The passage of students through the halls of Susquehanna has taken many forms over the past 150 years. The March 7 concert was a celebration of the lives of these students and of the institution. And clearly it was a celebration of the university's music program - superb in the training and performance opportunities it affords, unique in the close faculty mentoring it offers, singular in the strong ties it promotes among its students, and unusual in its willingness to expose the magic of music to majors and non-majors alike. The Carnegie Hall performers, reflecting on the thrill of the evening's performance, say these unique qualities of the music program have enriched their lives in countless ways.

David Fryling '96, associate professor of music and director of choral studies at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y., credits Stretansky with giving him the training necessary to pursue a career in college-level choral music. "Cy provided key opportunities to me - and others before and after me - to be involved in the inside workings of the choral program, as well as to accumulate 'podium time' in front of choirs under his direction," he says. "This kind of personal attention and nurturing is not possible at most large universities at the undergraduate level and is a major strength of SU's music program."

Another distinction is the department's practice of welcoming non-music majors to its ranks. "It's a mark of strength in fine arts departments that all artists are welcome, who take their art seriously," Fryling says.

"One of the best parts of being in the music program at SU was the intimacy that it engendered among us, not just between music majors, but between music majors and non-major performers alike," he says. "Our experiences in rehearsals and on tour brought us very close together and demonstrated in a very literal way how music could connect such disparate disciplines from across campus."

Alumni reunite under Carnegie Hall's marquee before heading to a post-performance reception at the Holiday Inn Midtown.

From friendships to betrothals, the music department has borne many lasting relationships. "Some of our closest friends today are the friends we made in theatre productions and in the choir at SU," says Kelly Ryman '93 de Mets, director of marketing for the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick, N.J., who is married to Peter de Mets, another graduate of the music program. "We celebrate holidays together and were there when each other's kids were born."

"We're also very important to each other professionally," she says. "There's a network of theatre arts administrators and musicians - all SU graduates - that work in the New Jersey/Philadelphia area. The close-knit group we formed in college now will call on each other for advice, and on more than one occasion we've each been in a position where we've either hired someone from SU or recommended each other for work."

Laura Tidemann '91 Dishong, a music teacher in the Moorestown, N.J., school district, says such cohesive relationships are established with faculty, too. "They treated us like part of their extended families. We knew where they lived. We had their phone numbers and could call them when we needed help. You just don't find that at other schools," she says.

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