position in several decades, he said. He reminisced about the first time he met Hawkins when he was trying to decide if he wanted to become a faculty member at Duke.

“She had a very young family, and lived on Green Street with her husband Fred, and it was just chaotic with two kids under five years old, but always fun,” he said.

Jaffe also said that Hawkins was influential in helping the University understand the importance of its musical performers.

“It took Duke a very long time to be able to recognize the unique role that performers play in an academic institution,” he said. “Particularly in the '80s, Duke was interested in outrageous ambitions, and they came to understand that performers played a role in that understanding of what a liberal arts education could be. And Jane was part and parcel of that.”

Jon Aisenberg, Trinity ’17, who took piano lessons from Hawkins for three years and majored in music, said he knew about her even before he began his lessons.

“What I remember from before [my lessons] is that her door was always open, like physically,” he said. “You would walk by her office all the time in [the Mary Duke Biddle Music Building] and just sort of notice she was there.”

Aisenberg said any intimidation that might come because of her reputation faded quickly upon meeting her.

“Once you began talking to her, it became clear how honest she was and how open she was,” he said. 

Aisenberg also noted that in taking lessons with her, she became a sort of therapist for him. He explained how he often alternated between playing pieces and talking to her about whatever was on his mind.

Hawkins also had a gift for making others feel important, he added.

“She was very good at making me feel like my emotions mattered, whether it was in music or in life,” he said. “She did the digging herself. She was almost intrusive at a certain point. She really wanted to know how her students were doing.”

Aisenberg said one of his most rewarding experiences with Hawkins was when she drove him to Chapel Hill so that he could turn pages for her at a concert.

He also said that she influenced him in his decision to major in music.

“At the time I started taking lessons with her I wasn’t sure I wanted to go into music at all,” he said. “I talked to her about that a lot and she was one of the steadfast forces who convinced me to work in the arts.”

Senior Shauna Bierly, who took piano lessons with Hawkins for three years, said Hawkins treated her students like family.

“I’ve been to her house a few times,” she said. “She would have her students over to her house and order all this food.”

Bierly agreed that Hawkins made her students feel comfortable and that she had a “really funny British humor.” She said she’ll remember Hawkins’ passion for music and performing.

“Her love for music always sticks in my mind,” she said. “I’ve had instructors in the past that were really focused on technique. But her thing was having that emotional connection to what you’re playing, and having heart when you play.”

Bierly said that she shared a bond through music with Hawkins, especially because the two often played duets.

“I think the thing that really sticks with me is that bond through music you can have with someone,” she said. “I think that she knew me in ways that a lot of people didn’t just through music.”

One of Bierly's favorite memories was taking a walk around East Campus with Hawkins one day “out of the blue.”

“I always felt very calm and peaceful around her,” Bierly said. 

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