{"id":3503,"date":"2026-10-20T08:39:18","date_gmt":"2026-10-20T12:39:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/fall-2026\/?p=3503"},"modified":"2026-10-20T10:48:27","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T14:48:27","slug":"mozart-came-to-the-rotunda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/fall-2026\/mozart-came-to-the-rotunda\/","title":{"rendered":"Mozart Came to the Rotunda"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Mozart in the Rotunda | Martin Brinkley Professorship\" width=\"798\" height=\"449\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/OG8TBeECN78?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/fall-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/10\/reducedLawMozartBrunch-RoqueN-HUT_1787-1024x774.jpg\" alt=\"group photo\" class=\"wp-image-3606\" width=\"768\" height=\"581\" srcset=\"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/fall-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/10\/reducedLawMozartBrunch-RoqueN-HUT_1787-1024x774.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/fall-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/10\/reducedLawMozartBrunch-RoqueN-HUT_1787-300x227.jpg 300w, https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/fall-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/10\/reducedLawMozartBrunch-RoqueN-HUT_1787-768x580.jpg 768w, https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/fall-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/10\/reducedLawMozartBrunch-RoqueN-HUT_1787-1536x1161.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/fall-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/10\/reducedLawMozartBrunch-RoqueN-HUT_1787.jpg 1900w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-container-1 wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/law.unc.edu\/people\/martin-h-brinkley\/\">Martin Brinkley \u201992<\/a> has spent his career in rooms full of lawyers. On the morning of April 11, he walked into one carrying an oboe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That is not a metaphor. For the first time in UNC School of Law\u2019s history, an eight-foot B\u00f6sendorfer grand was wheeled into the building. Brinkley, the dean emeritus, assembled a quintet \u2014 oboe, clarinet, horn, bassoon and piano \u2014 in the Rotunda. The group played Mozart for roughly 60 of the School\u2019s most loyal supporters. It was a morning of gratitude.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What he could not have planned was what came after.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Before the quintet played, Brinkley stood up and offered what he insisted was not a lecture. He walked the room through 1784, the year Mozart turned 28, had lived in Vienna for three years after having been fired as a court musician by the Archbishop of Salzburg, and was grieving the death of an infant child. Out of the spring that year came the Quintet for Piano and Winds, K. 452, a piece Mozart told his father he considered the best thing he had ever written.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Brinkley talked through each instrument\u2019s place in the work with the ease of someone who has spent his life thinking about this. The clarinet was still a relatively new invention. The horn Mozart knew had no valves; players shaped every note with their lips alone. The bassoon had never before been treated as a true solo voice in an ensemble, and K. 452 changed that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Then he said something that had nothing to do with Mozart and everything to do with why the morning mattered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIn the end, music is always about death, even when death is not the theme. The musician produces a living thing that begins to die the second it is born,\u201d he told the room. \u201cCompared to a musical note, the 24-hour life cycle of the mayfly is an eternity. When we hear something that is exquisite and life-filled, we have to be grateful for it, even in that one moment, because it will not last a second longer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/fall-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/10\/re-LawMozartBrunch-RoqueN-HUT_1343-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Brinkley playing oboe\" class=\"wp-image-3608\" width=\"512\" height=\"342\" srcset=\"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/fall-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/10\/re-LawMozartBrunch-RoqueN-HUT_1343-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/fall-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/10\/re-LawMozartBrunch-RoqueN-HUT_1343-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/fall-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/10\/re-LawMozartBrunch-RoqueN-HUT_1343-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/fall-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/10\/re-LawMozartBrunch-RoqueN-HUT_1343-978x652.jpg 978w, https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/fall-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/10\/re-LawMozartBrunch-RoqueN-HUT_1343.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>He sat down, picked up his oboe, and played.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Brinkley was joined by Danny Jones, a Carolina class of 2014 alumnus, former Kenan Music Scholar and Google software engineer who has kept the piano going through a career in tech; former dean of the Kenan-Flagler Business School and UNC-Chapel Hill provost Jim Dean on clarinet; Carolina senior Sam Brunetz on bassoon; and Wolfspeed engineer Matt Behrhorst on horn. The Rotunda, a space that has hosted student board meetings, pickleball and, just days earlier, the School\u2019s Pro Bono Publico Awards, turned out to have perfect acoustics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After the last note, Chancellor Lee Roberts stood up and turned to Brinkley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The man who just played Mozart for an hour, Roberts told the crowd, is also the man who took Carolina Law from 45th in the country to the top 20. He ran a fundraising campaign that raised $78 million, doubling the previous law school record. He built Carolina Law\u2019s Institute for Innovation and changed how the School trains lawyers, showing up in the classroom year after year. He became one of the most popular teachers in the building. At this year\u2019s commencement, the class of 2026 recognized him with the Frederick B. McCall Award for Teaching Excellence, an honor conferred by the graduating class for more than 50 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/fall-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/10\/re-LawMozartBrunch-RoqueN-HUT_0942-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"group photo\" class=\"wp-image-3610\" srcset=\"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/fall-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/10\/re-LawMozartBrunch-RoqueN-HUT_0942-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/fall-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/10\/re-LawMozartBrunch-RoqueN-HUT_0942-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/fall-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/10\/re-LawMozartBrunch-RoqueN-HUT_0942-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/fall-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/10\/re-LawMozartBrunch-RoqueN-HUT_0942-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/fall-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/10\/re-LawMozartBrunch-RoqueN-HUT_0942-978x652.jpg 978w, https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/fall-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/10\/re-LawMozartBrunch-RoqueN-HUT_0942.jpg 1900w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/fall-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/10\/re-LawMozartBrunch-RoqueN-HUT_1323-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"playing instrument photo\" class=\"wp-image-3611\" srcset=\"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/fall-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/10\/re-LawMozartBrunch-RoqueN-HUT_1323-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/fall-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/10\/re-LawMozartBrunch-RoqueN-HUT_1323-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/fall-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/10\/re-LawMozartBrunch-RoqueN-HUT_1323-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/fall-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/10\/re-LawMozartBrunch-RoqueN-HUT_1323-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/fall-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/10\/re-LawMozartBrunch-RoqueN-HUT_1323-978x652.jpg 978w, https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/fall-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/10\/re-LawMozartBrunch-RoqueN-HUT_1323.jpg 1900w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cTen years ago, we had a really good law school,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cToday we have a really great law school.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Then Roberts announced the creation of the Martin H. Brinkley Professorship of Law at Carolina Law \u2014 the School\u2019s first professorship dedicated to corporate law, the field in which Brinkley practiced for more than two decades before coming to Carolina Law as dean in 2015. The campaign was led by Roger Perry \u201971, former Board of Trustees chair and longtime volunteer fundraiser, and Wade Smith \u201963, with Louise Harris, the School\u2019s associate dean of development, driving the effort behind the scenes. Perry said they kept the circle deliberately small to protect the surprise. \u201cI proposed the idea, invited Wade to join me, and then Louise,\u201d said Perry. \u201cWade and I went on one visit and shortly thereafter, Louise called back and said she had the commitments. She handled everything else. She\u2019s extraordinary.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The campaign crossed the University\u2019s $1.5 million threshold for a named professorship in a matter of months, with a goal of $3 million. Supporters of the Martin H. Brinkley Professorship include Bill \u201979 and Andrea Bates, Anne and Walt Brown, Pat Brown \u201986, Emmett \u201982 and Hubert Haywood, the Kenan Charitable Trust in honor of Mary Gill Campbell \u201984, Jim \u201992 and Frances Kerr, Claudia and Jack \u201975 O\u2019Hale, Liz Bower \u201901 and Chris Washington, Greg \u201904 and Stephanie Boyd, Jerry \u201973 and Cookie Parnell, Roger \u201971 and Linda Perry, Gray \u201989 and Barbara Styers, David \u201977 and Lyn Kirby, and Senator Tom Taft \u201972.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Brinkley stood in a rotunda full of people he had spent a decade serving, as the room erupted around him. Outside, on a Saturday in April, the rest of the world went on as usual. Inside, a grand piano sat in a law school where no grand piano had ever been, and the people who filled that room made sure the man who brought them together would never be forgotten.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>If you would like to join the supporters of the Martin H. Brinkley Professorship, please contact Associate Dean for Advancement Louise Harris at <a href=\"mailto:louise.harris@unc.edu\">louise.harris@unc.edu<\/a> or use this link to give now.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Martin Brinkley \u201992 picked up his oboe expecting a morning of thanks to others. Instead, the room turned the tribute back on him with the School\u2019s first professorship dedicated to corporate law.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":3614,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/fall-2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3503"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/fall-2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/fall-2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/fall-2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/fall-2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3503"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/fall-2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3503\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3697,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/fall-2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3503\/revisions\/3697"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/fall-2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3614"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/fall-2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3503"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/fall-2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3503"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/fall-2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}