Class Notes

1939 Harold Schatz passed away in July in Los Angeles. His daughter, Claudia Schatz ’66 (College), remembers him as “a passionate musician and a lover of classical music, especially chamber music, his entire life.” She adds, “Although he majored in viola, he spent his later years playing the violin, which he continued playing until the age of 99.”

1960 Tanya Lesinsky Carey ’62E (MM) has published the book Father Lach’s Slovak Boys Band 1937 European Tour (CareyWorks), a true story about 65 boys giving 70 concerts in 80 days. Tanya is an artist-teacher at Roosevelt University in Chicago.

1979 Michael Crumb ’84E (MA) retired in June from the Spencerport Central School District where he served his last six years as superintendent of schools. He worked in education for 38 years as a teacher, an administrator, and a leader in New York State public schools, including as a music teacher in the Lyons and West Irondequoit school districts for 19 years. Joining him at his retirement celebration were two former student teachers who are now career music teachers, Cindy Ross Briggs ’92E (Newark Central School District), and Patty Grimes Welch ’91E, ’97E (MM) (West Irondequoit Central School District). . . . Gary Stith (MM) compiled and edited The Conductor’s Companion: 100 Rehearsal Techniques, Imaginative Ideas, Quotes and Facts (Meredith Music) based on a nationwide survey of outstanding middle school, high school, and university band and orchestra directors.

1981 Composer Akmal Parwez’s (PhD) solo viola piece, “When Stars Are Weeping,” was premiered by violist Cornelia Petroiu at the George Enescu Philharmony in Bucharest, Romania, in February. “It was one of the 16 works chosen as the result of an international competition,” Akmal writes. The performance can be viewed at YouTube/akmalparwez.

1982 Carl Atkins (DMA) (see ’85).

1983 Susan Miller Herman (MM) sends a photograph of herself and her husband, James Herman ’87M (PhD), after his commencement ceremony in 1987 when Susan was pregnant with their daughter, Katherine Herman ’09 (College), ’09E, ’17M (PhD). Another photo shows James, Susan, and Katherine at her ceremony this past May.

1984 Michael Crumb (MA) (see ’79).

1985 Donald Kendrick (DMA) sends an update: “Carl Atkins ’82 (DMA) and I were the first two DMA conducting students at the Eastman School of Music when the program was initiated. I started with James Smith, and, halfway through my program, he left to teach at George Mason University. So Director Robert Freeman asked me to take over the choral music department for the next year while they did a national search. I was also the early recipient of the Louise Rogers Goucher Scholarship that included a work project under the guidance of my Eastman advisor, Alfred Mann. I was fortunate to conduct the Eastman Sing in the early years, also. I have such happy memories of my time at Eastman. In June 2018 I will retire after 33 years as the director of choral activities at Sacramento State School of Music, where I initiated the graduate degree program in conducting. I will continue my post as the music director for Sacramento’s Schola Cantorum and Sacred Heart Church and as music director for the Sacramento Choral Society and Orchestra. The photo is of me conducting that ensemble with organist Ryan Enright ’12 (DMA).”

1989 Christine Milioto Capani writes, “I’m thrilled to announce that my son, Jonah Capani, will be continuing the Eastman legacy.” Jonah began this fall as an applied music and voice (baritone) major and also plans to study audio and music engineering on the River Campus. . . . Paulina Zamora (MM) has released two CDs on the Delos Music label, Brahms: The Three Piano Trios and Claude Debussy: Douze Études.

1991 Patricia Grimes ’97E (MM) (see ’79).

1992 Cynthia Ross (see ’79).

1997 Patricia Grimes (MM) (see ’79). . . . Andrés Mojica (MM) appeared as solo recitalist at the renowned Festival Casals of Puerto Rico in March. He was also the artistic director of the First International Organ Festival of Puerto Rico held in January. Andrés is the organ professor and organist at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus.

2000 Laura Grow D’Angelo (MA) (see ’93 College).

2006 Kyley McClain (see ’11 College).

2009 Katherine Herman ’09 (College), ’17M (PhD) (see ’83). . . . Nicholas Finzer (see ’13).

2012 Yi-Yang Chen performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City in October. He sends a photo and this update: “It was a harvest year for me in 2017. Not only have I been selected to be the assistant professor of piano and theory at East Tennessee State University, I also captured three first prizes totaling $21,000: Washington (D.C.) International Competition, Waring (California) International Piano Competition, and Five Town Music Competition (New York). As a 2017 grant recipient from Mu Phi Epsilon Foundation, I spent three weeks in Europe playing concerts and doing research. I want to give all the credit to Eastman, especially to my teacher Douglas Humpherys, who inspired me as a musician and as a better person. And I am so glad that I made the decision to return to my alma mater for my DMA. I take pride in this institute, and I am thrilled for my new career in both performing and teaching and to share what I learned at Eastman with my students, audiences, and the community.” . . . Ryan Enright (DMA) (see ’85). . . . Hongsup Lee writes, “It is a tremendous honor to share some great news with all the Eastman community. As an alumnus looking back, the precious time while I was studying at Eastman was the cornerstone that helped me to find my own musical voice, especially in the composition area. As an archetypal classical pianist, reinterpretation and recreating music was unfamiliar at first; however, the refreshing experience I got from all the creative musical training at Eastman opened my eyes to develop my own genre of music. I am now staying in Korea, and my first debut album Back to Classics: Bach (The Classic Art) was released internationally. The album showcase was held at Ilshin Hall in Seoul in May.”

2013 Michael Conrad (MM) writes, “I released the album New Angle with my 15-piece ensemble, the All Angles Orchestra, featuring Alex Sipiagin. The group features a unique instrumentation that forces the jazz and classical worlds to collide. The CD was released on Outside In Music, a record label created by fellow Eastman alumnus Nicholas Finzer ’09. I was recently selected as one of eight participants worldwide for the 2017 Metropole Orchestra Arrangers Workshop in the Netherlands. Out of more than 100 international submissions, my piece, ‘Spherical,’ was selected as one of three finalists in the Spheres of a Genius Composition Competition, a Jam Music Lab and Vienna Radio Symphony partnership celebrating 100 years of Thelonious Monk. I have been an ASCAP Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Award recipient for the last four consecutive years and have won three Downbeat Student Music Awards for composition/arranging in the past two years. Recent performance highlights include a summer Midwest tour with the All Angles Orchestra, performances at the Twin Cities Jazz Festival, and the Iowa City Jazz Festival with Christopher’s Very Happy. Band., and a tour through China with the Romeo and Juliet Project.”

2015 Margaret Harper (DMA) joined the faculty of the University of Southern Maine (Gorham) as artist faculty in organ and harpsichord. Margaret is also director of music and liturgy at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Portsmouth, New Hampshire; the director of the choir school at St. John’s; and a faculty member for the Young Organist Collaborative.