How old are you? 92
Where were you born? Bronxville, NY
When did you move to Montclair? 1996
Why did you move to Montclair? My daughter, son-in-law and my one grandchild lived in Montclair. She was three when I arrived – she is my lifeline.
Are you currently employed? If so, doing what? If you had a career, what was it? I was a high school choral teacher at Bushwick high school in Brooklyn. I also taught music appreciation and group piano.
How are you currently engaged in the community? I became involved in the community in 1998 when I led a chorus at the Adult School called "The Joy of Singing.” In 2001, we lost our room, and those who had been with me wanted to continue to sing so I formed a new chorus in my home. Our purpose was to go to assisted living facilities and entertain the clients – and more importantly have them interact with us in community singing. That chorus though all these years has changed but there are still 6, and I must include one whom we lost and few who moved away but are still in contact with us from the beginning or near beginning. We performed at Gates Manor and Van Dyk many times through the years. We of course spread out to neighboring towns. A year and a half ago, I formed another chorus from the Y. They are bonded and excited to follow in the footsteps of my first chorus. I am hoping this year to have them sing certain music together. It will happen. In some strange way, when I decide to do something, it happens.
What are some of the most important lessons you feel you have learned throughout your life? I know the power of music. From childhood, I realized that music can bring people together – that music can make you cry and laugh; that music can touch your deepest feelings; and that through continued learning and teaching, you have the power to literally change people’s lives. I have ten former high school students who are in my life today because Room 608 at Bushwick High School became their safe haven and their special place of being surrounded by a beauty they had never known existed. That touched them so deeply that they had to and have to today pick up the phone and say hello, Mrs. Krausman. To hear their voices at 92 gives me the strength to go to the piano and play “Gottes Zeit Ist Die Allerbester Zeit" – meaning god’s time is the best of all times – by Johann Sebastian Bach. They are a constant reminder of the power of music.
What is your mantra or words you live by? Own life as it is now at 92. Stand up straight and go. I understand that I have a calling and know that I must follow my commandment to give to others, not as much as I can, but more than I can. I am driven to continue to study and learn and share my accomplishments with others – not for me but for them. The little four-and-a-half-year-old little child placed on the piano bench will always go to her precious bench because she has so much to say with her fingers, her brain, her heart and her soul.
What are your plans for future? How does Montclair fit into these plans? I plan to continue studying with my remarkable master teacher, Seymour Bernstein. I plan to continue to teach my two choruses and to share with them the joy of going to assisted living facilities and singing and smiling and touching these wonderful people in their new home. I plan to periodically play for others when I have mastered my music. And I plan to do all of this in Montclair for the rest of my life.