Susan E. Zellweger- Casler  




  





  I was born Susan Zellweger, in Syracuse, NY.


 




One of the earliest memories I have from childhood is that of an event in our family called the Swiss Picnic. 
It was an annual event at Pratt’s Falls, NY that kept me connected to the fact that I was born in a family of Swiss immigrants, who came through Ellis Island in the 1920’s. 


     Here I am on the left at comunion with
     my mother Mary, father Bob and
     brother Tim.                                                                                                    






                                                 Little Suzie--   








I grew up in a pretty average middle class family in Oneida, NY where I would complete all of my primary education.

                            


In elementary school I discovered the clarinet through the recruitment of a man named Thomas Mirante, the band
teacher.


                                                                       
 I diligently played that 
 instrument up until 
 graduation, by that time
 achieving the rank of soloist
 in the Area All State Band.
 

 Here I am in 6th grade. 
 Do you like the glasses?





                                            
At right is my high school graduation  photo.    Throughout high school I had a job
 as a Nurses Aide at Oneida City Hospital. 
When it was time to make a decision between nursing school and music school I was torn.  Music school won, however, within 2 semesters I knew I would not survive. 

      
Piano was a required instrument and with instructors who assumed a music major should surely be able to play Beethoven with two hands from the very beginning, I was doomed.




                      

By the fall of my sophomore year I transferred to Syracuse University’s School of Nursing.  During that education I married my husband Frank and upon graduation we started a family with the addition of our daughter Heather.  During those years I devoted myself to family, church and career. 

Music took a distant back seat and frankly became a forgotten friend. 

At age 46 I experienced one of those life changing events that truly make one think about mortality, future and life’s temporary nature.  When all was said and done I had to ask myself if this illness would have taken my life what would I wish I had done differently. 
The answer was twofold and immediate: a Caribbean cruise and finding a way to add a meaningful musical experience back into my life. 
The first step in this journey was selecting the vehicle.  In Broadalbin, NY I did not see much call for a classically trained clarinetist. 


 
 My girlfriend Peggy and I discovered the Irish
 Pennywhistle which opened up an entirely new
 repertoire of music and acquaintances.