Donor Honors Mother with Music Department Gift

Doris Rowland Peterson grew up in the 1930s in a home filled with music.

Her mother, Edna Rosner Rowland, was a fine pianist who enjoyed playing everything from Mozart sonatas to Christmas carols for her family and friends.

Rowland transferred her love of music to her daughters, Doris and Lois, by teaching them to play the piano, too.

“We practiced every day,” Peterson said.

The sisters played duets throughout their adult lives and loved to attend concerts. Rowland passed away in 1983, and Lois Rowland Klein, a 1945 Buffalo State graduate, passed away in 2011.

To honor her mother, Peterson provided the Music Department with a generous gift that will provide scholarships for students. Her gift was part of the $20 million fundraising initiative, Transforming Lives: A Campaign for Buffalo State.

“I know this is something she would have wanted me to do,” Peterson said.

In thanks and recognition, Buffalo State has named the Edna Rosner Rowland Teaching Studio in Rowland's memory. The studio is adjacent to the new Ciminelli Recital Hall at Rockwell Hall.

In a ceremony held November 4 to officially open the recital hall, Buffalo State leaders lauded Peterson for her generosity, along with that of four other Music Department donors, including Lois Rowland Klein’s widower, Edward Klein, who made a gift in memory of his wife.

Now Peterson’s mother and sister are linked in a tangible way. The lobby of the recital hall complex, which includes the Edna Rosner Rowland Teaching Studio, is named the Rowland Lobby.

“My sister’s real love was the college and the music it provided,” Peterson said.