A Musical Homecoming
The Stony Brook University Chorale is building community together – note by note
By Ellen Cooke
Monday evenings in the basement of the Fine Arts Building feel like “coming home” for members of the Stony Brook University Chorale and its longtime director, Shoshana Hershkowitz.
Shoshana Hershkowitz tells her singers: “This is all about feeling good, sounding good and creating a beautiful environment.”
This ensemble of 60 unites diverse voices and nationalities from all walks and stages of life, including PhD candidates, active and retired faculty and staff, and community members. When they come together, making beautiful music is only part of the allure. Note by note, these individuals are building community under the guidance of someone who has made it a priority to welcome everyone to the rehearsal space and ultimately the Staller Center Recital Hall stage for each semester’s concert. When they perform, they’re channeling that harmony to show the surrounding community that the arts are thriving at the university.
As Hershkowitz said, “I try to let all members know that what you do is not just about the artistry. It’s also about the relationships and about building trust and building a sense that this is a space where you can make mistakes and take risks and be welcomed as you are. I tell them the most important thing in this room is you.”
In keeping with this theme, there are no auditions, no musical experience necessary, no charge — just interest, passion, and the act of showing up and taking part. There are also many “sharing moments” where members talk about who they are, what music they’re listening to and what the songs mean to them. It’s all for one credit for students and the pure joy of it for other members.
Musical pieces are selected for their meaning and relevance, focusing on themes such as hope, love, peace, freedom and equality. Works are often composed or arranged by women and underrepresented people of color from various origins. Songs are performed in languages ranging from Spanish to Swahili to Chinese.
The Spring 2026 repertoire centered on the concept of home, featuring pieces like the spiritual “I’m Building Me a Home,” Sarah Quartel’s “All the Way Home” and a piece on belonging, “Always a Place for You.”
Hershkowitz, who has led the chorale for nearly two decades, views the group as a sanctuary. “In a world where not everyone feels they belong, this is an important space to leave those feelings behind,” she said. “It’s such a privilege to get to know the singers as they get to know each other.”
This culture of belonging has transformed the group into a clear example of how music can build community.
“Shoshana has worked with tremendous energy to make the chorale and the camerata [audition-based choral group] not only vibrant ensembles, but also spaces where students feel safe and heard,” said Christina Dahl, chair of the Department of Music.
Dahl said Hershkowitz explores social and cultural themes in a creatively structured repertoire. “Her concerts are a joy! The Recital Hall at the Staller Center is filled with an audience that might not otherwise make a trip to the venue.”
Scenes from rehearsal
Finding Roots
Born and raised in the United States with a home base in Jackson Heights, Queens, psychology major Sharmi Dhar ’26 has gotten a taste of her Bengali roots in SBU’s chorale setting. She’s sung in choruses throughout her school years, sings at her local temple and enjoys performing traditional Bengali folk music at home in honor of her parents’ native country of Bangladesh.
While her musical tastes also include American pop music, the chorale “brought her home” a few semesters ago with one of the song selections, called “Zan, Zendegi, Azadi” (“Women, Life, Freedom”). “Those words mean the same thing in the song’s Hindi [Farsi] language as they do in Bengali. I was just so surprised —and happy — to see my culture represented.”
Dhar said the song also resonated on a personal level, reflecting her bond with her single mother over music and Bollywood films. “Whenever I sing that song, I envision my mom in my mind singing it. I’m thinking of her freedom, her challenging life, what I want her to achieve. I never expected to have that feeling in chorus because I just go there to sing. I was in awe the entire time we were in rehearsal.”
Dhar said the chorale room’s peaceful atmosphere provides a break from the “hustling and bustling” campus culture. “Singing is a stress reliever,” she said. “The chorale provides a space where everyone is encouraged to sing loud and proud — which I can’t always do in my dorm without disturbing people! After chorale rehearsals, I definitely feel more relaxed and find myself a little more energized.”
A Community of Caring
Originally from Cambridge, Massachusetts, 28-year-old Logan Swanson is pursuing his PhD in linguistics and was looking for a musical group when he moved here in 2022. “Since I started college,” he said, “I’ve always tried to be in some kind of vocal group. It just makes me happy.”
Swanson was initially nervous about “being the oldest one” and “not fitting in,” especially since he didn’t know anyone on Long Island. However, he has sung tenor in the chorale since the Spring 2023 semester and couldn’t be happier. “It’s this feeling on Monday nights,” he said. “It’s hard to describe, but it feels like coming home.”
He credited Hershkowitz as the spark for the group’s success. “Shoshana always brings so much energy and care and thoughtfulness into everything she does,” he said. “Every time she steps into that room, I know that we’re getting her whole self. It makes everyone want to show up with their whole selves. She believes so deeply that music is this bridge and that singing together is the way to build us into a connected network of people who care about each other.”
Bonding Across Generations
At 77 years old, community member and native Long Islander Karen Berry proudly identifies as a “real senior” when the group introduces themselves at the first rehearsal each semester. She also jokingly says the alto section has the most “altitude.”
An Albertson native who has lived in Stony Brook since 1994, Berry has sung with the chorale for five semesters — and counting — after hearing about the group through a friend. And she’s brought other friends along for the ride.
She said she’s been singing all her life — with the radio from age 3 on, at the convent where she was a nun for five years, and while she worked as a teacher. The mother of two and grandmother of six said the “big sound” is what immediately sold her on the chorale. “I remember emailing Shoshana after the very first rehearsal. I said as soon as we were doing the warmup, I got chills because this is where I want to be.”
Berry also loves the multigenerational aspect of the group and became fast friends with Swanson. “I went over to Logan when I saw we were both laughing at Shoshana’s jokes and I said, ‘I think we have a similar sense of humor.’”
She is thrilled that the younger members approach her during breaks. “We talk about everything from Wegmans to their shiny new shoes — about who they are and why they came here. They’re all so warm and welcoming.”
Asked what she loves most, Berry didn’t hesitate. “Shoshana picks musical themes, and I love what she’s chosen,” she said. “This semester’s theme is home. It’s beautiful because home is where your heart is and, on Monday nights, that choral rehearsal room is my home.”
An Alto in Search of a Choir
Fellow alto Therese Xeller,* an internal communications manager for Stony Brook Medicine, worked for the academic healthcare system since 2007 and sang in the chorale starting in 2009. A Long Island native, Xeller sang in school choirs growing up and in the Cornell University Chorus as an undergraduate. She also sang in a church choir while living in Massachusetts. When she returned to Long Island, she was thrilled to find a singing opportunity at Stony Brook University.
The Lake Grove resident recalled seeing an announcement for the chorale in the university’s online campus bulletin and promptly emailed Hershkowitz: “I’m an alto in search of a choir!”
Following a quick vocal range check at the piano during the first rehearsal, Xeller became a mainstay of the alto section. She also invited other university staff members to join.
Loving the experience from the start, Xeller appreciated that the ensemble was open to all students, faculty, staff and community members. She said she saw how, over the years, Hershkowitz worked to create a safe space for students, particularly during and since the COVID pandemic.
“During the pandemic, when we were singing and performing remotely,” Xeller said, “Shoshana reached out to let students know they could contact her for anything — personal or school-related — and they could feel welcome to express themselves.”
She added, “At the time, as a mother with children roughly that same college age, I was thinking my children should be so lucky to have her as a teacher and a support system. It moved me and showed how much she cares, in addition to creating a fantastic singing experience for us all. It just kept getting better.”
Acknowledging that most of the chorale members are not going to be musicians for a living, Hershkowitz emphasized that “this is still an important piece of who they are. And they can take some of the actual skills we’re building together — as singers, as musicians — and apply them elsewhere. I also hope they gain the confidence to have their voices heard — and learn to speak truth to power — in every facet of their lives. To not be afraid to use their voice.” That, she said, would be music to her ears.
If you’d like to join the Stony Brook University Chorale, email Shoshana.Hershkowitz@stonybrook.edu.
*This story is dedicated to Therese Xeller, who lost her courageous battle with cancer shortly after the article was completed. She was a beloved Stony Brook Medicine employee for nearly two decades and a beautiful, strong, inspirational voice in the Stony Brook University Chorale for 17 years. Her kindness and spirit will live on in our hearts but she is also sorely missed.