In Memoriam
Gregory Mantone By Brian Rank
To his peers and professors, junior Gregory Mantone was a quiet student with a smile on in the hallways, talent in the classroom and a helping hand when needed. But Mantone’s sudden death in a car accident early Dec. 3 left the School of Music and Ithaca College mourning and reflecting on his life. He was traveling along highway I-81 through Susquehanna County, Pa., from New York City, when his vehicle went off the side of the highway and struck a rock embankment around 2 a.m., according to a Pennsylvania State Police report. The vehicle came to rest on the driver’s side and became engulfed in flames, the report said. Mantone was pronounced dead at the scene. He was 20 years old. Students, faculty and staff assembled Dec. 3 in Muller Chapel to share their thoughts and memories of Mantone, recalling a passionate musician and caring friend. Attendees told stories about his kindness. “He’s just the most genuinely, purely nice guy I’ve ever met,” sophomore Katherine Pfeiffer said. Junior Riley Goodemote said Mantone had a sunny disposition and was always upbeat despite the stress of schoolwork. “I never saw him with a cold look on his face, not once,” he said. The gathering was organized by administrators in the School of Music and was led by Father Carsten Martensen, the college’s Catholic chaplain. More than 100 members of the campus community filled the chapel and stretched into the outside atrium. Mantone, a music education major, played the euphonium in the Symphonic Band, for which he was a section leader, and sang in the college chorus. Mantone was raised in Mount Sinai, N.Y., a hamlet on Long Island, where he graduated from Mount Sinai High School. Gregory Woodward, dean of the School of Music, said Mantone also had a love of musical theater and was returning from seeing “Follies,” one of his favorite Broadway musicals, that morning. Woodward said the music school community came together in support of each other. “The kids seemed affected, somber, reflective, but also concerned by
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Top left: From left, juniors Scott Card and Damien Scalise play at a jazz memorial concert. Rachel Orlow/The IThacan
Center: The Symphonic Band left Gregory Mantone’s seat open at practice Dec. 7.
Michelle Boulé/The IThacan
Left: Suki Montgomery, assistant director of counseling and wellness, sets up for a memorial.
Rachel Orlow/The IThacan
each others’ health,” he said. Aaron Tindall, assistant professor of tuba and euphonium and Mantone’s teacher, said Mantone’s technique had improved in the past months, putting him on track to achieving his goals. Tindall said when he arrived at the college he asked students what they wanted to do. “I remember specifically, I got to Greg, and Greg said ‘I want to be the best music educator that I can be and the best euphonium player that I can be,’” he said. Tindall said losing a student is particularly difficult for music students because of the tight-knit community in the school. Junior Nicole Kukieza, a music performance and education major, knew Mantone since her freshman year. “It didn’t really hit a lot of people until band and chorus on Monday when Greg didn’t go,” she said. “It was kind of real then.”