First-year member of the preparatory choir, Gabby Moran, 9, hugs her director, Mary Alice Stollak, after the MSU Children’s Choir farewell concert Stollak’s honor. Stollak is retiring after 16 years of directing the choir.
On Thursday, Mary Alice Stollak, founding artistic and musical director of the MSU Children’s Choir, directed her choir of 54 children for the last time.
The choir members, ranging from 4th grade to high school-aged, wore brightly colored vests, white shirts and blouses and sang to an audience that almost filled the entire first level of Wharton Center.
Stollak said she was honored by the turnout and the response from the community.
“I was teary-eyed,” Stollak said. “I was so touched that people understood what an impact these children have had on this community.”
Stollak, an East Lansing resident since 1966, was invited to direct the choir in 1993 by James Forger, dean of the College of Music, as part of the college’s Community Music School. Under Stollak’s direction, the choir has performed in a variety of venues and received multiple recognitions.
Stollak and the choir have won two Grammy Awards, represented the United States at the 6th World Symposium on Choral Music, worked with prominent organizations, such as the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and played at a variety of notable locations including Carnegie Hall and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
For many, however, Stollak’s greatest achievement has been the impact she has made on her students. Joshua Breitzer, 27, a member of Stollak’s inaugural 1993 choir group, continues to study music and came to see the concert. Breitzer said Stollak helped to mold him as a person.
“As a teacher and a musician, she had such incredibly high standards for us, despite how young we were, that you can’t help but carry those with you all your life,” Breitzer said. “I wouldn’t be the musician I am today without her early influence and guidance and inspiration.”
Stollak said as an instructor, she is devoted to her pupils and believes she has a responsibility to help them strive to do their best.
“I’m old-fashioned. I believe that if you’re a teacher, you must give children, you must give your students, the very best and expect the very best from them,” Stollak said. “I think children are capable of excellence.”
The event included a variety of special recognitions, such as a short biographical film on Stollak and a proclamation recognizing Stollak’s work signed by Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Lt. Gov. John D. Cherry.
State Rep. Mark Meadows, D-East Lansing, and State Sen. Gretchen Whitmer, D-Lansing, signed a certificate of tribute and MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon delivered a speech about Stollak.
At the end of the concert, Stollak invited past choir members to join the children and her on stage for one last song, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”
Following the concert, teary-eyed Natasha Ghose, a 13-year-old resident of Okemos and member of the choir, described the impact of Stollak and the choir.
“It’s amazing,” Ghose said.
“She’s the most wonderful teacher in the world. We’re going to miss her so much.”
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