Music Professor Connects with Former Student to Share Passion for Music

The connection between LVC professors and their students and the mentoring relationships that result are bonds that continue to grow well beyond students’ days at The Valley.

A recent story from the Music Department highlights just such a relationship. 

Katy Brodhead ’10 works as the music teacher and arts department lead at Rafael Hernandez School, in Newark, N.J. She wanted to introduce her young students to music, so invited her former professor, Dr. Hannes Dietrich, Newton and Adelaide Burgner Endowed Professor of Instrumental Music, to perform. Dr. Dietrich and his wife, cellist Dr. Marie-Aline Cadieux, perform together as "Duo Terlano" and often give workshops and master classes.

“Many of my students had never seen a violin or a cello played live before, so this was a really inspirational moment for them,” Brodhead said. “I had many students tell me afterward that they are interested in playing the violin or cello.”

Watching Dr. Dietrich interact with her students brought back many memories for Brodhead, and her four years spent at Lebanon Valley College. 

“It was great to work with him. He was one of my favorite professors at LVC. He always went out of his way to help me grow as a musician and teacher,” Brodhead said. 

The experience was equally as wonderful for Dr. Dietrich.

“We had the chance to play for five classes of students ranging from second- to eighth-graders,” he said. “Altogether we played for around 150 students who we played for, most of whom had never heard live music performed before.” 

As part of the performance, Dr. Dietrich and Dr. Cadieux performed a newly commissioned work that resulted from a collaboration with Richard Pearson Thomas—the same musician who composed Blast! for the College’s sesquicentennial celebration. 

“Commissioning They Were Dancing proved to be a really interesting collaborative experience,” Dr. Dietrich said. “We got a first draft of the piece, and then had the opportunity to work with Richard over the next few months. We suggested some minor changes, and then he also made some changes after we sent him early recordings of our rehearsals. In the end, we got a wonderful piece that works well for us, works well for our instruments, and seems to be really appreciated by our audiences.”

Overall the concert was a success, and Duo Terlano plans to return to the Raphael Hernandez school again. You can learn more about Duo Terlano on its website, www.duoterlano.com.

 

-- Veronica Pettyjohn, Marketing & Communications Intern