“When looking through the Music and Dance Department’s newsletter it was noticed that in Myron Hager ’40. “Action was called for.”

Doric Alviani was a professor of music, founder of the fine arts department at Massachusetts State College (now UMass Amherst), organist, vocalist, conductor, and teacher from 1938 until his retirement in 1979. He died in 1993.

Hager, his wife, Gladys ’41, John Osmun ’40, and Charles Powers ’40 led a fundraising effort during the last year to establish and endow the Alviani Master Class Fund. The goal of the fund is $50,000.

Primarily supported by alumni from the classes of 1940 and 1943, 17 alumni have together given more than $32,000, which will enable the Department of Music and Dance to present voice students with one master class each year.

“The drive to honor Doric began with the two surviving of the original Statesmen, myself and John Osmun, and the sole surviving member of the Statettes, Gladys,” reports Hager. “Those two vocal quartets had been formed and coached by Doric in 1938 as interest and participation in music began to grow on the Amherst campus. For the Fund, it has been easy to enlist others like Charlie Powers (orchestra, choir, and glee club), the family of Milt Auerbach (the Statesmen’s impressive bass), and several members of the early classes known to be close to Doric.”

“We hope that music students will want to join in this visible, audible, and long-overdue tribute,” says Hager, to honor Alviani’s “vision, talent, and dedication to establish the Amherst campus as the place to go to make and hear the sound of music.”

Anyone interested in more information about the fund should e-mail Doug Adler in our development office at adler@admin.umass.edu or call all him at 413-545-2796.