Diana Reed Strommen:  

Life Diana Reed Strommen here... Where to begin... After MWHS '73, went to St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN. Although my parents did not allow me to major in music, I was active in the program as principal soloist of their renowned touring choir, making great contacts. After college, I suffered a car accident, and postponed attending Indiana Univ on scholarship until 1980. Got the B.Mus, but paused on the M.Mus Degree to earn the "MRS" degree IN '82. We moved to St Paul, where Doug worked as an actuary. Two jobs and two beautiful babies later, I won contracts to sing in Wash, DC, but we then moved to WI, where I finished my Masters of Music Education Degree later in 1994. Wisconsin was good. There, I invested energy in home schooling our "gifted and talented" kids. Soon enough, I did the music thing: oratorio soloist, teacher, adjudicator, clinician, managed the Central Wisconsin Symphony Orch & Chorus, developed a concert ministry, generated recordings, and enjoyed both conducting and coordinating church music. I won the prize of having the most part-time jobs! Our two kids, my first "young voice" experiments... like it or not, became treble singers. Andrea, our oldest, chose jazz sax and piano as her principal instruments, and played professionally as a woodwind specialist in Georgia. Andrea worked in instrument repair on the side before achieving her automotive tech degree. After 5 years of shop experience, she is now teaching automotive tech fulltime at Paulding High School, and lives in her own home in Dallas, GA. Jon studied Suzuki cello through high school and a terrible time with voice change. His schedule at Georgia Tech may have required him to park the cello at home, however, he did not leave his music too far behind; apparently, Jon was in high demand in the Karaoke bars during his summer abroad. He graduates with his B.S. in Business Management degree in May of 2008, and has accepted a position with Equifax in Alpharetta, GA. After our move to Atlanta in ...Expand for more