A bouquet of flowers in a white Ball mason jar appeared on the steps of Kendall Hall in early September with a note taped to the glass that read:
For Sigrid Stevenson
The stage is forever your world
Rest in Peace.
01/24/1952 – 09/04/1977
Stevenson, a graduate music and education major from California, had been murdered 47 years earlier while practicing piano alone on the building’s main stage late one evening prior to the start of the school year. The makeshift memorial placed on the anniversary of her death reflects a growing desire on the part of the TCNJ community to remember her on campus in a tangible way.
“Though her murder remains unsolved, she should not be unknown. Sigrid was an extraordinarily talented member of the college community, we are committed to ensuring she is always remembered as such,” said TCNJ President Michael Bernstein.
This fall, the college will dedicate a piano practice room in its Music Building to her. A plaque will be installed outside its entrance as part of the formal dedication.
“This feels like a fitting tribute to a student who had chosen to study music and education,” added Pamela Barnett, dean of TCNJ’s School of the Arts and Communication. “It is an unspeakable tragedy that Sigrid did not have a career making and teaching music. The music that fills this room throughout the coming years will keep the spirit of this gifted pianist and aspiring educator alive.”
The attention to Stevenson’s life and untimely death follows the airing of her case file in an episode of Netflix’s Unsolved Mysteries, which debuted on July 31. As the show’s title suggests, investigators have pursued many leads over the years but have been unable to identify the individual responsible for her death.
Scott Napolitano ’06, who was interviewed extensively in the show’s episode, learned of Stevenson’s story as an undergraduate and has worked tirelessly in the years since to, as he says, “bring her out of the shadows and make her a person and not just a ghost.”
”Multiple people who knew her have told me that Sigrid danced to the beat of her own drum and stayed true to her music. I can’t think of a better way of honoring her memory than naming a safe space for artists to practice what they love after her,” said Napolitano, who raised the idea with Barnett in early August. “As someone who cared for her memory through the intervening years, this means so much.”
— Dave Muha