The Baldwin Wallace Conservatory of Music may be brimming with illustrious alumni, but percussion grad Dr. Kay Stonefelt '60 is in a class all her own. Last week, BW recognized the SUNY Fredonia professor with the Conservatory Alumni Achievement Award. In addition to receiving her accolade, Stonefelt passed on her musical expertise by teaching a master class for current percussion students.
Stonefelt completed her Bachelor of Music Education degree at BW and went on to earn her doctorate in music at Indiana University, studying ethnomusicology with concentrations in Middle Eastern and African music. She then joined the faculty of the Fredonia School of Music in 1993, while concurrently receiving a Fulbright Senior Scholar Research Grant that allowed her to travel to Ghana, West Africa, and observe indigenous drumming patterns.
In addition to teaching, Stonefelt performs with the Western New York Chamber Orchestra as well as Fioretto, a Finland-based ensemble dedicated to the art of medieval and renaissance music. This percussive triple-threat (she also plays timpani and the hammered dulcimer, among others) has also played for over twenty Broadway shows and was a key advocate at the First National Congress on Women and Music at New York University.
The festivities kicked off with an afternoon convocation in Gamble Auditorium, followed by the award dinner and presentation in Fynette Kulas Music Hall. The globe-trotting percussionist left BW students and faculty alike inspired with her experience and knowledge.
