Hi, Margo! I hope this letter will reach you before you head out of
town for the ICS reunion. I just wanted to send my greetings and best
wishes to everyone at the reunion. I'm sorry that I couldn't arrange to
be there with all of you, but my thoughts will certainly be there this
weekend. Just to give you a brief (!?) up-date on my life over the
past twenty-five years (--can it really be that long?): I moved from
Montreal out to Edmonton in 1977 to try to get into med school.
However, once I was there, I decided I was much more interested in music
and, in 1978, began a BMus program at the U. of Alberta. It was there
that I met Art Dyck, and we were married in May of 1979. (He was a
music theory and composition major.) After finishing our BMus degrees
in 1982 we went into the turfgrass business (don't ask--what else do
musicians do after university??) with my sister and her husband near
Grande Prairie, Alberta. We figured we didn't have much to lose, so we
gave it a try. The first year was great. Business was booming in the
oil patch.However, the following year the economy in the Peace region
went flat and we sold the business in 1984. Meanwhile, our daughter
Kirsten had arrived on the scene (1983) and both Art and I had also begun
teaching music part-time during the winters at the local community
college. We also had opened a small piano store where we had a Young
Chang franchise and sold used pianos that we repaired and refinished. I
also began teaching sex education part-time in all of the regional schools
(gr. 5-12) for the school district (--don't ask, again!!) It was an
interesting experience. One sad event from this time was the sudden
death of my sister in Dec. 1984 from what we later discovered was an
undiagnosed brain tumor. She and I had become very close, being in
business together, and I felt as though I had lost a special friend as
well as my only sister. At any rate, Art and I decided we needed to go
to grad school in music so that we could get better jobs. There were no
grad programs in choral conducting (which was what Art wanted to pursue)
in Canada at that time, so we chose the University of Iowa which has an
excellent music program. We began studies in the summer of 1986
intending to stay only that summer and then another summer/winter/summer
cycle to complete Masters degrees. However, with no jobs to return to
in Canada, we sold our piano store to fund a longer stay in Iowa for Art
to complete his DMA in choral conducting. During this time, I completed
all of my coursework for a Masters degree in voice and completed my
comprehensive exams. However, I developed major vocal problems and
could no longer sing.Despite being examined by vocal experts and
otolaryngologists, I was not able to sing my recital to complete my degree
and I have not been able to sing properly since then (1989). This has
been a difficult thing for me to deal with because music, especially
singing, has always been so much a part of my life. Oh well--who said
life is fair, anyways?! From Iowa City we moved to Clinton, Iowa,
(right on the Mississippi River) in 1989 where Art got a teaching job at a
small college while he finished his doctoral dissertation. Laura (1990)
and Sarah (1993) were born in Clinton. I also taught a few music
history courses at the college. Then, in 1995, Art took a teaching job
at Bethany College in Bethany, West Virginia--a slightly larger liberal
arts college that was looking for someone to revitalize the music
department. We bought a 95 yr. old house and spent the next four years
renovating it while trying to live some kind of a normal life in it.
(Does this sound familiar to any of you?) It definitely was a learning
experience! I also spent a lot of time at the local elementary school
doing the PTA President thing and generally being a full-time Mom.
Then, last year, Art realized that he was totally frustrated with the
internal politics that seem to plague colleges, and decided to look for a
new position. Coincidentally, three days later he received a phone call
from a Mennonite church in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, asking if he would be
interested in a job as their Minister of Music and Worship. Needless to
say, we considered the opportunity, interviewed, and he took the job.(I
always vowed that I would never be married to a minister--but, here I am!)
Lancaster is a great place to live. There is so much happening here,
but we are also surrounded by beautiful farmland and the simple lifestyle
of the Amish. Our daughters have excellent schools (--can you believe
that our oldest daughter is in grade 12 already!!) and I am now searching
for something new to do--perhaps a part-time job while they are at
school. I still haven't figured out what I want to do when I grow up!!
I really wish that I could be with you this weekend. I have many
great memories of the ICS and of our trip to Britain. I especially send
greetings to Don and his wife. We have been hearing ofDon's
compositions down here and, from the Melodious Accord newsletter we
receive, I heard thathe received a choral composition award in New
York. (Alice Parker will be coming to our church next spring to do a
workshop--she's an amazing person.) Congratulations! So, have a
great celebration. And, if you feel like it, drop me a line or an
e-mail. I'd love to hear from you and find out what you have been up to
for 25 years! Also, if you're ever in the Lancaster, PA area, please
come and visit us. We have lots of room for guests. With fond
memories, Suzanne (Nix) Dyck
P.S. I just figured out how to attach a photo of my family (taken Oct.
1999)--Kirsten, age 16; Laura, age 9; and, Sarah, age 6.
Salut, mes amis!