Alumni Achievements
Alumni: If you would like to let your classmates know what you have been doing, please send your information to our online submission form, or submit via email to fanfare@northwestern.edu. You can also send the information to Fanfare, Henry and Leigh Bienen School of Music, 711 Elgin Rd., Evanston, IL 60208. (Note: If you are submitting digital images to go along with your news item, you must use the email address and attach those images to the email.) Your information may also be included in the next issue of Fanfare, the school's alumni magazine. We reserve the right to edit your item for either online or print publication.
| 1940s | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | In Memoriam |
1940s
Sheldon Harnick (49) and his wife, Margery Gray Harnick, co-authored The Outdoor Museum (not your usual images of NEW YORK) (Beaufort Books), a coffee table book of photos and poems about New York City. Sheldon composed the poems that accompany Margery’s photos.
1950s
Ray Songayllo (51, G52) has taught piano at the Des Moines Symphony Academy since 2003 and serves as pianist and manager for the international chamber group The Midgard Ensemble. In April 2011, the ensemble performed chamber and solo works for a concert in Simm’s Town, South Africa. Last June, Songayllo lectured on the piano works of Szymanowski at the Matthay Festival in Jackson, Tennessee. In October, he was recognized as one of the two remaining founders of the Iowa Composers’ Forum at an event in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he premiered his composition Two Legends for piano.
Russell Shannon (G52) was honored by the Central Arizona College Community Band with an “All-Shannon” concert last November. Shannon has written many compositions for the ensemble during his 26 years as a performing member.
Roy H. Christensen (64) recently retired after a long musical career. Most recently he was principal cellist for the New Hampshire Symphony and Springfield (Massachusetts) Symphony Orchestras. His life in music included stints as principal cellist for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. He also spent time in Nashville in the commercial record industry, and in the 1970s he started his own label— Gasparo Records—for which he produced or engineered over 300 classical music albums.
John P. Boyd (68) wrote a chapter for the book The Art of Interpretation of Band Music (GIA). Boyd is emeritus director of bands and professor of music at Indiana State University.
Jay Kennedy (73, G74) was appointed vice president for academic affairs/vice provost at Berklee College of Music in Boston. He has been at Berklee for the past 18 years and recently oversaw development of academic facilities at Berklee's new campus in Valencia, Spain. He remains an active composer/arranger and adjudicator for marching band, indoor percussion ensemble, and drum and bugle corps competitions.
Susan L. Nigro (73, G74) is a permanent substitute bassoon and contrabassoon for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. She recently signed on with the management firm Price Rubin and Associates. This April, in a concert at Eastern New Mexico University in Portales, New Mexico, she premiered composer Jared Aragon’s Little Suite for Big Bassoon.
Hollis Thoms (G73) published articles in Pan Pipes, the Sigma Alpha Iota fraternity journal; and in the St. John’s Review, the research journal of St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland. The Bach Concert Series of Baltimore premiered two Thoms compositions in 2012: Passion, and Isaac for soloists, treble choir organ, and percussion.
Dale Voelker (G73, G77) is currently a visiting professor at SIAS International University, where he teaches and helps with student recruiting. He directs the choir and teaches German, French, Italian, and English diction to the voice students. He also serves as director of choirs at Judson University in Elgin.
Ken Paoli (G74, G81) was an invited lecturer and composer at the International Workshop on Computer Music and Audio Technology (WOCMAT), held at National Chiao Tung University in Hsinchu, Taiwan. He performed his latest laptop performance work, Phil-Harmonia II, dedicated to the late composer Phil Winsor. Paoli spoke on “Logical Sieves and Probabilities in an Algorithmically-Assisted Compositional Environment,” demonstrating the music generating software constructs used in the organization of his recent compositions. Two works employing these methods, Slices (stereo electronics) and Chase (for amplified violin, viola and trumpet), were presented at Lewis University during the 12th annual Electronic Music Midwest festival last October.
Jan (Herbert) de Chambrier (75, G80) serves as chaplain at St. Luke's Hospital in The Woodlands, Texas, and teaches at international missions conferences, in the Czech Republic, Brazil, Colombia, Ukraine, and Germany, with her husband Philippe. Jan’s book, Glimpses: Two Stories of Hope and Healing (Prayer Point Press), was published in 2011. She previously was artist-teacher of opera studies at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music from 1996 until 2011.
Steven Loewengart (75, G76) was named managing partner of the new Columbus (Ohio) law office of Fisher & Phillips, LLP. Previously he was a partner at Squire Sanders, where he led its workers' compensation practice.
B. Michael Williams (G78), professor of percussion at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina, directed the Winthrop World Percussion Ensemble in a concert at The Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC) last November. The group was invited to the convention as winners of the 4th annual PAS International World Percussion Competition. Dr. Williams also presented a clinic at PASIC. He recently published six new compositions for percussion with Bachovich Music Publications of New York City, and authored an article in Percussive Notes magazine titled "John Bergamo: Percussive Renaissance Man."
Amy Burton (80) is on the voice faculty at Mannes College The New School for Music and the CUNY Graduate Center. She recently performed in the modern-day premiere of Cole Porter’s La Revue des Ambassadeurs with L’Orchestre Pasdeloup in Paris and gave the American premiere of a newly discovered Porter song, “Boulevard Break,” at a concert at New York City’s Cafe Sabarsky.
Jeffrey Schleff (G80) serves as organist and director of music for St. Andrew Lutheran Church in Mundelein, Illinois, where he launched a monthly music concert series for 2012-2013. He continues to serve as elementary school principal for Lords Park Elementary School in Elgin, Illinois, a position he has held for the past seven years.
Mary Ernster (G81) starred as Auntie Em in the Drury Lane Theater for Young Adults’ production of The Wizard of Oz in Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois, last spring.
Scott Magnesen (81) is a managing director and financial adviser for Morgan Stanley Smith Barney in Oak Brook, Illinois. He has been with the firm for 30 years, and was named to Barron’s list of “America’s Top 1,000 Advisors: State-by-State.” He was also named the number-one financial adviser by Chicago magazine in 2008.
Babs Deacon (83) was recently appointed director of the strategic consulting services division at eDJ Group Inc., a consulting firm specializing in technology and service solutions. Prior to joining eDJ Group, Deacon was a practice support manager for several prominent law firms and a subject matter expert on data analytics and discovery management.
Lisa Nimz (84), a fifth grade teacher at Jane Stenson School in Skokie, co-authored the book Can You Hear Me Now? Applying Brain Research and Technology to Engage Today’s Students (Shell Education, 2012). The book explores effective teaching methods by discussing how the brain works and describing the impact of technology on learning.
Glenn Cason (G85) was appointed band director for the new Ritch Middle School in Paulding, Georgia. In 2011, he earned his doctor of education degree from Walden University. Cason was part of professor emeritus Frederick Hemke’s retirement celebration last June at Northwestern.
Ho Hwee Long (G85) is an influential band conductor with Singapore's National Junior College and co-founder of a specialist diploma in band directing. He also serves as music director and resident conductor for the National University of Singapore’s Centre for the Arts. Ho previously played French horn for Singapore’s National Symphony Orchestra.
Eric Ruske (85) released a 7-CD box set, The Horn of Eric Ruske (Albany Records), compiling his complete discography, including his critically acclaimed recording of the complete Mozart Concerti with Sir Charles Mackerras and the Scottish Chamber. Ruske is a professor of horn at Boston University.
Glenn Freeman (86, G87) released a collection of Philip Glass compositions through his label, OgreOgress. The eighteenth recording in a series featuring previously unreleased works by well-known composers, this CD contains 21 orchestrations of Glass's Modern Love Waltz by former Northwestern faculty member Robert Moran and features the performances of Bienen alumni Paul Hersey (89, WCAS89) and Christina Fong (86, G87).
John H. Wallace (G86) is assistant professor of music, composition, and music theory, and also director of undergraduate studies in the School of Music at the Boston University College of Fine Arts. In February 2012, he conducted the premiere of his work Five Miniatures in Boston. Wallace’s music has been performed by a number of performers and organizations, including Alea III, the Tanglewood Institute, the Chicago Chamber Music Collective, and pianists Shiela Kibbe and Kurt Westerberg.
Scott Anderson (G87) was promoted to professor of trombone at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln School of Music. Dr. Anderson has taught at UNL since 1996.
Theodore S. “Ted” Davis (G87) is a doctoral candidate at the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. He continues serving as organist and choirmaster of St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church in Baltimore, a position he has held since 2005.
Eric Sproull (87) has built a successful career as a soundtrack and commercial composer and producer. His music has appeared in commercials and television programming, including the theme for President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign. He recently joined Chicago’s Deaf Dog Music as a partner. Sproull composed the score for Ballhawks, a film by Chicago filmmaker Mike Diedrich. Other clients for whom he has written music include Chrysler, CDW, and the Chicago Blackhawks.
Augusta Read Thomas (87) premiered four new compositions in the past year. In September, the Third Coast Percussion Quartet performed Resounding Earth, featuring more than 120 bells from various cultures and historical periods. Earth Echoes, commissioned in remembrance of the 100th anniversary of the death of Gustav Mahler, received its first performance at New York City’s Carnegie Hall in October. Thomas’ time spent in China in 2011 was the inspiration behind Harvest Drum, which premiered at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing. And in March, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Christoph Eschenbach, debuted her Cello Concerto No. 3, featuring Lynn Harrell on cello. Thomas was recently elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Lomas de Ayarci (88) has played trumpet with the National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica for 20 years. During that time, he has appeared as guest conductor for that orchestra, general director of bands and music director for Banda de Conciertos de Cartago. De Ayarci is founder and first general director of the Costa Rica National System of Music Education.
David Wroe (G88) is director and conductor for the Westfield (New Jersey) Symphony Orchestra and music director of Teatro Grattacielo in New York. In October, he presented a lecture, “A Conductor’s Life,” as part of the 2012 Anne M. Hale Speaker Series in Westfield. Wroe has taught at Harvard University and the New England Conservatory, conducted the New York University Symphony Orchestra, and served as director of orchestras for Montclair State University.
David Brubeck (89, G90) recently celebrated his 20th year as professor of music at Miami Dade College. An active bass trombonist, he is a founding member of the virtuoso brass ensemble Brass Miami and performs regularly with the Miami City Ballet. With trumpeter Brian Neal, Brubeck co-published ten duos for trumpet and bass trombone. He has also authored articles for the International Trombone Association Journal.
Dan Novak (89) has been named director of the Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, replacing the retiring Gianna Rolandi. Novak previously served as manager of the center for twelve years.
Matthew Mailman (90, G91) is in his eighteenth year as professor of conducting in the Wanda L. Bass School of Music at Oklahoma City University. He recently conducted performances of Francis Poulenc’s opera Dialogues of the Carmelites and Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd and Into the Woods.
John W. Richmond (G90) contributed a chapter on "The Sociology and Policy of Ensembles" to the Oxford Handbook of Music Education, Vol. 1, (Oxford University Press, 2012), edited by Gary E. McPherson and Graham F. Welch. Dr. Richmond also authored a chapter entitled "'All In' for Composition Education: Opportunities and Challenges for Pre-Service Music Teacher Curricula" in Composing Our Future: Preparing Music Educators to Teach Composition (Oxford University Press, 2012), edited by Michele Kaschub and Janice Smith. In November, he presented at the National Conference of the National Association of Schools of Music in San Diego.
Samuel McIlhagga (G93) is in his tenth year as director of bands at Albion College in Michigan, and his fourth year as chair of the music department. He recently completed an extensive historical and analytical study of William Walton’s Façade: An Entertainment. He directed and produced a recording of the work with the Albion Chamber Players, an ensemble he founded.
Terry Barber (95) released his recording, Classical For Everyone (Revolv Music) on CD and for digital download. The album includes selections from the works he performed on his 2012 US tour.
Eric Branscome (G96) joined the Austin Peay State University Music Department in Fall 2011 as assistant professor of music and coordinator of music education. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in music education, and supervises music student teachers.
Kyle Dzapo (G96) saw the release of her CD, Joachim Andersen: Etudes and Salon Music (Naxos) in March. She is a professor of music at Bradley University.
Gaëtan Gerville-Réache (98, L05), an appellate attorney and litigator who represents corporations, banks, and domestic and foreign governments, was named partner at the firm Warner, Norcross & Judd LLP. He is a regular contributor to the One Court of Justice Blog, the leading blog analyzing Michigan’s appellate courts.
Rebecca Davis (00, G01) appeared with the Fresno Grand Opera as Magda in La Rondine last January. In March, she appeared as Violetta in La Traviata with Livermore Valley Opera, and in April as the Countess in Dayton Opera's Le Nozze di Figaro. She makes her European opera debut as Fiordiligi in Cosi fan tutte at Staatsopera Hannover in April.
Scott MacLeod (00) is an assistant professor of music and co-chair of the vocal division at High Point University in North Carolina. He maintains an active career as singer, conductor, and clinician, and serves as chorus master of the North Carolina Opera. As a performer, he has appeared in venues such as Central City Opera, Opera Omaha, Opera North, Utah Festival Opera, the North Carolina Symphony, and the National Symphony of Costa Rica. He made his Carnegie Hall solo debut in Mendelssohn's Elijah with the New York Chamber Orchestra in March 2009. Dr. MacLeod recently served as section leader and chaperone for the first American Choral Directors’ Association National Youth Choir tour in London.
Paula Brusky (03) teaches courses in music business at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and conducts research into injuries that musicians receive from practice and performance. A bassoonist, she regularly plays with area orchestras and runs the biannual Bassoon Chamber Music Composition Competition, which she founded in 2009.
Beau Davidson (03) was a surrogate for Governor Mitt Romney in his Presidential campaign. He was appointed by the governor to his "Young Americans for Romney" coalition and traveled across the country, singing and speaking on Romney’s behalf. The pinnacle of the campaign came when Davidson sang his original patriotic composition, "Blessed," on primetime television at the Republican National Convention last August. The documentary-style video of “Blessed” has been nominated for a Mid-South Regional EMMY Award.
Kimberly Beasley (G04), a soprano, recently performed with the Jacksonville (Florida) Symphony Orchestra. An assistant professor of voice at Jacksonville University, she serves as president of the north Florida chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing.
Ashima Scripp (G04) was appointed artistic director for the Walden Chamber Players. A member of the ensemble for eight years, she previously served as their associate artistic director. Scripp has developed and produced many of the group’s educational residencies and programs. She also teaches cello and chamber music at the Longy School of Music and the Concord Academy in Massachusetts.
Conor Hanick (05), a New York City-based concert pianist, was heralded by the New York Times for his January performance of John Cage’s Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano as “a marvel of poetic concentration…. Mr. Hanick’s performance brimmed with virtuosity, focus and imagination.” Other recent activity includes a weeklong residency at the Yellow Barn in Putney, Vermont; performances of Stravinsky and Schoenberg as part of the Smith College Arts Festival in Northampton, Massachusetts; and a guest lecture-performance at the New England Conservatory of Music, featuring discussion of Messiaen’s Des Canyons aux Étoiles.
Jamie Wolf (05) is a singer/songwriter and the choral teaching artist at El Sistema Colorado. She recently released her second album, New Shoes, featuring ten original songs.
Amanda Majeski (06) appeared with the Lyric Opera of Chicago in her role debut as Eva in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg under Andrew Davis. She debuted in late 2012 at Oper Frankfurt in a new production of Humperdinck’s Königskinder as the Goose-Girl, and she made her debut at the Glyndebourne Festival as Countess Almaviva in Michael Grandage’s production of Le nozze di Figaro.
Sean McCluskey (06) released The Beginning (Saoirse Records), his first CD of original compositions and jazz standards. He tours with his jazz trio, including a recent stint on the MV Pacific Jewel, cruising around Australia and the South Pacific.
Laura Henry (07) has been playing clarinet for the U.S. Air Force Band since 2011. Previously she was a member of the Green Bay Symphony Orchestra.
Angela Chung Hsu (07) earned a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Chicago last June.
George LePauw (G07) is a pianist and the founder of Chicago’s Beethoven Festival, held annually in September. The second edition of last year’s festival featured 60 events in nine days. The success of the festival led the Chicago Tribune to recognize LePauw as 2012’s Chicagoan of the Year for Classical Music.
Jing Qiao (G07) took first prize at Yang TongLiu Chengdu International violin competition in China last September. She was also a semifinalist in the 2012 Carl Nielsen International Violin Competition, held in Denmark last June.
Mary Bassett (08) joined both the Palm Beach Symphony and Florida Grand Opera as their piccolo player.
Bruce Carter (G08) was appointed by President Barack Obama in January as a Council Member on the National Council on the Arts. Dr. Carter is a music educator and researcher whose work focuses on issues of creativity and the intersections of social justice and arts participation. His research has been published in The Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, Journal of Research in Music Education, and Music Educators Journal, in addition to numerous invited chapters by Oxford Press. This year, the University of North Carolina’s School of Education designated the Bruce Carter Qualitative Research Center as a place for graduate students to pursue meaningful qualitative research agendas. Dr. Carter holds a PhD in music education.
Kristin King (G08) joined the U.S. Air Force Band in 2011, playing clarinet. Previously, she was principal and E-flat clarinetist with the South Bend Symphony Orchestra.
Cindy Tseng (G08) is working on her PhD in piano pedagogy at the University of Oklahoma. She was an invited clinician for the College Music Society International Conference in Buenos Aires in 2013, speaking on “Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi and Flow Theory: Application of Flow to Music Education.”
Tingting Zhang (G08) served on the piano faculty at the Shenyang Conservatory in China during the past year. She was also invited to present her paper “"Should There Be a National Graded Music Examination in the United States?" at the College Music Society National Conference in San Diego.
Josh Fink (09, G11) and his new band, Zamin, played Taste of Chicago last July. The group, which fuses Indian vocal techniques with American classical and folk music, includes additional Bienen alumni: vocalist Zeshan Bagewadi (09, G11), percussionist David Eisenreich (G11), and guitarist Eric Seligman (12). Josh had previously gained notoriety with The Gentlemen of NUCO when they performed on the national television program America’s Got Talent. That ensemble recently released a digital EP of four original songs. Emmerson Denney Management now professionally manages both bands. Fink recently joined the faculty at MYCincinnati, an El Sistema-inspired program that offers free musical training to children in Price Hill, Cincinnati.
2010s
Several alumni of the Bienen voice and opera program received high marks in the district competition of the 2012 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Kelsey Betzelberger (10, G12), Casey Candebat (G11), Alex Edgemon (G09, G10), and Nick Wenzel (G09) won their divisions. Sarah van der Ploeg (G12) won an Encouragement Award at the event.
Caroline Davis (G10) released her jazz quartet’s new recording, Live, Work & Play (Ears and Eyes Records), in November. She is currently teaching a course on the psychology of music at DePaul University and music theory at Columbia College. She also teaches Music Together courses for babies and parents in Chicago.
Holly Kortze (G10), a clarinetist, is currently in the orchestra for the the 25th anniversary touring production of Les Misérables.
John Gilbert “Jack” Marquardt (G10) joined WindSync, an ensemble specializing in creative and interactive concerts incorporating theatrical elements. Marquardt is also a member of the Illinois Symphony and the Quad City Symphony Orchestras.
Roderick Cox (G11) was recently appointed assistant conductor of the Alabama Symphony.
Kate Carter (G11) is an active member of the Chicago Q Ensemble, a group dedicated to performing the works of living composers, especially those by women. The group used Kickstarter to crowd-fund their debut album featuring the music of Amy Wurtz, titled Amy Wurtz String Quartets.
Lauren Cook (G11), a clarinetist, joined the United States Navy Band’s Concert/Ceremonial Band in 2011.
Kangmin Justin Kim (11) won first place in the 2012 Stuart Burrows International Voice Award Competition, held in Wales last summer. Kim was also a semifinalist in the 2012 Teatro Colón International Competition. In February, Justin and his accompanist, Sachika Taniyama, were selected for the Oxford Lieder Young Artist Platform. The duo will perform at the Oxford Lieder Festival and will give a series of recitals at music clubs and festivals around England.
Anne Slovin (11) was named a finalist in the 2013 Grand Concours de Chant Competition this past January.
Ryan Beach (G12) was the winner of the 2012 Ellsworth Smith International Trumpet Competition. Organized every four years by the International Trumpet Guild and the Columbus Foundation, the competition features eight semifinalists from around the world, selected via taped submissions. As the winner, Ryan received a cash award of $10,000.
Lauren Haley (G12) became the new director of Belmont (Massachusetts) High School’s Symphonic Band and Marauder Marching Band last September.
Samuel Rothstein (12), a bass clarinetist, was selected to become a fellow of the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Tanglewood Music Center, his first summer at the BSO’s summer music academy for emerging professional musicians of exceptional ability.
In Memoriam
Jane Blache Willard (G40), in Richmond, Virginia, on January 18, 2013.
Carolyn Burd Christie (41), in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on January 13, 2013.
Jane Ann Katz (44), in Swansea, Illinois, on January 28, 2013.
Mary Margaret Ausman (51), in Scottsdale, Arizona, on January 11, 2013.
Richard Henry Lee Jones (G51), in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on February 3, 2013.
Leonard J. Hurst (G53), in Goshen, Indiana, on December 9, 2012.
Leo C. “Bud” Miget (55), in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, on January 25, 2013.
Celine Mudge (55), in Chehalis, Washington, on January 12, 2013.
Stanley M. Ackerman (56), in Lake Forest, Illinois, on January 11, 2013.
Frederick B. Shulze (G63), in Muncie, Indiana, on January 29, 2013.
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