Wynton Marsalis
Field: arts
Jazz and classical musician Wynton Marsalis advises graduates to reconsider common admonitions about time, contrasting the pressure to be 'on time' with a trumpet player's counsel to be 'in time.' He suggests that being 'in time' allows one to experience more of life as it unfolds and to focus on including others rather than imposing one's will.
Key moments
- 01 Listing familiar warnings about time and punctuality
- 02 Quoting jazz trumpet man Enute Johnson on being 'in time' rather than 'on time'
- 03 Explaining how being 'in time' opens a larger experience of life
- 04 Urging an attitude shift toward including others
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Wynton Marsalis at Connecticut College, 2001
A Connecticut College address about presence, rhythm, integrity, family, time, and staying in the music of life.
Speech arc
- 01Connecticut College
Opening move
- 02Class of 2001
Speech beat
- 03Full bloom of youth
Speech beat
- 04World outside campus
Speech beat
- 05Integrity under pressure
Speech beat
- 06Be in time
Speech beat
- 07Generations
Speech beat
- 08Improvisation
Final charge
Presence: Savor the day before the world tests you
Marsalis begins by asking graduates to fully inhabit the ceremony, family pride, youthful optimism, and the achievement of the day.
Moment
Commencement is treated as a communal achievement, not just an individual credential.
Humor
Comic exaggeration keeps the charge lively while naming real transition.
Threshold
The cap and gown mark a pause before harder tests arrive.
Marsalis begins by asking graduates to fully inhabit the ceremony, family pride, youthful optimism, and the achievement of the day.
Pressure: Character is tested by ordinary compromises
The address looks ahead to work, money, family, success, failure, joy, tragedy, and the temptation to bend values to convenience.
Workforce
Life after college is competitive, unruly, and full of reversals.
Integrity
The speech warns against defending what should be challenged.
Courage
Some people keep swinging for justice even after repeated strikes.
The address looks ahead to work, money, family, success, failure, joy, tragedy, and the temptation to bend values to convenience.
• Key takeaways •
Be present
Connects to music.
Keep rhythm
Connects to time.
Guard integrity
Connects to integrity.
Include others
Connects to presence.
Honor generations
Connects to family.
Closing charge
Marsalis turns musical timing into a philosophy of presence, inclusion, humility, and attention to a larger life rhythm.
Do not only be on time; be in time
Time
Time is presented as a companion rather than only an enemy.
Inclusion
Being in time means making room for others instead of imposing will on every scene.
Generations
Graduates are asked to see themselves in parents, children, and future ceremonies.
Marsalis turns musical timing into a philosophy of presence, inclusion, humility, and attention to a larger life rhythm.
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Transcript
The full transcript is hosted by the original publisher. Commencement Archive links to the source rather than republishing copyrighted text.
Read the full transcript at source →Provenance
Imported from NPR commencement archive; cross-referenced with Open Commencement DB
NPR archive last updated in 2015; destination availability has not been exhaustively rechecked | Open Commencement DB transcript; not independently verified against the original recording
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