The KSC Music Department awarded the 2023 Distinguished Alumni Award to Dr. Kirk Sanger, a professor within the college’s nursing department.
The award’s recipient is decided each year by the Music Department’s full-time faculty, said Dr. Joseph Darby, professor of music. After the meeting which decided Sanger as the recipient, Darby was the one to inform him, Sanger said.
The variety of fields of study Sanger has practiced was one of the traits that compelled the Music Department faculty to choose him for the award, Darby said.
“What I particularly like about [Sanger] being the award winner this year is that it shows another generation of music students that you keep your nose to the grindstone and things will work out in music and in life and persistence is the key,” Darby said.
“It was a complete surprise,” Sanger said. “I had no idea that I would be on their radar for something like that, and it was humbling and just really heartfelt that they would think of me.”
Sanger graduated from KSC in 1997 with a degree in counseling psychology. During his time as an undergraduate, he played music and took the double bass as his instrument of choice, he said.
Sanger’s first return to Keene after graduating was as a residence hall director. Darby said the work he did at that time carried over into his future endeavors and displayed his ability to make “an impact on community.”
During that time, Sanger also performed double bass alongside Don Baldini, former professor and conductor of the KSC Orchestra.
After Sanger completed his nursing science doctorate from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, he returned to Keene State again to teach in the newly-formed nursing program, he said.
Sanger described how he has remained involved in the Keene music community, including sometimes stepping in to play double bass for the KSC Orchestra.
He highlighted Keene State’s commitment to getting alumni involved as a valuable asset to the community.
“There’s a real camaraderie to being a Keene State alum … It’s not a famous place like Harvard or Yale or those kinds of [schools], but it doesn’t matter,” Sanger said. “It’s its own, it has its own nice niche for alumni.”
Additionally, Sanger felt confident when he brought his children to the college, one of whom is currently a KSC student, that they could see such values in the inclusion of Keene State alumni. The existence of awards like the one he received reflected those same values, he said.
Dr. Daniel Carberg, music department chair, and Dr. Sandra Howard, professor of music, were both unavailable for an interview.
Charlotte King can be contacted at
cking@kscequinox.com
