ACDA Salutes: Helen Hosmer

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1. Kathleen Keenan-Takagi says

   April 12, 2015 at 8:46 pm

   My first year at Crane, Helen Hosmer conducted her last concert with Crane Chorus and orchestra- which she founded and in which every music major was required to particpate . Here is my impression of Dr. Hosmer as muscian, visionary and leader:

               Helen Hosmer made a lasting contribution to music education in America, primarily through her leadership of Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam which she directed for 36 years. Dr. Hosmer was a gifted conductor who could lift any chorus but in particular inspired Crane Chorus to achieve performances well above what might be expected. Dr. Hosmer was a visionary who believed in the power of music education and in the value of great music. Her devotion to music education led to high standards of musical accomplishment for Crane’s faculty and its students, both in the studios and in the ensembles.  She encouraged the members of her faculty to develop their individual talents and to prepare the students to teach music with passion and integrity. Dr. Hosmer believed most vociferously in the importance of learning from the best and from each other.  She took her students to Europe to study with the best- Nadia Boulanger, for example and she sent her freshmen to New York City every year for a week of immersion in the cultural expression of all the arts.
               She brought to the small, Northern New York rural county the world’s great conductors, theorists and music educators for the students at Crane to perform with and learn from during the May Festivals she planned for each year. Robert Shaw, also famous for his uncompromising love of musical masterpieces, was a regular presence and constant inspiration. This was true of the inspiration of Nadia Boulanger. There was a compelling breadth in Hosmer’s vision. She encouraged, inspired and cherished the students whose education she was responsible for and she similarly shared that with educators worldwide through her pioneering work in MENC, ACDA and State Department travels.

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