Event Calendar & News: Alumni News

Alumni News Fall 2002-Summer 2003

1950's

Larry Maxey, B.M. in Clarinet Performance (‘59), toured Costa Rica and presented master classes as a member of the Kansas Woodwinds. He presented a recital with his wife Linda, who plays the marimba, during the Fontana Chamber Music Series in Kalamazoo (Mich.); performed as a soloist with the Kansas University Jazz Ensemble in Duke Ellington's Harlem Nutcracker; and performed and lectured at the Oklahoma Clarinet Symposium. He is a member of the Kansas City Chamber Orchestra.

Doris Humes Ponitz, B.M. in Music Education (‘54), was recently elected chair of the Montgomery County Arts and Cultural District Board of Trustees (Ohio), which administers tax money to both professional and emerging local art groups and artists. She formerly served as chair of the orchestra volunteer and governing boards, in addition to several other local arts groups. With the help of Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra volunteers, she designed a music education program in the local schools.

W. Sarata, B.M. in Conducting (‘59), serves as conductor of the Italian Radio-TV Symphony in Milan, Italy. He received a certificate in orchestral conducting from the Conservatorio Giuseppi Verdi in Milan in 1972.

1960's

Margaret E. (Peg) Adams, B.M. (‘60) and M.M. (‘65) in Music Education, was named “Member of the Year” by the South Bend Area Music Teachers Association. She has a private music studio and is a church organist.

1970's

Burt H. Perinchief, M.M. (‘65) and Ph.D. (‘74) in Choral Conducting, was honored by the Florida Chapter of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) with its Distinguished Service Award “for outstanding contributions to choral music.” He served as president of the Florida Chapter of the ACDA from 1991 to 1993, and retired as director of choral activities for Seminole Community College (Fla.) in 1998 after thirty-one years.

Greg A. Steinke, M.M. (‘67) and Ph.D. (‘76) in Composition, was winner of the Delta Omicron International Music Fraternity Composition Competition in 2002 for Sacajawea – In Memoriam, version for flute quartet. He premiered several compositions, including “Moments” from White Blowing Daffodil Seeds for piano trio at Ernest Bloch Music Festival in Newport (Ore.); a revised version of A Japanese Folk Suite for oboe (or flute) and reciter, by Katherine Kleitz, flute, and Karen S. Henry, reciter of Row Twelve Contemporary Music Ensemble in Tower Hill Botanic Garden, Mass.; “The Dance of Life” from Expressions for String Quartet by Alea Contemporary Music Ensemble in Skopje, Macedonia; and completed movements of Continental Drift for percussion orchestra by Percussion Ensemble in Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. His composition Memories II-A for contrabassoon and piano premiered in the U.S. by Monica Fucci, IDRS Convention, Morgantown, W.Va.; the composition was also winner of the contrabassoon and piano category in the Fifth Composers Competition in Argentina. He published the Ninth Edition of Harmonic Materials in Tonal Music for Prentice-Hall, and presented the paper “Native American and Eastern European Influences on a Compositional Process” at the Contemporary Music Society Pacific Northwest Chapter Regional Meeting. He was selected as one of four finalists for the Seoul International Competition for Composers 2001, sponsored by the Korean Society of Twenty-first Century Music for a revised version of “Moments” from White Blowing Daffodil Seeds for piano trio. He continues to perform oboe and conduct regularly.

1980's

Mary Ellen Poole, M.M. in Flute Performance (‘83), was appointed dean of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in August 2003.

1990's

Marianne Breneman, B.M. in Clarinet Performance (‘92), earned an artist's diploma in clarinet from the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music in 2001. She is a founding member of The Delicato Ensemble and toured with the group in winter 2003. She currently serves as second clarinet of the Kentucky Symphony.

Eric Crimmins, B.M. in Music Education (‘90), is in his ninth year with Lake Orion Community Schools (Mich.), where he teaches bands at Scripps Middle School and serves as the music department head. The Cadet Band, led by Mr. Crimmins, performed at the 2001 Midwestern Conference on School Vocal and Instrumental Music in Ann Arbor. Mr. Crimmins has been nominated twice for “Who's Who Among America's Teachers,” and was selected twice by Lake Orion graduates as “Most Inspiring Teacher.” He earned his M.M.E. from VanderCook College of Music in 2000 and resides in Detroit.

Simon Ertz, M.M. in Viola Performance (‘97), was appointed as a member of the Degas Quartet, in residence with the Western Piedmont Symphony in North Carolina.

(see www.degasquartet.com)

Charles Guy, M.M. (‘96) and DMA (‘99) in Tuba and Euphonium Performance, was appointed assistant professor of tuba-euphonium at State University of New York-Potsdam.

Hannah Holman, B.M. in Cello Performance (‘91), was appointed to the faculty of the University of Iowa where she teaches cello and chamber music and is in resident with the Maia String Quartet. She is also assistant principal cellist in the Eastern Music Festival Orchestra and the American Sinfonietta.

Peter Hulen, Ph.D. in Composition (‘99), composed Spring, which was performed in the Work Overture Project “The Seasons” at the thirty-second Festival Synthèse Bourges 2002 at the Institut International de Musique Electroacoustique de Bourges (France). His composition Psalm 139:13-16 was performed at the International Computer Music Conference in Göteborg (Sweden). “TRIONYS' alpha vector shows technical contrast” was published in Array, the periodical of the International Computer Music Association, and “The Notre Dame Connection: Microtonal Computer Music and the Twelfth-century Oranum of Léonin and Pérotin” was presented at Novus et Antiquus 2002, the thirty-first annual Interdisciplinary Committee for the Advancement of Early Studies Conference at Ball State University.

Tage Larson, B.M. in Trumpet Performance (‘92), was appointed fourth trumpet/utility of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and assistant principal trumpet of the Cleveland Orchestra.

Gary Powell Nash, B.M. in Music Education (‘86) and Ph.D. in Composition (‘96), was promoted to associate professor of music composition and theory at Mississippi Valley State University (MVSU) in Itta Bena. He conducts the MVSU Clarinet Ensemble and is assisting the current MVSU acting director of bands. Dr. Nash was recently a visiting artist-in-residence with Taipei Percussion in Taiwan, where his composition Deformation III for jazz drum set and mallet percussion ensemble was performed in October 2002. His composition In Memoriam: Sojourner Truth for orchestra was performed by the Memphis (Tenn.) Symphony Orchestra for its “Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Concert” in January 2003. Dr. Nash has also been composing arrangements for marching band for the Brunswick Senior High School Band of Lawrenceville (Va.) and several area high school bands in Mississippi, as well as the MVSU “Mean Green Marching Music Machine” Marching Band.

Joel Pugh, DMA in Tuba and Euphonium Performance (‘99), was appointed assistant professor of low brass/bands at Bemidji (Minn.) State University.

Margaret Sippey, B.M. in Flute Performance (‘99), was appointed principal flute of the Akron Symphony Orchestra and Evansville Philharmonic, as well as flute instructor at the University of Evansville. She also performed with the Buffalo Philharmonic, the New World Symphony, and the St. Louis Symphony.

Joseph Skillin, DMA in Tuba and Euphonium Performance (‘99), was promoted to associate professor with tenure at Louisiana State University.

Lelouda Stamou, Ph.D. in Music Education (‘99), published “Plato and Aristotle on music and music education: Lessons from Ancient Greece” in the International Journal of Music Education.

2000's

Karin Akamatsu, B.M. (‘99) and M.M. (‘02) in Music Therapy, was appointed music therapist at the Jewish Nursing Care Center in New York City.

Noel Allende-Goitia, Ph.D. in Composition (‘00), was appointed instructor of ethnomusicology at Western Michigan University.

Alexandre Antunes, DMA in Double Bass Performance (‘02), was appointed double bass and electric bass instructor at University of Michigan-Flint, and a tenured double bass position with the Flint Symphony Orchestra. He is a sponsored student of the Ministry of Education of Brazil in connection with the Fulbright Commission in the United States.

Brenda Rabbe (Atzinger), DMA in Voice Performance (‘01), performed with the Baltimore Opera Company in its educational outreach opera The Three Little Pigs, an adaptation of Mozart's operas, and in Poulenc's Gloria with Dickinson College in Carlisle (Penn.).

Laura Avers, B.M. in Music Therapy (‘02), was appointed as a music therapist at the Detroit Children's Hospital at Wayne State University Medical Center.

Jooyun Baker, M.M. in Violin Performance (‘03), was accepted as a doctoral student and received an assistantship at the University of Tennessee. Baker also worked at Olivet College and the Jackson Symphony Orchestra Community Music School, and performed with the Jackson Symphony Orchestra.

Juli Baraily, B.M. in Voice Performance (‘03), works in the Florida Grand Opera Chorus.

Allison Berry, B.M. in Voice Performance (‘02), was accepted into the master's program for voice performance at Mannes College of Music (N.Y.); performed two lead roles in opera scenes program of new operas; and performed the lead role in Weill's Street Scene.

Barbara (Hendricks) Bloem, M.M. in Music Education (‘02), had an article accepted for publication in the Music Teachers National Association journal.

Matt Brown, M.M. in Tuba and Euphonium Performance (‘02), performed as substitute tuba with the Greater Lansing Symphony Orchestra.

Suzanne Burton, M.M. (‘97) and Ph.D. (‘02) in Music Education, was appointed to a tenure-track teaching position at the University of Delaware. Her article “An exploration of preschool children's spontaneous songs and chants” was published in the online journal Visions of Research in Music Education. She also published articles in the Michigan Music Educator and the refereed music education research journal published by Rutgers University. She presented a session at the Midwestern Conference on School Vocal and Instrumental Music, and resides with her family in Pennsylvania.

Kristen Cole, M.M. in Music Therapy (‘01), published two articles in refereed music therapy journals. She was appointed assistant professor and director of music therapy at Mississippi University for Women. She made presentations based on her thesis research in music therapy assessment at both the Great Lakes Regional and the American Music Therapy Association annual conferences. She also published The Music Therapy Assessment Handbook, distributed by SouthernPen Publishing.

Nelson Corchado, M.M. in Tuba and Euphonium Performance (‘03), performed as substitute tuba with the Greater Lansing Symphony Orchestra. He was one of three finalists as a member of the MSU Tuba-Euphonium Quartet at the International Tuba-Euphonium Conference in Greensboro (N.C.).

Rachael England, M.M. in Violin Performance (‘03), performed with the Jackson (Mich.) Symphony Orchestra and the West Shore Symphony Orchestra.

Margaret Furioso, M.M. in Music Therapy (‘02), was appointed music therapist at Providence Hospital: Assarian Cancer Center in Novi and Southfield (Mich.).

Claudio Gonzalez, DMA in Orchestral Conducting (‘03), serves as assistant professor at the University of Simon Bolivar in Caracas, Venezuela, and is professor of violin and conductor at the Friedman School, also in Caracas.

Jimena Grandon, DMA in Piano Performance (‘03), was awarded full tuition and room and board at the Coursos International de Santiago de Compostela in Barcelona (Spain) for placing in the top three at this internationally recognized festival.

Minako Hata, B.M. in Music Therapy (‘02), was appointed as a music therapist at the Franciscan Life Process Center in Howell (Mich.).

Jared Hauser, DMA in Oboe Performance (‘01), was appointed principal oboe of the Orlando (Fla.) Philharmonic Orchestra, a group he appeared with as soloist this past season in a performance of Vivaldi's La Tempesta di Mare. Other solo appearances include performances of Bach's Concerto for Violin and Oboe with the Orchestra of Northern New York, and Albiboni and Vaughn Williams' Concerti with the Bournemouth Symphonette as a finalist and prizewinner of the Isle of Wight International Oboe Competition. Hauser presented master classes and recitals at the Crane School of Music and the University of Central Florida, and clinics at various Orlando area schools. A former faculty member at the State University of New York at Potsdam, he also performed extensively with the Potsdam Woodwind Quintet throughout New York.

Ron Herrema, M.M. (‘86) and Ph.D. (‘01) in Music Composition, presented a paper entitled “Architecture and Algorithms in the Composition of Analogies ” at the Music Alternative and X-disciplinary Approaches In Sound Conference at Sheffield (England) Hallam University.

Sarah Hibbard, DMA in Voice Performance (‘00), was listed in Musical America and managed Chicago Concert Artists. Recent professional performances include Mimi , Pucinni's La Boheme, and L'Opera Piccola's Chicago. Other engagements include performing Strauss' Die Fledermaus with the Gulf Coast Symphony, Mozart's Requiem with the Waukegan Symphony Orchestra, Leoncavallo's Pagliacci with the Skokie Valley Symphony Orchestra, the role of Donna Anna in Mozart's Don Giovanni with the DuPage Opera Theater, and a vocal recital in Texas.

Paul Hondorp, DMA in Choral Conducting (‘03), was appointed director of choral activities at Western Kentucky University. Hondorp and his wife Jennifer have returned to Eugene (Ore.) as members of the Oregon Bach Festival Chorus.

Quentin Kim, B.M. in Piano Performance (‘00), graduated from The Juilliard School with an M.M. in Piano Performance in May 2003. He is currently pursuing his artist diploma at Yale University on a full scholarship with Professor of Piano Claude Frank. He performed as part of the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series in Chicago, and in the Jerome Greene Memorial Concert at Alice Tully Hall in New York.

Glenn Klassen, DMA in Orchestral Conducting (‘02), has been appointed music director and conductor of the Lethbridge (Alberta, Canada) Symphony Orchestra, commencing Fall 2003. He also continues his position as music director-conductor of the Rochester (Mich.) Symphony Orchestra.

Ryan Knight, M.M. in Saxophone Performance (‘02), was a featured performer at the North American Saxophone Alliance National Saxophone Biennial Convention at the University of North Texas.

Carolyn Koebel, M.M. in Music Therapy (‘02), was appointed instructor of music therapy at Western Michigan University.

Shalini Elizabeth Kristianson, M.M. in Violin Performance (‘03), performed as a member of the Greater Lansing Symphony Orchestra and taught at Okemos Middle School.

Eric Lau, DMA in Saxophone Performance (‘03), was appointed instructor of music/saxophone at Olivet (Mich.) College. He was also appointed visiting assistant professor of saxophone at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. He participated in the Belgium/Dinant International Concours competition, and was a featured performer as part of the Great Lakes Saxophone Quartet at the North American Saxophone Alliance National Saxophone Biennial Convention. He also performed two works by MSU composers in a dual recital with his wife,

Jennifer Lau, DMA in Flute Performance (‘03), performed two works by MSU composers in a dual recital with her husband, Eric Lau, at the World Saxophone Congress XIII in July 2003.

I-Shan Lee, DMA in Bassoon Performance (‘01), was appointed assistant professor at Shu-Zen College of Medicine and Management.

Jung Woo Lee, M.M. in Voice Performance (‘02), was hired by the Greater Lansing Symphony Orchestra to sing at a Memorial Service in Lansing, and presented a solo recital in Taegu, Korea, which was attended by more than 250 listeners. Lee was appointed to the voice faculty at Kyung-Buk National University in Taegu.

Kwang Ho Lee, DMA in Violin Performance (‘03), was appointed a part-time teaching position at Kyung-Buk National University in Korea.

Simon Lee, DMA in Choral Conducting (‘03), was appointed full-time director of music at the Church of the Holy Family in Grand Blanc (Mich.).

Steven Lorenz, M.M. in Music Education (‘02), is director of choirs at South Lyon (Mich.) High School, has been appointed assistant conductor of the University Musical Society Choral Union, and, as adjunct professor of music, directs the Oakland Community College Masterworks Chorale.

Alejandro Lozada, M.M. in Clarinet Performance (‘03), was awarded a scholarship from the Detroit Alumni Chapter of Mu Phi Epsilon (International Music Fraternity). It was offered through a competition among clarinetists, flutists, and pianists. He was awarded a Hixson-Lied Fellowship to continue his doctoral studies in clarinet performance at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Scott Lubaroff, DMA in Conducting (‘01), received a book contract for the dissertation project he wrote at MSU.

Shudong Luo, M.M. (‘95) and DMA (‘02) in Voice Performance, was appointed to the faculty at Southeastern Florida University in Lakeland. She sang the role of Sally in the Great Lakes Lyric Opera's (Detroit) production of Thomas and Sally; performed as an invited guest artist at the University of Michigan-Flint in Gian-Carlo Menotti's The Telephone; and as a soloist at the Chinese New Years Concert at the Chinese Consulate in Chicago.

Sarah Hoppough Maurice, B.M. in Music Education (‘02), was appointed a full-time position teaching choir and strings at a charter school in the Grand Rapids area.

Amy Mulder, B.A. in Music (‘02), was appointed business manager for the Grand Rapids Symphonic Band, and was hired as a private voice teacher by Meyer Music.

Ling-Yi Ou-Yang, DMA in Cello Performance (‘02), was appointed assistant professor at the National Normal University in Taiwan.

Scott Perry, DMA in Oboe Performance (‘02), was appointed a teaching and performing position at the University of Virginia at Charlottesville.

Amy Prickett, M.M. in Voice Performance (‘03), won first prize in the Richardson Vocal Competition at the Lansing Matinee Musicale. She sang as soprano soloist in Bach's Mass in B minor at the Bach Collegium in Indiana; in Mozart's Requiem with the St. Clair Symphony Orchestra; and as a paid soloist for the People's Church in East Lansing. She was the winner of the classical division of the Greater Lansing Symphony Orchestra's Sing Lansing!, and was accepted by audition to the Oregon Bach Festival.

Geoffrey Robson, B.M. in Violin Performance (‘02), was accepted for graduate studies at Yale University.

David Rogers, B.M. ('95) in Music Education and M.M. (‘02) in Conducting, was appointed band director at Walled Lake (Mich.) Central High School.

John Stanley Ross, DMA in Wind Conducting (‘02), was appointed director of bands and professor of conducting and clarinet at Cameron University in Lawton (Okla.) in 2002-03. He conducted his final performance as music director and conductor of the Grand Rapids Symphonic Band in May 2003. In 2003-04, Mr. Ross was appointed to a full-time faculty position at the University of Minnesota-Morris as director of bands and professor of conducting and clarinet.

Nicholas Roth, DMA in Piano Performance (‘02), was appointed a teaching position at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

Paul Rubinstein, B.M. in Music Composition and Theory (‘02), composed Presidential Speech, which was accepted for performance at the International Conference on Computer Music in Sweden.

Susan Ruggiero, B.M. in Flute and Voice Performance (‘02), was admitted to the graduate program at the University of Michigan, where she is pursuing an M.M. in Flute Performance.

Jennifer Schofield, B.M. in Music Therapy (‘02), was appointed a music therapy position at the Music Therapy Services of Arizona (Phoenix).

Jennifer (Warren) Scholes, B.M. in Music Therapy (‘00), was appointed as a music therapist at Sparrow Health Systems, St. Lawrence Campus, in Lansing (Mich.).

Andrew Seigel, DMA in Clarinet Performance (‘03), received an MSU Merit Fellowship from MSU to conduct research in Scotland, Hungary and Austria.

Luke Tomkinson, M.M. in Clarinet Performance (‘03), performed with symphonies throughout Michigan, and is on the substitute list for the Milwaukee (Wis.) Symphony. He served as a teaching assistant at the Brevard Music Festival, and played bass clarinet with the Brevard Festival Orchestra.

Carrie (Conklin) Trax, B.M. in Music Education (‘02), was appointed as an elementary school teacher at New Midway/Woodsboro Elementary School in Frederick (Md.).

Katherine Wolfe, B.M. in Music Education (‘03), performed as a soloist in performances of Vivaldi's Gloria at the First Christian Church and the Pilgrim Congregational Church. She was selected by audition for the choir of the International Choral Symposium in Minneapolis (Minn.). She was the recipient of the MSU Endowed Vocal Scholarship (Tretheway).

Gregory Wolynec, M.M. ('00) and DMA (‘02) in Wind Conducting, was appointed director of bands at Castleton College in Vermont. He received a Fulbright Scholar Fellowship to study the music of Johann Wendt in Prague (Czech Republic); and a book contract for the dissertation he wrote at MSU.

Jessica Zelinski, B.M. in Music Education (‘02), was appointed a full-time position teaching choir and strings at the Notre Dame School in the Detroit area.