Traveling With a Maestro: Exploring the World with Steve Swayne
A beloved music professor turns alumni travel into an immersive classroom
If you ask past travelers what makes Dartmouth’s alumni trips unique, many point to the faculty members who lead them. These scholars are widely respected in their fields and turn each voyage into a world-class learning experience.
For nearly two decades, Steve Swayne, the Jacob H. Strauss 1922 Professor of Music, has been a fan favorite of the Dartmouth Alumni Travel program. He’s a beloved scholar-performer whose infectious enthusiasm, quick wit, and musical knowledge have made him one of the program’s most successful faculty leaders. Swayne has accompanied Dartmouth alumni to destinations throughout Europe, from cruising up the Danube River to exploring Russia. In 2026, he will take travelers on a journey to the Scottish Highlands and the Caledonian Canal.
What keeps travelers coming back is not only the content he brings, but the way he brings it: with humor, insight, and a performer’s penchant for connection.
A Scholar Who Meets Travelers Where They Are
Swayne began leading alumni trips in 2006, shortly after receiving tenure. His first voyage was a natural fit—a Mozart-themed cruise along the Danube. Excited for the opportunity to teach alumni, he assigned a lengthy book about Mozart, hoping travelers would read it before the trip. However, he quickly realized that the best alumni learning happens not by overwhelming travelers with scholarship, but by meeting them where they are as busy, but intellectually curious adults. Remembering the 800-page book, he said, “I quickly discovered that was more lifelong learning than our travelers were willing to take.”
That early lesson would shape his entire approach to facilitating learning experiences for alumni. On every trip since, Swayne constructs his presentations around a sense of place, memory, and often the ways music is a hallmark of culture and bridge-building. His lectures are never overly planned. He adjusts them to the group’s personality and draws on whatever the location offers. Sometimes that means playing examples on a shipboard piano, singing with travelers, or guiding them through a city’s landmarks.
A Perfectly Timed Welcome to Finland
One of Swayne’s most memorable moments came during a Baltic Sea alumni trip that began in Stockholm and ended in Oslo. He had carefully planned a lecture to coincide with the ship’s arrival in Helsinki, shaping his talk around the life and work of Jean Sibelius, Finland’s most celebrated composer. As the vessel approached the harbor, Swayne—known for seamlessly blending live piano, recorded music, and slides—concluded the lecture by playing Finlandia over the ship’s AV system. When the final notes faded, he turned to the audience and said, “And with that, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Finland.” The timing—music, message, and arrival perfectly aligned—sent the room into applause. “It was a mic-drop moment,” he said. “I’ve never had a standing ovation like that since.”
Teaching Beyond the Classroom
Beyond the music, travelers also respond to his candor. Whether discussing opera, cultural history, or the complexities of being a black, gay American scholar abroad, Swayne approaches every group with openness. “I need to get to know my audience and tailor my remarks to where they are,” he said. “It’s about building something together.”
That philosophy was central on a recent Danube–Main–Rhine trip, where he spoke about living in Vienna, the politics of music under the Nazis, and even helped travelers navigate the city’s concert offerings. “I’m helping them to be able to go into these places and be even more enriched,” he said. “The alumni are hungry for this kind of experience.”
His legacy extends far beyond the travel program. Swayne has become a bridge-builder within the Dartmouth community, strengthening ties among students, alumni, and faculty. He was one of the first two recipients of the Professor John Rassias Faculty Award, an honor given to faculty members for their exceptional educational outreach to alumni.
Looking Ahead: Scotland With Steve Swayne in 2026
Now, Swayne is preparing for a new destination: Scotland. The upcoming trip begins in Edinburgh, travels to Inverness, and continues along the Caledonian Canal before returning north. He plans to give two lectures along the way—one on Scottish history and why the country resonates so deeply with him, and another on the surprising origins of tartan.
Scotland, he explained, appeals to him not because he claims Scottish heritage, but because of its character. “The Scots are kind of the underdogs of the British Isles,” he said. “Their pride, their independence, their ability to collaborate with others… I identify with that.”
His personal connection has grown through his love of kilts, his interest in Scottish culture, and the ways his second lecture will unpack the lesser-known history of tartans. He’ll look at the surprising history of these prints and the way they are portrayed and marketed to buyers interested in Scottish culture. “People usually assume tartans are ancient representations of clan identity,” he said. “In reality, today’s tartan industry is based on more recent and surprising factors.”
His teachings in Scotland will surely provide the unexpected and entertaining point of view that alumni travelers have come to expect and love from him.
For Swayne, each journey is an extension of what he has always done: help people see more, hear more, connect more to the world around them. Each journey adds another layer of understanding, enriching the way alumni experience music, culture, and place long after they return home.
“I think of this type of learning as depositing something in the bank. We build knowledge together, and every time someone draws on it later—on another trip, in another city—it actually grows in value.”
Join Dartmouth Alumni Travel in 2026 for immersive educational journeys led by faculty members and other Dartmouth leaders.