ALUMNI UPDATES
1995-2000
Jennifer Hamady's (BM Voice '96) recent Hal Leonard publication, The Art of Singing Onstage and in the Studio, discusses how to manage technology on stage and in the studio, and how to interact with the people who run it.
John O. Pursell (DMA '98, Trumpet) is currently performing as a Trumpet Artist for the Yamaha Music Corporation. He was recently featured as a clinician at music educator conferences in Tennessee, Wisconsin, New Jersey and West Virginia.
2001-2010
Michael Boyd (BM Composition and BME '00, DMA Composition '06) won the 2016 Foundation for Emerging Technologies and Arts (FETA) Prize in Sound Art for his work Confessional, which he describes as "a user-driven installation that provides the opportunity for composers to briefly take pleasure in and then (symbolically) destroy one of their dubious creations." Boyd is Assistant Professor of Music at Chatham University.
Boden Sandstrom (Ph.D. Ethnomusicology '02) was published in "Sinister Wisdon: A Multicultural Lesbian Literary & Art Journal, Special Issue: Celebrating the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival." Her article is “Two Magical Moments at the Twentieth Anniversary of the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival.” 103 (Winter 2017): 42-44.
Dale Trumbore's (BM Composition '09) saw the release of her album How to Go On, which features her secular requiem by the same name that the Choral Arts Initiative commissioned last year. Composed during a two-week residency at the Brush Creek Foundation for the Arts in Wyoming, How to Go On confronts loss and mortality after a loved one's death, but also delivers exactly what the title promises. Trumbore says, "It's about accepting everything we do or don't know about death and going on to create a meaningful, beautiful life for ourselves." Read more about Trumbore's creative process for How to Go On.
Alicia Kosack (DMA Flute ’10) and Laura Armstrong (DMA Clarinet ’10) are founding members of the Fortunata Trio along with bassoonist Kimberly Buchar Nolet. Together since 2010, their most recent performance was a Faculty/Guest Artist Recital at York College of PA this past October. The program included two premieres, Summer Dance by Jim Colonna and Caricatures by Mattthew Jaskot (MM and DMA Composition ’11).
2011-current
On February 8, 2017, John Devlin (MM '11 and DMA '14, Orchestral Conducting) made his debut with the National Symphony Orchestra in a concert program that featured internationally-acclaimed violinist Joshua Bell as soloist. The event, which took place at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C., included a five-course meal designed by celebrity chef Mike Isabella. The evening was curated by Gourmet Symphony, an organization co-founded by Devlin two years ago to encourage audiences to enjoy classical music in a new way: by pairing it with creative cuisine and custom cocktails. Over 250 guests delighted in what The Washington Post’s Anne Midgette called “the highest-end dinner music anyone could experience.” The review can be read here.
Tess Coffey (MM 15' Trumpet, pictured right) won a seed grant for musical entrepreneurship to start a contemporary classical ensemble in Oslo, Norway. Surge Ensemble has its premiere concert on April 2, 2017 at Sentralen's Winter Garden, and will perform works by Nico Muhly, Christopher Cerrone, David Kirkland Garner, and Paul Dresher. Follow them on Facebook and Instagram @surgeensemble. Photos by Calm Vidal Photography Photo by Calm Vidal Photography.
Anthony Rivera (DMA W
ind Conducting '16) has accepted a position as Conductor and Music Director at Santa Clara University.
Ian Saunders (DMA Bass Performance '16) is a 2017 winner of the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music/Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Diversity Fellowship. Established in 2016, the fellowship is a two-year program that prepares graduate-level musicians from underrepresented populations for careers in professional orchestras. As a diversity fellow, Saunders will receive focused mentorship from Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra musicians and perform an equivalent five weeks of concerts with the CSO, all while completing a master’s or artist diploma degree program at the Cincinnati Conservatory.
