Stone has been immersed in music since her childhood in Chicago, where she had numerous experiences with different groups and concerts.
"I've been interested in music forever; I've played piano since I was three, and I joined the Chicago Children's Choir, and that was pretty much my big life-changing moment," said Stone.
In her adolescent years with the Chicago Children's Choir, Stone spent most of her time practicing and spent summers touring. What she most enjoyed about the choir was the exposure to different people her age that she would not have met otherwise. "I love Chicago because it's really diverse, and I love the Children's Choir because I got to meet people from schools all over the city. All boundaries fell away," said Stone. As part of her involvement with the Choir, she went on a tour of South Africa; this experience sparked a love affair with the area's people and music that would bring her back to South Africa later in life.
Eventually, Stone left Chicago to attend Amherst. "I wanted a college that was small and liberal artsy. Some place the professors didn't spend time with grad students," she said.
Capetown conductor
Stone received the music fellowship in part because of her thesis in choral conducting. Her thesis required her to create a concert program with 40 Amherst singers and a few faculty members. "When the 40 people said yes, I knew this was what I was meant to do," she said.
Stone tried to put together a diverse program. "I wanted to do research in a wide range of areas in different time periods and cultures," she said. "It wasn't just music; it was a lot of researching languages and histories."
Stone's concert took a great deal of time to put together, but she thoroughly enjoyed the process. "It was a great learning experience. The people I worked with were amazing," she said. "Because my thesis was an extra-social thesis, I didn't have to lock myself in a room all day."
Stone and her choir practiced her first semester senior year, and turned it up a notch in March. When the big day came, Stone was calm, claiming not to be nervous in the least. "I was nervous the entire time before the concert because I had to make sure everything was running right," she said. "But when I finally stepped on the stage all the nervousness went out of my body because I could focus on the music."
The concert was a huge success. "It was the most fun thing I've ever done," she said.
Two songs the choir sang in Stone's thesis concert were in the South African language of Xhosa. South Africa has been one of Stone's main interests since coming to Amherst. "Junior year I went to South Africa, and it was an amazing experience. I worked with an all-black South African choir in Capetown, and I studied choral music and the history and language of the people there," she said.
While in Capetown, Stone attempted to put the Xhosa music in a notational form but found her effort to be impossible. "The point of those songs was to sing them orally and to share them with a community," Stone said. Because the songs were accompanied by dancing, Stone taught her Amherst choir singers the traditional African dance and incorporated the dancing into her concert.
South Africa has been very important to Stone's development, allowing her to see things in a different light. "It really taught me to take care of myself. I really ran myself ragged my first two years [at Amherst]. I took five classes every semester. It made me miserable and I didn't get to breathe," she said. "My best friend in South Africa was a poor single parent with several children. She's the most functional person I've ever met, and she made me understand I was being a baby."
Stone's friend Elizabeth Nichols '01 echoed these sentiments: "I think her semester there was extremely powerful for her. She seems to have a stronger sense of her values and a different perspective on life after seeing and learning about the hardships that South Africans continue to deal with."
Footsteps to the fellowship
Stone is also interested in English and teaching; her interests in these areas led her to conducting. "I took English 6 ["Reading, Writing and Teaching"], and that was a fabulous course. It taught me I wanted to teach, but not in English. I was interested in teaching, but not in front
of a big classroom, so I went to Mallorie Chernin, the choral director, and asked her to help set up a class in choral conducting," explained Stone.
Stone credits much of her success to Chernin, who has served as her thesis advisor and music mentor. "No one has been more influential to me than Mallorie. She has been so wonderful," said Stone. "She's done more for me than any other thesis advisor has ever done for her advisee. She went to every rehearsal and was there every step of the way." Stone also credits other members of the music department for her musical development.
In addition to conducting her thesis choir, Stone has been involved in various activities on and off campus. Her love of teaching is reflected through music workshops she gives in Chicago and in Amherst. Another part of her thesis involved conducting a children's choir, the Hampshire Choral Society Young People's Chorus, a throwback to her days in the Chicago Children's Choir.
Stone has been conducting the choir for two years and has enjoyed the challenge that has accompanied it. "It was intense, but I love working with kids. Last week, for example, we had a concert here, and I had to get 200 kids into Valentine," said Stone. "I love seeing the kids experience what it's like being in a choir. The choir is a place they can come together to just sing and blend their individual voices into a group harmony. [For each individual kid], it's a big task listening to others to blend their voices; they keep you real and aware of who you are."
Stone also served as musical director of the a cappella group the DQ her junior year. In her sophomore and junior years she was a member of diversity educators. She was also very active in the LBGTA her first three years at Amherst and served as co-chair of the group her junior year. "It was a very intense year. I feel we created a good place for people to come to discuss sexual orientation issues. But it's a burnout," she said.
As part of her fellowship, Stone will serve as the Music Department Graduate Associate and Choral Assistant. She will teach ear training in introductory and music theory classes. The ear training classes are analogous to science labs.
Stone will also serve as the assistant conductor of the various choral societies with her mentor Chernin. "I was going to go to grad school, but I recently had surgery on my vocal chords and I couldn't take the tests," said Stone. " I still have so much to learn from Mallorie," she added.
Fortunate friends
Stone says that her closest friends have taught her about themselves as well as her own personality. Her friends have expressed similar feelings about her.
"The best way to describe what makes Mollie so special is that she connects so well with others, even people she just meets. She is wholeheartedly passionate, and her enthusiasm is infectious," said Stone's friend Marin Mannix '01. "As cheesy as this is, when she sees beauty in another person, or a piece of music, or even a pickle, it's impossible not to see that beauty yourself."
"What makes Mollie Mollie is her passion and intensity. Mollie puts an incredible amount of energy in to everything she does, whether it be a friendship, a paper, or a piece of music," said Nichols. "In terms of relationships, Mollie is someone that people open up to. She is often helping friends through crises."
Potter is particularly enthralled by Stone's musical talents. "She is an extremely qualified professional musician and conductor who leads choirs with a well-focused sense of what is important in a piece of music," said Potter. "She communicates her artistic vision passionately to her singers. She is sensitive to subtleties in lyrics that demand specific musical representations, and her energy and intimate understanding of the music she conducts are inspiring to everyone who watches her."
Stone advises future music majors to do whatever their hearts desire. "If you want to do something in the music department you, can do it. The music department is really flexible. If you want to start a group, a class, a thesis, don't give up because it's not here already," she said. "I got to do all I wanted to do."
Stone's four years at Amherst have been filled with a varied array of activities and experiences; at the same time, she has managed to create a solid track toward a future in music. While she has left a legacy for the next generation of music majors, Stone will continue to leave her mark on campus as a fellow for the music department.