01 DELMAR GUILD 10.pdf - Pirate CNY

Page 16 January 6, 2010 The Spotlight
Entertainment Spotlight
in the
By JACQUELINE M. DOMIN
dominj@spotlightnews.com
SBeth
Hofmeister both
isters Christine
Powers and Mary
talk about the “mystique” that
surrounds their alma mater, the
University of Notre Dame.
“It’s a very special place,”
said Powers, who followed
Hofmeister to Indiana after
graduating from Catholic High
in Troy. “You could walk into
any Notre Dame event and feel
welcome.”
Hofmeister remembers
visiting the university at the
suggestion of a family friend.
She felt the energy of the huge
crowd at a football game and
reveled in the excitement of an
overnight stay on campus. Just
like that, she was in love.
For both Powers and
Hofmeister, that love didn’t
end with graduation. They are
active members (Hofmeister is
president) of the Notre Dame
Club of Northeastern New
York, which is sponsoring a
performance by the university’s
chorale at St. Pius X in
Loudonville on Friday, Jan. 8.
“Notre Dame meant a lot to
those of us who were fortunate
enough to go there,” Hofmeister
said. “I felt like I wanted to give
back.”
The club gives back in a
number of ways. It offers a
$3,000 scholarship each year
to a student from the Capital
District who is attending Notre
Dame. It sends care packages to
local students and holds a sendoff
party for freshmen each
year. There are get-togethers
to watch Notre Dame sporting
events, including an upcoming
trip to Syracuse to see Notre
Dame’s women’s basketball
team.
About 10 years ago, the club
sponsored a local performance
by the Notre Dame chorale,
which was “kind of a personal
mission” for Powers, who
belonged to the chorale during
her school days.
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CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK
A Chorale Connection
Local Notre Dame alumni host performance featuring
singers from the esteemed university
Last year, the school’s glee
club visited the area, and that
went so well that someone
from the current edition of the
chorale contacted Hofmeister
to see if the chorale could come
to the Albany area during its
winter break tour.
“What they like to do is stop
where there’s a really robust
alumni community,” Powers
said. The Notre Dame Club of
Northeastern New York fi ts the
bill, with about 400 people on its
mailing list.
Both Powers and Hofmeister
noted that Notre Dame’s
alumni clubs are unusual in
that members didn’t have to
197 Wolf Road, Colonie
12 Fire Road, Clifton Park
118 Quaker Road, Queensbury
3083 Route 50, Saratoga Springs
attend Notre Dame. So-called
subway alumni, or “people who
just loved the school” are also
welcome, Hofmeister said.
The local club was more than
happy to have the chorale come.
It doesn’t have to cover travel
expenses – the chorale pays for
bus transportation – but club
members do give students a
place to sleep. Powers said the
alumni group has also arranged
for the chorale to have a tour of
the state Capitol.
Steve Santay, a Notre Dame
junior and vice president of
the chorale, said staying with
alumni is one of the highlights
of the annual winter tour,
which this year makes stops
in Pittsburgh; Washington,
D.C.; Basking Ridge, N.J.; New
York City; and Framingham,
Mass., before hitting Albany.
On Saturday, Jan. 9, the tour
wraps up with a performance in
Cleveland, Ohio.
Santay said the chorale
has about 60 students and is
open to all fi elds of study. An
engineering major, Santay
joined the chorale because “I
wanted to do something outside
of math and science.”
A Chicago native, Santay said
he wanted to attend Notre Dame
all his life. The school’s history
was a draw, along with the
powerful experiences of going
to Mass, praying at the Grotto
on campus and, of course,
he said with a laugh, football
games.
The club holds fundraisers throughout the year to help fi nance its winter
tour.
Santay fi gures that when he
graduates, he’ll join an alumni
club himself, hoping like Powers
and Hofmeister for a chance to
give back.
Hofmeister said that the
alumni club’s mission of giving
back extends beyond just Notre
Dame students and alumni,
since service is one of the
hallmarks of the school. Each
May, the club holds a service
day, doing things like working
on a Habitat for Humanity
project. It also sends a local
educator to a conference at
Notre Dame each year, with a
principal from Shenendehowa
going last year, and it hosts an
annual visit to a local college by
a Notre Dame professor.
These kind of activities forge
the kind of bonds the sisters
enjoyed during their time in
South Bend.
“The club is a great place
to feel like you belong, to get
plugged in,” Powers said.
They stressed that the whole
community is welcome to share
in that feeling at the chorale
concert, which is set for 6 p.m.
Powers said the program will
feature a mix of ancient and
classic Christmas carols, and
people who attend “can expect
chills.”
“They are really superb,”
she said of the choir, which is
directed by Grammy-nominated
Alexander Blachly.
“This is one of those
examples where people
complain there’s no culture
in Albany,” Powers added.
“This is a great opportunity to
broaden your horizons. It’s just
beautiful.”
Admission is free. A goodwill
offering will be collected. The
church is at 23 Crumitie Road.
For information on the
Notre Dame Club of
Northeastern New York, visit
ndcofneny.googlepages.com or
call 466-4035.