Alumnotes
Class of 1962
Gary Burton of Fort Lauderdale, FL, received a 2016 Jazz Masters award from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Class of 1969
Bill Kuriger of Fitchburg, MA, plays drums with the band Crossroads in the New England Area.
Class of 1971
Greg Abate of Coventry, RI, released the last live album featuring the late Phil Woods and the Tim Ray Trio titled Kindred Sprits: Live at Chan’s. Woods passed away September 29, 2015. Visit gregabate.com.
Guitarist Mark Elf was featured on WMKY’s Sunday Night Jazz Showcase in Morehead, KY. He recently toured the Pacific Northwest and West Coast. Visit jenbayjazz.com.
Class of 1973
John Scofield of Katonah, NY, released the album Past Present with his 1990s band featuring Joe Lovano ’72, Bill Stewart, and Larry Grenadier. He also performed duo dates with Jon Cleary. Visit johnscofield.com.
Class of 1975
Rob Mounsey of Brooklyn, NY, created arrangements for the following projects: James Taylor’s Before This World, the Cincinnati Pops’ American Originals concert, Universal France’s We Love Disney, and Eddy Mitchell’s Big Band release. Last summer he was the music director for Idina Menzel’s Asian and European tours. Visit robmounsey.com.
Class of 1978
Liz Ficalora of Nashville, TN, author of How to Write a Fast and Easy Drum Chart, has created a Web-based software program called Drum Chart Builder for creating and using drum charts on any device. Visit drumchartbuilder.com.
Class of 1978
Guitarist and vocalist Vernon Holloman of Hayes, VA, is the owner and program director of jvhradio.com, which features numerous forms of jazz.
Class of 1979
Jonathan R. Lax of Summit, NJ, performed at the Festival of Trumpets concert during the 40th anniversary of the International Trumpet Guild Conference. He also interviewed trumpeter Claudio Roditi ’70 for the October 2015 issue of The Brass Herald.
Roby Pantall of Rogers, AR, released his first jazz guitar trio CD Elysian Fields on iTunes. He teaches at Northwest Arkansas Community College.
Robert Selitto of Matawan, NJ, won an Emmy for sound mixing for the Saturday Night Live 40th anniversary show. For the past 27 years he has been the show’s front-of-house sound engineer. He recently did sound engineering for Harry Connick Jr.’s daytime talk show.
Lisa Miller Villani of Brockton, MA, retired after teaching in the Brockton Public Schools for 35 years. She and her husband Louis Villani operate Track Shack recording studio, and both perform with the Boxwood Saxophone Quartet.
Class of 1980
Anthony J. Resta of Los Angeles, CA, won an award at the 2015 Hollywood Music in Media Awards for producing Collective Soul’s album See What You Started by Continuing.
Class of 1980
Branford Marsalis of Durham, NC, and Harry Connick Jr. hosted the New Orleans Honors event, which recognized individuals who aided the city’s recovery from Hurricane Katrina.
Rand Moore of Oregon, WI, is the founder and leader of the 25-piece Neophonic Jazz Orchestra in Madison, WI. He has also owned the Drums ‘n’ Moore drum percussion specialty store for 22 years. Visit drums-n-moore.com.
Class of 1981
Frederick Lewis DeAngelis of Barrington, RI, and Joe Caron released the CD Wicked Awesome Acoustic Holiday, an interpretation of 12 holiday favorites with a New England flair.
Class of 1983
Graeme Bird of Wenham, MA, lectured at Oxford and Columbia universities on the parallels between Homeric oral poetry and jazz improvisation.
Michael Fox of Vienna, VA, is a regional vice president of sales for BroadSoft, a global communications services provider.
Class of 1984
Dave Brumbaugh of Williamsport, PA, is the founder and executive director of the Uptown Music Collective, a nonprofit youth music school. Visit uptownmusic.org.
Steven Corn of West Hills, CA, founded the BFM Jazz label, which earned two Grammy nominations for the album Home Suite Home by Patrick Williams. It features Tierney Sutton ’87 and Frank Sinatra Jr.
Class of 1985
James Dreier of Iowa City, IA, teaches at the University of Iowa and wrote the book Latin Jazz Guide: A Path to Authentic Percussion and Ensemble Performance, published by Hal Leonard. Visit jamesdreier.com.
Class of 1985
The CD Guitar Balafonics by Pascal Bokar Thiam of San Francisco, CA, was selected as one of the best new albums of 2015 by DownBeat magazine. Visit pascalbokarthiam.com.
Class of 1986
Michéal Castaldo of New York, City released a single in October titled “Amo L’america” (“American Love Affair”), with an accompanying YouTube video. He also released Extravergine: A Mediterranean Christmas Folio. Visit michealcastaldo.com.
Larry Hopkins of Sylmar, CA, is a Foley Artist for Technicolor and a staff composer for APM Music. He is also a music technology consultant for the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Kevin Kastning of Groton, MA, and Mark Wingfield released the album Eleven Rooms on Greydisc Records, inspired by the paintings of Johannes Vermeer. Visit kevinkastning.com.
Adam Velez of Vernon Hills, IL, is an art director and graphic designer for Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers Inc., an educational publishing company that focuses on Latin and Greek textbooks.
Sam Anstice-Brown of Kingsbury, England, operates a hypnotherapy service for musicians using CDs, downloads, an iPhone app, and Skype coaching. Visit focaldystoniahypnosis.com.
Class of 1987
John Vester of Indianapolis, IN, is a Zone Leader for DZone, an online community and publisher of technical content for software professionals. Visit dzone.com.
Class of 1987
Reid Lindgren of Rozet, WY, operates his own recording studio. Visit rcsound.biz.
Class of 1988
Dawn Carroll of Lincoln, MA, and singer Patti Austin are founders of the Over My Shoulder Foundation. Carroll and Frédéric Gassita ’90 collaborated on an arrangement of “Over My Shoulder,” which was recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra and sponsored by Ali Bongo Ondimba, the president of Gabon. Carroll is also a stone designer at Cumar Marble and Granite.
Sandy Palmer Grassi of Cromwell, CT, was nominated for a TEC Award in the Best Live Recording or Broadcast category for her mixing of the Jazz Foundation benefit show “A Great Night in Harlem.” Grassi also mixed a live Apollo Theater broadcast featuring Keith Richards.
Tenor saxophonist Donny McCaslin of Brooklyn, NY, performed with the late David Bowie and appears on Bowie’s final album, Blackstar.
Class of 1989
Doug Hammer of Lynn, MA, released Christmas Lights, his 10th album, which was featured on Pandora Premieres. He recently performed at Carnegie Hall, debuting a song from his other 2015 album, Haiku. Visit doughammer.net.
Class of 1989
Trumpeter Ingrid Jensen of Ossining, NY, and producer and keyboardist Jason Miles released the album Kind Of New, featuring guitarist Nir Felder ’06.
Andrew Sherman of Brooklyn, NY, is owner and COO of Butter Music & Sound. In 2015, the company won the following awards: Canne Lion; three Andy Awards; Ciclope Festival award; Gold LIA award; and an AICP Award. The team includes Ian Jeffreys ’98, Max Schad ’13, Joel Dean ’04, and Mike McAllister.
Class of 1990
John Baldwin of Virginia Beach, VA, submitted his album Six String Slinger for Grammy consideration. He toured with the American Rogues and the Irish dance musical Rockin’ Road to Dublin. Baldwin’s music was heard on the TV shows FBI Takedown 101 and Monsters and Mysteries in America. Visit johnbaldwinmusic.com.
Kelley Bolduc (aka Kelley B.) of Dorchester, MA, celebrated the 25th anniversary of her reggae band Hot Like Fire. She recorded an instrumental trumpet CD titled More Trumpet, featuring faculty members Matt Jenson, Winston Maccow, and Sean Skeete.
Class of 1990
Gary Schutt of Tampa, FL, is releasing the two-disc rock opera Under Sedation. Visit garyschutt.com.
Class of 1991
Doug MacDonald of Union, NJ, has joined Deep Root Analytics as the vice president of Business Development in New York. He is a member of the board of trustees for the nonprofit Music for All Seasons.
Pianist Thomas Snow of Portland, ME, and his trio released the live CD Duke’s Diamonds: An Ellington Celebration, featuring Ralph Norris on saxophone and Marshall Wood on bass. Visit tomsnow.com.
Doug Gerry of Pasadena, CA, coproduces the GuitarWank podcast, featuring guitarists Bruce Forman and Scott Henderson. Visit guitarwank.com.
Class of 1992
Dave Rawlings and Gillian Welch of Nashville, TN, released the album Nashville Obsolete with the Dave Rawlings Machine. It features Willie Watson, Paul Kowert, Brittany Haas, and Jordan Tice. Visit daverawlingsmachine.com.
Class of 1992
In December 2015, composer Jason Eckardt of Kerhonkson, NY, had his piece “Practical Alchemy” performed by cellist Jay Campbell at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. He is working on two guitar commissions and has summer residencies planned at Wellesley College and New Music on the Point in Vermont.
Class of 1993
Mika Pohjola of Stockholm, Sweden, has made his music available online for any price visitors choose. Visit mikapohjola.bluemusicgroup.com.
Class of 1994
Bassist John Montagna of Brooklyn, NY, created the theme music and bumpers for the WTF with Marc Maron podcast. He has toured with Alan Parsons, Todd Rundgren, and the Turtles. Visit johnmontagna.com.
Class of 1994
“Metal” Mike Chlasciak of Wayne, NJ, presented the 2015 Metal for Life Workshop series, based on his column of the same name in Guitar World magazine. It was sponsored by D’Addario Strings. Visit metalmike.net.
Class of 1995
Songwriter Shane Adams of Nashville, TN, was recognized by the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum with a 2015 Top Ten Hitmaker Award. Visit artistaccelerator.com.
Class of 1996
Jeremy Esposito of Cummington, MA, wrote and published a book on the history of drum company Walberg and Auge. In 2014 he reestablished the company as a nonprofit for historical and educational purposes. Visit walbergandauge.com.
Manfred Junker of Konstanz, Germany, released his 12th recording titled After All These Years, an album of solo guitar renditions of Paul Simon songs. Visit manfredjunker.com.
Class of 1996
Deanna DellaCioppa of Tarzana, CA, has worked with Céline Dion, Nick Jonas, and Lea Michele. She performed on Disney’s Lion Guard and did a series of commercials for Big Lots.
Bassist Christian Fabian of Belleville, NJ, is the codirector of the New Lionel Hampton Big Band. They perform the repertoire of the late Hampton, a vibes legend and bandleader.
Eduardo Lopes of Cascais, Portugal, is music chair at the University of évora. He released the CD Musicking Shapes, with music based on graphic scores from John Cage and Theresa Sauer.
Class of 1997
Drummer Masumi Jones, Takana Miyamoto ’98, and Noriko Ueda ’98 form the group G.G. (formerly the Groovin’ Girls). Their album Ruby Road is available on iTunes. Visit masumijones.com.
Class of 1998
Gerard Salonga of Parañaque City, Philippines, will conduct the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra in a March collaboration with the Beach Boys at Hong Kong’s Queen Elizabeth Stadium. Salonga also conducted the orchestra in sold-out concerts featuring music from Harry Potter films.
Class of 1998
Antonio Gandía of Pennsauken, NJ, Danilo Gossain ’96, Nacho Maldonado ’97, Justo Morao ’97 and Ippei Morofuji ’97, released Chillociraptor, their debut CD blending jazz, world music and other styles. Visit chillociraptor.com.
Class of 1999
Kai Narezo of Los Angeles, CA, released the flamenco album Contra Tiempo, featuring Jorge Perez Gonzalez ’12, Tuti Fernandez ’01, and Sean Gould ’93. Narezo cowrote the book A Compás: The Flamenco Guitar Survival Guide. Visit kainarezo.com.
Class of 1999
Peter Kelly of New York City released Don’t Let Me Be Alone, an album of original pop music. The track “Fear of Landing” appeared in the film #50Fathers. Visit peterkellymusic.com.
Class of 2000
Saxophonist Jaleel Shaw of Paterson, NJ, and drummer Kendrick Scott ’03 performed on the soundtrack for the Don Cheadle film Miles Ahead, with contributions from Robert Glasper.
Ryan Tucker of Tarzana, CA, is an audio software and hardware quality assurance engineer for Sound Machine LLC. He also runs TuckerMix.com, a boutique music mixing service.
Class of 2001
Gianni Chiarello of Bournemouth, United Kingdom, released the album Gianni Chiarello and the Same Beat, a collection of original tunes, featuring Ray Drury, Stuart Ross, and Richard Preston. Visit giannichiarello.com.
Class of 2002
Jon Boutin of Kaarst, Germany, received a gold record for his work with the group Die Broilers. He leads his own quartet and big band, and he plays trumpet for Adams Brass. Visit jonboutin.com.
Accordionist Victor Prieto of New York, NY, performs with his trio, and will give master classes in Ourense, Spain in July. Visit victorprieto.net.
Class of 2002
Matt Steinberg of Shirley, MA, performs with the band Atlas Soul, and builds custom percussion instruments.
Mari Yamashita of Suzuka, Japan, released Efflorescence, her fifth CD of original compositions. It features Hiroshi Fukutomi ’06, Yuta Omino, and Yosuke Nagayama. Visit mariyamashita.com.
Class of 2004
Chris Llewellyn of Atlanta, GA, and Brian Cohen head up the group Hudson, which released the EP Cast Out in October 2015. They have written and produced songs for Flo-Rida, Ciara, and others.
Class of 2004
Trumpeter Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah of New York, NY, had his album Stretch Music named one among the 50 Favorite Albums of 2015 by National Public Radio.
Guitarist and composer Matthew Stevens of Toronto, Ontario, released the album Woodwork. Visit mattstevensmusic.com.
Class of 2005
Melinda Colaizzi of Pittsburgh, PA, and Kristian Habenicht ’05 released a video for their song “Keeper of the Flame.” The song won the 2015 WYEP-FM/Dos Equis songwriting contest. Visit listentomelinda.com.
Nikki Glaspie of Scotch Plains, NJ, released Abundance, the debut album from her band the Nth Power. Visit thenthpowermusic.com.
Khari Allen Lee of New Orleans, LA, released Our Great Awakening, his second album as leader, with the New Creation Collective, featuring Michael Pellera ’76. He also appeared on Dr. John’s recent release Ske-Dat-De-Dat: The Spirit of Satch, and on DeeDee Bridgewater’s release with the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, Dee Dee’s Feathers. He toured with her in Europe, Africa and Australia. Visit khariallenlee.com.
Shantell Ogden of Nashville, TN, received Songwriter of the Year and Americana Song of the Year awards from the International Music and Entertainment Association for “Ghosts in the Field.” Visit shantellogden.com.
Class of 2005
Roger Panella of Chicago, IL, works in search engine optimization for Ice Nine Online and his own company, GroundSwell Search.
Esperanza Spalding of NYC, completed her Emily’s D+Evolution tour with bandmates Matthew Stevens ’04 and Emily Elbert ’11. Spalding was recently nominated for a position at the National Council on the Arts. Visit esperanzaspalding.com.
Class of 2006
Pianist and guitarist Matt Nakoa of Smyrna, NY, is touring with Boston folk icon Tom Rush. One memorable date was their performance at Boston’s Symphony Hall.
Class of 2007
Kyle Crane of Orange, CA, was nominated for the 2015 Up and Coming Drummer award by Modern Drummer magazine. Visit kylecranedrums.tumblr.com.
Tiana Gustafson of San Luis Obispo, CA, is the owner of Firefly Media, a company providing design and online marketing services. Visit fireflymediaservices.com.
Jazz guitarist Jake Hertzog of Brooklyn, NY, released the album Beyond the Standard Model, available as a free download from his website. It features Harvie S ’70 and Victor Jones. Visit jakehertzog.com.
Chris Joye of Peoria, IL, recently scored a feature length documentary about autism titled Programming Hope. He continues to score projects for various media. He was was a bass guitar presenter at the NAMM Show 2016 for Gittler Instruments.
Class of 2007
Ryan Heenan of Costa Mesa, CA, was spotlighted in the New York Daily News regarding his jingle-writing career on Fiverr. He also runs a gym with his wife.
Emily Shackelton-James of Nashville, TN, is part of the group the Ellas, which released their debut album Merry & Bright in November on Scat Pack Records.
Gregorio Uribe of Brooklyn, NY, and his 16-piece big band released the album Cumbia Universal featuring Rubén Blades. Visit gregoriouribe.com.
Class of 2008
Keiko Ueda (aka Keiko Shiga) of Kumamoto, Japan, worked on the music for the Japanese film Magic Utopia, which was nominated as an official selection for the 2015 Anchorage Film Festival.
Class of 2009
Saxophonist Melissa Aldana of Brooklyn, NY, performed at the Apollo Theater for the Jazz & Blues Foundation's tribute to Sonny Rollins. She recently toured in Europe with Pablo Menares and Allan Mednard. Visit melissaaldana.com.
Recording engineer Nuno Fernandes of London, UK, worked with Bryan Adams on projects including Get Up and Live at Bush Hall, and on Diana Krall’s Wallflower. He has also worked with Jeff Lynne, Pete Brown, and Procol Harum. Visit nunof.com.
Dylan Galvin of La Plata, MD, and Cameron Gainer ’13 are members of the band Iz’em. The group will tour this spring. Visit izemmusic.com.
In March, guitarist Julian Lage of New York City will release the album Arclight with backing from bassist Scott Colley and drummer Kenny Wollesen. He is currently on a tour of Europe and the United States. Visit julianlage.com.
Class of 2009
Saxophonist Jonathan Orland of Paris, France, released his second album, Small Talk. He backs such artists as Michel Reis, Gui Duvignau, and Valea Antos. Visit jonathanorland.com.
Class of 2010
Sophia Pizzulo (aka Sugar Joans) of Los Angeles, CA, released her debut single “NVR.” Visit sugarjoans.com.
Class of 2010
Vinny da Silva of Dorchester, MA, and Gustavo D’Amico ’14 are part of the Brazilian music group Acadêmicos de Milton Friedman. In October 2015 they performed at the Forum of Liberty and Democracy event in São Paulo, Brazil.
Jordan Seigel of Westlake Village, CA, launched Jazz Music Library, a website devoted to high-quality jazz music for film and television placements. Visit jazzmusiclibrary.com.
Class of 2011
Jung Eun Kwon of Seoul, South Korea, is a sound engineer and music teacher at B. Music Lab, and a music producer at Fiera Music. She worked on Alia Clark’s Simply the First, a collaboration with international composers. Kwon has also done engineering work for Storm Post Production doing voice dubbing for Disney animations.
Fredy Guzman of Hollis, NH, is the creator of Waijazz, a musical project blending Andean and Afro-Peruvian music with contemporary concepts from the jazz idiom. Waijazz features lyrics in English, Spanish and Quechua. Visit fredyguzman.com.
The song “Free Agent” written by Mandi Kitchen of Los Angeles, CA, is heard in a video about the refugee crisis by Catholic Relief Services and the UN Refugee Agency. Visit youtube.com/watch?v=Sy_IKfaU97Y.
Class of 2011
Spencer Kennedy of Fort Wayne, IN, is a sales engineer with Sweetwater Music Instruments and Pro Audio.
Ben Mench-Thurlow of Los Angeles, CA, is an agent with the APA Talent & Literary Agency.
Mariella Nolfo of Portland, OR, is a graduate student of speech, language, and hearing sciences at Portland State University, training to become a speech pathologist. She is conducting research on auditory and musical interventions for language production in nonverbal children with autism.
Shea Rose of Boston, MA, and Simone Scazzochio ’10 are curators of the RISE Music Series at the Elizabeth Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. The first concert featured the group KING, with Paris Strother ’08 and Anita Bias ’07.
Class of 2012
Grace Kelly has joined Stay Human, the house band for the Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Her album Trying to Figure it Out was released in February.
Logan Mara of Gettysburg, PA, was featured on FOX43 Television’s Music Monday program performing his song “Better Half.” He is a member of the band Never Knows Best.
Bence Peter of Hajdúböszörmény, Hungary, appears in the Guinness Book of World Records for the highest number of piano key strokes played in one minute (765).
Class of 2013
Ben Talmi of Pittsfield, MA, had his song “I Know It’s True” featured in the Microsoft campaign “The Ones Who Will Do Great Things.” It is featured on Talmi’s latest album My Art of Almost. Visit bentalmi.com.
Viktoria Pilatovic MM’13 is an assistant professor of jazz vocal performance at Universidad San Francisco Quito College of Music in Ecuador. She has performed with bassist Victor Wooten among others, and released her second album of her original songs. Visit viktorijapilatovic.com.
Ben Hakim of Washington, D.C. released the EPs Where Will We Go (Part 1) and Where Will We Go (Part 2). Visit benhakim.com.
Gabe Hirshfeld of Brighton, MA, was featured on the cover of Banjo NewsLetter: The 5-String Banjo Magazine, in September 2015. He has been a featured instructor at Music Camps North, and is a member of the Lonely Heartstring Band. Visit lonelyheartstringband.com.
Bronwyn Keith-Hynes of Jamaica Plain, MA, won first place in the 2015 Freshgrass Fiddle Contest. She performs with the band Mile Twelve. Visit bronwynkeithhynes.com.
Class of 2013
Christen Keogh of Sherman Oaks, CA, works for the Los Angeles Kings hockey team’s Street Knights program, which provides hockey instruction for children at community-based facilities and schools.
Bassist Priscilla Vela MM’13 performs with the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana and with her interdisciplinary ensemble Zaumd. Visit priscillavela.com.
Class of 2014
Anze Rozman MM’14 of Ljubljana, Slovenia is a freelance composer and also teaches as an assistant professor at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana. He has written music for live orchestral concerts and composed music for TV commercials, films, and video games. Visit anzerozman.com.
Composer Snorri Hallgrímsson MM’14 of Reykjavík, Iceland, is the music coordinator for British television series Broadchurch. He has also scored the Spanish short film Naturaleza Muerta and the documentary series Travel Global Think Local. Visit youtube.com.
Maria Goulamhoussen of Studio City, CA, is an audio producer for Disney Interactive, doing sound design and music for mobile apps and games. She also worked on the film Forward Side Close!, which was featured at the Hollywood Film Festival.
Zoya Mohan of Newport Beach, CA, released the album Zoya: Plugged In, an electronic remix compilation whose proceeds will go to provide electricity and other infrastructure to schools in Udaipur, India. Visit zoyamusicofficial.com.
Jared Horne MM’14 is working in Los Angeles doing freelance film and commercial composing. He recently completed a short animated film and some short live action projects entered into local festivals. Visit jaredthomashorne.com.
Aishwary Narolia MA’14 of Ahmedabad, India is working with Fathom Events in Los Angeles, CA, on international music acquisition and crossover paths for Bollywood movies. Nariola also operates the booking agency musiCulture. Visit www.musiculture.info.
Nikolaos Paterakis MM’14 of Athens, Greece is a product support specialist for ROLI in their New York offices. ROLI is based in London, and creates innovative musical products like the Seaboard. Visit roli.com.
Class of 2014
Shon Boublil of Montreal, Quebec, is a first-year graduate student in biophysics at Concordia University.
Aditya Srinivasan MM’14 of Chennai, India, is the project manager in India for Sound Leadership, a Boston-based startup. The company conducts workshops utilizing songwriting and storytelling to foster team building, leadership, and innovation.
Miguel Coiz of Madrid, Spain, recorded and edited the ADR for the English version of the Mexican animated film Un Gallo Con Muchos Huevos.
Mikaella Allen MA’14 is a casting assistant at House Casting (Milk Studios) in addition to her work as an assistant at ThinkSay Records in Brooklyn, NY.
Cassandra Allen MM’14 is a resident artist at the Strathmore performing arts venue in Bethesda, MD for the 2015-2016 season.
Alaap Deboor MA’14 of Mumbai, India works in the music department for One Digital Entertainment, India’s largest multichannel network.
Oliver Patrice Weder MM’14 is writing music for new product demos for the London-based music sampling company Spitfire Audio.
Class of 2015
Alper Tuzcu of Brookline, MA and Danielle Angeloni of the band Aigua were selected by Reverbnation’s A&R team to appear at the Youbloom Festival in Los Angeles in December 2015.
Class of 2015
Amy Allen of South Portland, ME, and her group Amy & the Engine released their debut EP TandeMania. The band features Sophia Christopher’15, Marton Bisets ’14, Vinny da Silva ’10, and Shareef Addo ’15. Visit amyandtheengine.com.