As the department’s music historian, my goal was to expose students to a wide array of music from all eras, put it in historical context, and give them tools for analysis. As department chair, I was involved in all phases of building the Zoellner Arts Center, developed currricula for majors and minors, and developed and promoted the performance profile for all faculty and students of the department.
Nadine Sine
Professor Emerita
njs0@lehigh.edu
Education:
PhD – NYU, 1983. “The Evolution of Symphonic Worlds: Tonality in the Symphonies of Gustav Mahler, with Emphasis on the First, Third, and Fifth”
MM – Temple University, 1974. Music History
BMEd – Temple University, 1971
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Focus Areas
Additional Interests
- Art History
- Choral Music as a performer
Personal Statement
Biography
Nadine Sine was born in Rochester and raised in Philadelphia, but half of her life was spent as a faculty member at Lehigh. Her research was focused on the late nineteenth to mid-twentieth century music, art, and culture. While still an Associate Professor, she was first appointed department chair in 1992, just as the university was beginning to fund raise for the Zoellner Arts Center. The opening in 1997, with vastly improved performance spaces, launched a period of tremendous growth for the department in the number of students involved, along with the size of the faculty—both full time and adjunct—and staff. Identifying the strong connection between engineering students with music interests and Lehigh’s ensembles, she focused recruitment on providing opportunities and helped develop modest scholarships for students, which enticed many to attend. Increased participation in course work led to dual major or dual degree options. As a performer, she continued her lifelong involvement with choral music both at Lehigh and in the community.
Research & Creative Work
Since retiring in 2019, my research has shifted to compiling a family history as I begin writing a memoir centered on my relationship with my father. On the maternal side, I found ancestors who came to these shores in the first half of the 17th century. One, James Hadsell, was killed in the Wyoming (PA) Massacre of 1778. Daniel Carey, my great-grandfather, defected from the Union Army after Gettysburg, making his way back to Lake Carey in Wyoming County (PA) on foot. The paternal ancestors are much less colorful, most coming from Rhineland or Baden-Württemberg (Southwest Germany) between 1743 and 1868, settling in Berks and Schuylkill Counties of Pennsylvania where they farmed or labored in mines or mills. Various rabbit holes I have fallen into: deciphering handwritten German registers of births and deaths, learning about stowaways, tube mills, defections during the Civil War, labor laws of the twentieth century, passenger lists of emigrees on ships, Kodak producing hand grenades during WW II, German language newspapers in Pennsylvania to name a few. My favorite discovery: among the hundreds of distant cousins I have found, I learned my ninth cousin once removed is Barack Obama.