• I recall being coaxed into playing bass drum by Mr. Clinnick my first year as the band was short one percussionist. Concerts were given in what was then the College Chapel in Arnold Hall, with the clock tower. The off-campus concerts are good memories - churches, fairs, and the Utica Rotary Club.
• Dorms were in rooming houses at the bottom of the hill [where the Anderson Center for the Arts now stands]. The weekly bus trips to Gilbert Lake; the sports program uphill behind the College; Final Dances.
• Reference Librarian at Brooklyn Public library; plays recorder, sings in church, listens a lot.

• In jazz combo each singer handled assignments differently. It required phrasing the lyric differently each time, expressing personal emotions, exposing oneself to the "workshop critique" after the performance, and observing the
  individual begin the journey to his/her own soul.
• I enjoyed interacting with these wonderful students who are really there to learn and are so open in every way. They are very supportive of each other. Living with this quality of young person does the heart of a teacher much good. It reminds us all of why we love teaching and sharing music.
• Jazz singer, jazz concerts and festivals in USA and Europe; CD's; faculty of Manhattan School of Music.

McHenry, Dr. Craig | Mount Dora, Florida | 1956 | F

• I recall Neil Gall as conductor of the Camp Orchestra at Otter Lake.
• Frequently I visited Otter Lake during the early NYSSMA Clinics, or "Reading Clinics" as we called them then. [Dr. McHenry was of inestimable help in my researching information on the Ernest Williams Music Camp, where he had been on the faculty.]
• Retired, former Dean of the Music School, Ithaca College.

McLane, Patrick John | Newport, New York | 1992, 1993 | C

• Being able to participate in the Select and Madrigal Choirs and the tremendous input and outcome of the two groups.
• Being introduced by Dr. Swift to Plymouth State College - a life-altering event!
• College student; performing in choral ensembles; playing in my own band, "Gordon's Tractor" and writing songs.

Merchant Winsman, Barbara | Westport, New York | 1947-1951? | C

• Trips to Big Moose to entertain; playing the Rubenstein Piano Concerto with Camp Orchestra, Cornelius Gall conducting. He yelled at me at one point for not playing fast enough. I told him I couldn't play it any faster. (I expect I must have won that round.)
• The annual trip to Golden Beach and the climb up Blue Mountain. The back stairs down into the kitchen from the second floor of the hotel, where girls were housed.
• Church organist and 2-piano or organ/piano duos.

Merjan, Barbara | New York, New York | 1974, 1975 | C

• I just remember being involved in some kind of musical activity all the time.
• I liked the beautiful countryside.
• Freelance percussionist in NYC; drummer for national tour of CATS.

Mills, Fred | Athens, Georgia | 1950-1954 | C, S

• Music camp gave me my first professional gigs - and what an experience! Thanks, FFS! I remember playing dance gigs with your dad (on string bass) and Jim Truscello on sax at Higbys. I vividly recall singing in the Radio Choir. I was a lousy singer but a good reader. I had a range of a 6th, somewhere between lower tenor and high baritone.
  - I remember getting cornet lessons with Bill Musser every day whenever he saw me goofing off or having a good time and not practicing.
  - NYSMC was my first musical awakening to jazz, symphony, and I can still remember Tchaikovsky's V with B. Musser. I remember playing fast marches with the Band at the Boonville Fair and the thrill of having to play for the twirlers [see below!] and having to play well musically. Bill M. was insistent.
• John Simonelli, Gene Gonzales, and I came to Otter Lake ten days early to open camp and paint. That's where John learned the art of house painting, which helped him survive the summers as a student at Curtis so that he could support a wife and child.
  - And I remember my first adolescent moments of sexual arousal on "the point."
  - The arrival of the twirlers (majorettes) during the last two weeks of camp.
• First trumpeter with the Canadian Brass, 1972-1996; faculty of University of Georgia at Athens, beginning Fall 1996.

Mitchell, Alasdair | Edinburgh, Scotland | 1992, 1995 | F

• I am struck by the strange and wonderful occurrence each time I visit NYSMC of how terrible the first orchestra rehearsal is and how excellent the final concert turns out. This is a tribute to all the students and staff who put so much of themselves into music making. Commitment!
• Will someone PLEASE enlighten me as to how the American telephone system works? The only calls I seem to be able to make are "collect." Help!
• Musical Director, Edinburgh (Scotland) Symphony Orchestra.

Murdock, Dr. Mervin | Gallipolis, Ohio | 1953-1955 | C

• I took sax lessons from Jim Truscello and played in the band under Bill Musser. The sax I had was about 30 years old, and even Mr. Truscello had a hard time making good sounds on it. He was very surprised and pleased one day when I came into my lesson with a "new" sax. My parents and I had gone to a pawn shop in Utica. We couldn't afford a new instrument, and even this one meant a huge financial sacrifice to the family, requiring a bank loan. This investment was probably a contributing factor for my staying in music education as a profession.
• I hitch-hiked to Otter Lake from my home in Inlet early every morning, carrying my tenor sax in hand. I had been awarded a music scholarship from my high school music department. Fortunately in those days hitch-hiking was quite common, and folks were much more trusting of strangers than they are now. Often I would ride on the back of pick-up trucks. Route 28 was very crooked, narrow, and bumpy. The 24 miles took anywhere between 45 minutes to an hour-and-a-half, if I was lucky enough to get a ride straight through and there wasn't bumper-to-bumper traffic. Most of the time though, it took three or four rides, and two to three hours. When I got home in the afternoon I would go straight to the Inlet Golf Course where I caddied and learned the game I still love to play.
• Music Coordinator, University of Rio Grande; music faculty and choral conductor.

Musser, Prof. Willard | Greentown, Pennsylvania | 1948-1955 | F

• Moe Whitney wrote an overture which we performed at Otter Lake one summer. After the band played it in concert at the Camp and later at Old Forge, we were driving back when we passed through Thendara. There and then Moe said, "That is what the overture will be named." And so it is published - Thendara Overture by Maurice C. Whitney. I remember playing scheduled concerts in the center area of the Raquette Lake community and at several hotels Big Moose, and on Seventh and Eighth Lakes. And of course at the fairs. The regular concerts which drew the largest and most enthusiastic audiences were the Sunday afternoon ones in the Otter Lake Music Hall as well as those overlooking the lake at Old Forge. "The point" at Otter Lake was the place that Richard Della Ratta practiced his French horn both early mornings and evenings until dark - much to your dad's "annoyance." Many of the old sites have long since disappeared, but his special practice area will remain.
• I very well remember some of the Stunt Nites at Otter Lake. For the most part we had fine counselors and excellent cooks in those days. Those were fine periods each year to experience. There were sad occasions, but I guess they have to be expected when so many different people are involved together in a 24 hours/day schedule for many summer weeks. There was a fine restaurant in Old Forge - the Ferns maybe. There your dad and I had dinners while we discussed teaching phases during the summer operation. The NYSSMA Summer Clinics were held at Otter Lake each summer at the close of the Music Camp. It was headed by NYSSMA President Jake Freeman [also on the camp faculty].
• Free-lance Guest Band Conductor/Clinician, Editor, Consultant, Author.

O'Brien, Elizabeth| Long Beach, New York | 1986-1992 | C, S

• My most vivid memory is of Mr. Strasser's conducting Mahler and his asking me to play 6th horn. I was 13 and playing last chair in Symphony Orchestra. 'What a thrill!
• My circle of friends now [January 1995] includes nine people whom I met in 1986 at NYSMC. I am as close to these people as I am to my own family. They are the friends I will have for the rest of my life even though we are scattered all over the continent.
• Music teacher, Long Beach Middle School.

Parham, Helen | San Francisco, California | 1967-1981 | C

• If I were asked to choose just one memory, it would have to be the celebration of the Bicentennial of our Independence Day, when I was greatly honored to have written the lyrics to the beautiful work, Happy Birthday, America. It was more than I was honored: the love expressed and the cooperation of my fellow Campers in giving it their all, their most polished vocal ability. This will always remain one of my most treasured memories.
• I remember a Final Dance at which Dr. Frederic Fay Swift danced with his little daughter Debbie while the Band played, "Thank Heaven for Little Girls." And I remember Mrs. Norma Swift's good counsel at times, and how she held my hand as I sat next to her when they played Happy Birthday, America. She told me afterwards not to be afraid as I walked down the aisle to accept the beautiful bouquet of red roses for having the honor to write the lyrics for our masterpiece.
• Church soloist, studying voice, and loving music. "With its uplifting joy, I just can't be bothered with anything petty."

Peterson Brinckerhoff, Elane | Sunderland, Massachusetts | 1966-1974 | C, S

• The musical memory is having to try to play cello in Tom Brown's Stage Band!
• Gilbert Lake, and the Baseball Hall o' Fame.
• Professional player and private instructor with some coaching of area youth orchestras.

Poulton, David J. | Heuvelton, New York | 1953, 1954 | C

• The first summer I was soloist in the Symphonic Band on Rossini's Stabat Mater. The second summer I played in a trumpet trio with Fred Mills and Dan Mincarelli.
• The final camp dances at the Otter Lake concert hall, and the camp picnics and Golden Beach at Raquette Lake.
• Retired from 32 years as music teacher in Massena (4) and Heuvelton (28); active NYSSMA adjudicator and trumpeter in Watertown area.

Raudenbush DiBrita, Elaine | Baldwin, New York | 1955, 1956, 1958-1961, 1963, 1965 | C, S, F

• Performing at Vernon Downs race track. Singing Darling, speak love to me, and soon! as the final tag to "Speak Low". Singing for the Utica Rotary Club and knowing that Roland Chesley was to be there. (I don't admit to my students that I sang in a "Radio" Choir - makes me sound like an antique!)
• Would you believe - peeling potatoes in the kitchen at Otter Lake! The boat trips through the [Fulton Chain of] Lakes. The cry "Man on 2nd" at the hotel, a cry that seemed unusually frequent!
• High School Vocal/Choral Director, Seaford, New York.

Reese-Wagoner, Amy | Findley, Minnesota | 1985-1992 | C, S

• Hugh Ash, age 10, soloing in Song for the Mira in Concert Choir at the Final Concert in 1987. The first time I got to play assistant first horn in Symphony Orchestra. Singing The Old Irish Blessing with fellow counselors at the final counselor recital every year.
• As the lesson coordinator for several years, I loved having the opportunity to get to know a good number of the students' names. I also remember the old fountain in Yager Hall, and the time Ethan Smith and friends lowered me into it!
• Playing in a university "common band" while working on my Ph.D. in biochemistry at the University of Minnesota.

Ringenbach, David | Las Vegas, Nevada | 1973 | C

• Vibraphone lessons with Tom Brown, a strict and disciplined teacher. I studied from a book he had written. He borrowed some of my small percussion instruments for a gig he was playing one weekend. I remember training a group of small campers for Dry Bones, which you did with Concert Choir that summer.
• We had dinner and a great conversation about music at your dad's house. He told me about Brass and Percussion Magazine which he edited, and I later did an article for it.
• Elementary school music teacher; timpanist with Nevada Symphonic Wind Ensemble; percussionist at major Vegas hotels; proprietor of small MIDI Studio.

Rosenbaum-Read, Evelyn | Burlington, Vermont | 1955-1959 | C

• I started playing violin while living in Plattsburgh, NY, and my next-door neighbor helped me to practice and was most encouraging. She was Betty Ann Frost and had gone to the camp.
• More than anyone else I remember your dad.
• Faculty of the University of Vermont; Principal 2nd in the Vermont Symphony and Violist in the Champlain Chamber Ensemble.

Rosenberg, Michael | Remshalden, Germany | 1966-1970 | C

• Playing percussion and saxophone in the Stage Band.
• I loved playing baseball and volleyball on the sports field on the upper campus behind "Cardboard Alley."
• Berlin Philharmonic and Stuttgart Radio Orchestra (English horn); faculty at the Stuttgart Music Hochschule.

Rosenberg Ross, Myra | Amherst, Massachusetts | 1966-1970 | C, S

• I remember doing the Mozart Requiem in the hot fieldhouse, and a student fainted. I remember conducting Girls Choir in This Is My Country. I'll never forget winning the scholarship in 1967.
• The Gilbert Lake picnics. Searching for a stolen mattress (and getting in trouble for it with Tom Brown). Great friends.
• Private violin/viola teacher; also playing violin and viola in the Pioneer Valley Symphony.

Roussey, Christopher | Falls Church, Virginia | 1986-1990 | C, S, F

• In the 4th week concert of 1990 Chuck Schneider had inspired the Symphony Orchestra so completely. During the evening's performance of Shostakovich's Fifth I remember getting goose bumps many times, particularly during the 3rd movement. It's one of the few times I've experienced that indescribable feeling of fulfillment that can happen when a group of musicians comes together and creates something so beautiful and emotionally charged that the audience and the players are really moved. You don't ever want that moment to end.
• This may sound a little silly, especially for someone who was 23 at the time, but I met my first real true love at NYSMC. Unfortunately we had to go our separate ways and have now lost touch. But I think of her every now and then, and hope she is happy. I haven't met anyone quite like her. She was very special to me.
• The United States Army Band (Pershing's Own); freelance in the Washington DC area, play trumpet in regional ensembles, teach trumpet, and ring in two handbell choirs.

Rowell, Malcolm W., Jr. | Hadley, Massachusetts | 1993-1995 | F

• Performing Grainger with Symphonic Band in 1994 and 1995; performing Kurka's The Good Soldier Schweik with Institute Winds in 1993.
• The fondness for a terrific group of young people!
• Professor of Music, Director of Bands, University of Massachuseets at Amherst.

Saetveit, Gerald | New London, Minnesota | 1955, 1956, 1961-1963 | C, S

• The enjoyment of sight-reading so many band pieces. The enjoyment of singing in the Radio Choir. The enjoyment of playing trumpet in Jazz Band. I remember singing the solo in Russian Picnic.
• Playing with other kids my age (David and Bob Swift, David Freeman) and trying to solve mysteries - that we created, since there weren't any. We placed a bird that I accidentally killed with a rock in a tiny toy treasure chest, and buried it out on the point.
• Elementary music specialist; violinist in community orchestra; singer and guitarist in Minnesota Renaissance Festival.

Saetveit, Philip | Hilo, Hawaii | 1959-1965 | C

• Playing Water Music in the orchestra. Singing tenor in our barbershop quartet.
• The trips to Gilbert Lake, the softball games, and secret hikes to the lookout point on the other side of the mountain. (I guess it's safe to tell of them now.) In an early brochure, I was the baby sitting in the middle of the sousaphone.
• Builder and performer on ethnic instruments - Japanese shakuhachi, bamboo flutes, Australian contrabass didgereedoos.

Schermerhorn, George | Whitehall, Pennsylvania | 1952-1960, 1963 | C, S, F.

• I remember so many things - the concerts for the Utica Rotary Club, taping the broadcasts for radio, studying organ with George Wald, and that infamous concert when Mr. Musser gave the cut off but the tonic note kept sounding the fire alarm in the village!
• Will we ever forget living in Cabin IV down by the lake and waiting and waiting to use the bathroom, only to discover that Allan Widom had fallen asleep on "the throne!" I remember trading puns with you and others. The old "snaque bar" was great. I remember the "formal" dances at the end of the 8th week - dating, purchasing flowers, dancing, and "making out" in the lounge on the 2nd floor of the old hotel, where I kissed my first girl. Those were such great times!They played a large part in my decision to go into music.
• Executive Director of the Community Music School, Allentown, PA; substitute organist at area churches.

Schoenholz Wolf, Nancy | Beverly Hills, California | 1970-1984 | C, S, F

• A recital in which a camper came up and played the 3rd clarinet part to a band arrangement of the musical score to the movie Exodus.
• Turning everything in Deb Swift's room into its mirror image.
• Child psychiatrist; "variable" musical activities.

Schuyler, Richard J. | Oneonta, New York | 1950-1957 | C, S, F

• I'm playing baritone horn in an Otter Lake Sunday afternoon concert, and Mr. Musser gives a cut-off in a climactic section of the piece. There continues a sustained sound. He looks at me as the source BUT my horn is not to my mouth. It was the firehouse siren: I believe the Norton Lumberyard burned. Interesting to note that for so many Otter Lake campers that memory continues to smolder in their memory. Indeed it kindles the interest of present-day readers in an occurrence so long aglow. Fortunately none of the players in band were fired. (Yes, the puns were that bad...)
• Nonmusical memories include the great horseshoe competitions in front of Cabin II, the Boonville Fairs, the Old Forge Sunday evening concerts, the square dance trio at the Higby Club at Big Moose, sunrise on Bald Mountain, and many memories of activities on "the point."
• Retired music teacher (35 years); performance in summer concert bands.

Senatore, Mary Louise | Bay Shore, New York | 1988-1993 | S

• The concerts were all so fabulous. I especially liked the Final Concert of everything, especially the chorus. Symphony Orchestra with Chuck Schneider was AWESOME!
• The Staff skits. In 1990 Barry Stern dressed up as Aretha Franklin, and his vocal backups (all guys) dressed in ladies' clothes to sing Aretha's "Respect." - It was hilarious!
• Director of 9th Grade Orchestra, West Islip Orchestra, private school orchestra, chamber music festival; church choir work and cantoring.

Sheley, Dr. Wayne | Topeka, Kansas | 1960-1966 | S, F

• (No specific memories given although individuals named - Art Dedrick, Jonathan and Conrad Strasser, Robert and Margot Swift, and "of course Frederic Fay Swift.")
• Provost/Vice President, Washburn University; freelance trombonist.

Shiner McGuire, Kristen | Rochester, New York | 1972-1975, 1977, 1982 | C, S, F

• I remember how thrilling it was to play percussion in Concert Band with great parts, like Danza Finale and Estampie. Tom Brown was demanding and inspiring, and our section was phenomenal.
• I remember playing water polo in the pool to relieve some of the tension of practicing and studying. I remember eating watermelon (and spitting the seeds at one another) outside the dorm on a warm summer evening. And I remember jogging with Pam O'Brady up and down the hills!
• Percussion instructor, Nazareth College; Artist-in-Residence for The Aesthetic Education Institute; Drummer and singer for Jazz Quartet; Private percussion studio; freelance musician.

Simonelli, John | Toronto, Ontario, Canada | 1953-1955 | C

• Learning from Bill Musser - a great teacher.
• There was a time that Gene Gonzales and I went fishing at 12:00 midnight. (We snuck out.) A fog came in, and we couldn't find our way back until morning. No fish either!
• Toronto Symphony.

Skoldberg, Dr. Phyllis | Phoenix, Arizona | 1968-1970 | F

• There were excellent orchestra players while I was there.
• There were also water fights in the dorms.
• Professor of Music, Arizona State University; Touring Chamber Music Group "Cremena College."

Smith, John A. | Las Vegas, Nevada | 1959-1964 | C, S

• Singing with Fay Swift and the Radio Choir in all of the wonderful trips away from campus. Also there was a guest conductor of the Stage Band who told one nameless saxophone player, "If you played with any bigger vibrato, you could play chords."
• I remember as a camper the counselors doing room checks. Then there were the great trips to the lake. And one summer I fell in love with a cute girl from Avoca.
• Church choir conductor; singing in semi-professional community chorus; occasional choral and vocal adjudicator and clinician.

Smith, Ruth A. | Syracuse, New York | 1951 | S

• I remember a concert in the Otter Lake music hail when a number from Carousel was dedicated to your mother, "You'll Never Walk Alone." Then on a trip to Big Moose we saw deer along the way. And on another trip, this one to Cooperstown, I sang with the choir. Quietly, I must say. [Ms. Smith was the Camp Nurse.]
• There were fire drills at the Camp, and the boys would wait for the girls to come out of the hotel with hair curlers and wearing their night attire.
• Loves opera with Puccini as a favorite; enjoys videos and radio broadcasts of classical music.

Soto, David A. | New York, New York | 1976-1995 | C, S, F

• A read-through of Mozart's Coronation Mass with Jonathan Strasser, conductor, and soloists Lisa Vroman, soprano, Deb Swift, mezzo, Cal Gage, tenor, and Conrad Strasser, bass ... circa 1977.
• Joining Dr. Robert Swift in short-sheeting David Bickel's bed. Also the wonderful camper-counselor softball games in the mid 1980's.
• Director of Bands, North Shore High School.

Sprague Stagg, Donna Lee | Carroll, Ohio | 1966-1975, 1981, 1982 | C, S, F.

• Assisting in the shooting off of the cannon during Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture at the Final Concert of 1981. Singing my grandfather's favorite songs in Select Choir. Ending the final concerts with Old Irish Blessing.
• Picnics at Goodyear Lake. Camp quizzes and counselor shows. Being crowned queen at the Final Dance with King Phil Sinder. The bus rides to sing at the Utica Rotary Club and Grandpa's always pointing out the beaver dam, year after year.
• Donna passed on June 16, 1995.

Sprague, Willard | Sayville, New York | 1969-1973 | C, S

• Soloing with Alan Steinberger on Raw Bones with the Jazz Ensemble in 1971; being "the Jones Boy" in the Concert Choir rendition of the piece by the same name; being constantly impressed by the musical talent of Alan [Steinberger] and Jack [Greenhouse].
• Brass and percussion instructor, Sayville Schools (22 years); Atlantic Wind Symphony, Concert Pops of Long Island, Symphony of Long Island, Long Island Brass Guild.

Springstead, Casey G. | Rochester, New York | 1987-1991 | C

• Playing Appalachian Spring - my first orchestral participation!
• Camper-counselor softball games on the turf.
• Majoring in music education at the Eastman School of Music.

Squires, Stephen E. | Dekaib, Illinois | 1975-1977 | S, F

• Singing and listening to the fabulous choral programming of both Dr. Swifts.
• Surviving long days of playing too much 1st trumpet, but loving it. Sitting on the hill watching the 4th of July fireworks. Getting ice cream Friendly's!
• Music professor, Northern Illinois University; conductor, trumpeter, and pianist.

Stark DeQuinze, Doris | Montrose, Colorado | 1948 | S

• Everything about the Camp was beautiful. Musicians were outstanding. We had many great concerts. Otter Lake was beautiful - also the surroundings. I played with Bill Musser's jazz band. There were so many activities, and never a dull moment.
• You were just a tot, but I remember your sister Nancy. We all went row-boating many warm, balmy evenings. Your dad was a musical GIANT! He helped so many kids get that all-important start. What a fine tribute now to have a book published.
• Retired but enjoying and participating in many musical activities in Montrose area.

Stern, Barry L. | New York, New York | 1984-1991 | C, S, F

• When I was 15, I was waiting on line for my first summer registration. When I arrived at "Z," I tried to talk my way out of Concert Choir. I'll never forget that: no luck! There was also my first experience with Mahler in 1986.
• Me as Aretha Franklin. (I'm so ashamed!!)
• Artistic Director, Carmagniole Consortium; Assistant Director of Orchestral Studies, MSM; freelance violist.

Stock, Roy | Albany, New York | 1962-1965 | S, F

• I was asked to serve as narrator of the Elijah story in the old fieldhouse. Just when I got to the part about the drought brought on to punish Israel, an August thunderstorm broke over the campus, concentrating its fury on the gym's tin roof. While trying to look cool and professional, I had to practically scream over the thundering downpour: "Behold, there's been no dew nor rain for three years."At least the laughter gave an indication of who could hear the narrative.
• Bassist in Utica, Schenectady, and Catskill Symphonies; Choir Director, Newtonville U.M.C.

Sullivan, Gerald F. | Utica, New York | 1984-1992 | C, S

• Singing Cindy in Concert Choir with Dr. Bob. Conducting my first ever choral group, the Chorale, weeks 1-2 of the 1990 season.
• The night before the Final Concert (1989 or 1990) when the lights went out during the Select Choir concert, and waving to Dr. Bob from the light catwalk when there was nothing we could do.
• Music teacher, West Canada Valley Central Schools; Choir Director at Blessed Sacrament Church in Utica

Swift, The Rev. Deborah Fae | Rochester, New York | 1962-1983 | C, S. F

• At age 9 or so Randi Friis and Conrad Strasser let me play 1st violin in the back next to them. I kept letting my ring finger and pinky fly up off the bow. They brought masking tape and taped them down to break that habit.
  - Another orchestra memory was when Wayne Sheley conducted Hanson's Second. The 2nd violins had a tacet which I read as "TAKE IT" and so, logically, moved ahead to the next movement. At a tremolo passage that I could really saw away on, I found myself the only one doing so. Wayne then explained the real meaning of that word.
  - My classes included High School Theory from Dad, Harmony from you, and Conducting from Margot. How's that for good training!
  - There was a Select Choir trip to Schenectady for taping a program on WRGB, Channel 6. Margot was accompanist, and her guard on her watch got stuck in the keys during a "piano fill" to the narration.
• I remember sitting on the hill overlooking Delhi at night, discussing Energy, philosophy, God, Zoroastrianism, and Franz Kafka with Nancy Schoenholz.
  - The U.S. landed on the moon during Camp; Sebastian Vittucci, Justin Taylor, and I stayed up all night to see it. There were no "lights out" that night!
  - At age 13, I finally won the Camp Quiz.
  - When I was 8, Conrad was 12. He asked me to dance at the Final Dance. It was the first time a boy ever asked me to dance.
  - Then there was the trip to Howe Caverns - I must have been 9 or 10. Fred kissed me at the kissing rock there. I was more excited about my new pocket knife.
  - Then there was the summer Nancy was engaged to Jack [Cook] and had her ring. She'd often pause to look at it. We had more fermatas on the 3rd beats of 44 measures in Girls Choir than ever before. [An entire separate chapter could be devoted to Deborah's delightful memories.]
• Minister of Music, Calvary St. Andrew's Parish; private voice and guitar studio; composition.

Swift, Jeffrey | Seattle, Washington | 1978, 1979 | C

• Being part of a very special percussion group accompanying Concert Choir in Die Musici, conducted by my dad, and hitting the triangle two beats late, after the piece had ended. [Editor's note: It was woodblock.]
• I developed a good technique for oral hygiene - brushing my teeth while showering.
• Playing loud music on my stereo when not working at MicroSoft.

Swift, Jennifer | Moscow, Idaho | 1978-1983 | C

• Being a part of Select Choir meant a lot to me. There was a required, boring General Music class - except when Jeff Alpert taught it. He was cute!
• I had a big crush on David Soto.
• Student at University of Idaho; "I sing in the shower on a regular basis."

Swift Cook, Nancy | Canal Winchester, Ohio | 1947-1954, 1956-mid 1980's | C, F

• Dr. Cavallo's suffering an angina attack two hours before a Saturday evening concert at Otter Lake - he conducted anyway. The recording sessions on Thursday afternoons and having to work around the sounds of the afternoon train and motorboats on the lake. Mr. Musser's taking band selections (in rehearsal) double time to challenge Gene Karandy, Gene Gonzales, and Elinor Barnes. And the time Musser laughed - the clacking of the bass clarinet keys when Sunny Aronson couldn't keep up so just "wiggled her fingers" as told.
• The drowning of Stephen St. John. The trips to Blue Mt. and Raquette Lake so that the "honey wagon" could come to pump out the septic tanks. The trips to Old Forge and Boonville to see movies. The punkies at the outdoor concerts.
• Nancy passed on June 28, 1995, one day shy of her 60th birthday.

Thurner, Jean and Joseph | Hamilton, New York | 1949-1952 | S

• Playing Chopsticks with the orchestra and dancing the "hula" at area hotels (Jean). Helping a camper record a Mozart concerto while heavy snowplows were passing in July (Joe).
• The tragic drowning. [Jean was instructor of the water safety courses and helped to coordinate the search efforts.]
• Professor Emeritus, Chemistry, Colgate University (Joe); retired school teacher (Jean) - sings in church choir.

Todd, Ethel D. | Newfield, New York | 1960-1972 | S

• Radio Choir trips to Utica.
• Outings to Gilbert Lake.
• [Now in her 90's, "Ma" Todd was housemother, last seat violinist, and water-balloonist extraordinaire. For many of the campers during her era, she remains one of the loveliest memories.]
• "I still like to sing if there's the opportunity."

Truscello, James M.| Wantagh, New York | 1952, 1953 | F

• I enjoyed teaching woodwind students on "the point." During one of your lessons you learned to harmonize I-IV-V-I chords in four parts.
• Informal discussions with Bill Musser at Charbonneau's Restaurant after campers' day ended. Watching the 1952 Republican Convention on TV at your dad and Norma's cottage. Ike was nominated.
• Retired Director of Fine Arts, Middle Country Central School, Centereach; substitute teacher.

Vroman, David | Potsdam, New York | 1969-1972, 1978-1981 | C, S

• The cannon in the 1812 Overture. Any Select Choir week with F. F. Swift. There was that one song - I don't recall the title, but it went, "Bum, bum, bum, bum... the King's horses, the King's men, Marched up the street and they marched back again!" Lisa, Sue, and I still are floored by it.
• The numerous late-night counselor pranks - (if the campers ever knew... !). Performing Brahms Requiem at final choral concert for my stepdad Cal Gage at Crane with all three stepsisters, brother Neil, sis Sue, and Lisa as soloist.
• Currently elementary school teacher.

Vroman, Lisa Anne | San Francisco, California | 1972-1978 | C, S

• All the student recitals - hearing Conrad play Debussy with my chin on the floor and my heart in my throat, or later Roger's doing the Exodus theme, or part of the 3rd clarinet version, including tacets.
• Donna Lee [Sprague] was a wonderful friend. We were dorm directors together and tried to keep "lights out" sacred, and the girls from cavorting with the international soccer players. I didn't sleep much those years.
• Lead soprano in San Francisco production of Phantom of the Opera.

Waddell Tonnesen, Dorothea | Holly Hills, Florida | 1949, 1950 | F

• Working with wonderful faculty colleagues - the Goransons, Maurice Whitney, your dad. Being "allowed" to play cello. I was last chair, but it was great fun.
• One evening I was discussing music with Ebba Goranson in the lounge at Otter Lake, directly below my bedroom where son Bill Schnell was sleeping. Plump plump. I ran upstairs. He had fallen onto the floor from the high bunk. I put him back up. A half hour later, plump plump again. So we all agreed we'd put him on the lower bunk, and I'd sleep on the high one.
• "Retired"- extensive civic work (18 organizations!), including musical activities.

Werme Swift, Margot | Plymouth, New Hampshire | 1957-1966, 1994, 1996 | S, F

• My first summer as Camp accompanist I was very nervous. I recall Doc placed in front of me some rhythmic work-out - "Midnight in Paris" or something. He gave the downbeat and I was trying to figure out where beat 3 fell, to which he replied rather shortly, "I've had accompanists who could sight-read this!"
  - Often at the start of any concert as my cue to play the C7 arpeggio, he'd look at me and say, "Fire, Marg!" - That first rehearsal I thought he was going to do just that.
• At one of the Radio Choir rehearsals conducted by that wonderful, sensitive, kind man Rollin Truitt, a clumsy camper knocked Mr. Truitt's wristwatch which he had set on the piano onto the floor, where it shattered into five different parts. The embarrassed student scraped up the pieces and handed them to Mr. Truitt, who thanked him profusely. Ma Todd, who was turning my pages, and I got laughing and couldn't stop for the rest of the rehearsal
• Music faculty for elementary music education classes at Plymouth State College; accompanist of Pemigewasset Choral Society.

Wheeler, Jeremy D. | Hanover, New Hampshire | 1991, 1992 | C

• I remember riding out to the reservoir one afternoon with Dr. Bob. After a long conversation about "truth", he played a cassette recording of the Select Choir's performance (of which I was a part) of Rutter's "For the Beauty of the Earth." The serenity of that mountain lake coupled with the beautiful music and good company are memories I'll never forget.
• Ultimate Frisbee games in front of the Commons. Hanging out in the Agora while a young piano virtuoso would serenade us. While standing on the risers in Concert Choir as Dr. Bob approached the stage for the concert, a random person standing next to me suddenly wiped a lipstick outline of a certain young lady's lips from my cheek just minutes before our performance.
• Dartmouth College Glee Club; shower singing in 1st floor Richardson Dormitory bathroom.

White, Winton "Winky" | FF0, Japan | 1968-1971 | C

• The night before I went to Delhi for my first day at music camp, my mother presented me with a used but wonderfully beautiful Ludwig drum set with a fancy red sparkle color. I was the only drummer that first week, but with Tom Brown's patience and prodding, it worked out pretty well.
• Dr. Fay Swift lived down the street in my neighborhood. Every day for the three weeks I attended that first summer, he drove me to and from Delhi. He had a HUGE Lincoln Continental, very roomy. Every day I would wait by the road and watch Dr. Swift drive down Suncrest Terrace to where I was standing. I'd get in, and we'd begin a wonderful 30-minute conversation about everything under the sun. This man who has done so much for "children" to better themselves, not only as musicians but as citizens of our home called earth, was sharing his wisdom, his experiences, his memories, so that I could have this memory today.
• Performing in a musical comedy in and around Tokyo: entitled "Ja-Pun," it pokes musical fun at foreigners living in Japan.

Whitney Kimura, Dale | St. Cloud, Florida | 1947-1950 | C

• I learned to play "The Man I Love" and "It Had to Be You" on the piano. I still play them today. Every time I hear "In the Still of the Night" it reminds me of the Otter Lake choir, which sang it so beautifully.
• Neil Gall literally pulled me up Blue Mountain. And one time my mother asked me to get her harp key from the room, right before a rehearsal. I ran and fell against the steps of the hotel. I had to go to Old Forge for my first three stitches in my knee. The L-shaped scar is still a reminder.
• Member of Space Coast Symphony; weddings and church performances.

Whitney, John | Orlando, Florida | 1958, 1959, 1966 | C, F

• Great barbershop quartet in 1966 with Phil Saetveit, Dave Hathaway, Bob Swift. Radio Choir's performance of "For All We Know."
• Ping-pong and volleyball games. Trips to Gilbert Lake State Park.
• Professor of Music, University of Central Florida; guest conductor and soloist, composer and arranger.

Wiener, Fawn | Suffern, New York | 1976-1984 | C, S, F

• I lacked ability and confidence when I first arrived at Camp. Conrad Strasser was my teacher of Piano Ensemble. As he put music in front of me to sightread, I remember thinking, "I can't play this!" He said immediately, "I know you'll do your best, and that will be fine." He always believed in and encouraged his students - right up until his death in January 1995. From him I learned how to relax and "just play."
• Oneonta in 1979 was light years away from NYC. The New York Times took two days to get there, and WQXR was hard to pull in. The one time we heard it loud and clear was when it ran the news bulletin of the air fatality of Thurman Munson. I was a big Yankee fan, and that announcement was devastating. We never got the station again.
• Junior high school string teacher for East Ramapo district; conducting numerous regional orchestras; professional cellist; coordinator Manhattan School of Music Preparatory Division.

Winick, Steven D. | Atlanta, Georgia | 1956, 1957 | C

• Playing trumpet in the band and orchestra was a highlight. Also hearing your original woodwind quintet for the modern dance number. It was a revelation that so few instruments could sound so good. It introduced chamber music to me.
• The wonderful summer rides to and from Gilbert Lake once a week. Canoe trips there were great. Panty raids at the girls' dormhouse at old Buckley Hall in town.
• Steve passed on January 23, 1996.

Wishengard Cohen, Bette (Bunnie) | New York, New York | 1955, 1956 | C

• Singing in the choir and performing selections for radio programs: "Greetings from the Adirondacks, and the New York State Music Camp."
• We had gathered in the large 2nd floor bathroom of the old hotel and were just socializing. There were no chairs, so I sat on the sink. And broke it. I was shocked, frightened, and greatly chagrined!! Later we all could giggle about it.
• Invested clergyperson; cantor at Long Island synagogue; conductor, singer, teacher.

Wood Swift, Norma | Oneonta, New York | 1951 | S

• The choir's singing Fierce Was the Wild Billow at the gathering in memory of Steve St. John following his drowning.
• Robert Swift and his green cape, enacting original plays.
• Appreciation.

Woodruff Blair, Betty | Whitesboro, New York | 1948-1950 | F

• Riding to Otter Lake every weekend from Ithaca with Walter Beeler. (I was working on my Masters.)
• Visiting with Fay and Ruth at their summer cottage the other side of the lake.
• Quartet playing, and some guest orchestral conducting.

Woolschlager, Peter J. | Croghan, New York | 1981-1988, 1990 | S, F

• One memory that few remember other than those who performed was a performance of Mozart's Piano Quintet. It was a great musical moment for me. Performing in the quintet were myself on piano, Deryke Clarke on horn, Jenni Kuhns on oboe, Carl Jackson on clarinet, and Lois Steinberg on bassoon. Imagine the fun we had! I'll cherish the music and the friendships forever.
• The OREO Patrol consisting of Deryke Clarke, Myself in the middle, and Carl Jackson. At the end of camp we actually passed out OREO's in the girls dorm.
• Instrumental music director at Beaver River Central School; piano and celeste player with Utica Symphony Orchestra.

Worley, John C. | Brunswick, Maine | 1957, 1958, 1961, 1969 | F

• I well remember the blind girl who played violin but learned all the music in one week! Amazing... [She was Debbie Deyo.]
• Composing; playing soprano sax in "Cul-de-Sax" Quartet.

Zaslaw, Neal | Ithaca, New York | 1954-1956 | C, S

• The best gift I received that first summer was the ability to sight-read anything. I learned a lot musically, socially, and culturally at NYSMC. At one of the Wednesday recitals I played Telemann's Suite in A minor, with a long French overture followed by a suite of dances, all with lots of repeats and da capos. As we left the "stage" by the "stage door," waiting outside were a small group of local thugs who said, "If you ever again play something that long, we'll knock your teeth down your throat." - I wonder for which newspaper those charming music critics are working nowadays.
• Six or eight years ago my wife and I traveled through the Adirondacks and actually stayed at Otter Lake. Friends of ours had bought the cottage on "the point" [Wynns], that was inhabited by that funny little man who used to chase necking couples from the bushes with a big flashlight. We stayed there.
• Professor of Music, Cornell University; musicologist, author, researcher; editor of 7th Köchel Edition.

Zvengrowski, Steven T. | Oneonta, New York | 1981-1996 | S, F

• Starting the Final Concert of 1994 at 11:50 p.m. but watching the campers give all their energies to produce a wonderful concert at such a late hour. The concert ended around 2 p.m. The incredible mystique that takes place at the Final Concert when the Concert Choir performs and closes out another "camp season."
• Having the music campers and staff meet a former camper, Fred Mills of the Canadian Brass, at Tanglewood Music Festival. My association and learning about how to administer the program with Frederic Fay Swift.
• Chairperson and Professor, Hartwick College Music Department; Director, NYSMC&I and HCSMF&I.