Final Cadence

January 1, 2018

Andy McGhee

William St. Laurent ’60 of Westwood, MA, passed away on September 2, 2017. He was 85. After serving in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War, St. Laurent studied at Schillinger House (the original name for Berklee). He joined the faculty in 1960, and Gary Burton ’62 was among his students. St. Laurent later earned a bachelor’s degree from Boston Conservatory and a master’s from Boston University. A career musician, he established a choral music program at Norwood, MA, high school, and worked as extensively as a pianist and arranger, and as the music director for local churches. He leaves his wife Nancy; daughters Susan and Diane ’97; son Robert; and granddaughter, Rachel.

Daniel Holgate ’61 of New York City passed away on August 31 after a battle with Parkinson’s disease. He was 84. In his early days, Holgate toured with the Holgate, Perkins, and Shaw Jazz Trio, and later worked as a pianist, arranger, and musical director for numerous Broadway musicals, and also wrote arrangements for various pops orchestras. Additionally, Holgate helped such artists as Lena Horne, Carol Channing, Alexis Smith, and Timmy Rodgers develop their club acts. He leaves his wife, singer Gail Nelson-Holgate; daughters Denice Holgate-Wilkins and Carlo Grey; and five grandchildren.

Former faculty member Kevin Mahogany of Kansas City, MO, died on December 17. He was 59. A renowned jazz and r&b vocal stylist, Mahogany recorded for the Enja and Warner Bros. record labels and performed widely. Additionally, he appeared in two movies and published The Jazz Singer magazine. He taught vocal labs at Berklee between 2000 and 2003, and joined the music faculty at Florida International University in Miami, FL. He leaves two brothers; a half-brother; and half-sister.

Robert Honeysucker

Former Berklee professor and saxophonist Andy McGhee died on October 12 of natural causes in Marietta, GA. He was 89. McGhee joined the Berklee faculty in 1966 and retired in 2013. His students included Richie Cole ’67, former Woodwind Department chair Bill Pierce ’73, Ralph Moore ’78, Donald Harrison ’81, Walter Beasley ’84,and Jaleel Shaw ’00 among others. McGhee served in the U.S. Army in Korea before launching his career as a musician in Boston in 1952. He worked with Roy Eldridge, the Lionel Hampton and Woody Herman bands, and others jazz acts. He turned down an offer to join the Count Basie band in 1966, opting instead to begin his Berklee teaching career. In 2006, he was awarded a Berklee honorary doctor of music degree. McGhee leaves two daughters, a grandson, and a great-granddaughter.

David Linwood “Lenny” Stallworth ’88, an associate professor in the Ensemble Department, passed away on December 20. He was 58. Born in Moss Point, Mississippi, Stallworth, a funk, r&b, and blues bassist, played and/or recorded with such artists as Kenny Garrett, Najee, Patti Austin, Brian McKnight, and Roy Hargrove ’89. He leaves his wife Sheron (Johnson), two sons, and a granddaughter.

Robert Honeysucker of Belmont, MA, a vocal department faculty member at Boston Conservatory at Berklee since 1981, died following a heart attack on October 7. He was 74. Honeysucker was an active performer of opera, oratorio, and concert music, and gave recitals all over the world. He performed with conductors Christopher Hogwood, Keith Lockhart, Jeffrey Rink, and Andris Nelsons among others. He was a member of the Videmus Ensemble and a cofounder of the Jubilee Trio, a group that presents rarely performed American art songs by African American composers. He leaves his wife, pianist Noriko Yasuda.

This article appeared in our alumni magazine, Berklee Today Spring 2018. Learn more about Berklee Today.
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