American Visionary: The Life of George Kozmetsky
Red McCombs Commissions Symphony to Honor Mentor

Red McCombs, the benefactor and namesake of the McCombs School of Business, took to the stage in November to honor one of his greatest inspirations, the late George Kozmetsky, former dean of the business school. The musical tribute, held at Bates Recital Hall, featured the UT Wind Ensemble.

The one-night-only performance, entitled “American Visionary,” featured a short symphony composed by Dan Welcher, the Lee Hage Jamail Regents Professor in Fine Arts. McCombs provided the voice for three narrations on the extraordinary life of Kozmetsky, written by international investment expert and Kozmetsky protégé, Robert Kuhn.

“He was absolutely and hopelessly in love with The University of Texas,” said McCombs, who was mentored and advised by Kozmetsky. “I was fascinated when the university stepped out and took a man of his stature from a successful background in business and academia to lead the UT business school. I thought it was giant leap.”

The idea for the musical tribute came about two years ago during a regional arts meeting between Dean Robert Freeman of the College of Fine Arts and McCombs. Dean Freeman gave the red-haired businessman a previously commissioned orchestral homage to Martin Luther King, entitled “New Morning for the World.” After listening to the CD, McCombs called Freeman and proposed a similar tribute to Kozmetsky. McCombs also volunteered to narrate the piece and contributed to the composer’s commissioning fee.

“I would like for the audience to leave knowing that he was a great man that truly made a difference,” McCombs said in the days before his stage debut. “His stamp is on most of the successes that we have in the state of Texas, not just the university.”

In preparation for his performance, McCombs received acting lessons from Lucien Douglas, an associate professor in UT Austin’s Department of Theatre and Dance. Douglas visited McCombs in his San Antonio office to practice the script and work on the components of narration, including inflection, tempo and maintaining eye contact with the audience.

After their first session, Douglas noted that his student had a natural flair for performance.

“A performer has to have confidence,” Douglas said. “I don’t think there’s anyone in Texas who has more confidence than Red McCombs.”

Douglas said that McCombs’ personal connection to the piece and love and respect for Kozmetsky made his coaching task very simple.

“He has a wonderful presence, and he has charm and warmth,” Douglas said.

Kozmetsky’s 16-year deanship at the business school brought significant improvements to almost every facet of the school, transforming it from a regional institution to a nationally recognized powerhouse for research and business education. During this time, he also founded the IC2 Institute, a think tank charged with researching the intersection of business, government and education.

Prior to becoming dean, Kozmetsky co-founded Teledyne Technologies in 1960 and built it from the ground up. Within just six years, it was listed among the Fortune 500.
 

 

E-mail this page

Print this page