SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music Holds Dedication Ceremony for Joy Rehearsal Room, in Honor of Joy Anthony Douglass ’56 & Chester Douglass (Hon. ’56)
From left, SUNY Potsdam Interim Provost Dr. Alan Hersker, Dr. Joy Anthony Douglass ’56 and Dr. Chester Douglas (Hon. ’56).
SUNY Potsdam celebrated the naming of a major ensemble rehearsal space at The Crane School of Music in a special ceremony on Friday, Sept. 13.
Crane Room C119 was officially dedicated as the Joy Rehearsal Room, in honor of the generosity of Dr. Joy Anthony Douglass ’56 and her husband, Dr. Chester Douglass (Hon. ’56). The couple are longtime supporters of music education, both at Crane, and in their own community and careers.
“For generations of alumni, their careers as educators and administrators, business executives and entrepreneurs, authors and composers, musicians and performers began here at Crane. Today, we celebrate one such alum, Joy Anthony Douglass,” said Crane School of Music Interim Dean Dr. David Heuser. “Joy has dedicated her life to bringing music to others, through teaching, literature, performance and philanthropy.”
The space was finalized as part of a $21.5 million renovation and expansion of The Crane School of Music last year, and will now forever be known as the Joy Rehearsal Room, in honor of the couple’s long support of Crane and the campus as a whole.
“‘Joy’ is an apt name for this space,” said Associate Professor of Choral Conducting Dr. Nils Klykken. “I might be biased, as an ensemble and choral person here in the building, but I like to think of these rooms as the laboratories of Crane, where students get to apply knowledge learned elsewhere in the building, here with one another, coming together, in these rehearsal processes. I am very hopeful that we can live up to the name of this room as we enter this space.”
Having spent her career as a music teacher, organist, choral director and author, Joy Douglass’ intention is to inspire young musicians to lean into creativity and curiosity. She established the Joy Douglass Visiting Master Teacher Program to honor the transformative opportunities she had working with visiting master teachers during her time at Crane. The fund allows visiting master teachers to share their insights and expertise with Crane School of Music students, faculty and music educators from the surrounding region. Now, the couple have made an additional $200,000 gift commitment to support Crane’s greatest needs.
In addition to being a Crane graduate, Joy also holds a master’s degree from Teachers College at Columbia University and a Ph.D. in music education from the University of Michigan. She has been a public school music teacher, and later taught music education at the Boston University School of Fine Arts. She served on the board of Chorus America, is a member of the American Choral Directors Association, and a lifetime member of the National Association for Music Education. She is the author of three books, “The Hum and the Buzz,” “Calvin” and “Where the Music Comes From.”
“Today, we celebrate Joy and Chet Douglass and their decades of support for the College and Crane,” said Potsdam College Foundation Trustee Brooks Washburn (Hon. ’23). “Speaking architecturally, this is a healthier environment for our students to be learning in… Having a space like this to support the students while they are practicing is key. You win races not in the race, but leading up to it—practicing.”
“Naming a space on campus—and in particular, a space as incredible as this—is a momentous occasion. It strengthens the SUNY Potsdam legacy, and it really celebrates those who contribute to our past, present and future,” said Interim Provost Dr. Alan Hersker, who presented the official naming resolution that had previously been approved by the SUNY Potsdam College Council.
After accepting the naming resolution, Douglass shared some thoughts with the audience, starting with how it felt for her as an undergraduate when she transferred to Crane from St. Lawrence University.
“I want to tell you that I breathed a sigh of relief when I got there. I felt there are others like me, and my life was suddenly full of music,” she said.
She shared stories from her career, including her memory of playing a game with kindergartners and finding a group of eight young boys who could match pitch perfectly—and how, from there, she guided them over the next seven years to perform as a small choral ensemble.
“We are teachers, you know? We persist. But the teaching moments where children raise it to another level and let you know about it, is a moment of joy. And I just would like to wish everybody who is teaching that you will have that joy of music also,” Joy said.
To learn more about giving to SUNY Potsdam, visit www.potsdam.edu/giving.
About The Crane School of Music:
Founded in 1886, SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music has a long legacy of excellence in music education and performance. Life at Crane includes an incredible array of more than 300 recitals, lectures and concerts presented by faculty, students and guests each year. The Crane School of Music is the State University of New York’s only All-Steinway institution and was one of the first Yamaha Institutions of Excellence. For more information, please visit www.potsdam.edu/crane.
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