The Hofbeats (pictured above) were one of Hofstra’s a cappella groups to perform at the memorial concert. // Photo courtesy of Sabrina Blandon.
In honor of one of their brothers who passed away in 2012, Phi Delta Theta, along with Hofstra’s a cappella groups, held their annual Pete “Too Tall” Teleha’s “Just Sing” Memorial Concert. This year’s event was the 10th annual concert and was the first one held in-person since the pandemic. All proceeds from the concert will go to the Honors College Peter A. Teleha Memorial Fund.
“I think it’s a great concert because it connects the Greek life community with a cappella groups, and there’s no other event that does that,” said Michael DelBene, a senior finance major and president of the New York Kappa chapter of Phi Delta Theta.
The a cappella groups who performed were The Hofstra Dutchmen, The Hofbeats, Sigma’cappella and Makin’ Treble. In addition to being a member of Phi Delta Theta, Pete Teleha was also a founding member of the Hofstra Dutchmen and a member of Sigma’cappella.
“He was a dear friend. Not just that, but being a Dutchman … we’re brothers,” said Justin Shah, a senior music education major and president of both The Hofbeats and The Hofstra Dutchmen. “That’s how connected we feel with him, because we know that everything we pour onstage that he arranged, and he gave, we’re doing it with a little bit of him inside of it.”
After committing to attending Hofstra, Pete Teleha was immediately attracted to the great philanthropic work that Phi Delta Theta brothers participate in. “I am not a big fraternity person. I always heard fraternities are only about parties, and they’re not about academia. The next thing I learned is that it was completely all about service,” said Suzanne Teleha, mother of Pete. “It was one of the most amazing decisions my son has made. Even … during the two years he was in it, [the motto was] ‘once a brother, always a brother.’”
At Pete Teleha’s funeral, his family gifted attendees a Lego, since he was a Lego fanatic. Suzanne Teleha wanted his legacy to remind everyone to “build and not tear down.” Years later, the Lego tradition continued within the fraternity while the a cappella groups did a Zoom call with previous alumni the night before the concert to share stories of Pete Teleha.
“It’s really nice to see a theater full of people there to celebrate him and to remember him because on Zoom, you’re like, ‘that’s a lot of people,’ but when it comes to an in-person event, you look around and every single seat in the student center theater is filled [with] people who are there to remember him,” said Anna Webieus, a senior public relations major. “That’s something Zoom never captures, but when you’re sitting there, you’re like, ‘wow he left such an impact on this community.’”
While he was only a part of the Hofstra community for two years, the concert’s packed audience shows how much of an impact he made. Suzanne Teleha said she never thought the concert would still be an ongoing event since now, most of the people participating and attending the event never personally knew Pete Teleha. Despite never meeting him, Shah said, “I think we knew Pete” through all the traditions and morals he made.
“I feel strongly connected [because of the] upperclassmen that I had to learn from when I was younger. They knew as much as the next guy did of Pete,” Shah said. “They learned from when they were freshmen from their seniors, and we’re keeping that tradition.”
“He can’t play the piano anymore or make music, but other people can. They can play it because we’ve inspired them to play,” she said. “I don’t view [the concert] as a memorial. I view it as [the Hofstra community and Phi Delta Theta] continuing on what he can’t do and that to me is pretty powerful.”
“Being able to continue on in a way that we can in fostering that community again that he built is just super important to us,” said Liz Orkwiszewski, Pete Teleha’s sister. “It really gives us a tether because it’s a way to celebrate and remember him [which] is super important to us.”
The words that were used to describe Pete Teleha during the concert were kind, warm, generous and devoted. According to Suzanne Teleha, when her son passed away, everything stopped. However, she said she realizes his memory still lives on through this concert and all the stories, even if people did not know him.
“His legacy shows our fraternity that his family is now our family. We do this concert mainly for his family as opposed to for the student body because it’s something that helps the family remember him in a positive light,” DelBene said. “It’s a reminder to them that they did a damn good job at raising [their] son because we’re still celebrating his memory.”
During the concert, The Hofstra Dutchmen sang staple songs such as “Larger than Life” and “I Will Follow You into the Dark” in honor of Pete Teleha, since they were the last pieces he sang and arranged before his passing.
“It’s one of those events that brings everyone together,” DelBene said. “It gives a full spectrum of human emotion and it’s a very grounding and powerful experience because it puts it into perspective what’s important in life, because at any moment, your life could be taken from you. The concert teaches us to celebrate life every day because it’s a gift.”
The turnout of the event showed how people still care about Pete Teleha even though his death was years ago, and that people still want to honor him, according to Webieus. As the years pass, DelBene said he still believes the concert will be a great turnout because Teleha’s stories and his accomplishments will be remembered through the Greek and a cappella communities, as well as the Hofstra community.
“The concert reminds us to spend each moment you
have with those you love and be fully present in the moment without the distractions of life getting in the way,” DelBene said. “[The concert] reminds people that the clock is always ticking and instead of letting the endless amount of things in the world that can make you upset get to you … be strong and remember to keep moving forward.”
