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If you've got any more exciting alumni news, we want to hear about it! Contact Angela Henstra '05 '06 at (617) 912-9204 or ahenstra@bostonconservatory.edu.
In Memoriam
Previous Editions of Class Notes and In Memoriam
Distinguished Alumni Award Winners
Click on a class year:
1940s
1970s
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2000s
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1940's
Jean A. Savignano '48 (Music): Jean is retired from the City of Cambridge Hospital Department and is living in Brighton House, an assisted living residence. She participates in a singing group, in which she has solo parts and special scenes. These programs are open to the public and she enjoys them greatly.
1970's
Barbara Ann Peters '70 (Music): Barbara was recently elected President of the Board of the Greensboro Opera Company in Greensboro , NC . In her final year as President of The North Carolina Chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, she will take on the NC-NATS District Governorship in May 2008. Barbara has joined the UNC-Greensboro Voice Faculty this year as an interim appointment, teaching voice, history of art song, a vocal literature seminar course (solo oratorio rep) and French and Italian diction. She sang a recital at UNC-G on March 30, 2008 of her Russian and American song repertoire. In June, she looks forward to singing the role of Birdie in Blitzstein's opera, Regina , with Longleaf Opera Company in Chapel Hill .
Michael J. Lamy '71 (Music Education:) Michael and his sister, Catherine, were featured at The Steinway Society of Central Florida at a concert that will give pianos to needy students. They performed songs from Broadway musicals.
Karen Peterson Corash '76 (Dance): Karen Peterson's Dance Troupe presents Future Memories at the Excello dance space in April and then travels to Montenegro in May to perform at the Montenegrin National Theatre and teach at the youth disability center in the capital, Podgorica. Future Memories was inspired by home videos, sing-a-long songs, family arguments and finger painting. Karen finds the struggles, passion and support of the family similar to that of a dance company. Future Memories is Karen's first multi-media work for three wheelchair and four non-chair dancers. This is the second part of a Miami / Montenegro Cultural Exchange Project that began with performances by the Ballo Dance Company in Miami in October 2007.
Gerard F. Alessandrini '77 (Theater): Gerard's latest edition of Forbidden Broadway , Rude Awakening , held its Southern Florida premiere at the Carnival Studio Theater in Miami in March 2008.
Michael Mikuski '78 (Music Education): Mike is a freelance musician throughout New England as well as an instrumental teacher in the Georgetown, MA and North Reading, MA public schools and at the West Newbury School of Music.
Clara Ramona Batchelder '79 (Dance): Clara was featured on the cover of the January-March 2008 Asian Traveler Magazine . She was the subject of a feature article on Flamenco dancing.
1980's
Stanley M. Hoffman '81 (Music): Stanley's unpublished 1985 composition Anim Zemiros (A Hymn of Glory), an original setting of a traditional Hebrew Shabbat prayer, has won a third place prize in the 2008 Choral Composition Competition sponsored by The New York Virtuoso Singers. In addition to a cash award to be presented to the composer, Anim Zemiros will receive its world premiere performance on January 11, 2009, in New York City .
Jack Noseworthy '87 (Dance): Jack Noseworthy plays a nefarious character whose actions in the opening scenes help hatch the plot of the sci-fi thriller, The Surrogates, a Bruce Willis flick now filming in Boston.
Duncan M. Rogers '87 (Theater): Duncan was cast as Don, the blue-collar ex-jock turned Little League coach in Richard Dresser's popular comedy Rounding Third at the Bickford Theatre in Northern New Jersey in March 2008.
David Benoit '88 (Theater): David has been profiled in several prominent articles ( Lowell Sun, The Boston Herald, and The Boston Globe )in the Boston area, celebrating his return to the Boston area as Nicky in the production of Avenue Q at the Colonial Theatre in March 2008. He says, “When I go back to the Conservatory, I tell the students I built a career on all those silly voices that we all used to do to make each other laugh. Never dismiss anything that is unique to you, because my tuba playing and my silly impersonations and all those silly idiosyncrasies have given me a career.”
Christine MacInally '89 (Theater): Christine's performing arts studio, The Performance Factory, presented their showcase at Waltham High School in April.
1990's
Thomas Culcasi '90 (Dance): Thom now resides in Las Vegas after spending the last 17 years in NYC. He teaches and coaches in his private studio and has subbed in the Mamma Mia! pit on keyboards. He also composes and takes part in a composer's forum that meets at The Liberace Museum.
Diane Cushing '90 (Music): Diane, The Nashua Symphony Association's director of choral activities, was the featured soprano at the NSA's chamber music program in April 2008, at the Dion Center at Rivier College .
Sophia Stratakis Huling '91 (Music): Sophia sings with the Boston Byzantine Choir, a group that sings Byzantine chant in English in worship settings, concerts and on recordings. They expect to release their fourth recording, Thy Resurrection , which features music for Pascha (Easter), by the end of April 2008. The CD will be available through St. Mary Orthodox Church in Cambridge , MA . The choir also participated in The Ascending Voice, a symposium of a capella sacred music at Pepperdine University in June 2007. Sophia personally sang for George and Barbara Bush at a dinner in 2002 at which they received the Athenagoras Human Rights Award from the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, a group affiliated with the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. Sophia is currently a freelance writer and editor in NYC.
James D. Keene '91 (Dance): James's dance company, Earthwalk Dance Company, is in its second year and preparing to tour in New Mexico at Ghost Ranch (Georgia O'Keefe's compound) in late May and early June. They are also participating in the Health and Fitness Expo at the Los Angeles Convention Center in April. James is holding his first summer dance intensive in Hollywood , CA this August. In addition to his own company, James is also a regular guest artist with the Malibu Civic Ballet and a guest modern teacher at the Civic Studios. James is entering his third season with the Santa Monica Contemporary Ballet Company and is being considered as a major character in an upcoming indie film about dance and dancers in LA. He is up for a teaching position at the Los Angeles County School for the Performing Arts.
Andrew Spang '91 (Music Education): Andrew was named the 2007-2008 Outstanding Music Teacher of the Year by the Maryland Music Educators Association. In a busy year, Andrew has guest conducted and adjudicated several All County and Band Festival events throughout Maryland, composed Centennial March , a newly commissioned concert march for young band, and played tuba and bass trombone with the Soulful Symphony and Baltimore Symphony Orchestras. His chamber ensemble, the Lyric Brass Quintet, will release their third CD, Ancient Noëls , this fall. Andrew remains the Director of Music at Westminster United Methodist Church . Andrew lives in Westminster , Maryland , with his wife Laura Baker '92, son Ben (7) and daughter Sophie (4).
Alejandro L. Madrid '93 (Music) : Alejandro is Assistant Professor of Latin American and Latino studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago . After graduating from the Conservatory, Alejandro received graduate degrees from SUNY-Purchase and the University of North Texas and obtained his Ph.D. in Musicology and Cultural Studies from Ohio State University . In 2005 he received the prestigious Casa de las Americas Musicology Prize for his first book, entitled Los Sonidos de la Nacion Moderna (the English version will be published this fall by Temple University Press). His second book, Nor-tec Rifa! Electronic Dance Music from Tijuana to the World , was recently published by Oxford University Press. In 2007 he co-edited a volume entitled Postnational Musical Identities.
Laura Marie Duncan '94 (Theater): Laura is performing in the Lincoln Center revival production of South Pacific in the ensemble.
Tamara Watson Harper '94 (Music): Tamara is now a realtor in Georgia .
Marco Madian '94 (Theater): Marco worked consistently after graduation through a number of jobs and locations. He portrayed the Prince of Gypsies with the Pocono Renaissance Faire, Prince Prospero in Edgar Allen Poe's Mask of the Red Death , and Nicholas Nickelby in Charles Dickens' Christmas Village . Marco has also worked at the Music Mansion in Pigeon Forge, TN and with Mel Tillis in Branson , MO. Marco eventually ended up in Las Vegas where he performed in many shows. He has taken a break from show business and is now a senior sales admin rep. He has a wonderful six year old child and is currently working on his massage license and hopes to become a physical therapist.
Stephen Brumble, Jr. '96 (Theater): Stephen is the Secretary of New Dramatists: Dedicated to New American Playwrights and had a supporting role in Two Thirds Home.
Andrew Hoff '96 (Theater): Andrew is the President of New Dramatists: Dedicated to New American Playwrights in NYC.
Silvio dos Santos '93 '97 (Music): Silvio is an assistant professor of Musicology at Youngstown State University . He also received his Ph.D. from Brandeis University and a B.M. from Faculdade Santa Marcelina, São Paulo , Brazil . Silvio dos Santos received the 2002 Paul A. Pisk Prize from the American Musicological Society for his paper Ascription of Identity: the Bild Motif and the Character of Lulu . Other awards include the 2002 Hollace Anne Schafer Memorial Award for his paper Berg, Alwa, and the Dialectics of Love from the New England Chapter of the American Musicological Society, First Prize Dissertation Fellowship from the Center for German and European Studies at Brandeis University and a research grant from the New York-based Max Kade Foundation to travel to Vienna . Dr. dos Santos is also a classical guitarist and has given solo and chamber music recitals throughout New England and Brazil .
Enrique Haneine '98 (Music): Enrique was in Boston during the first week of April 2008. He taught a class at Berklee and performed at Sculler's Jazz Club.
Jesse Scott '98 (Music): After graduating from The Boston Conservatory, Jesse began teaching at Brandeis Hillel Day School in Marin , CA and has been there ever since. He has successfully built a solid music program including six different bands and other vocal and instrumental groups. In his spare time, Jesse performs and tours nationally with the Van Halen tribute band Hot for Teacher. He gives private lessons on bass and guitar and runs the famous Marin -based summer camp Rock On! Also, Jesse has just become the proud guardian of a brand new AMPEG endorsement. AMPEG, the leaders in bass/guitar amplification has given the green flag to Super Hero Jesse Scott. Because of the recent NAMM (the International Music Products Association) appearance, Jesse has been steadily climbing the ranks in the complicated music industry. Jesse is also now endorsed by SFARZO Strings and NADY microphones. Jesse also has a new CD available at www.hftrocks.com. JESSE SCOTT SFARZO brand Strings are now available locally for both Electric Guitar and Bass.
Kelly Corcoran '99 (Music): Kelly is running in a marathon and raising money to support the music education programs of the Nashville Symphony.
Barrett Hall '99 (Theater): Barrett had a supporting role in Two Thirds Home (Off- Broadway).
2000's
Erin Davie '00 (Theater): Erin is featured in the documentary Grey Gardens: From East Hampton to Broadway . The film documents the making of the Broadway musical, Grey Gardens .
Darren Dunstan '00 (Theater): Darren performed in Does This Show Make Me Look Fat at the Duplex, New York 's Legendary Piano Bar and Cabaret.
Christina E. DeVaughn '01 (Music): Christina was a featured soloist at The 2008 Madeline Festival of the Arts and Humanities, called A Tapestry of African-American Song in April 2008.
Andre Diniz '01 (Theater): Andre Diniz has performed in numerous NYC and regional shows including: Stupid Kids (Neeche); West Side Story (Chino); Prometheus Passion (Andros); Beauty and the Beast (Lefou); One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (Martini) and Dead End (Milty). He recently received Top Pick from The Orlando Sentinel for the writing and directing of 5ive (produced in the 2007 Orlando Fringe Festival). Other playwriting credits includes: Binary Stars; Prometheus Passion (produced by The Sturm Und Drang Company in NYC); Hanging From a Window (produced by The Boston Conservatory in Boston ); and Beginning of Life (produced at the NYC Fringe Festival). He's a published poet with a nomination for Poet of the Year by the International Society of Poets for the poem Sail of Silence and won The Editor's Choice Award from The National Library of Poetry for the poem The Clock . Directing/ choreography credits include: Cabaret; South Pacific; Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat; Let Us Go Out Into the Starry Night; Nunsense I & II; House of Bernarda Alba; Peter Pan; Nowaday s. He recently was Company Manager of The Starlight Theater in Orlando , FL and Co-Artistic Director of The Sturm Und Drang Company in NYC.
Suzanne Fiore '01 (Musical Theater): Suzanne appeared at The Metropolitan Room in NYC every Saturday in April.
Nicholas Cearley '03 (Musical Theater): Nick originated the role of Jimmy in Bill Russell and Peter Melnick's musical The Last Smoker in America (opposite Alice Ripley) at the Rubicon Theatre in California . He also spent a year on the road with the first national tour of All Shook Up (with fellow Boston Conservatory grads David Benoit and Kevin B. McGlynn). Nick recently finished the role of Otis in the new musical Bernice Bobs Her Mullet , which performed off-Broadway at the Julia Miles Theatre . He is currently playing the role of Duke in the regional premiere of The Great American Trailer Park Musical at The Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati.
Sandra Ferreira-Iannone '04 (Music): Sandra started and currently directs Allegro Brazil, a Brazilian choir which has been practicing and performing for a whole year now and is expanding their membership for students and professional singers interested in Brazilian classical and jazz repertoire. It's a community volunteer choir sponsored by the Brazilian consulate in Boston . Its mission is to promote Brazilian choir music in the USA .
Joshua Grisetti '04 (Theater): Josh is currently in Las Vegas playing Prince Herbert in Spamalot.
Adam Berry '05 (Theater): Adam just closed two productions with Shakespeare On The Cape in Minneapolis - Cloud 9 by Caryl Churchill and School for Wives by Moliere.
Wright Burnett-Smith '05 (Theater): Wright is currently the Stage Manager for Cirque du Soleil's Ka at MGM Grand. After graduation, he stage managed Celine Dion: A New Day , Le Reve and Stomp Out Loud .
Bridie Carroll '05 (Theater): Bridie recently booked the international tour of Cinderella . She will perform the role of Portia, one of the stepsisters, starring opposite Lea Salonga.
Brandon Davidson '05 (Theater) : Brandon will be performing with the New York City Center Encores! production of No No Nanette , starring Rosie O'Donnell, Sandy Duncan and Beth Leavel. This Encores! production is the 1971 version and will be directed by Walter Bobbie and choreographed by Randy Skinner. The production runs May 8-12.
Jonathan Gealt '05 (Theater) : Last summer Jonathan finished his demo CD and put together a producers' reading of his musical, Forward . The demo and the reading featured many other Boston Conservatory alumni. His next step is a 29-hour reading to test new changes. Stafford Arima is directing and Junkyard Dog Productions are the producers. Jonathan has also been performing regularly. Recent performances include the Performers for Peace benefit at the Triad, reading the role of Marc in a new musical version of Ethan Frome at Carroll Music and Unsung 2007 at the Lucille Lortel Theatre—a benefit for Broadway Cares Equity Fights AIDS. Jonathan was also a guest featured composer at the Monday Nights New Voices concert in the Village. Jonathan now has an agent and will read the role of Billy in the new play Dangerous Woman . This summer he will be fighting in the barricades in Les Miserables .
Angela Henstra '05 '06 (Music): Angela will be performing Pamina in Die Zauberflöte with the Flagastaff in Fidenza Young Artist Program in Italy this summer.
Amy Jackson '05 (Theater): Amy produced, directed and acted in The Eight: Reindeer Monologues , a benefit performance for the Empty Space Theatre Company.
Shannon Amiry '06 (Theater): Shannon performed in The Eight: Reindeer Monologues, a benefit performance for the Empty Space Theatre Company.
Charles Bradley '06* (Theater): Chuck produced, directed and acted in The Eight: Reindeer Monologues, a benefit performance for the Empty Space Theatre Company.
Christopher Espinosa '06 (Dance): Christopher is currently working for the University of Miami Dept. of Orthopedics Billing and Collections as the Senior Staff Assistant. He is also dancing for the nonprofit ballet company Arts Ballet Theater of Florida, under the artistic direction of Vladimir Issaev. They perform six times a year and Christopher teaches contemporary dance movement and Pilates. Before joining the University of Miami , Christopher was dancing with the Nashville Ballet's Second Company.
Douglas Goodhart '06 (Theater): Douglas performed in T he Eight: Reindeer Monologues, a benefit performance for the Empty Space Theatre Company.
Penny L. Hansen '06 (Music): Penny performed in Baby with Riverside Theatre Works in March. She recently performed in Pippin and is the swing for She Loves Me at The Huntington Theatre in Boston .
Daniel Housek '06 (Theater): Dan performed in The Eight: Reineer Monologues, a benefit performance for the Empty Space Theatre Company.
Eric Imhoff '06 (Theater): Eric performed in The Eight: Reindeer Monologues, a benefit performance for the Empty Space Theatre Company.
Mara Kaye '06 (Theater): Mara performed in The Eight: Reindeer Monologues, a benefit performance for the Empty Space Theatre Company. Mara is also in the Asian tour of Spongebob Squarepants Live !
Allan Espinosa '05 '07 (Music): Allan, who has been teaching instrumentals for 10 years, will be director of the Quincy Point Music Academy starting in September. The music academy will teach viola, harp, cello, voice and other lessons at the Quincy Point Congregational Church. There will be private and group lessons, and as early as the summer, the teachers will hold free concerts. A summer camp is also being planned. The academy will be funded primarily through tuition, although Espinosa said he sees a day when private donations and grants will allow the school to cover the cost for those who cannot afford it. In addition to one-on-one lessons, students will be able to take group classes and courses in music theory and music history.
Jessica French '07 (Music): Jessica performed a benefit concert with her band, at order , in April to benefit the Tunisia Outreach Team of the Community of Faith Training School.
John W. Gomez '07 (Music): John recently returned from performing in the Spring Opera Workshop with the Tel Aviv Opera Studio Program. John was one of three tenors invited to sing with the program.
Leah Joseph '07 (Theater): Leah is performing the role of Junie B. Jones in Junie B. Jones live.
* = Associate Alum
**= Year of Graduation Unknown
If you've got any more exciting alumni news, we want to hear about it! Contact Angela Henstra '05 '06 at (617) 912-9204 or ahenstra@bostonconservatory.edu.
2007-08 Alumni In Memoriam
We are saddened to announce the loss of these valued Alumni.
Our thoughts are with their Families and Friends as we remember their vibrant spirits and many contributions to the world.
April M. Brown '77 (Music): April passed away in February 2007 due to breast cancer.
Vartan Haroutunian*: Varty, a retired jazz musician and recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross, passed away on July 9, 2007.
Lorraine Kimball**: Lorraine passed away at the age of 94. Lorraine attended The Boston Conservatory during the 1930's.
Ramona Lucero '80 (Dance): Ramona Lucero, of Las Vegas , passed away Jan. 19, 2008. Ramona was from Sudbury , Mass. She came to Las Vegas to join the opening cast of Jubilee at Bally's. Ramona traveled extensively with the Las Vegas Convention Authority to many countries, including Japan , South Korea , Italy , England , Hungary and Mexico . After leaving Jubilee she was in the hospitality industry. Ramona was preceded in death by her beloved father, Richard; and is survived by her mother, Helen of Las Vegas; sister, Elena of Concord, Mass.; and her brother, Joseph of Las Vegas.
Tim Ray '84: Tim, a Broadway theatre publicist, died Oct. 25 in Providence , RI , at the Philip Hulitar Hospice Center . The cause was kidney failure. He was 47. Tim began his career as an assistant to John Glines in the Glines Production offices. From there, he moved on to the Josh Ellis Office, one of the busier press hives of the late 1980s. He was an associate on such Broadway productions as Meet Me In St. Louis , Mail, The Spoils of War , the Vanessa Redgrave revival of Orpheus Descending, Lend Me A Tenor, Checkmates , the Dustin Hoffman production of The Merchant of Venice , and the national tour of The King and I starring Rudolf Nureyev and Liz Robertson. Tim is survived by his mother Cecelia Ray of West Warwick , RI , and two brothers, Brian and Michael Ray. In lieu of flowers, the Ray family asks that donations be made to the Philip Hulitar Hospice Center , 50 Maude Street , Providence , RI 02908 .
Dorthy Salem*: Dorthy passed away peacefully on October 14, 2007. Over the course of her lifetime, Dorthy taught dance in Worcester and Milford . She was also a member of the Rockettes and performed at Radio City Music Hall in New York .
Catherine Sivilli*: Catherine passed away on September 7, 2007. She was a creative teacher who was devoted to teaching children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Thommie Walsh '72 (Dance): June 16, 2007. Thommie Walsh '72, a Tony-winning choreographer who was in the original Broadway cast of A Chorus Line , died recently after a long battle with lymphoma. He was 57. Walsh was best known for creating the role of Bobby in A Chorus Line . Using the name Thomas J. Walsh, he made his Broadway debut in Seesaw in 1973, dancing in the chorus of the Cy Coleman-Dorothy Fields musical directed and choreographed by Bennett. The show featured performer Tommy Tune, who later teamed with Walsh on several musicals. The two choreographed The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1978) and then A Day in Hollywood /A Night in the Ukraine (1980), for which they received a Tony Award for Best Choreography. Tune and Walsh also directed and choreographed My One and Only (1983); a new musical using old Gershwin songs and which starred Tune and Twiggy. It also won the duo a choreography Tony. Walsh also created the choreography for Nine (1982), which Tune directed. Among the other shows for which Walsh did the musical staging were The 1940's Radio Hour (1979), Do Patent Leather Shoes Reflect Up? (1982), and My Favorite Year (1992). Among his later projects were directing and choreographing the 2001 national tour of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas , starring Ann Margaret.
* = Associate Alum
**= Year of Graduation Unknown
Previous Editions of Class Notes:
February 2008
November 2007
August 2007
Previous In Memoriam:
In Memoriam 2007
Distinguished Alumni Award Winners
1998: Diana Dohrmann '71 (Music Education)
2001: Harriet Lundberg '69 (Music Education)
2002: Diane Arvanites-Noya '80 (Dance)
2003: Paul Alberta '63 '81 (Music Education)
2004: Michelle Chassé '92 (Dance)
2005: Victoria Livengood '85 (Music, opera)
2006: James May '65 (Dance)
2007: Gerard Alessandrini '77 (Musical Theater)
If you've got any more exciting alumni news, we want to hear about it!
Contact Angela Henstra '05 '06 at (617) 912-9204 or ahenstra@bostonconservatory.edu.
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