Wendy Berner ’06 of Hamburg, NY, researched the University’s
musical heritage.
Wendy Berner '06 says music has been "an enormous part of my
life" and a University Fellowship allowed her to research part
of St. Lawrence's musical heritage.
Berner, of Hamburg, New York, is an economics and music double-major,
as well as a member of the campus vocal groups the Laurentian
Singers and the Gospel Choir. In 2004, she was awarded a University
Fellowship to research the tradition of vocal music at St. Lawrence,
a project for the University’s Sesquicentennial. Working
with Assistant Professor and Chair of Music David Henderson, Berner
scoured St. Lawrence’s archival resources, and contacted alumni
to collect their reminiscences of singing, and how it fit in to student
life.
"The response from alumni was overwhelming," Berner says
of those conversations. "Everyone was so eager to share stories
of how important music was in their experience of St. Lawrence."
The result of Berner's work is a paper that details musical to about
the middle of the 20th century; vocal organizations; and informal
singing on campus. "Instrumental and vocal music have been an
enormous part of my life," Berner says. "So the opportunity
to do research in this area of the University's history was especially
interesting to me."
