CHARLES NOSTRAND, Class of 1947, died of cancer at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Center in New York on December 18, 2001 at the age of 74. According to an impressive tribute posted in the 'Celebrity Obits' section of VoyForums: "A virtuoso clarinetist who for half a century or more stubbornly kept alive the music of the Benny Goodman era, Charles Nostrand became known as Long Island's King of Swing. But Nostrand's talents transcended the bandstand. A trained electrical engineer, he was equally as proficient at coaxing a sweet sound out of a combustion engine [sic] as he was on the Buffet - the only clarinet he's ever played - the one his father bought him when he was in fourth grade." While in high school he was offered a scholarship to the Eastman School of Music "but Nostrand declined because he had enrolled as a cadet midshipman at Fort Schuyler in the Bronx....While studying engineering there, he played in the school's dance band and marching band." He shipped out with Standard Oil of New Jersey after graduation and "played for crew members as he traveled the world to far-flung places including Saudi Arabia, Buenos Aires, and Stockholm." He later returned to Fort Schuyler to obtain his degree when the college moved to a bachelor's degree program. "Excelling as an engineering student, he kept playing gigs with Dixieland bands locally. Nostrand sat in wherever and whenever he could, juggling music with a variety of jobs, including a stint designing high-fidelity sound systems with a major area distributor." He is survived by his wife Gloria, three sons and three step-daughters.
FMSAA