After 32 remarkable seasons at Tafelmusik as Front-of-House, Volunteer, and Events Manager, Carol Campbell is retiring. Former Managing Director Tricia Baldwin worked with Carol from 2000–2014, and offers these reflections. We all join her in wishing Carol the very best!
Confucius said, “To practice five things under all circumstances constitutes perfect virtue. These five are gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness, and kindness.” Kindness isn’t “niceness”; it is a thoughtful approach to humanity as it is a life discipline. This life-long discipline has been Carol Campbell’s modus operandi throughout her three decades at Tafelmusik. It is this kindness that really set the bar at Tafelmusik, and it clearly glows throughout the volunteer team as it has the entire Tafelmusik family. Carol has a beautiful, intuitive way of approaching people, while having the mind of a traffic cop in walking every event through beforehand so that not even the tiniest of details is overlooked. That’s because she cares so much and has the discipline to think things through.
Carol has a beautiful way of guiding from the centre, whether it is with her family or with Tafelmusik’s wonderful volunteers and staff colleagues. She, like the Tafelmusik musicians, has a quest and urgency for excellence, an amazing work ethic, real spunk, and doesn’t rest until things are done right.
I have rarely seen a person who has such loving conflict resolution skills. I remember when a clearly agitated man came into the sanctuary yelling and swearing during the intermission of a concert. I saw Carol approach this man. He trusted her right away and followed her out of the hall. I asked her what she had said and done. She said, “He was hungry, so I gave him a cookie.” Just another example of why Carol is loved so much by the Tafelmusik family.
Volunteer Reception, September 2018
Now Carol is entering the next adventure in life. She loves her family and is a devoted wife, mother, sister, aunt, and friend. I wish Carol all great things ahead, and may she be touched by the kindness and love that she has shown all of us for so many years. And remember Carol, it’s in the fine print: no one’s heart ever really leaves Tafelmusik. It’s just the way it is.
By Tricia Baldwin