The Fredonia School of Music has recently experienced a great loss. Carl Mazzio, one of our favorite ensemble directors, passed away. We found out on January 19th. Mason Hall was a little quieter, and many who were touched by him seemed to just be sad. Many of us had sat in ensembles with him at the podium, worked with him in smaller groups, or had him for lessons.

No matter how we knew him, we were sad.

Dealing with death in a situation like this is not easy. Walking by his office door and seeing all of the posters with him on them almost made me cry. Listening to music that I played in his ensembles has me on the verge of tears. Even though I wasn't one of his personal students, I still felt affected by his death. It's so strange to think that here we all were - gearing up for another semester, waiting for him to come back with us. Unfortunately, sometimes life isn't what we want it to be and we end up with situations like this.

Many of the students in Mason Hall are going to deal with this differently.

If you're grieving, that's okay. If you're sad, that's okay. If you're going to cry, that's okay. If you want to talk about it, then talk about it. If you want to get angry about it, be angry for a little while. If you want to make music, then make it. We're all sad and we're all going to have a different way of reacting to this tragedy. But we all have to remember that we're here for each other.

Don't put someone down for how they decide to grieve. I've encountered this multiple times in my life. My grandfather died when I was in high school. I had an early rehearsal for choir not long after and we were singing a song that made me cry. I had a few friends who judged me for it (there's a reason we're not friends anymore), but there were people who hugged me and consoled me. This certainly impacted me - as the people who judged me didn't understand why I was upset. If you see someone crying or getting angry or dealing with death in a way that you wouldn't, don't judge them. Offer a hug or your condolences. Let them grieve how they need to.

In the end, the School of Music is a family and we all need to be here for each other. I know that we will be. We need to celebrate Mazzio's life. He lived a full and bright life and though he's not with us anymore, his memory will live on through us. Spend the time talking with your friends about your favorite memories of him, and make sure that he is celebrated. There are many of us that are affected by this and we will all deal with it differently - just remember that he would want us all to move on and continue to make music, and we will.

For him.