The Carnegie Hall performance was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for students, alumni and faculty alike. It will be recalled for many years as one of those events that stand out in the history of an institution. "When you get that many people together, all of them wanting to have an unforgettable experience, it's almost inevitable that it will happen," Long says. "There was a tremendous amount of momentum going into the concert."

Rachel Weir '09 was one of the student performers who kept that momentum going through months of rehearsals. "Seeing Carnegie Hall full of people just to see us perform was an amazing and inspiring feeling that I will never forget," she says. "We all worked really hard to make this event something that no one would forget, and I believe we accomplished our goal."

University historian Donald Housley, emeritus professor of history, was among the faculty performers who, as he puts it, "jumped into the fast-moving river" that is singing with SU's students. "You just try to keep your head above water and let yourself be carried along by the strength of the currents around you," he says.

Indeed, "playing at Carnegie Hall represents an attainment of fairly exalted musical goals," says David Steinau, assistant professor of music, a featured soloist in the performance. "With the central role that music has played in the history of Susquehanna, and continues to play today, I think the concert was a milestone. It looked back at what has been happening here so brilliantly for many years, but it also looked to the future with great promise," he says.

"All schools worth their salt present their essential selves through celebration of significant anniversaries," adds Housley. "Of course, symbolically and culturally, Carnegie Hall represents quality in its finest form. No one needs to be told what the aphorism 'Ready to play Carnegie Hall?' means." Linking the university to this symbol of high aesthetic quality and the make-up of the participants, both on and off stage,"suggests the breadth and length of the Susquehanna community as it moves through time and space," he says.

And as the university moved through time and space in that grand auditorium of Carnegie Hall, Dietterick says, Susquehanna spread its wings wider than ever. " 'Old SU's broad campus reached the sky on March 7.' "

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