Stephen Bonta
Professor of Music (1961-96)
Memorial minute for Stephen Bonta, Margaret Bundy Scott Professor of Music Emeritus, presented by Professor Sam Pellman on September 5, 2017.
Steve Bonta joined the Hamilton College faculty in 1961 at the age of 34, having by that point served in the U. S. Navy as an Electronics Technician’s Mate in WW II, received a Bachelor of Arts in music from Yale and a Master of Arts from Columbia University’s Teacher’s College, taught math and music and coached soccer and hockey at the Taft School, and then earned a Ph. D. from Harvard, where he studied music history, theory, and composition.
He became chair of the music department during his fourth year at Hamilton, in 1964, and continued to serve as chair until 1989, a record unlikely ever to be exceeded. It was a time of considerable change for the music program at Hamilton, including coordination and later combination with the music program at Kirkland College, the establishment of a credit-bearing jazz ensemble and a college orchestra, and the construction of Wellin Hall and the Schambach Center.
This latter accomplishment is one for which Steve most deservedly took great pride. Due to his tenacity and the deft deployment of his team of colleagues, he made the case for the project, but more importantly, he insisted successfully that it be done well.
During his years as a teacher and department leader he sustained an active program of research, primarily focused on the work of early Baroque composers in Italy, such as Claudio Monteverdi and Giovanni Legrenzi, and on the origins of the ‘cello. After his retirement, in 1996 as Margaret Bundy Scott Professor of Music, he continued his research on these topics and continued to publish his findings. He was delighted to learn that many of his publications have informed and inspired the work of a new generation of cellists.
Steve taught a great range of courses during his time here, including the direction of the brass choir for several years. He had an idiosyncratic, gruff style of teaching that was frequently imitated by students outside of class. It is notable, however, that in their imitations, they always got the details correct.
His contributions to the musical life of the college have been enormous, but Steve was also active as a musical citizen in the community beyond the Hill, including performances with the Utica Symphony, membership on the board of the Chamber Music Society of Utica, and service as organist and choirmaster at St. James Church and the First Presbyterian Church in Rome. It has been an honor to have worked with Steve and to have known him as a musician.
