Crane School of Music Alumni Board Honors Ann Gatta Beaucage '64 with Music Teaching Award

Related Media

L to R: SUNY Potsdam President Kristin Esterberg, Alumni Association President Jeffrey Washburn, award recipient Ann Gatta Beaucage ’64 and Crane Alumni Board President Ralph Hastings.

POTSDAM, NY (07/23/2014)(readMedia)-- The SUNY Potsdam Julia E. Crane Alumni Association recently honored Ann Gatta Beaucage, a member of the Class of 1964, with the 2014 Helen M. Hosmer Excellence in Music Teaching Award, at the College's annual Reunion Weekend.

The Helen M. Hosmer Excellence in Music Teaching Award is presented each year to an alumnus or alumna in public school music education who has demonstrated exemplary service in any of the areas of choral, instrumental or general music education. Beaucage was honored for her extraordinary career as an educator and performer.

Ann Gatta Beaucage retired in 2007 after a 43-year career with the Palymra-Macedon School District, where she built an award-winning program. She began teaching elementary vocal music, chorus and general music in the middle school, before moving to the high school where she taught chorus, select choir and Advanced Placement music theory, voice and music literature courses.

At Palmyra, Beaucage's select choir received many awards, including the ratings of A+, Gold and Gold with Distinction from the New York State School Music Association. She created special opportunities for her students, such as commissioning and premiering a number of new works, including "Two Psalms For Choir" by Crane School of Music Professor Emeritus Dr. Arthur Frackenpohl.

In keeping with the long-established tradition of Crane graduates, Beaucage is an accomplished teacher, music educator and performer. She has sung with various choruses, and served as a consultant, lecturer and guest conductor at numerous schools, colleges and music festivals. A gifted and devoted teacher, Beaucage has served as an outstanding role model for her students, sharing her love of music and her high standards of excellence. She instilled in them a love of music, and a desire for excellence and sense of responsibility. Beaucage has sponsored many student teachers and inspired many of her pupils to become educators as well.

After retiring from Palmyra-Macedon, she has carried on her work as the conductor of the Monte Vista Chorus and Vista Singers of the Monte Vista Senior Community in Mesa, Ariz. Beaucage received both her bachelor's and master's degrees in music education from SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music. She continued with graduate studies at the University of Rochester and LaSalle University. Beaucage was on the faculty of the Saratoga-Potsdam Choral Institute for several years.

Her many honors and awards include the Outstanding Choral Director Award from the New York Chapter of the American Choral Directors Association, the University of Rochester Award for Excellence in Teaching, and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra Musicians' Award for Outstanding Music Educators.

For more information about SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music, visit www.potsdam.edu/crane.

Founded in 1816, and located on the outskirts of the beautiful Adirondack Park, The State University of New York at Potsdam is one of America's first 50 colleges. SUNY Potsdam currently enrolls approximately 4,300 undergraduate and graduate students. Home to the world-renowned Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam is known for its handcrafted education, challenging liberal arts and sciences core, excellence in teacher training and leadership in the performing and visual arts. Empowered by a culture of creativity, the campus community recently launched Take the Lead: The Campaign for Potsdam, which aims to raise $27 million by the College's bicentennial in 2016.

###