Selinsgrove Area High School alumni accomplishments to be recognized

Marcia Moore, The Daily Item, Sunbury, Pa.
·2 min read

Aug. 25—The Selinsgrove Area High School Alumni Association will recognize three "distinguished" graduates this year.

The alumni being recognized are Jay A. Snyder, Jennifer Hackett Gunn, Nathan K. Troup and Elizabeth DeShong.

A 1960 Selinsgrove High alum, Snyder graduated from Susquehanna University before joining the Army and spending 25 years working in the Pennsylvania state government.

Throughout it all, tennis officiating was his vocation and following his retirement in 1960, Snyder became the U.S. director of tennis officials in New York. Three years later, he was appointed director of the U.S. Open Tennis Championship which he held for nine years. His civic and community accomplishments include serving on the board of directors of the International Youth Advocate Program, PA Prostate Cancer Coalition and Vietnam Veterans Round Table.

Gunn, a 1994 graduate, received a bachelor of music degree from Duquesne University's Mary Pappert School of Music.

She has worked as assistant principal flute of the Louisville Orchestra, principal flute of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic and second flute of the Wheeling Symphony. Recognized for her "virtuosic poise" as well as "a dazzling piccolo virtuoso," Gunn was appointed to the position of piccolo of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra by Maestro Daniel Barenboim.

Troup, a 1998 graduate, went on to attend Susquehanna and Boston universities, earning undergraduate and graduate degrees in voice and opera performance.

His work has brought national and international critical acclaim, several Best of Boston accolades and a 2020 Regional Emmy Award for Best Arts and Entertainment feature for Iowa PBS. Notable engagements include those with Boston Symphony Orchestra, Tanglewood Festival, Carnegie Hall, Boston Lyric Opera and Los Angeles Opera. Troup is an associate professor of opera at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee, serves as a member of the Guerilla Opera board of directors and spent a decade as an outreach artist with Sarasa Chamber Music Ensemble's award-winning Outreach Program.

A 1999 graduate, DeShong received a bachelor of music degree from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and a master's of music degree from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.

Her professional career included performing in England as Hänsel in Humperdinck's "Hänsel und Gretel" with Glyndebourne on Tour and a Metropolitan Opera debut in 2008 in Puccini's "La Rondine." DeShong has performed on stages around the world, including the San Francisco Opera, The Royal Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Bayerische Staatsoper, Atlanta Opera, Washington National Opera, Wiener Staatsoper, and Los Angeles Opera. Her most recent international appearance was as Fidès in Meyerbeer's "Le Prophête" at the Aix-en-Provence Festiv.

The four 2023 Distinguished Alumni will be recognized prior to the homecoming football game on Friday, Oct. 13, as well as at the Celebration of the Performing Arts to be held Nov. 4 at the middle school which will include a concert performance of other alumni. A roster of performers and ticket availability will be announced soon.