1953

"Turn nighttime into daytime, with the sunlight of good cheer." The immortal Richard Hovey (class of 1885, who has written most of the memorable Dartmouth songs, chose those words for one of the lesser known of his compositions, "The Stein Song." However, they describe so aptly what our wonderful women of 1953 have done for the College, for the class, yes, for the world. Here is a story about one of them a story that has been around a while, but one that touches the heart so deeply it must be shared with all.

Dennis Thron's daughter, Bonnie, is a world class cellist. Last year she returned to Hanover to perform as the featured soloist for the Dartmouth Symphony Orchestra, in itself also world class. For those of you fortunate to hear her, you were entertained by a very talented musician, a product of the prestigious Julliard School, where she received her bachelor's and master's degrees in music. She has received all kinds of awards in numerous competitions and performed with various groups all around the country including four years with the renowned Peabody Trio in Baltimore, where she lives with her musician husband, a clarinetist. But, that is not the story to tell, although much of the "sunlight of good cheer" emanates from her extraordinary musical talents. In June 1992 Bonnie was accepted into the Johns Hopkins special nursing program for candidates who have completed their degrees outside of the nursing field.

About one year later, she received her degree in nursing and has been practicing there ever since, in addition to her extraordinary career as a cellist. This all happened because she felt she needed another way to express herself, a more public and consciously outgoing way than is possible in the world of music. Stories of service to one's fellow human beings are always laudable, but Bonnie's story goes so much further.

After Bonnie became a nurse in the service of others, she found that this new dimension in the human experience also provided her with a new dimension to her music. She came to understand the intrinsic feelings of the composer as she performed her music, when previously the focus had been on perfection of technique. Bonnie said that she is "at once the creator of the music, and its. vessel. The notes pass through me, and into the air, where they take shape and linger, leaving behind almost a ghostly residue of feeling."

She attributes this added perspective of her musical experience to the new dimension of her life brought on by service to others. While many have experienced similar "growth of our essence" as we have reached out for others, Bonnie has captured that experience ever so vividly in her article, "The Double Life of Bonnie Thron."

As a footnote, Bonnie performs with her cello, "Clyde," using the name Bonnie Thron. In the hospitals where she works as a nurse some four days per week, she goes by her married name, Bonnie Jacobowitz. I invite you all to swirl around in your glass the enchanting story of 1953's Bonnie and Clyde.

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