WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.680 OK, let's unpack this. We are diving deep into 00:00:02.680 --> 00:00:06.440 an institution that's so much more than just 00:00:06.440 --> 00:00:08.619 a place for high level musical training. Right. 00:00:08.720 --> 00:00:11.080 We're looking at the Peabody Institute of the 00:00:11.080 --> 00:00:13.779 Johns Hopkins University, a cultural hub. It's 00:00:13.779 --> 00:00:16.219 really a cornerstone of American arts philanthropy 00:00:16.219 --> 00:00:18.820 right there in Baltimore. And it's crucial to 00:00:18.820 --> 00:00:20.879 set the stage, you know, because while Peabody 00:00:20.879 --> 00:00:23.379 is known internationally, its origins really 00:00:23.379 --> 00:00:25.839 define its purpose today. It's a private music 00:00:25.839 --> 00:00:28.280 and dance conservatory and a preparatory school 00:00:28.280 --> 00:00:30.879 in Maryland. But it was established way back 00:00:30.879 --> 00:00:34.979 in 1857. And Torian era. Exactly. Yeah. And while 00:00:34.979 --> 00:00:37.619 we all connected with Johns Hopkins now, JHU, 00:00:37.740 --> 00:00:40.560 that affiliation is so much more recent. It only 00:00:40.560 --> 00:00:43.579 started in 1977. So our mission for this deep 00:00:43.579 --> 00:00:45.880 dive is to follow that journey, to understand 00:00:45.880 --> 00:00:49.009 the. just the sheer audacity of its founding 00:00:49.009 --> 00:00:52.429 vision and how it grew from a local academy into 00:00:52.429 --> 00:00:54.390 this international cultural center and maybe 00:00:54.390 --> 00:00:56.630 why the surprising range of people who've studied 00:00:56.630 --> 00:00:59.409 or taught there makes it so uniquely American. 00:00:59.909 --> 00:01:02.210 It's a whole cultural history wrapped up in one 00:01:02.210 --> 00:01:04.489 magnificent building. And if you want to understand 00:01:04.489 --> 00:01:07.030 any great institution, you have to start with 00:01:07.030 --> 00:01:10.109 the money. A money and the vision. Exactly. The 00:01:10.109 --> 00:01:12.829 Peabody story begins not with a composer, but 00:01:12.829 --> 00:01:16.219 with a merchant and financier who was... well, 00:01:16.280 --> 00:01:18.180 arguably the wealthiest American of his time, 00:01:18.299 --> 00:01:22.659 George Peabody. Born in 1795. The scale of his 00:01:22.659 --> 00:01:24.480 financial life is what really gets me. It was 00:01:24.480 --> 00:01:26.659 massive. Peabody didn't just make his money in 00:01:26.659 --> 00:01:29.219 one place. He started in Massachusetts, but then 00:01:29.219 --> 00:01:31.719 a huge part of his fortune was cemented during 00:01:31.719 --> 00:01:34.819 his two decades in Baltimore. Right, from 1815 00:01:34.819 --> 00:01:37.760 to 1835. But then he goes transnational. He just 00:01:37.760 --> 00:01:39.980 exponentially increases his wealth through banking 00:01:39.980 --> 00:01:42.560 and finance, living in New York, and most importantly, 00:01:42.739 --> 00:01:45.560 London. His career is like the definition of 00:01:45.560 --> 00:01:47.439 Gilded Age opportunity, even though he kind of 00:01:47.439 --> 00:01:50.120 predates it. So when the Institute finally opens 00:01:50.120 --> 00:01:53.739 its doors in 1866, the financial side is just, 00:01:53.799 --> 00:01:57.000 it's staggering. It is. He backed it with a bequest 00:01:57.000 --> 00:01:59.719 of about $800 ,000 from his personal fortune. 00:01:59.980 --> 00:02:03.180 And to put that in perspective, in 1866, that 00:02:03.180 --> 00:02:05.879 amount was truly monumental. An investment in 00:02:05.879 --> 00:02:08.139 the public good that almost nobody was making 00:02:08.139 --> 00:02:10.889 at the time. Not at that scale, no. And the opening 00:02:10.889 --> 00:02:13.509 itself, it was filled with historical drama. 00:02:13.930 --> 00:02:17.289 That original building, the beautiful white marble 00:02:17.289 --> 00:02:20.569 Grecian Italian wing. The one designed by Edmund 00:02:20.569 --> 00:02:22.830 George Lynn. That one. It was supposed to open 00:02:22.830 --> 00:02:24.729 much earlier, but its construction was actually 00:02:24.729 --> 00:02:27.530 delayed by the American Civil War. Which makes 00:02:27.530 --> 00:02:31.750 the 1866 dedication ceremony just such a powerful 00:02:31.750 --> 00:02:34.169 symbol. It's like a civic renewal for Baltimore 00:02:34.169 --> 00:02:36.810 and for the whole country, really. And Peabody 00:02:36.810 --> 00:02:38.830 himself was there? He was. He traveled all the 00:02:38.830 --> 00:02:41.659 way from London. He spoke on the steps right 00:02:41.659 --> 00:02:44.060 in front of the Washington Monument Circle addressing 00:02:44.060 --> 00:02:47.159 this huge crowd. And the detail that stands out 00:02:47.159 --> 00:02:49.879 to me from the sources is who was in that crowd. 00:02:50.060 --> 00:02:52.719 Oh, yes. The mention that hundreds of pupils 00:02:52.719 --> 00:02:55.000 from the Baltimore City public schools were there. 00:02:55.120 --> 00:02:57.780 That completely reframes the institution's initial 00:02:57.780 --> 00:03:00.159 intent. It shows it was never meant to be just 00:03:00.159 --> 00:03:03.099 some elite closed off conservatory. No, the early 00:03:03.099 --> 00:03:05.580 role was much, much broader. It was a true public 00:03:05.580 --> 00:03:07.860 trust. So what did that look like on the ground? 00:03:08.300 --> 00:03:10.319 Well, you had the conservatory for sure, but 00:03:10.319 --> 00:03:12.639 also a public lecture series, an art gallery, 00:03:12.759 --> 00:03:15.680 and the library. But their commitment to the 00:03:15.680 --> 00:03:18.139 city's youth really came through in the Peabody 00:03:18.139 --> 00:03:21.400 Prizes. The prizes. I love this detail. The annual 00:03:21.400 --> 00:03:24.020 gold, silver, and bronze medals with certificates 00:03:24.020 --> 00:03:27.400 in cash for the top graduates of the city schools. 00:03:27.780 --> 00:03:30.639 And it wasn't a short -lived thing either. That 00:03:30.639 --> 00:03:33.500 tradition of the Peabody Prizes continued for 00:03:33.500 --> 00:03:37.340 an astonishing 122 years. Wow. It just deeply 00:03:37.340 --> 00:03:39.800 embedded the Institute into the educational fabric 00:03:39.800 --> 00:03:42.300 of Baltimore. It showed that Peabody's vision 00:03:42.300 --> 00:03:44.840 was about excellence across the board, not just 00:03:44.840 --> 00:03:47.460 music. So if we zoom out, what does this level 00:03:47.460 --> 00:03:49.639 of giving really mean for the bigger picture 00:03:49.639 --> 00:03:52.379 of American wealth and philanthropy? I mean, 00:03:52.400 --> 00:03:54.400 it establishes George Peabody as a foundational 00:03:54.400 --> 00:03:56.960 figure. He created the model for the Gilded Age. 00:03:57.060 --> 00:03:59.340 We usually think of Andrew Carnegie. Right. But 00:03:59.340 --> 00:04:01.759 the sources are explicit. Both George Capibati 00:04:01.759 --> 00:04:04.159 and his friend Enoch Pratt, who endowed the first 00:04:04.159 --> 00:04:07.000 public library system in America in 1882, they 00:04:07.000 --> 00:04:09.810 directly inspired Carnegie. So Peabody set the 00:04:09.810 --> 00:04:12.750 standard, how to turn a huge personal fortune 00:04:12.750 --> 00:04:16.189 into these enduring public institutions for culture 00:04:16.189 --> 00:04:18.829 and knowledge. He absolutely did. And that legacy 00:04:18.829 --> 00:04:21.829 is physically immortalized in the building itself, 00:04:22.110 --> 00:04:25.209 especially the George Peabody Library. When people 00:04:25.209 --> 00:04:27.829 think of the Institute, they picture that room. 00:04:28.069 --> 00:04:31.110 That library is the defining architectural landmark. 00:04:31.439 --> 00:04:33.839 No question. It was completed in the expansion 00:04:33.839 --> 00:04:35.720 that finished the eastern half of the building 00:04:35.720 --> 00:04:39.480 between 1877 and 1878. So paint a picture for 00:04:39.480 --> 00:04:42.459 us. What makes that space so much more impactful 00:04:42.459 --> 00:04:44.939 than other Gilded Age libraries? It's often called 00:04:44.939 --> 00:04:46.899 the Cathedral of Books, and that really fits. 00:04:47.000 --> 00:04:49.560 It's the verticality in the light. You have five 00:04:49.560 --> 00:04:52.600 stacked tiers of these ornate black wrought iron 00:04:52.600 --> 00:04:54.819 balconies holding the books. And it all rises 00:04:54.819 --> 00:04:58.139 up to that massive glass skylight. Exactly. It's 00:04:58.139 --> 00:05:03.600 this perfect blend of sort of industrial... And 00:05:03.600 --> 00:05:08.139 its function was also unique for the time. Yes. 00:05:08.579 --> 00:05:11.339 It's a historical collection full of 19th century 00:05:11.339 --> 00:05:14.509 and rare books, and it's non -circulating. It 00:05:14.509 --> 00:05:17.389 was built to be a reference library for the public, 00:05:17.449 --> 00:05:20.009 for scholars. Which, as you noted, came years 00:05:20.009 --> 00:05:22.850 before Enoch Pratt's formal public library system. 00:05:23.089 --> 00:05:25.649 Reinforcing that Peabody was just way ahead of 00:05:25.649 --> 00:05:27.769 his time on this idea of shared knowledge. And 00:05:27.769 --> 00:05:29.810 this whole cultural anchor sits right in the 00:05:29.810 --> 00:05:31.970 middle of history, too. The campus is in the 00:05:31.970 --> 00:05:33.850 Mount Vernon neighborhood, which is a National 00:05:33.850 --> 00:05:36.490 Historic Landmark District. And the main building 00:05:36.490 --> 00:05:38.850 itself has been a Baltimore City landmark since 00:05:38.850 --> 00:05:42.949 1975. It is literally woven into the city's heritage. 00:05:43.500 --> 00:05:45.600 So let's shift to the academic structure today. 00:05:45.720 --> 00:05:48.180 This history supports a kind of dual mission. 00:05:48.500 --> 00:05:51.139 It does. On one side, you have the conservatory, 00:05:51.220 --> 00:05:53.600 which is a highly specialized institution. And 00:05:53.600 --> 00:05:55.139 we mean high level. They offer the doctorate 00:05:55.139 --> 00:05:57.740 of musical arts degree, the DMA. Exactly. The 00:05:57.740 --> 00:06:00.279 DMA is the highest professional degree for performers 00:06:00.279 --> 00:06:03.120 and composers. It puts them in a really elite 00:06:03.120 --> 00:06:06.639 tier. Only about 156 schools in the U .S. even 00:06:06.639 --> 00:06:08.639 offer it. And then on the other side, keeping 00:06:08.639 --> 00:06:11.300 that original civic promise alive, you have the 00:06:11.300 --> 00:06:14.250 preparatory school. The prep school. It offers 00:06:14.250 --> 00:06:17.029 instruction and enrichment for school -age children, 00:06:17.189 --> 00:06:19.509 even adults. They have sites not just on the 00:06:19.509 --> 00:06:22.410 main campus, but in surrounding areas like Towson 00:06:22.410 --> 00:06:25.509 and Annapolis. So that mission echoes the spirit 00:06:25.509 --> 00:06:28.149 of the Peabody Prizes, keeping the institution 00:06:28.149 --> 00:06:31.470 accessible. Absolutely. It ensures the Institute's 00:06:31.470 --> 00:06:34.350 impact goes way beyond the small group of professional 00:06:34.350 --> 00:06:36.649 conservatory students. So you're serving the 00:06:36.649 --> 00:06:39.250 absolute highest echelon of musical art while 00:06:39.250 --> 00:06:41.350 also doing community engagement and building 00:06:41.350 --> 00:06:44.329 a pipeline for young people. And to support both, 00:06:44.430 --> 00:06:48.339 you need serious academic infrastructure. So 00:06:48.339 --> 00:06:50.399 besides the historic George Peabody Library, 00:06:50.819 --> 00:06:53.500 there's also the Arthur Friedheim Library. That's 00:06:53.500 --> 00:06:55.860 the modern working library. Right. It's the music 00:06:55.860 --> 00:06:58.620 reference library with over 100 ,000 books, scores, 00:06:58.759 --> 00:07:00.939 and recordings for the current students and faculty. 00:07:01.220 --> 00:07:03.620 Okay, let's pivot to innovation. Because for 00:07:03.620 --> 00:07:05.800 an institution that looks like this 19th century 00:07:05.800 --> 00:07:08.620 monument, Peabody was actually surprisingly... 00:07:09.650 --> 00:07:11.350 Radical. This is where the story gets really 00:07:11.350 --> 00:07:13.449 unexpected. You might associate conservatories 00:07:13.449 --> 00:07:15.370 with, I don't know, harpsichords and sheet music. 00:07:15.529 --> 00:07:18.370 But the Peabody Institute established its electronic 00:07:18.370 --> 00:07:22.910 music department in 1967. 1967, that's practically 00:07:22.910 --> 00:07:26.029 the Stone Age for digital tech. That is incredibly 00:07:26.029 --> 00:07:29.089 early for any school, let alone a classical conservatory. 00:07:29.089 --> 00:07:31.730 It was more than early. It was pioneering. The 00:07:31.730 --> 00:07:33.569 sources confirmed this was the first electronic 00:07:33.569 --> 00:07:36.110 music department in any American conservatory. 00:07:36.170 --> 00:07:39.310 That's the aha moment. It is. While big universities 00:07:39.310 --> 00:07:42.410 were maybe experimenting, for a conservatory 00:07:42.410 --> 00:07:44.970 to integrate this technology into its core curriculum, 00:07:45.129 --> 00:07:47.670 that was a huge leap for modern composition. 00:07:48.069 --> 00:07:50.050 It says so much about their leadership at the 00:07:50.050 --> 00:07:51.790 time, and there's still tangible proof of that 00:07:51.790 --> 00:07:54.220 legacy, right? Oh, yeah. The department still 00:07:54.220 --> 00:07:57.639 houses two historic Moog modular synthesizers 00:07:57.639 --> 00:08:00.540 from its first decade. That is such a great nugget 00:08:00.540 --> 00:08:02.660 of knowledge. It's like finding Gutenberg's printing 00:08:02.660 --> 00:08:06.160 press, but for electronic music history. It proves 00:08:06.160 --> 00:08:08.500 Peabody has always been willing to push the boundaries 00:08:08.500 --> 00:08:11.199 of what music is, even while upholding classical 00:08:11.199 --> 00:08:13.600 traditions. And that tension between tradition 00:08:13.600 --> 00:08:15.639 and modernity must have been critical as the 00:08:15.639 --> 00:08:18.500 institution evolved, especially when it moved 00:08:18.500 --> 00:08:21.160 toward merging with Johns Hopkins. Absolutely. 00:08:21.300 --> 00:08:24.800 The decision to affiliate with JHU in 78 and 00:08:24.800 --> 00:08:27.000 then become a full constituent school in 1985 00:08:27.000 --> 00:08:30.899 was a massive institutional shift. But was that 00:08:30.899 --> 00:08:33.279 a smooth transition? I mean, you often hear that 00:08:33.279 --> 00:08:36.240 when a specialized art school merges with a giant 00:08:36.240 --> 00:08:39.259 research university, there's friction over funding 00:08:39.259 --> 00:08:41.940 or artistic freedom. That's a great question. 00:08:42.059 --> 00:08:45.480 And while it meant adapting to a much larger 00:08:45.480 --> 00:08:47.960 structure, the affiliation provided critical 00:08:47.960 --> 00:08:51.629 financial stability. It gave them access to JHU's 00:08:51.629 --> 00:08:54.309 wider academic resources. And it probably allowed 00:08:54.309 --> 00:08:56.990 them to expand their offerings. It did, especially 00:08:56.990 --> 00:08:59.190 in areas like composition and music technology, 00:08:59.429 --> 00:09:01.629 which solidified their future. It gave them a 00:09:01.629 --> 00:09:04.110 safety net that smaller independent conservatories 00:09:04.110 --> 00:09:06.370 just don't have. That makes a lot of sense. And 00:09:06.370 --> 00:09:07.909 just to round out the institutional history, 00:09:08.029 --> 00:09:09.450 we should probably mention one department that 00:09:09.450 --> 00:09:11.250 didn't make it. Right, the Sacred Music Department. 00:09:11.490 --> 00:09:14.649 It was inaugurated in 1955, but is now defunct. 00:09:14.750 --> 00:09:16.509 It just shows that these academic structures 00:09:16.509 --> 00:09:18.710 are always changing, responding to the times. 00:09:18.889 --> 00:09:21.470 Exactly. But the core commitment to arts education 00:09:21.470 --> 00:09:23.850 has been the thread holding it all together since 00:09:23.850 --> 00:09:26.049 the beginning. But the buildings and the degrees 00:09:26.049 --> 00:09:28.669 are only half the story. To understand Peabody's 00:09:28.669 --> 00:09:31.009 real influence, you have to look at the people 00:09:31.009 --> 00:09:33.899 it shaped. The list of alumni and faculty is 00:09:33.899 --> 00:09:36.899 just incredibly varied. It reflects that dual 00:09:36.899 --> 00:09:39.360 identity of high culture and radical innovation 00:09:39.360 --> 00:09:41.320 we've been talking about. Let's start with the 00:09:41.320 --> 00:09:43.860 people who define high culture. You have legends 00:09:43.860 --> 00:09:46.940 like the operatic soprano Jesse Norman. An iconic, 00:09:47.000 --> 00:09:50.200 powerful voice. And the minimalist composer Philip 00:09:50.200 --> 00:09:53.100 Glass, whose work is, you know, almost the opposite 00:09:53.100 --> 00:09:56.179 of the traditional repertoire taught there. That 00:09:56.179 --> 00:09:58.659 juxtaposition is fascinating. It is. It shows 00:09:58.659 --> 00:10:01.620 that Peabody teaches fundamental technique. But 00:10:01.620 --> 00:10:03.539 the application of that technique is wide open. 00:10:03.679 --> 00:10:05.980 Glass took those fundamentals and created completely 00:10:05.980 --> 00:10:08.159 new sound. And then there's the ultimate example 00:10:08.159 --> 00:10:11.879 of precocious talent, Tori Amos. Tori Amos is 00:10:11.879 --> 00:10:14.299 such a great case study. She was the youngest 00:10:14.299 --> 00:10:16.919 student ever admitted to the Institute. She enrolled 00:10:16.919 --> 00:10:19.899 at five years old. Five, with perfect pitch. 00:10:20.139 --> 00:10:22.120 Her story connects right back to that tradition 00:10:22.120 --> 00:10:26.159 of finding and nurturing immense, sometimes unconventional 00:10:26.159 --> 00:10:28.970 talent from a very early age. And the influence 00:10:28.970 --> 00:10:31.610 stretches so far beyond just music performance. 00:10:31.889 --> 00:10:34.250 You have Lance Reddick, the actor and musician. 00:10:34.509 --> 00:10:36.970 Prolific actor. And Lillian Smith, the author 00:10:36.970 --> 00:10:39.309 of the hugely influential novel Strange Fruit. 00:10:39.509 --> 00:10:42.350 It shows the discipline taught at Peabody translates 00:10:42.350 --> 00:10:45.110 into all sorts of creative careers. And a true 00:10:45.110 --> 00:10:49.610 pioneer. Sylvie Meyer, the harpist. She graduated 00:10:49.610 --> 00:10:51.909 from Peabody and then became the first female 00:10:51.909 --> 00:10:54.450 member of the National Symphony Orchestra. A 00:10:54.450 --> 00:10:57.789 huge milestone in breaking down barriers in orchestral 00:10:57.789 --> 00:11:00.429 music. Directly tied to her training at Peabody. 00:11:00.679 --> 00:11:03.259 And the faculty list tells the same story. You 00:11:03.259 --> 00:11:05.639 have these historical giants like the composer 00:11:05.639 --> 00:11:08.440 Elliot Carter, who taught there from 1946 to 00:11:08.440 --> 00:11:11.860 48. Alongside legendary pianists like Leon Fleischer 00:11:11.860 --> 00:11:14.919 and organists like Virgil Fox, who are upholding 00:11:14.919 --> 00:11:17.179 that high classical tradition. But then you look 00:11:17.179 --> 00:11:19.059 at the modern faculty, and this is where that 00:11:19.059 --> 00:11:22.399 1967 electronic music legacy really comes to 00:11:22.399 --> 00:11:24.059 life. You get these contemporary figures that 00:11:24.059 --> 00:11:25.879 show the school is still completely relevant. 00:11:26.100 --> 00:11:28.080 You mean people like Lupe Fiasco, the hip -hop 00:11:28.080 --> 00:11:30.580 artist who's been a visiting professor? and Thomas 00:11:30.580 --> 00:11:36.779 Dolby. The very same. He's involved in teaching 00:11:36.779 --> 00:11:39.539 music for new media. It's a powerful statement. 00:11:39.879 --> 00:11:42.299 It's as Peabody understands that modern composition 00:11:42.299 --> 00:11:45.340 means knowing digital media, video game scoring, 00:11:45.559 --> 00:11:48.720 modern sound engineering. And by hiring people 00:11:48.720 --> 00:11:51.580 from hip -hop and electronic music, they connect 00:11:51.580 --> 00:11:53.940 that old Moog synthesizer directly to today's 00:11:53.940 --> 00:11:56.299 marketplace. They're teaching students how to 00:11:56.299 --> 00:11:58.659 build a career in the 21st century. And of course, 00:11:58.679 --> 00:12:01.039 the great operatic tradition continues with someone 00:12:01.039 --> 00:12:03.600 like Denise Graves on the voice faculty. So that 00:12:03.600 --> 00:12:06.940 legacy remains unbroken. Right. And one last 00:12:06.940 --> 00:12:09.299 cultural touchpoint. Yes. The Institute even 00:12:09.299 --> 00:12:11.539 shows up in literature. Yeah. In the 1980 novel, 00:12:11.679 --> 00:12:14.039 Jacob Have I Loved, the main character goes to 00:12:14.039 --> 00:12:16.620 a summer program there for singing. So it was 00:12:16.620 --> 00:12:18.820 just part of the cultural imagination as a place 00:12:18.820 --> 00:12:22.269 for serious students. Exactly. So. If we synthesize 00:12:22.269 --> 00:12:24.490 this whole deep dive, there seem to be three 00:12:24.490 --> 00:12:27.490 major elements that really define the Peabody 00:12:27.490 --> 00:12:30.110 Institute's power. I'd agree. First, its origin 00:12:30.110 --> 00:12:32.789 is this monumental civic -minded gift from George 00:12:32.789 --> 00:12:35.309 Peabody, which set the precedent for American 00:12:35.309 --> 00:12:38.450 public giving that influenced titans like Carnegie. 00:12:38.909 --> 00:12:42.129 Second, its stunning architectural heart, the 00:12:42.129 --> 00:12:45.190 George Peabody Library. It's a non -circulating 00:12:45.190 --> 00:12:48.110 monument to 19th century scholarship that symbolizes 00:12:48.110 --> 00:12:50.809 that commitment to combining arts and humanities. 00:12:51.169 --> 00:12:54.230 And third, its academic duality. The high -level 00:12:54.230 --> 00:12:56.590 conservatory working alongside the Broad Preparatory 00:12:56.590 --> 00:12:59.029 School, all of it supported by this pioneering 00:12:59.029 --> 00:13:01.470 spirit that made it the first conservatory to 00:13:01.470 --> 00:13:03.690 embrace electronic music. It's an incredible 00:13:03.690 --> 00:13:06.919 story. of civic commitment, built on the idea 00:13:06.919 --> 00:13:09.519 of broad public access to culture and knowledge. 00:13:09.720 --> 00:13:12.399 All started by one of the wealthiest men in America 00:13:12.399 --> 00:13:15.460 choosing to invest in art and education, not 00:13:15.460 --> 00:13:17.539 just industry. And that raises a really important 00:13:17.539 --> 00:13:19.440 question for you, the listener, to think about. 00:13:19.539 --> 00:13:21.419 Yeah. We noted that the George Peabody Library 00:13:21.419 --> 00:13:23.899 predated the first public library system in America 00:13:23.899 --> 00:13:26.799 and inspired Andrew Carnegie. So when you look 00:13:26.799 --> 00:13:29.340 at the cultural centers you rely on today, your 00:13:29.340 --> 00:13:31.980 city museums, your local concert halls, your 00:13:31.980 --> 00:13:33.820 public libraries, we're asking you to consider 00:13:33.820 --> 00:13:36.799 this. How many of them truly exist? Because George 00:13:36.799 --> 00:13:39.720 Peabody first set the precedent that transnational 00:13:39.720 --> 00:13:41.519 wealth should be invested back into accessible 00:13:41.519 --> 00:13:44.519 public art and education, creating these physical, 00:13:44.620 --> 00:13:47.980 lasting landmarks. It just shows the sheer lasting 00:13:47.980 --> 00:13:50.440 power of audacious philanthropic foresight.