Music has been an integral part of Susquehanna University since the 1890s. University historian Donald Housley, emeritus professor of history, attributes this to the institution’s Lutheran heritage and the religion’s sung liturgy. But while it’s in the university’s tradition to have strong music, the place and importance of it have changed over time.

“The initial study of music was performance-oriented,” says Housley. In 1899, the formal study of music began, and in 1903, the conservatory was created. Housley says it was a “true conservatory,” in which students concentrated on perfecting their skills as musicians. In 1913, the university began offering degrees in music, but by the 1920s the academic character of the music program had changed. It moved from being predominantly performance-based to concentrating on preparing music teachers, Housley says. “By the 1930s, many music majors were in this education program,” he says.

Housley points to the Middle States Association report of 1954 as another turning point in the program. As the accrediting body for Susquehanna University, the Middle States Association found that the instruction of the conservatory, despite its focus on music education, was “a bit too intense and narrowly focused for a liberal arts school,” Housley says. As a result, the music department was created and Heilman Hall, the predecessor of today’s Cunningham Center for Music and Art, was constructed in 1958.

By the 1960s, the music program was being propelled toward excellence under the direction of Jim Steffy. During that same decade, the music curriculum received accreditation by the National Association of Schools of Music. Since then, the music program -- both in its performance and education majors – has continued to thrive. “Student choral and instrumental groups have brought the name of the college and indications of its quality to many publics,” Housley says.

Housley credits Cyril Stretansky, a long-time professor of music and director of choral activities who retired at the end of the 2007-08 academic year, as being “the most accomplished of the school’s choral directors.” He also sees evidence of a bright future for the university’s music groups, as they thrives under the direction of such talented faculty as Jennifer Sacher Wiley, conductor of the Susquehanna University Orchestra, Director of Bands Eric Hinton, and Judith White, conductor of the University Chorale. “For many years, we had only one choir. Now we have at least two, and Judy White’s chorale is large and features great music. Beginning in the 1970s, we had few instrumental groups. Today, Jennifer Sacher Wiley’s orchestra has many string players and Eric Hinton’s band fills the stage in Weber Chapel Auditorium,” Housley says.