This story originally appeared in the Centre County Gazette.
Eisenhower Auditorium opened on May 8, 1974. Since then, it has been the home for countless music, dance and theater performances; university, cultural and community events; and more. During the 1974 opening of Eisenhower Auditorium, a gala concert included a performance of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony by the Pittsburgh Symphony, then conducted by William Steinberg, and the Penn State University Concert Choir, led by Raymond Brown.
On Saturday, June 22, at 2 p.m. in the Pasquerilla Spiritual Center, members from the then 200-student-choir will reunite to perform a free celebratory concert in honor of the 50-year anniversary.
Though many members of the original choir will be present, choir member Neil Nemser noted how one presence would be missed.
“This concert, it’s really a tribute to Raymond Brown, our amazing director who had the knowledge and discipline to get amazing music out of us. Because, let’s be honest, he had a bunch of unruly college kids, but he was able to mold us into a singing force that was capable of doing a whole range of music,” Nemser shared. “I learned how to sing properly under him. I had sung in high school choir, and I thought I knew how to sing, but when I joined the Penn State Choir, I realized I was totally ignorant. So, I learned all the techniques that any good singer uses to produce the maximum amount of sound and quality from your own personal voice.”
Though Penn State has many different choirs, Penn State University Concert Choir is the oldest mixed choir ensemble in the School of Music. Brown served as its director from 1966 to 1985.
In the summer of 2023, former choir members formed a committee to organize the reunion of choir alumni. Since then, the group has met monthly over Zoom in preparation for the concert.
“It’s a lot of fun interacting with everyone. In some ways, it’s like time just hasn’t passed. It’s like the old days. Everyone is very similar to the people we remember being — we just look different,” Nemser joked, sharing about all of the planning that went into making the upcoming concert possible. For Nemser and his peers, though, all of the planning is worth it to reunite the members of the choir.
“Looking back, I still believe that that was one of the high points of my life in terms of the most exciting moment. You know, one of those moments where you can look back and say, ‘Ah, that was a peak experience,’” Nemser shared when remembering some of the biggest performances the choir did together, including a performance at Carnegie Hall with Steinberg and the Pittsburgh Symphony. “When we sang on the stage at Carnegie Hall with Steinberg and the symphony, that was mind blowing. All of us are looking forward to singing a part of that movement again at the Pasquerilla Center.”
In addition to the performance, the alumni group will reunite for a banquet to reminisce on some of their biggest performances, and members of the Alumni Choir will provide music at a worship service the following morning at State College’s First Presbyterian Church.
“Music, it is a binding force among all of us that sang together. It created a permanent bond, and that is part of what everybody is looking forward to when we gather in June,” Nemser said. “It’s nice to be commemorating the 50th anniversary of Eisenhower opening — that’s a nice thing, but that’s a Penn State and a State College thing. For us, it also is an opportunity for us to come together. Some of us will be traveling long distances to get there, but to be able to greet, catch up with and sing together with all of our old friends, that is really the thing. That’s the reason we’re coming together.”
The concert will be held over the PSU alumni We Are Weekend from Friday, June 21 and Saturday, June 22, providing the opportunity for alumni to reunite with colleagues and friends on their old stomping grounds. Numerous events will occur as a part of the weekend, including “Flashback Forward: Eisenhower Auditorium Turns 50!” a concert featuring State College favorites Famly Brew (former members of the Phyrst Phamly), The Screaming Ducks and Pure Cane Sugar at 6:30 p.m. on June 22 in Eisenhower..
