Class Notes

1961 Bob Ehle writes that his composition Rhapsody/Concerto, Op. 13, “a jazzy concerto for piano and wind ensemble,” was premiered and recorded in Taiwan by Doris Huang and the Tainan Symphony Orchestra. “Doris also toured the solo piano version of the work, playing it all over the world (Seattle, Greeley, Boulder, Bangkok, Tokyo, and many others). She also wrote her dissertation on the work, and played the wind ensemble version at the Taipei Jazz Festival. The recording may be heard on Audiomack and portions on YouTube by entering Rhapsody/Concerto/Ehle.”

1970 Geary Larrick (MM) was presented with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award by Marquis Who’s Who. A composer and percussionist, Geary spent his early career performing with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Rochester Philharmonic, the American Wind Symphony Orchestra, the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, and the Central Wisconsin Symphony Orchestra. He taught at the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point for 16 years, retiring in 1985, after which he has continued to write and perform.

1972 David Owens writes that his three-movement chamber-vocal work, Within a Dream, was premiered last February in Boston. He adds, “the song group, for voice and string quartet, was commissioned by coloratura soprano Sierra Marcy.” . . . Pamela Poulin ’83E (PhD), a professor emerita at Johns Hopkins’s Peabody Conservatory, writes that she’s published In the Footsteps of Mozart’s Clarinetist: Anton Stadler (1753–1812) (Pendragon Press). The book includes “new information on Stadler’s five-year tour of Northern Europe that took him as far away as St. Petersburg, and about Stadler’s relationship with Mozart and Beethoven.” Pamela’s research first revealed what Stadler’s clarinet looked like, and it is now possible to build reproductions.

1973 The Croatian Chamber Orchestra performs a work by composer Bruce Reiprich ’75 (MA) on its recording Beneath the Tide: A Collection of Concertos (Parma Recordings). Lullaby, which Bruce wrote to celebrate the birth of a friend’s child, features violin solo with orchestra.

1979 New York City–based composer Paula Kimper writes that the Paula Kimper Ensemble is performing one melody per week from Kimper’s Melody Book for “Song of Myself” to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of poet Walt Whitman. The first several performances are available at https://paulakimper.com/melody-book/.

1980 Chicago–based magician and “musical mentalist” Sidney Friedman has published Mind over Blubber: How to Use Your Mind to Lose Your Behind (Sidney Friedman).

1983 Pamela Poulin (PhD) (see ’72).

1985 Lynda Cullen writes that after a 31-year career as a music educator in the Rochester and Buffalo areas, she retired and moved from Buffalo to the Washington, DC, area to be closer to family.

1988 Eileen Strempel has been named dean of UCLA’s Herb Alpert School of Music. She begins her new position in July.

1993 Kelly Hall-Tompkins has joined the violin faculty at the Manhattan School of Music. . . . Gary Versace (MM) (see ’18).

1995 Greg Yasinitsky (DMA) writes that his big-band composition “JEN-TEN”—written in honor of the 10th anniversary of the Jazz Education Network—was premiered at the keynote session of the network’s 2019 annual conference. It was performed by the JEN All-Star Big Band, with Greg conducting. Greg has also released a CD, YAZZ Band (YAZZ Recordings), which was showcased in Downbeat magazine. The CD has also been featured on the Public Radio International show Jazz After Hours. YAZZ Band was listed as one of the CDs of the Year–Big Bands by Bebop Spoken Here in the United Kingdom.

1998 Thomas Lausmann (MM) has been named director of music administration at the Metropolitan Opera.

2003 Dave Stringham ’11 (PhD) is coeditor of Musicianship: Improvising in Band and Orchestra (GIA Publications). He’s an associate professor of music and the director of the Center for Inclusive Music Engagement at James Madison University.

2008 Susan Hochmiller (DMA) has published So You Want to Sing Chamber Music: A Guide for Performers (Rowman & Littlefield). She’s an assistant professor of voice at Gettysburg College’s Sunderman Conservatory of Music.

2011 Michaela Eremiasova (PhD) and Jairo Duarte-Lopez ’16 (PhD) scored the music for the film Brown Paper Bag, which won Best Film and Best Director awards at the 2019 San Diego Black Film Festival. . . . Dave Stringham (PhD) (see ’03).

2012 Sasami Ashworth has released her debut album, Sasami (Domino Records).

2014 Patrick Towey writes that he has served as director of bands at Plattsburgh Senior High School in Plattsburgh, New York, since his graduation from Eastman. In addition, he was recently guest conductor for the 2019 Clinton County (New York) All-County Honor Concert Band and, last summer in Lewiston, New York, served as the music director for Artpark & Company’s first Public Works production of the Odyssey. A piano and brass adjudicator for solo evaluation festivals throughout New York State, he was also a quarterfinalist for the GRAMMY Music Educator Award in 2016.

2016 Jairo Duarte-Lopez (PhD) (see ’11). . . . Andrew Links (see ’18).

2017 Greg Roberts (see ’18).

2018 The 10-piece Rochester–based indie band the Saplings—consisting entirely of Eastman alumni and students—released the LP Go Digital! (Master Hand Records) in February. The Saplings are Matt Bent ’18RC (drums/vocals), Abe Nouri (Rhodes/vocals), Ryder Eaton (bass/vocals), Greg Roberts ’17 (guitar/vocals), Ben Bird ’19 (trumpet), Andrew Links ’16 (synthesizers), Geraldo Marshall ’19 (percussion), Adrian Eldridge ’19, ’19RC, Jack Courtright ’19 (trombone), and Rowan Wolf ’19 (saxophone). Jose Escobar is the group’s general manager, and pianist Gary Versace ’93 (MM), a professor of jazz studies and contemporary media at Eastman, is featured on the recording.

2019 Ben Bird (see ’18). . . . Jack Courtright (see ’18). . . . Adrian Eldridge (see ’18). . . . Geraldo Marshall (see ’18). . . . Rowan Wolf (see ’18).