WHO WE ARE

—by Lois Chazen

The Légion d'Honneur, is a lofty honor, especially when it is awarded to a non-French national. Schuyler Chapin, one of the most active members of All Souls for more than forty-six years, was a recipient this year. For Mr. Chapin, who is a Deacon of the church and served two terms as a Trustee, it was history repeating itself. His father, a lawyer and investment advisor in civilian life, served in World War I as liaison officer between General John J. "Black Jack" Pershing and Marshall Ferdinand Foch, commander of the unified American, French and British forces. The French Government awarded his father the Légion d'Honneur eighty-two years ago.

Schuyler Chapin

Schuyler, who served as Commissioner of Cultural Affairs of New York City for eight years under Mayor Rudolph Guiliani, was an Air Force pilot in World War II and flew in the Troop Carrier Command in China and Burma. He was awarded the Air Medal, two Battle Stars, and the Chinese Air Force Wings among other medals.

Military service is a tradition in the Schuyler family, whose patriarch Philip Pieterse Schuyler arrived in New York from Holland in 1650. Philip Schuyler, his descendant, born in 1733, was a general under George Washington in the Revolutionary War. Starting with these, the subsequent roster of those serving this nation in his family's lineage is notable.

As synonymous as Schuyler Chapin's family history is with the history of the nation, New York in particular, his lifetime work and interests are synonymous with the arts on an international scale. Throughout his career he has championed excellence in and accessibility to the arts. He has said, "I have been fortunate to make my avocation my vocation. I've worked in, around, about and for the arts in a variety of ways. That, I hope has brought as much happiness to others as it has to me. I have been privileged to be part of what a poet once called, 'the Arts: the signature of Man.'"

Schuyler attributes his interest in the arts to the Chapin family. One aunt founded two literary magazines, another was a sculptor, the third, a poet.

I interviewed Schuyler at his sunny, Park Avenue apartment. A portrait of a lovely young woman, his mother, is above the fireplace mantel in the living room, a yellow silk sofa an elegant counterpoint to dark, polished woods. We had never met, but I felt I knew him. For years his name was listed with the top management in Lincoln Center programs and frequently, he has been quoted in the media.

Schuyler—NBC—1946.

After returning from World War II, he resumed working for the National Broadcasting Company where over a period of seven years he was fortunate to use several of his talents. He was a writer (he has written three books and many reviews and articles) announcer (he has a very pleasing speaking voice) and was director of promotion and publicity for NBC's International Department (he has considerable business acumen).

In 1947, he married Elizabeth Steinway, a member of the piano-maker family, who died in 1992. They had four sons and now ten grandchildren. One of Schuyler's sons, Miles Chapin, an officer of Steinway Piano is also an active member of All Souls. He selected the new, very fine Steinway piano in the Sanctuary. In 1953, Schuyler became tour manager for Jascha Heifetz. And he was agent manager for other classical artists and orchestras represented by Columbia Artist Management.

Schuyler (right) with Leonard Bernstein (center) and Oliver Smith (left) taping Verdi's Requiem at St. Paul's, London in 1971.

Schuyler had a long working and personal relationship with Leonard Bernstein, beginning when Bernstein was conductor of the New York Philharmonic, and as partners they produced Bernstein's recorded concerts, including the acclaimed Young People's Concerts. In 1970, Chapin was Executive Producer for the Emmy award winning Beethoven's Birthday and the following year with Roger L. Stevens produced Bernstein's Mass for the opening of the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. The pleasures and pitfalls of these triumphs are recounted with humor in a touching memoir Mr. Chapin wrote entitled, Leonard Bernstein: Notes from A Friend.

In 1963, Schuyler was appointed Vice President of Lincoln Center. Among his innovations during his five-year tenure were the Mostly Mozart and Great Performer Series. He established the New York Film Festival as a major annual event. All of these programs remain immensely popular. In 1967 and 1968, he produced two festivals at Lincoln Center featuring national and international orchestras, opera companies, theatre, and dance groups.

It was a wrenching decision for Schuyler when he decided to accept a position with the Metropolitan Opera as Assistant General Manager. After the sudden death of the newly-appointed General Manager of the Met, Gœran Gentele, who was killed in a car accident in Sardinia, Chapin was appointed to succeed him and remained in this post for four years. "It was an exciting time in which there were tremendous changes in the repertoire and the company." Through Schuyler's efforts, the subscription base was expanded, and private sources of funding developed. An account of this period is in Chapin's autobiography, Musical Chairs.

Schuyler arriving at Carnegie Hall with Vladimir Horowitz in 1965.

It was fortuitous that Chapin resigned from the Metropolitan Opera at the time Columbia University was seeking an outside authority to strengthen its Graduate School of the Arts. Jacques Barzun, Dean of Faculties at Columbia recommended bringing in a non-academic to re-think and re-structure the program. Schuyler accepted the challenge and was named its Dean. During his eleven year tenure there, the school flourished and the first Graduate Program in Arts Administration was introduced. He is now Dean Emeritus.

In 1990, Schuyler rejoined Steinway & Sons as Vice-President of Worldwide Concert & Artists Activities. It was Mrs. Steinway, his mother-in-law, who had introduced Schuyler to All Souls forty-six years ago. He has generously given countless hours over the years to the church as Deacon and Trustee. Periodically, he opens Sunday worship services and is a speaker at many programs including Lifelines.

Schuyler has served on the board of the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute since its inception, now, as vice-president and chair of its Executive Committee. He is on the boards of and is advisor to a number of state, national and international arts organizations and is the recipient of many awards and honorary degrees from colleges, universities and arts organizations. He is an executor of Leonard Bernstein's estate. In 1995, three years after the loss of his first wife, he married Catia Zoullas Mortimer.

Mr. Chapin is a graceful writer with a gift for telling a story well. His third book, a collection of essays entitled, Sopranos, Mezzos, Tenors, Bassos and Other Friends, appeared in 1995. He is working on a fourth book, part two of his autobiography. As one interested in the arts and history, I look forward to reading it. The author is a remarkably talented and able man who has much to impart.