Academia

Since it had been my goal from the age of 16 onwards to earn my doctorate in music and teach college choir, I enjoyed hearing my students call me Dr. Borton. But now that I hear it no more, and am working with medical doctors, I'm reminded of a joking statement made my academic doctors - "Hi, I'm a doctor ... but not the kind that helps people." A few weeks ago, when I mentioned this to my friend Jerry Blackstone, who heads the choirs here at the University of Michigan, he replied, "Yeah - I'm the kind that screams at my choirs when they're not singing right!"