Norm Brooks ’54 came to Potsdam after he had been deferred from Juilliard. He describes his first visit to Potsdam as being “25 degrees below zero, with 10-foot snow drifts” and thought, “This is God’s Country.”

“During the short period of time I was there, I fell in love with the place,” he remembered.

Brooks knows the education he received during his time at Potsdam helped him through many challenges in his professional and personal music career. During a visit to see Oberammergau’s Passion Play in 2000, he was called upon to spontaneously perform at Leopoldskron Palace in Salzburg,  Austria. Brooks chose to perform de Falla’s “Ritual Fire Dance,” a piece he performed many times at Potsdam.

While attending Columbia University Teachers College, Brooks had to take an entrance exam in which he was required to perform on the trumpet, clarinet and violin. Although he had not played the instruments in about 10 years, he memorized the music and performed perfectly. He attributes this to the fact that he was required to learn the instruments at Crane, a requirement that most music schools do not have.

“Every time a crisis came up, I don’t care where I was or what I was doing, I could always refer back to The Crane School of Music,” Brooks said.

Brooks made a career of passing along the knowledge he gained at Potsdam to new generations of students. As a music teacher, director of music, church choirmaster, accompanist at Carnegie Hall and later as a professor at Manhattanville College, Brooks brought the lessons of Crane to thousands of students. Now, in his retirement in Phoenix, AZ, he continues to reach new students through a four-week class titled “Music in Your Life,” in which he teaches music appreciation.

In the 55 years since his graduation, Brooks has remained committed and connected to Potsdam. This connection comes not only from the wisdom he gained and the way he has passed it on to his students, but also from two key events that have stood out and stayed with him all these years.

The first was a performance of St. John’s Passion in which Helen Hosmer recruited Robert Shaw to perform with the Crane Chorus. To say that there was not a dry eye in the house at the end of the performance would be an understatement. The audience was so awestruck, they didn’t even applaud when the performance ended. “It was the most fantastic thing that ever happened in my life, people walked out in total silence,” Brooks said.

Second, when he entered Potsdam, Brooks had 25 cents to his name and a mother who was making $2,900 a year with three children in college. To cover the cost of tuition not covered by a grant from his high school, he played dance hall gigs with fellow Crane students. When preparing to graduate, he could not afford to have his picture in the yearbook. His priority was getting his diploma because he knew that it was key to his future success.

As a result of his struggles and the joy he found in performing at Crane, Brooks has set up a provision in his will to have a portion of his estate left to The Crane School of Music.

“I decided to give back to Potsdam because of the effect that it had on my life. Primarily to make sure that no one has the difficulties I had and to give them an incentive to stay in school. Out of all of the institutions I attended, Potsdam has always been the one that sticks out the most,” he said.

Through the inclusion of the College in his will, Brooks has become a member of the Benjamin F. Raymond Society, which recognizes those who have named the College as a beneficiary in their will or other planned gift.  If you believe you qualify for membership, or would like more information, please contact Jason Ladouceur in the Office of College Advancement at (315)- 267-2123 or giftplan@potsdam.edu.