Behind Stowe Behind Stowe LN T IHLI L L L SSCCH HO OO R R T HTE HAE R TA SRT S W A LWNAU TU H OLL F O FO
School Year 2017–2018 | Volume 8 Number 1
Honoring Walnut Hill Legends RON & HEATHER REID, STEVE DURNING, AND ANNE BUSCHENFELDT
Behind Stowe Behind Stowe LN T IHLI L L L SSCCH HO OO R R T HTE HAE R TA SRT S W A LWNAU TU H OLL F O FO
Beyond Stowe
2017/2018 | Volume 7 Number 1
This year’s issue of Behind Stowe celebrates a wide swath of successes, both here on the Hill and around the globe. In these pages, we pay homage to the past—note our beloved retiring honorees on pages 2–4—and look ahead to the future, which (as you’ll see in the three featured Q&As) is bright with promise and possibility. Our point with this year’s theme? To emphasize both the power of a transformative educational experience here at Walnut Hill and the fact that such a rich secondary school experience can take you places you might not have even imagined.
CREATIVE TEAM Jeanne O’Rourke Chief Creative Officer Jenna Nastri Marketing Communications Associate Amelia Iverson Technology Integration Specialist ADVANCEMENT OFFICE Marie Longo Chief Advancement Officer Jennifer TumSuden Director of Development Garrett Murphy ’08 Assistant Director of Alumni Giving and Engagement Melissa Graves Database Manager Rebecca Mayersohn Development Associate Pat McDougal Campaign Coordinator
EDITORIAL TEAM Judy Kiviat Editorial Assistant
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A NOTE FROM STOWE
ALUMNI VOICES Q & A with Andrew Whitfield '96, Margaret Kemp '81, and Emily Weissman Schindler '89
IN MEMORIAM
2 SAYING GOODBYE Anne Buschenfeldt, Steve Durning, Heather and Ron Reid
5 125TH ANNIVERSARY
12 REUNION WEEKEND
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31 ALUMNI ASSOCIATION Year in Review
COMMUNITY READ
46 WALNUT HILL RECOMMENDS
48 SEEN ON THE HILL
CLASS NOTES
Sneak Peek: Save the Date
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52 SEEN OFF THE HILL
MEET OUR NEW TRUSTEES
54 GRADUATION
32 A YEAR IN REVIEW A Look Back at a Year of Art-Making on the Hill
blazar design studio Design PHOTOGRAPHY Joshua Barnatt Coffee Pond Photography Liza Voll Photography Matt McKee Photography Antonio Viva
Special thanks to our many faculty, staff, and alumni contributors this year: Melissa Cassel, Anne Murphy, Garrett Murphy ’08, Evangeline Delgado ’11, Ben Gregg, Marie Longo, Rebecca Mayersohn, Zach Roberson, Jason Stumpf, Jennifer TumSuden, and Antonio Viva.
© 2018 Walnut Hill School for the Arts. All rights reserved. Published by Walnut Hill School for the Arts, 12 Highland Street, Natick, MA 01760-2199 (tel) 508.653.4312 (fax) 508.653.9593 | Please send change of address to Melissa Graves: mgraves@walnuthillarts.org
Twitter and Instagram: @walnuthillarts | www.facebook.com/walnuthill | www.walnuthillarts.org | 508.653.4312
A NOTE FROM STOWE
Looking Back . . . and Ahead The theme for this issue is “Beyond Stowe,” and as you will read, Walnut Hill is well positioned to look forward into the future. At the start of the school year, I spoke to the faculty and staff during my opening convocation about the rich and diverse history of our School. With Walnut Hill about to enter its 125th year, I felt it was important to understand how our School came to be and what changes we have experienced during the 12 decades of our existence. It is for this and many other reasons that looking beyond who we are today is such an important part of this issue of Behind Stowe. As our founders, Charlotte Conant and Florence Bigelow, set out to create a school that would educate young women, they could never have imagined that we would become one of the most recognized and highly regarded art schools in the United States. This transformation came about slowly and began with establishing a solid foundation that lives on today. Our commitment to training and educating young artists is still rooted in the ideals that those two visionaries held. In the 1970s, Walnut Hill found itself in the midst of a world that was changing in ever more demanding ways. As with many schools at the time, Walnut Hill’s direction for the future was unclear and tenuous at best. Fortunately, the individuals who were charged with ensuring our future had the foresight to recognize that change was upon us and had the courage to set the course for a new mission. Fast-forward to 2018, and once again Walnut Hill finds itself against a backdrop that is evolving. In my many conversations with alumni, it is clear that the path to success is wide-ranging. Many of our arts alums have found success in the arts, while others have forged new roads in fields such as business, technology, science, and education. These varied accomplishments are a testament to the power of an arts education and, as many have heard me say, position us to be the right school at the right time. The skills and habits of mind developed by our young artists are critical for achievement in a world that is quickly becoming more automated, where artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming a part of everyday life. Artists and creative thinkers are the change agents of the future. As we embark on the celebration of Walnut Hill’s 125th Anniversary, I am looking forward to honoring our rich and diverse history. I want to personally recognize and express my heartfelt gratitude to our retirees Anne Buschenfeldt, Steve Durning, and Heather and Ron Reid and to the many other faculty who have made a considerable impact over the past 124 years at Walnut Hill. It is both a time for us to acknowledge the efforts of those who have come before us and a perfect time for us to aim our sights at what is yet to come.
Antonio Viva Head of School
2017/2018
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SAYING GOODBYE
39 Years Adds Up to Amazing: Anne Buschenfeldt by Anne Murphy, Math Faculty Department Head for 30 years, I was confident that any student enrolled in Anne’s math class would come to the next level fully prepared.
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orn and raised right here in Natick, Massachusetts, the beloved Anne Buschenfeldt began her tenure at Walnut Hill not as a math teacher, but as a switchboard operator during the summers—yes, you heard that right! Back in the days before cell phones and REACH, a boarding student management tool, Anne followed in the familial footsteps of both her mother and her aunt, who were switchboard operators here on the Hill in the 1970s. After later graduating from Bridgewater State College and teaching math in the Norwell public school system, Anne was hired by Walnut Hill’s Head of School Robert Neilsen to teach math to 7th and 8th graders, whom the School had started accepting in 1979. Over the course of four decades, Anne has witnessed a wide array of changes to the curriculum and the campus here at Walnut Hill, including phasing out the skating and gymnastics programs (then housed in the “Dance Barn” and in the facility that would become the Keiter Center, respectively); joining the Bigelow and Conant buildings into what is now the Academic and Technology Center (ATC); and perhaps most dramatic, relaunching Walnut Hill as a full-fledged arts high school with majors in five disciplines. Anne has long considered her classroom here on campus a true “home away from home,” even though it’s only 1.25 miles from her actual longtime residence in Natick. Over the decades, she has given many hours in extra support and encouraged all students to “not fear math.” In my role as her 2 | Behind Stowe
What does she consider some highlights of her time here on the Hill? “So many times stand out,” she notes, “and I’ve been blessed to witness so many moving performances; but I especially remember the rendition of 'Silent Night' that Hee Seng Kye ’99 performed at Assembly many years ago—it was a truly beautiful moment.” Over the course of her tenure, Anne has come to fully appreciate the diversity of the community at the School, the high level of talent that students exhibit through their art majors, and the caring faculty with whom she’s had the pleasure to work each day. In her words, “This school has truly felt like a place where you are Free to Be You and Me.”
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This school has truly felt
like a place where you are
Free to Be You and Me.
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She also has fond memories of the 100th Anniversary of the School and all the joyous activities that marked such a special milestone. Now, almost 25 years later, Anne’s own special milestone is here. Next up on Anne’s agenda after retirement? Not surprising for this person rooted in family: “Spending more time with my sons, daughter, and grandchildren!” Also on the docket are plans to visit a national park or two, plus a few other sites in the states that she and her husband have added to their travel bucket list. In parting, Anne says she will genuinely miss the students—and at this point in her storied career, she has even taught some of the children of her former students!—as well as the teachers and staff with whom she has worked so closely all of these years. What won’t she miss? She laughs and promptly answers, “Comment writing!” ◆ ABOVE Anne Buschenfeldt celebrated with her husband, daughter, and son-in-law at the Reunion Weekend's After Hours festivities and tribute.
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Putting the Humanity in the Humanities: Steve Durning by Benjamin W. Gregg, Director of Academic Studies
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eacher, mentor, dean, advisor, counselor, friend. For nearly 40 years, Steve Durning has given himself to the work of teaching and learning at Walnut Hill, bringing a warmth and humanity to our community that has shaped everyone’s time here, student and faculty alike. I have known Steve Durning since I came to Walnut Hill 19 years ago, and I have often said of him as a teacher that he embodies a rare and wonderful combination of traits. On the one hand, he has tremendous experience as a teacher. Serving nearly four decades in the classroom qualifies him as, in the words of our former Head of School Stephanie Perrin, a “gnarled veteran.” Experience, of course, yields huge value for his students and for the rest of the faculty and staff. He has worked with literally thousands of Walnuts over the years, and built and rebuilt hundreds of lessons, projects, papers, plays, and myriad activities of every imaginable sort. On the other hand, for all of his experience, Steve is also the most adventurous and experimental teacher I have ever known. Never satisfied with playing it safe, he remains, even in this his retirement year, open to new ideas, new texts, new approaches, and new possibilities. He isn’t just willing to take interesting risks in his work; he actively looks for these opportunities. For example, who could forget the exhilarating fun
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Steve’s rich skills and wisdom, combined with his puckish
inventiveness and playfulness, make him a uniquely effective and memorable teacher.
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of working with him in his Art and Community class, where he invented projects that brought Walnuts to undertake collaborative art endeavors with local elementary school kids and to choreograph dances and write plays with the residents of local retirement homes? I remember working one afternoon with him on an activity to introduce creative collaboration to new students. By the time we were done that day, we had conceived a two-hour group project that involved 2017 / 2018
having the kids design and then mass-produce paper hats in a timed race. How did he get me to do that?! Steve’s rich skills and wisdom, combined with his puckish inventiveness and playfulness, make him a uniquely effective and memorable teacher and an inspiring colleague. But even more importantly, Steve has always understood that what matters most in working with kids is not the details of the tests, attendance records, texts, papers, assemblies, or any of the other standard components of education, but rather how students feel about themselves and their learning and if they feel understood and seen by their teachers. Ask any of the thousands of students who had a class with Steve over these many years, and they will tell you they remember what it felt like to be known and to be treated with kindness. So as he wraps up his final weeks of classes here at Walnut Hill, is it possible to measure the impact that Steve Durning has had on all of us Walnuts, young and old? How could we quantify such a legacy? There is no doubt that his time here has shaped the School and the community in profound and positive ways, but maybe the best measure of his legacy is in the hearts of all of us who have learned from him and worked with him. Mr. Durning, your Walnuts thank you, we will miss you more than you know, and we wish you a most joyous next chapter! ◆
ABOVE Steve Durning was accompanied by his wife, daughter, and sonin-law at a celebration to mark his 40 years of service to the School. Behind Stowe | 3
SAYING GOODBYE
Dynamic Duo: Heather and Ron Reid by Melissa Cassel, Dean of Students
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magine, for a minute, a building full of teenagers and all of the—ahem—excitement that life as a teenager entails: successes, struggles, breakups, messy/clean/messy rooms, fights, tears, hugs, high volume. Now imagine a young married couple, Heather and Ron Reid, straight from Scotland, stepping into New Cottage to fulfill the role of Dorm Parents to these kids. It’s now an amazing 35 years later, and the Reids have welcomed more than 500 Walnut Hill students over their threshold, and into their lives.
until you’ve seen it done Heather-style, dressed as a biker chick or Little Red Riding Hood. Her joy for the holiday has been contagious, leading students to flock to her apartment, not only for sweet treats but to have their photo taken (and cherished) by Mrs. Reid. Easter is another holiday tradition that Mrs. Reid has embraced yearly, by sponsoring an Easter Egg Hunt for our youngest Walnuts, complete with the Easter Bunny himself. My happiest Easter memories are of my own son excitedly coming down for Mrs. Reid’s egg hunt and telling me, “Mrs. Reid is pretty important if she is personal friends with the Easter Bunny.” Over the decades, Mrs. Reid has also served as our unofficial Walnut welcome wagon: without fail, she has delivered a goodie-filled basket to introduce new Dorm Parents properly to campus. Remembering special occasions is another mantle she has worn well: no birthday or wedding has gone by without a kind word, card, or gift from the Reids to commemorate the occasion.
What has made this dynamic duo so beloved on the Hill? Despite the fact that both Reids had “day jobs”—Ron as a math teacher here on campus and later at Newbury College, and Heather as a pathologist assistant in a nearby hospital—and were raising their own busy family, they simultaneously focused on giving of their time, talents, and tea (many, many cups of tea!) to embrace the community with open arms and an open door policy. That generous and genuine spirit is what has truly set the Reids apart. When I think back over the years, there are so many ways in which the Reids have shaped our community for the better. For example, you haven’t really experienced a Walnut Hill Halloween 4 | Behind Stowe
And oh, the tea and scones! Tea parties with the Reids became a true campus tradition, and seeing a teenager sitting daintily, sipping from china and stirring with silver, is a sight that has always made me smile. When Mrs. Reid began packing up the couple’s apartment to move to a smaller one on campus, she gifted me a tea cup and saucer (from her impressive collection), which are happily on display in my own home, along with one from my maternal grandmother. With each kind word said, gentle deed done, and cup of tea offered, the Reids have embodied our school motto Non Nobis Solum and dedicated their lives here to helping raise well-rounded, talented, caring, and compassionate young men and women. It’s so hard for me to imagine what Walnut Hill will be like without the Reids. Happily, though, they’ll be living right down the road in Natick in a place of their own, and I’ll look forward to popping over for tea . . . and comfort . . . and, of course, those scones! ◆ ABOVE Heather and Ron Reid welcomed family from near and far to toast to their combined 60 years of service to Walnut Hill.
www.walnuthillarts.org
125 YEARS
We’re Celebrating 125 Years! The coming year marks the 125th Anniversary of Walnut Hill! This is a momentous occasion and we invite you to be a part of our birthday festivities throughout the year and around the globe. We’ll bring the cake and the party hats, you just need to register for the event nearest you at www.walnuthillarts.org/125
PLEASE JOIN US IN Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts Portland, Maine Natick, Massachusetts Taipei, Taiwan Seoul, South Korea Florida Boston, Massachusetts
Los Angeles, California Beijing, China Shenzhen, China Shanghai, China San Francisco, California New York City, New York Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
PLEASE JOIN US ON CAMPUS FOR OUR SIGNATURE EVENT OF THE YEAR,
HOMECOMING, NOVEMBER 2–4. WE’LL BE CELEBRATING WITH A HOST OF ARTISTICALLY INSPIRED ENDEAVORS, INCLUDING A SMALL WORKS VISUAL ART SHOW, A FULL MUSICAL PRODUCTION, AND AN OUTDOOR MURAL PROJECT.
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ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
To: Walnut Hill Alumni Subject: Stay Connected with the Alumni Association From: Evangeline Delgado ’11, edelgado@walnuthillarts.org Alumni Association Chair, Director of Summer Student Life
Dear Walnuts,
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hat did you bring home with you when you walked off campus for the last time as a student? Was it the feeling of accomplishment and relief, or friendships with schoolmates whom you still text and call today . . . or did you take an actual object such as your graduation cap, your favorite book from the common room of your dorm, your paintbrushes? I remember my final backward glance at Walnut Hill as a student as my family drove off the Hill. It was the farewell to a home that made me brave and creative. It was also a challenge to take forward all that I had learned to become the person I wanted to be. Seven years later, my life is so different from what my 17-year-old self had expected, but the
experiences of Walnut Hill have continued to be ever present in my life, even as I depart from my artistic pursuits and find meaning in pursuing my career and reconnecting with my school in a new way. Last year, we announced the formation of the Alumni Association and a team of Officers who would get on the ground to start the work of bringing alumni back to Walnut Hill. In our first year, we have learned valuable lessons about organization, communication, and the complexities of how life sometimes prevents us from remembering, connecting, and engaging with Walnut Hill. We also looked at the unique demographics of the School’s alumni community, better understanding
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1: Constantine Baecher ’01 hosted Walnut Hill alumni at his apartment in New York City with Director of Dance Michael Owen as a faculty guest. 2: Joe Walsh ’06 hosted a lively group of Walnut alumni, including Assistant Director of Alumni Giving & Engagement Garrett Murphy ’08 at a local eatery in San Francisco. 3: Lisa Kim ’06 organized a festive event in Seoul, Korea, to welcome area alums, Assistant Director of Admission Lela Paultre, Director of Artistic Studies and Visual Art Jim Woodside, Assistant Director of Alumni Giving & Engagement Garrett Murphy ’08, and Head of School Antonio Viva.
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the challenges and opportunities that we face as we continue our efforts of reaching out to fellow Walnuts. The role of the Alumni Association is to connect alumni with one another and with the School. Our team of Officers helps facilitate those connections, and with more than 5,000 living alumni around the world, this is not a simple task. As we continue to roll out our goals, we must start by building a strong
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I remember my final backward glance at Walnut Hill as a student as my family drove off the Hill. It was the farewell to a home that made me brave and creative.
2017 / 2018
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LET’S STAY IN TOUCH! WE’D LOVE TO HAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS— SEND YOUR CURRENT ONE TO ALUMNI@WALNUTHILLARTS.ORG OR CALL THE ALUMNI OFFICE AT 508.650.5064.
foundation. In the past year, we have made steps toward giving those relationships a solid footing. With gatherings in more than 20 cities—including Kennebunkport, New York City, Indianapolis, Chicago, San Francisco, Taipei, and Seoul—we have reconnected and brainstormed with alums and set the groundwork for another year of strengthening relationships that will help us offer opportunities for engagement with both fellow alumni and current students. This means that we have to think Behind Stowe | 7
ALUMNI ASSOCIATION creatively about how we continue to celebrate Walnut Hill while balancing the changing structure of our lives and how alumni want to be engaged. Our team of Alumni Association Officers is continuing this work throughout 2018, but we need the support of the rest of our alumni to reach out with ideas and hopes for this community. The strength of our community will be enriched by the stories we have and the various paths that we have each taken in our lives. I invite you to contact Garrett Murphy ’08, myself, or any other Officer
to become involved or to share your thoughts. Whether you find yourself back on campus or reaching out virtually, we look forward to reconnecting with you. So what will you bring back to campus? Your story, your art, your lessons learned, your expertise, your family? No matter where your life has led you, there are invaluable things that we can each offer one another as well as the generations of students who continue to create and learn on the Hill. â—†
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2 1: Boston-area alumni joined faculty and staff at local hotspot Coppersmith. 2: Marcia Matthews '63 hosted a luncheon at her home in Kennebunkport, ME.
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ALUMNI VOICES
Catching Up with Andrew Whitfield ’96 Each month, via our alumni e-newsletter, we "catch up" with our alumni in various walks of life to share the rich stories of our unique community. What follows are just three of the journeys we’ve chronicled this year, and we invite you to read more at walnuthillarts.org/alumni/news.
Originally from Brookline, Massachusetts, Andrew Whitfield is currently serving as Opera San Jose’s Resident Conductor and Chorus Master. He moved to the Bay Area six years ago from New York City, where he served as Music Director for the Amato Opera, conducting nearly 200 performances of two dozen operas. He joined the OSJ’s music staff in January of 2011, and chatted with us about where life has taken him since his days as a Walnut.
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What brought you to Walnut Hill originally, and what was your experience like as a music student here?
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Before I came to Walnut Hill, I was participating in musical activities almost every day. Even though my entire friend network was from orchestras and choruses, I could tell that for my friends it was just another extracurricular activity, whereas for me it was my life. Coming to Walnut Hill exposed me to a group of amazing artists who shared my single-minded passion, even if it was in a discipline totally foreign to my own. It is hard not to flourish in an environment where executing dazzling feats of artistic excellence was just another Tuesday.
opera. My first was La Traviata in 2003. In truth, I had no idea what I was doing, but he saw something and let me conduct more and more. When the theater closed, I moved to San Francisco to get my master’s degree in orchestral conducting. While in my last semester, I got the job as Chorus Master at Opera San Jose, and then later they added the role of Resident Conductor to my duties. I’ve conducted 16 different productions with Opera San Jose, and have had the opportunity to join the music staffs at San Francisco Opera, San Francisco Symphony, and Minnesota Opera.
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Catch us up on the years since you graduated—what did you do after Walnut Hill, and how did that lead you to your current position as Resident Conductor for Opera San Jose?
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The road to where I am now was very curvy. After getting my bachelor’s degree in voice, I moved to New York City, where I became involved with a tiny opera troupe called the Amato Opera. It was more or less an amateur affair, but we would do six different productions a year. I started in the chorus and soon moved up to singing leading roles. I am not sure why, but the director got the idea that I should conduct an 2017 / 2018
Do you have any advice or words of wisdom for our newest alumni who are just entering the "real world"?
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Try to be focused, yet flexible, as you navigate this path. When I started, I just assumed I would be an opera singer. However, bit by bit, I felt fate pulling me toward a different direction, which in the end turned out to be more fulfilling than I could have ever imagined. The journey to this point has given me a wealth of varied experiences, which in turn has allowed me to approach music more holistically than if I had stuck to the path I laid out for myself when I was at Walnut Hill. ◆ Behind Stowe | 9
ALUMNI VOICES
Catching Up with Margaret Kemp ’81 Q Margaret Kemp is a Massachusetts native. Since graduating from Walnut Hill, she’s had a productive and impressive career as an actor and a director, and is currently an associate professor of theatre and dance at the University of California, Davis. Recent solo performance awards include a Ping Chong Performance Fellowship (2018), Lucas Arts Fellowship (2017), and Montalvo Arts Fellowship (2017), as well as an Artist-in-Residence Award from Headlands Center for the Arts (2017). We chatted with Margaret about her beginnings in the theater and her future plans.
Catch us up on the years since you graduated—what did you do after Walnut Hill, and how did that lead you to the career you have now?
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After graduating from Northwestern University, I started my professional career in Chicago. From Chicago I moved on to working in regional theater, and while performing at Arena Stage in Washington, DC, I was spotted by Michael Kahn (from Juilliard and the Shakespeare Theatre), who asked me to apply to his M.F.A. program, which I attended on a full fellowship. While earning my M.F.A., I started writing and performing as a solo artist. I toured the world as a solo performer—visiting such locations as Africa, Greece, and Australia—and then started offering theater classes to underserved communities in Los Angeles, while working as a guest artist around the globe. My last guest artist position resulted in my being hired as a tenured faculty member at University of California, Davis, as the head of undergraduate acting. I maintain a traditional theater and film practice as an actor, and my upcoming films include Ten-Cent Daisy and Dark Rite. Currently, I am co-directing The Bluest Eye at UC Davis: the first show from an African American perspective ever produced on campus, and also the first time puppetry is being used as part of the storytelling. I feel really proud to have conceived, organized, and directed the project.
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What brought you to Walnut Hill originally? Do you have a favorite memory from those years? My earliest theater memory is of when my parents took me to see Shakespeare in the Park on the campus of Harvard University. I also attended afterschool programs at the Elma Lewis School in Roxbury. By the time I was in high school, arts training was no longer available in my neighborhood, and Boston was embroiled in the busing crisis. I found a book in which the lead character went to a boarding school and was involved in a drama club. So I went to the Yellow Pages and found three schools like the one in the book. I ordered applications, filled them out, and then told my parents my plan—they were both surprised and supportive! Walnut Hill seemed the best fit. 1 0 | Behind Stowe
Do you have any advice or words of wisdom for our newest alumni who are just entering the “real world”? Learn as much as you can about the world and your art. Learn to ask questions to deepen your understanding. Make your voice heard. In the span of a long career, you will be tasked to bring every experience into your work. My early years at Walnut Hill, during which I learned to listen to my teachers and respect my peers, are the foundation that I still stand on today! ◆
www.walnuthillarts.org
Catching Up with Emily Weissman Schindler ’89 After a career in screenwriting and film directing, Emily Weissman Schindler switched gears. She and her husband followed their shared passion and opened their own wine import business, focusing on wines from Austria, Germany, Italy, and France.
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Tell us about your post–Walnut Hill journey. Where did you go after graduation, and how did it lead you to where you are today?
and we’re now importing wines as well as making our own wine here in California. In 2016, we were inducted into the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Sacavin in the Loire, and it was utterly surreal: Men in striped tights marching with trumpets blaring. Others in long robes and pointy hats. Being tapped on each shoulder with a staff that was a 100-year-
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My first stop was NYU Tisch School of the Arts as a film major. The program was fantastic— you’re thrown right in with lots of film classes alongside the usual basics needed for the degree. I took a “gap year” halfway through to study poetry and creative writing at the Lacoste School of the Arts in France. I would love to tell you that I learned to speak French while I was there, but I am absolutely useless at learning languages. I did, however, continue my appreciation for wine that my parents instilled in me from a young age. A seed was planted—if you are educated with the idea to be open to anything, a whole bunch of lovely seeds are likely to be planted as you wander through the world. Upon my return to NYU, I completed my B.F.A. with an honors certificate and the screenwriting award, and then worked as a screenwriter. Then I applied to the American Film Institute to get my master’s degree in directing. After AFI, I hustled around for a while, followed my thesis film from film festival to film festival, and picked up jobs here and there. I won’t tell you the name of the trailer I was paid to write and direct, but I will tell you that I dragged along two Walnut alumni to act in it (thank you, Benny and Eddie!), and frankly, sometimes even when the project isn’t exactly the gritty black-andwhite independent film you thought you’d be making when you started college, it’s still a damned good time to do that thing you love (especially on somebody else’s dime).
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How have the skills you learned at Walnut Hill been useful in your career?
old vine, followed by a grand dinner at a château. It could have been the Boar’s Head Feast! You really never know which situations in life you are being prepared for during your time as a Walnut.
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Do you have any advice for our aspiring young artists?
Persistence, persistence, persistence. You’ll have setbacks and you’ll have to take jobs that are not exactly the dream. But the people I see who have “made it” are the ones who never gave up. And if your heart leads you in a different direction? Follow it. ◆
t Walnut Hill, I was taught to think outside the box—to push myself to try new things without fear. I knew nothing about the wine business when my husband and I decided to start our company, but it never occurred to me that that might be a problem. We just went for it and didn’t give up, 2017 / 2018
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1: Ken Tighe, former Head of School Stephanie Perrin, Holly Worthington, Jim Woodside, Linda Tighe, and Sudi Gozashti ’80 2: Julie Frabotta ’87 and Robert Ceccarelli 3: Rose Antoinette Bellino ’11 performing "Spargi d’amore pianto" from Lucia di Lammermoor with Angela Gooch at the piano 4: Head of School Antonio Viva, Dean of Students Melissa Cassel, and Alumni Association Officer Eric Herbst ’09 5: Ellen Sears Medvitz, David Medvitz, and Amy Sears Munankarmi ’02 6: Sue Gagne, Alison Mansour, Nancy Fraser, Anne Murphy, Jackie Sand, and Jan MacBeth 7: James DeMuth and Leah Reid ’04 8: Paula Wilson ’97 giving a tribute to retiree Anne Buschenfeldt 9: Former Director of Music Patty Thom with Dean of Students Melissa Cassel, Director of Chamber Music Laura Thielke, and Director of Alumni Giving & Engagement Garrett Murphy ’08 1 2 | Behind Stowe
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REUNION WEEKEND
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10: Aidan Basile ’08 and Chi-Wei Lo ’10 11: Faculty members Diane Crawford-Kelly, Eileen Muller, and Jay Crawford-Kelly, with Dailin Zeng ’16 and Trustee Cathy Chan 12: Trustee Trish Davidson ’83 and Alumni Association Chair Evangeline Delgado ’11 paying tribute to retiree Steve Durning 13: Eliza Sherlock-Lewis Tollett ’08 and Geoff Tollett 14: Head of School Antonio Viva and retirees Anne Buschenfeldt, Heather and Ron Reid, and Steve Durning, with Board President Betsy Paine McClendon ’65 15: Janet Carol Norton ’88 and Melissa Pontes Surprenant ’88 16: Joshua Holden ’01, Beckett Azevedo ’17, Annie Palmer ’17, and Olivia Flowers ’17 17: Trustee Justine Hand ’88 encouraging her fellow alumni to contribute to naming seats in the Delbridge Family Center for the Arts in honor of the retirees 18: James Naughton, Sara Sessions ’87, Jane Hahn Watkins ’88, Liberty Bradford ’88, Adam Griffin ’88, and Justine Hand ’88
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REUNION WEEKEND
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11 1: Hillery Barker Tura ’68, Isabel Curtis Baldridge ’68, Sue Griffey ’68, Dorli Van Lengen Bokel ’68, Meg Van de Water Skidmore ’68, Brenda Burden Paull ’68, Anne Gross Beal ’68, Jane Herrick Mueller '68, and Joyce Yaffee ’68 2: Maria Freda with Anne Winslow Carlson ’65 3: Beth Griffey ’77, Karen Griffey ’70, Sue Griffey ’68, Robin Griffey ’74 4: Harriet Rovniak ’19, Candie Shelton Spears ’98, John-Warren Spears, Emily Gannett ’98, Susanna Schell Cerrato ’98, Chelsea Morse ’98, James Ellis ’98, Erica Gannett ’02, and Isabella Amoruso ’20 5: Brenda Burden Paull ’68, Dorli Van Lengen Bokel ’68, Catherine van de Velde Lambe ’68, Hillery Barker Tura ’68, Jane Herrick Mueller ’68, Meg Van de Water Skidmore ’68, Anne Gross Beal ’68, Sue Griffey ’68, Marsha Winslow Wilder ’68, Isabel Curtis Baldridge ’68, and Nancy Gilday Spark ’68 6: Joyce Yaffee ’68 with Isabel Curtis Baldridge ’68 7: Brenda Burden Paull ’68, Sue Griffey ’68, Isabel Curtis Baldridge ’68, Beth Griffey ’77, Robin Griffey ’74, Nancy Gilday Spark ’68, Marsha Winslow Wilder ’68, Karen Griffey ’70 8: Sue Griffey ’68, Marsha Winslow Wilder ’68, and Anne Gross Beal ’68 9: Deborah Swanson Handy ’63, Marcia Hunter Matthews ’63, Pam Apostol Kukla ’63, and Claire Willis ’63 10: Baila Issokson Janock ’58, Lois Lopatin ’58, Mary Martha Pallotta Llewellyn ’58, and Marcia Hall ’58 11: Betsy Paine McClendon ’65 encourages her fellow alumnae to support Walnut Hill School for the Arts 2017 / 2018
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CLASS NOTES
Class Notes at Walnut Hill Submit Class Notes online at walnuthillarts.org/ alumni or email alumni@ walnuthillarts.org. We love including your photos in Class Notes. Photos should be at least 300 dpi and no less than 5 inches wide. Please feel free to contact us with questions . . . we want to make sure your photos look terrific.
1948
Antonio Viva and Jennifer TumSuden recently visited LUCINDA BUNNEN at her Atlanta home and studio. Lucinda remains an active and successful artist and is currently working on a book to be published this fall. Lucinda is the 2018 honoree of the Museum of
Contemporary Art of Georgia gala, and an exhibition of her works was on view at MOCA GA from March 20 to May 19. The exhibition, Lucinda, featured the debut of five new acquisitions, Ponds, as well as works from her Nicaragua series.
1949
Antonio Viva and Garrett Murphy ’08 had lunch with SUE SMITH YEAW at her home in Ponte Vedra, FL. Sue maintains a busy social calendar and is involved with several meaningful endeavors in Florida, including the Wounded Warrior Project.
1950
Garrett Murphy ’08 enjoyed having lunch with CYNTHIA JONES this fall in New London, N.H. Cynthia appreciates the many arts offerings within driving distance, including the Metropolitan Opera Live in HD broadcasts.
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1960
1958
1963
JOAN TOWER’S residency at New England Conservatory concluded with a concert celebration of her 80th birthday this February in the Plimpton Shattuck Black Box Theatre. The concert featured NEC faculty and students performing Joan’s compositions.
In 2016, WENDY VILAS GRAHAM married Georges Mihaies, a French citizen. Wendy is a vice president of Washington Securities Corporation in Chevy Chase, MD.
Bob and JANE KEITER visited campus on October 1, 2017, along with many other Walnut Hill luminaries, to attend the standing-room-only memorial service for former Walnut Hill Trustee, Chip Wright.
MARCIA HUNTER MATTHEWS hosted a luncheon at her summer home in Kennebunkport, ME last August. In attendance were Eleonore Sanderson ’52, Connie Cross ’59, Meg Fallon Wheeler ’62, Ginny Turner Friberg ’62, Sarah Cross Mills ’62, Priscilla Coffin ’62, Jane Murphy Leavitt
1951
MARTY WHITING COX welcomed Antonio Viva and Garrett Murphy ’08 for lunch at her home in Florida. Marty was excited to share her ideas about celebrating Walnut Hill’s 125th Anniversary in her state.
1954
ABOVE Antonio Viva and Lucinda Bunnen '48
1956
LOIS BERG and husband Burt dropped by the campus in late October. They were given a tour of the Delbridge Family Center for the Arts and visited with Head of School Antonio Viva. Lois and Burt split their time between Worcester and Cape Cod.
1940/2015/2016
MOLLY DOBSON ’40 attended a performance of Me and My Girl at the University of Michigan this spring, and greeted performer ALEXANDRA BERUBE ’16 (appearing as Pearly Queen and Dancer) after the show. The production also featured JUSTIN SHOWELL ’15 as Sir Jasper Tring and SYDNEY SHEPHERD ’15 as Lady Diss. www.walnuthillarts.org
1949/1952
ABOVE Wendy Vilas Graham ’58 and husband George Mihaies
’62, Anne Burr Mobley ’63, Martha Flynn Cunningham ’63, and Garrett Murphy ’08. Marcia provided tasty fare, including delicious lobster rolls, and the conversation included updates about travels and grandkids and reminiscing about Walnut Hill.
1964
JOAN LOVEJOY joined JANE GILDAY, Mollie Tower Byrnes ’63, Betsy Paine McClendon ’65, Nicole Gakidis ’81/P’18, Trish Davidson ’83, Justine Hand ’88, Jordan McCullough ’94, Garrett Murphy ’08, and several trustees and parents for a memorable evening at the Boston Pops. The concert celebrated Leonard Bernstein’s Centennial and featured Head of Voice Teresa Winner Blume and Voice faculty member Matt Anderson. All felt tremendous pride when conductor Keith Lockhart gave a special shout-out to Walnut Hill from the stage.
NANCY MOSER CONVERSE ’49 and JUDITH MOSER MCCUTCHEON ’52 live in the same senior retirement community, Meramec Bluffs, near St. Louis. Nancy lives in a patio home with husband Chuck, and Judith lives in an independent living apartment across the street. This is the first time in many years that the two have been this close to each other. Judith moved to the area from Texas in 2014 to be nearer to her niece after her husband, Clint, passed away, while Nancy and Chuck moved from Tucson in 2015. Both women love living in this community.
A collection of BARBARA SMITHSON’S original paintings was displayed at the Pence Gallery in Davis, CA, this spring.
1966
RUTH MILNE SCHIFANI was named Lawyer of the Year in the area of banking and finance law by Best Lawyers 2018.
1972
BARBARA GOLDBERG joined Jason Ward ’89, Heather Gehring-Plotkin ’91, Caroline Almy ’06, Christine Luciano ’08, Garrett Murphy ’08, and Trustee Amini Kajunju to see a performance of Miss Saigon on Broadway in December. The cast included fellow alumni Paul Miller ’05, Nick Christopher ’08, and Travis Ward Osborne ’09. NANCY HACKBARTH MURRAY has been named CAREGiver of the Year by the Home Instead Senior Care Office serving Portage County, OH. She has been a CAREGiver since April 2016.
Notes from the Hill
Ariane “Kippy” Sage ’18 took Third Place in the Page Waterman Gallery’s 2nd Annual NEXT UP Juried Art Exhibition for high school students with her oil painting Florence. More than 100 works, including paintings, pottery, photographs, and sculptures, were submitted by students from Wellesley and other communities. Prizes included memberships to the Museum of Fine Arts, the Institute of Contemporary Art, and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.
Walnut Hill music majors Julide San ’19, Sean Diehl ’19, and Keina Satoh ’19 all won this year’s New England Conservatory Preparatory School competition.
LEFT Joan Lovejoy ’64 and Trustee Janet Pattillo at Boston Pops in May 2017 / 2018
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CLASS NOTES
1977
SANDRA VALHOULI EVEN teaches classical ballet at the University of Hartford Community Dance Division, often sending dance students to the Walnut Hill Summer Program. She also mentors collegiate dance students at the University of Hartford pedagogy program. Sandra credits Sydelle Gomberg with encouraging her throughout her years at Walnut Hill to follow her passion for teaching classical ballet.
1978
DONNA SACCO graduated from George Mason University in Fairfax, VA, this spring with a doctorate in special education. Last August, she started a new position as a clinical assistant professor at the University of North
Carolina at Charlotte. Donna continues to present at national conferences and has a book chapter and journal articles in publication.
1979
KATIE SWITZER PELLETIER and her husband celebrated the arrival of their sixth grandchild in September. Although they are both still working, they are looking forward to retirement and the chance to spend more time with their three daughters and their families.
1980
ANNE CHENEY moved from Greenpoint, Brooklyn, to Jackson Heights, Queens, a few years ago and loves living in the
heart of the most culturally diverse neighborhood in NYC. She spent much of the past six years designing lighting for Tiffany & Co. jewelry stores around the world and is about to start a new chapter of her career, getting back to design for museums, schools, and churches and a variety of other projects. She is happy with the change, and still uses everything she learned in dance composition for composing with light.
1981
MARGARET KEMP directed The Bluest Eye at the University of California, Davis, this May. The production was co-directed by Janni Younge, best known for her puppetry work in the Broadway and international productions of War Horse.
1983
This fall, HAE SUN PAIK will return to her alma mater, New England Conservatory, as a member of the piano faculty.
1984
JENNIFER FINK’S new novel, Bhopal Dance, was published in March by University of Alabama Press and won the Catherine Doctorow Innovative Fiction Prize from FC2 Press.
1985
MAYA CIARROCCHI is the projection designer for the Broadway transfer of the critically acclaimed musical The Band’s Visit. Based on the multi-award-winning film of the same name, the Broadway show just won 10 Tony Awards, including for the creative team of David Yazbek, Itamar Moses, and director David Cromer. Performances are at the Barrymore Theatre in NYC.
1988
JUSTINE HAND has been very involved with the Alumni Association this year in addition to her duties as a trustee. Most recently she hosted a special gathering at her home for alumni from the 1980s. Those in attendance were treated to homemade lasagna, cocktails, and
LEFT WFMA Director Margaret Funkhouser and Director of Academic Studies Ben Gregg caught up with Christine Waggoner ’95 (and a Lego Buzz Lightyear) at Pixar Animation Studios in March. 1 8 | Behind Stowe
www.walnuthillarts.org
CLASS NOTES Gordon, which premiered at the Prototype Festival in January.
1999/2008
HEE SENG KYE ’99, who arranged the version of “Silent Night” that is played at the Walnut Hill Holiday Assembly each December, met up with GARRETT MURPHY ’08 at the Hanyang University in Seoul this March. Hee Seng is a full-time professor of music research and musicology at the university. After Walnut Hill, he attended Juilliard and Queens College, then joined the military before moving to Hong Kong to work on his Ph.D. Hee Seng lives outside of Seoul with his wife, also a musician.
special performances by current voice students Runyu Fung ’18 and Blair Jia ’19.
1990
MICHELLE GAAL RAIDER is the founder and director of the River City Youth Ballet Ensemble and School of the River City Youth Ballet, and was recently interviewed in the Charleston Gazette-Mail.
1991
BROOK BROUGHTON has been dancing for the San Francisco Opera since 2005, but is getting ready to make a career transition, having applied to nursing school. She is happy to say, however, that all her years of dance training served her well during a 25-year career as a paid and unionized ballet dancer. 2017 / 2018
Chicago Sinfonietta, helmed by music director MEI-ANN CHEN, was lauded this year for programming a higher percentage of works by women composers than any other orchestra in the country. Over 40% of the works that the Sinfonietta played this season were composed by women.
1992
NICOLE GALLANT CRISS moved last year with her family to Antananarivo, Madagascar, where she and her husband will work at the U.S. Embassy for three years. Nicole is a French translator. You can also find her among the palm trees, searching for chameleons. AMELIA WATKINS appeared as Brainy Woman in Acquanetta, a new opera by Michael
Notes from the Hill
1993
SARA DENSLOWGONZALEZ DOWNING is presenting a solo photography show, Joy 2.0, from June 4 to August 12 at the Spinster Sisters Restaurant in Santa Rosa, CA.
1995
After winning its viola section audition earlier this year, KATHRYN SIEVERS will be joining the Boston Symphony Orchestra. This past September, MAARIANA VIKSE released her debut single, "Rebellious Love," an opera and trap mashup of the famous Habanera segment from Carmen. WFMA Director Margaret Funkhouser and Director of Academic Studies Ben Gregg caught up with CHRISTINE WAGGONER at Pixar Animation Studios in March, shortly after Coco, her latest film project, won an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. Christine joined Pixar in 1999. Outside of work, she devotes her time to family and her role as president of the Cure GM1 Foundation, which she and her husband founded in 2015 in honor of their daughter, Iris, and all those affected by GM1 gangliosidosis. The foundation has raised millions of dollars for medical research to find a cure for this debilitating disease.
Rachel Chambers, Walnut Hill visual art faculty member and Director of our Summer Visual Art Program, spoke at the Fuller Craft Museum on March 23 for Ignite Craft: Boston. Her work was included in the museum’s 2018 Biennial Members Exhibition that opened in April. Her work was also showcased in After a Fashion, a members exhibition at Arts Worcester. Pictured: Red Landscape #2, mixedmedia piece.
Music major Yini “Nancy” Pan ’19 went on tour with New England Conservatory Preparatory School’s Massachusetts Youth Wind Ensemble, including a visit to the Eternal City, Rome.
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CLASS NOTES
Notes from the Hill Congratulations to the Walnut Hill students who received recognition in the Massachusetts Region of the 2018 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards competition: Jordan Barrant ’18, Meghana Basi ’21, Lidia Calixte ’21, Manasi Eswarapu ’19, Eunji Huh ’19, Haotian “Tiger” Ji ’19, Karen Morey ’18, Lucia Mulligan ’18, Alexandria Roberts ’19, Dai “Debby” Shi ’21, Jian “Chili” Shi ’18, and Fangzhuo “Wendy” Tang ’21. These students received a total of 23 awards, including 5 Gold Keys, 8 Silver Keys, and 10 Honorable Mentions.
1996
MELISSA REARDON has been appointed the new artistic director of the Portland Chamber Music Festival, beginning this September. Previously, this position was held by Jennifer Elowitch, Director of Music at Walnut Hill and the founding artistic director of PCMF. REBECCA SMEDLEYSCHULMAN SACHDEV just celebrated her fiveyear wedding anniversary and is now course leader and head of dance at JP Academy in High Wycombe, UK. Her latest project is Lara Danceworks, creating bespoke dance entertainment for weddings and corporate events. She has also just finished editing and formatting a book written by her colleague Taira Foo, Pocket Guide for Dancers.
1997 The Van Vessem Gallery in Tiverton, RI, opened Lucis et Umbrae, an exhibit featuring the work of our Director of Artistic Studies, Jim Woodside, this past fall. Pictured: Found Pieces, oil paint on panel.
YULHEE KIM was recently hired by Ewha University’s School of Business to join the faculty for their new M.B.A.
ABOVE Melissa Reardon ’96 in promotional materials for PCMF.
program, Global Art and Luxury Business. She joins a roster of global luxury brand representatives and art professionals in the areas of art, fashion, and food (luxury dining business). Yulhee encourages her fellow Walnuts in Korea to apply to the program! WALKER VREELAND presented his autobiographical monologue, From Ship to Shape, as part of the United Solo Festival this past fall in New York City. After a sold-out first performance in September, the festival added an October performance to accommodate the crowds. Developed with Drama Desk–nominated director Scott Schwartz, From Ship to Shape went on to United Solo following a successful run at the Vineyard Playhouse on Martha’s Vineyard.
1998
CHARLIE HODGES gave a talk at a TEDx event in October on the subject of “learning from the fall.” He spoke about overcoming and coping with failures.
1999
ADAM SCHNELL is thrilled to report that Ballet Vero Beach has reached a milestone: its fifth anniversary season. The company, founded by Schnell, celebrated all year long. The season featured works by longtime Walnut Hill faculty member Samuel Kurkjian, Schnell, and company ballet master Camilo A. Rodriguez.
2000
DAVID FULMER conducted Philip Glass’s The Fall of the House of Usher at Mannes Conservatory in February.
ABOVE Kee-Hyun Kim ’01 and Nancy Wilson
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www.walnuthillarts.org
CAROLYN SCANLAN is currently living in Seoul, South Korea, where she teaches English. She plans to move to Vietnam to continue teaching.
ABOVE Antonio Viva and Kate Hutter ’00 reconnect in Los Angeles.
KATE HUTTER, who serves on Walnut Hill’s Board of Trustees, welcomed Head of School Antonio Viva and Chief Advancement Officer Marie Longo to Los Angeles in April and toured them through the Renaissance Arts Academy, a K–12 charter school for the arts where Kate has taught dance. She and husband Eric grew their family of three in December with the addition of a son. AMIE MIRIELLO appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! this May, performing with country music duo Sugarland.
2001
KEE-HYUN KIM reunited with former faculty member Nancy Wilson at a recent per formance in Blue Hill, ME, with his Grammy Award–winning ensemble, the Parker Quartet.
2017 / 2018
2002
CHRISSY ANGLIKER’S most recent solo show, “PAINT/ING/S,” opened in October in Baden, Switzerland. The Telegraph Quartet, which includes PEI-LING LIN, recently performed at Carnegie Weill Recital Hall. In 2016, they won the Walter W. Naumburg Chamber Music Award. Pei-Ling is currently on the faculty of San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
2003
The Apple Hill String Quartet, featuring mezzosoprano JAZIMINA MACNEIL, performed a concert on May 5 at Bass Hall in Peterborough, NH. The concert included the New England premiere of Five Animal Stories for String Octet and Narrator by Mike Kelley.
RILEY WATTS choreographed a piece for Bangor Ballet’s May 2017 production, Variety Paq, in which dancers honored the legacy of the company’s founding artistic director, Ivy Clear-Forrest. Riley, one of her first students, returned to Bangor Ballet to choreograph the piece "Points Beginning" in a collaborative process, using improvisation and the dancers’ individual movement styles to influence the work. In September, Riley presented a durational piece entitled “Thinking Space” at the Museum of Fine Arts. This spring, he collaborated with Prometheus Dance to create a piece entitled “veil iii,” which was presented at Walnut Hill in April. JANNA WHITE’S first book, The Monastery and the Microscope: Conversations with the Dalai Lama on Mind, Mindfulness, and the Nature of Reality (co-edited with Wendy Hasenkamp), was released by Yale University Press in September.
2004
MATTHEW BRETSCHNEIDER appeared as Damis in Tartuffe at the Huntington Theatre in the fall. He can also be seen in the Hulu series The Path.
Notes from the Hill
Several Walnut Hill students participated in the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Boston student auditions on February 10. Categories included Classical Voice or Musical Theater Voice, in both junior high school and high school divisions. This was a wonderful opportunity to present audition material for written feedback from voice teachers across the Boston area. Top winners received prize money and scholarship opportunities to programs such as the Boston University Tanglewood Institute and the Boston Conservatory Summer Voice Institute. Walnuts, as always, represented very well! Margaret Maloney ’18 — Preliminary Round, Honorable Mention (4th Place), Classical Voice; Blair Jia ’19, Semifinalist, Classical Voice; Runyu Feng ’18, Semifinal Round, Honorable Mention (4th Place), Classical Voice; Chrystal Chen ’18, Final Round, 2nd Place, Classical Voice; Kate Ruddy ’19, Semifinalist, Musical Theater Voice; Bella Ansin ’20, Final Round, 3rd Place, Musical Theater Voice.
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CLASS NOTES
2007/2013/2017
TONY RYMER ’07, YI QUN XU ’13, and EVREN OZEL ’17 will perform this summer at Marlboro Music, an annual chamber music festival in residence at Marlboro College in Vermont.
on the Chandos label. Anna was also recently named to the violin faculty of Longy School of Music, where the trio was hired as Faculty Ensemble-in-Residence for the 2017–2018 academic year.
2005
MEREDITH CRAWFORD was recently named principal violist for the Pacific Symphony in Southern California.
ABOVE Jimmy Fowlie ’04
JOHANNA BRONK is now living in Boston and is active as a singer and voice teacher. In June, she attended the Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme, where she studied with acclaimed mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter. JIMMY FOWLIE resurrected So Long, Boulder City, his take on La La Land’s fictional onewoman show, at the Celebration Theatre in Los Angeles this past October. Written by Fowlie and Jordan Black, So Long, Boulder City played to sold-out audiences during its first run last August. 2 2 | Behind Stowe
ANNIE MOOR is in the cast of a weekly improvised musical, Premiere. The show is performed every Friday night at 10pm at the Magnet Theater in NYC. Annie is also on the faculty at the Magnet Theater, teaching musical improvisation, and recently returned to Walnut Hill to work with our theater students. The Neave Trio, featuring violinist ANNA WILLIAMS, was signed by Jensen Artists following the success of their 2016 album, American Moments. Earlier this year, they released a second album, French Moments,
On Mother’s Day, the Moirae Ensemble, directed by CATHERINE HANCOCK and in collaboration with Sandcastle New Music Collective, presented a concert entitled Eleven Steps to Breaking Up a Hart: Celebrating Women in Contemporary Music and Poetry. Catherine founded the Moirae Ensemble in 2011 with a classmate from Juilliard. The ensemble performs works that address a range of humanitarian concerns, with a focus on women composers and women’s issues. BRIGA HEELAN costarred with Demetri Martin and Kevin Kline in Dean, a film which won the Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature
at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival. The film had a limited release last June. Briga also stars in Great News on NBC, which recently finished its second season. EMILY DAGGETT SMITH performed at National Sawdust in Brooklyn this February as part of its Classical Sundays Program. Along with percussionist Ian Rosenbaum and cellist/composer Andrea Casarrubios, she performed the new work “Liberty Rose Weeping.” In May, Emily played at the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater, in an event presented by Washington Performing Arts.
2006
LIAM BURKE played in the clarinet section for the Metropolitan Opera’s run of Elektra this past season. In April, he and wife Julia DeRosa welcomed a son, David, to the world. JENNY LAI and ANDREA CHEN visited campus this April, their first time back on the Hill in nearly 12 years. They reunited with Dorm Parent Ruby Woodside ’05 and Director of Artistic
ABOVE Emily Daggett Smith ’05
www.walnuthillarts.org
Studies Jim Woodside in the Visual Art Department, their old stomping grounds. JENNY LAI is currently living in a studio on NYC’s Upper West Side, out of which she creates seasonal collections for her brand called NOT. Her collection is sold at Flying Solo, a two-floor independent designer store in SoHo that shows at New York Fashion Week every year. Jenny also often collaborates with contemporary classical musicians and dancers to design custom performancewear for the stage. JORDAN PIANTEDOSI assisted her friend Erin Robertson in winning Season 15 of Project Runway, with fabric designs used
Notes from the Hill
ABOVE Jenny Lai ’06’s collection
in the winning collection. Other recent projects for Jordan include the creation of a science mural in Cambridge in collaboration with biologist Saul Nava, for which she received a trip to explore the rain forests in Puerto Rico. She also created a piece for an exhibition at the Peabody Essex Museum last year.
ABOVE Andrea Chen ’06 and Jenny Lai ’06 with Ruby Woodside and Jim Woodside
ABOVE Patrick Dillon Curry ’07 at the Green Room 42
Gottlieb, a feature film starring GEORGIA WARNER, premiered this April on NoBudge.com. The film was written and directed by Elliot Conrad, husband to LILLIAN CONRAD ’05.
2007
NIGEL ARMSTRONG won Third Prize at the 2017 Isangyun International Violin Competition. He was also awarded the Isangyun Special Prize. PATRICK DILLON CURRY performed in a showcase of songs from his original musical WATER at the Green Room 42, a cabaret club in NYC, this past December. Besides Patrick, performers included Alexandra Socha (Spring Awakening) and Nick Rehberger (Fiddler on the Roof ). CHELSEA FELTMAN appeared as a contestant on the long-running quiz show Jeopardy! on October 18.
Head of Voice Teresa Winner Blume and voice faculty member Matt Anderson performed in the Leonard Bernstein Centennial Tribute with the Boston Pops, under the direction of conductor Keith Lockhart. Image Courtesy of the Boston Pops. Music faculty member Margarita Restrepo delivered a paper entitled "The Madrigal in Spain" at the Second Annual Madrigal Studies Symposium at the Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington, IN, on October 21 and 22. Music faculty member William Cooper was commissioned by Dance at Saint Peter’s to write a ballet that was performed at Saint Peter’s Church in NYC on October 28. Head of Voice Teresa Winner Blume spent a week in South Carolina singing for the cast recording of a new musical about Princess Diana featuring Broadway performers. The project is being produced in conjunction with the South Carolina Performing Arts Center.
Cellist TONY RYMER is part of Chineke!, Europe’s first majority black and minority ethnic orchestra. ABOVE Chelsea Feltman ’07 with Jeopardy! host Alex Tiebek 2017 / 2018
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CLASS NOTES JOE WALSH and wife Lauren hosted an alumni dinner in San Francisco in March. They were joined by Barbara Fallon Smithson ’64 and husband Craig, Belinda Horton ’89, Charmian Stewart ’89, Sara Denslow-Gonzalez Downing ’93, Sean Waugh ’04, Julie Rubinger Doupé ’05, Ben Warner ’07, and Garrett Murphy ’08. It was great to make connections across genera-
BARRETT WILBERT WEED is currently playing Janis Sarkisian in Mean Girls on Broadway, after a sold-out run in Washington, DC.
2008
AINA ADLER and husband John Griffith welcomed their daughter Lily Marianne Adler-Griffith in April.
ABOVE Barrett Wilbert Weed ’07 (far right) with Mean Girls cast
tions, and the group has already made plans to attend one another’s upcoming shows and performances.
2008/2011
MIKE BASKOWSKI performed in productions of Grease and Newsies last summer at Maine State Music Theatre.
SAMANTHA HANKEY ’11 appeared as The Elf in the world premiere of The Rose Elf, a chamber opera written by DAVID HERTZBERG ’08. The production ran in June and kicked off The Angel’s Share, a new series of operas and chamber concerts in residence at the Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn. 24 | Behind Stowe
2008/2013
DAVID HERTZBERG ’08 and ASHLEY ROBILLARD ’13 caught up at Opera Philadelphia’s inaugural opening festival, O17, in September. David composed the opera The Wake World, which had its world premiere in the Barnes Gallery as part of the festival, while Ashley sang the role of Papagena in The Magic Flute at the Academy of Music. The Houston Symphony won its first Grammy this year in the category of Best Opera Recording for its recent rendition of Alban Berg’s Wozzeck. ANNIE CHEN plays second violin for the orchestra. NICHOLAS CHRISTOPHER is currently playing Aaron Burr in the first national tour of Hamilton, opposite Austin Scott playing Alexander Hamilton. The tour kicked off on January 6 at San Diego’s Civic Theatre. JEAN HUANG is now teaching at the New England Conservatory
of Music’s Continuing Education division, while finishing her doctoral studies in violin performance at NEC. She comes back to Walnut Hill School every summer, serving as the teaching assistant at the Walnut Hill Summer Music Festival held by the Foundation of Chinese Performing Arts. DAVID HERZTBERG’S new opera, The Wake World, was named Best New Opera this year by Music Critics Association of North America. David wrote the opera while completing his third year as Opera Philadelphia’s Composer-in-Residence, and it was one of three world premieres presented during the O17 Festival last September.
www.walnuthillarts.org
MANN-WEN LO is a candidate for a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the USC Thornton School of Music, under the tutelage of Glenn Dicterow.
Marquee Productions. The show ran December 1-10 at the Montgomery Theater in San Jose.
THOMAS MESA was named one of the winners of the 2017 Astral Auditions and will be an Astral Artist for the next four years. Astral’s roster of laureates includes world-renowned soprano Angela Meade and violinist Soovin Kim, the husband of our own GLORIA CHIEN ’95.
AMBER FASQUELLE is this year’s recipient of the Opera Foundation’s scholarship to sing with Deutsche Oper Berlin as a Young Artist, and will move to Berlin in August.
EVAN WONG recently played Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra. He is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Northwestern.
2010
Last February, KATE MAXTED danced the role of Aurora in San Antonio Ballet’s production of Tchaikovsky’s The Sleeping Beauty. CHI WEI LO was selected as a Community Performances and Partnerships Fellow at New
England Conservatory for the 2017–2018 year. CPP Fellows engage with the community by participating in performances, workshops, teaching visits, and other activities in partnership sites across Boston. KATIE ROBINSON was offered a fully funded fellowship position to begin her doctorate in counseling psychology at the University of Georgia for fall 2018. She will be researching trauma and youth development. Katie has been a practicing drama therapist for two years, after completing her master’s degree at New York University.
Notes from the Hill Nyah Malone ’19 was awarded the John P. Garrahan Leadership in Diversity Award by the Alliance for MetroWest Unity. The Alliance presents the Leadership in Diversity Awards annually to students from MetroWest public and private high schools whose work in leading others in awareness and appreciation of diversity distinguishes them at their schools. Director of Admissions and Financial Aid Jason Hersom played Pirelli in the debut performance of Sweeney Todd at Theatre UnCorked, Boston’s newest small theater company.
2009
KAREN CUEVA was one of the 2017 recipients of From the Top’s Arts Leadership Grant, which was created to support music-centric projects that encourage positive change. Karen’s project involves introducing classical music to Boston’s incarcerated youth through her work with the Du Bois Orchestra, which she founded at Harvard in 2015. JAN SHÉ recently released an album of calming meditation music, entitled Rama Mantra. SCOTT SHEDENHELM was recently the choreographer for Newsies, presented by CMT San Jose
2017 / 2018
2009/2010
Congratulations to ETHAN VAN NESS ’09 and CATHERINE KELLER VAN NESS ’10 on their recent marriage. Best wishes for a happy future together!
Nora Collins ’19 (pictured above with Harriet Rovniak ’19), was inspired by School assembly speaker and Globe Journalist Jim Morrison on his work raising awareness on child marriage laws. Her efforts took her to the Massachusetts State House to meet with (among others) Lisa Rosenfeld, Counsel and Legislative Director of Joint Committee on Children, Families, and Persons with Disabilities; Fraidy Reiss, Founder of Unchained at Last; State Representative Kay Khan; Sheila Decter, Executive Director of Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action; and Maria Mossaides, Child Advocate for the Commonwealth. ◆ Behind Stowe | 2 5
CLASS NOTES
2011
JOHN BARSOIAN appeared in the ensemble of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella at Chicago’s Cadillac Palace Theatre this spring, additionally understudying the roles of Prince Topher and Sebastian.
ABOVE Conor Ryan ’10 with Jesus Christ Superstar cast
CONOR RYAN appeared in NBC’s live production of Jesus Christ Superstar, which aired on Easter Sunday and starred John Legend, Sara Bareilles, and Alice Cooper. In May, Conor opened Desperate Measures Off-Broadway at New World Stages, playing the character Johnny Blood, as he did in the production’s first incarnation at the York Theatre Company. He also performed at the
York Theatre Company’s Spring Gala, a celebration of the 15th anniversary of the Off-Broadway hit The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!). HARPER WATTERS was profiled in Dance Spirit magazine earlier this year. A soloist with Houston Ballet, Harper is also quite popular on social media and hosts a hit YouTube series, The Pre Show.
MADELEINE CORLISS appeared in a reading of the new musical The Sycamore Street Kite Flying Club in January at Lincoln Center’s Clark Studio Theater. CHELSEA DESILVA, known professionally as chae, released her newest single, “Come Away from Me,” in November. The single is a collaboration with the artist ZETO.
SAMANTHA HANKEY was one of eight recipients of a Leonore Annenberg Fellowship in 2017, the fund’s 10th and final year. Shortly afterward, she won First Prize at the 2017 Dallas Opera Vocal Guild Competition. Last summer, Samantha made her European debut in Oslo in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, and returned to Europe this February as Siebel in Faust at the Grand Théâtre de Genève. This spring, she was named the winner of the Glyndebourne Opera Cup and a recipient of the 2018 Richard Tucker Career Grant. Looking ahead, Samantha will make her Metropolitan Opera debut this December in Adriana Lecouvreur, and her Opernhaus Zurich debut next June, playing Cherubina in Le Nozze di Figaro. DELANEY HARTER is traveling with Grammy Award–winning artist Kitaro on his Kojiki and the Universe World Tour. REBECCA REALE recently won a place in the first violin section with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. She comes to L.A. from the Houston Symphony, which she joined in 2016 as associate principal second violin and served as acting principal second violin for the 2016–2017 season.
ABOVE Kate Maxted ’10 in The Sleeping Beauty 2 6 | Behind Stowe
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2012
EMMA HUELSKAMP recently accepted a role as the communications assistant at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Following her graduation from Wake Forest University in the spring of 2016, Emma spent time at the Guggenheim Museum and Christie’s and Sotheby’s auction houses before accepting her current position. AJ PARKER was recently profiled in the Rainbow Times, New England’s largest LGBTQ newspaper. The profile explored his journey to creating his drag persona, Miz Diamond Wigfall. AJ frequently performs in NYC. JAKE THONIS is currently principal bassoonist at the Victoria Symphony Orchestra in Texas. This fall, he will join the Civic Orchestra in Chicago.
2013
GEORGE LI has signed with Opus 3 Artists, one of the world’s most prestigious artist management agencies. Its roster also includes Yo-Yo Ma, Emanuel Ax, and Gil Shaham, as well as our own MEI-ANN CHEN ’91. In June 2017, George performed at Walnut Hill in a special concert to benefit our Capital Campaign, Invest in Excellence: Front & Center. The following month, he was awarded the Arthur
Waser Förderpreis, receiving 25,000 Swiss francs and a debut with the Lucerne Symphony. He was also featured on the cover of Pianist magazine’s July 2017 issue. George’s first CD, George Li: Live at the Mariinsky, was released by Warner Classics in October. Since receiving a B.F.A. degree from the painting department at RISD last spring, MEGAN TRESCA is currently earning her M.A. in teaching in visual art and design education, also from RISD. She was recently hired as the college advisor for Project Open Door, a nonprofit college access initiative that provides free, high-quality art and design programming for underserved urban teens. TEDDY QUINLIVAN appeared in a February Refinery29 feature on transgender rising stars in the modeling industry. In March, she was featured in Elle in a piece about her decision to come out during New York Fashion Week 2017.
ABOVE Mara Wilson ’14 in 42nd Street
ASHLEY ROBILLARD’S performance as Papagena in Opera Philadelphia’s The Magic Flute was named in the 2017 Philadelphia Theater Critics Awards’ Best Supporting Actress Top 40 list. WILLIAM GUANBO SU recently won First Prize in the Gerda Lissner Foundation’s 2017 Lieder/ Song vocal competition. He also performed with the Cecilia Chorus of New York in December at Carnegie Hall.
2014
BRYCE MCALLISTER worked in wardrobe for the critically acclaimed Off-Broadway show Sleep No More, at the McKittrick Hotel, in the fall. Upon graduation from Rider University with a B.F.A. in musical theater in December, Bryce moved down to Orlando, FL, to work in the entertainment segment of the Walt Disney World Resort. MARA WILSON, known professionally as Mara Cecilia, performed the role of Peggy Sawyer in Reagle Music Theatre’s production of 42nd Street last August.
RIGHT Megan Tresca ’13 with young art students 2017 / 2018
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CLASS NOTES
2015/2016
EMERSON SMITH ’16 and CALEB SMITH ’16 collaborated on a new musical, Elektric, an adaptation of the story of Orestes and Elektra, which debuted last summer at the Penn State Downtown Theatre Center. Caleb wrote the music and lyrics, while Emerson wrote the book. The production featured LENA SKEELE ’15.
2015
WILL ANDERSON and LYDIA TUFFY recently reunited in London, where Lydia is studying and Will was visiting. Lydia attends Urdang Academy, and Will is a Boston University student currently completing a semester abroad in Tuscany. ERICA OGIHARA participated in a concert at Oberlin in the fall to raise funds for hurricane relief. The concert was a collaboration between the Cleveland Orchestra, the Cleveland Institute of Music, Oberlin Conservatory, and Credo Music. BOSBA PANH is a thirdyear undergraduate composition student at the New England Conservatory of Music, studying under Michael Gandolfi and Ken Schaphorst. In March 2018, she completed first residency at Scripps College in Claremont, CA, presenting a new piece, “Father Mine,” commissioned by Scripps College. She also participated in a panel discussing the effects of the Khmer Rouge genocide over three generations of Cambo2 8 | Behind Stowe
dian artists in cinema and music, and gave a talk about women in arts leadership and the position of the female Asian artist in the 21st century. Additionally, Bosba was the winner of the New England Conservatory 150th Choral Cycle Commission, the NEC 2017 Lessons and Carols Competition. Other performances this year include the Kansas City premiere of her piece “my love is building a building” by the Cardinalis Chorale at William Jewell College, and the Los Angeles–area premiere of the same piece by the Claremont Concert Choir
and the Claremont Treble Singers. She will also be featured in the Newton Festival of the Arts with a performance by the Commonwealth Chorale of “remember me.” The first season of RACHEL RAVEL’S original webseries, Rachel Unraveled, premiered on BroadwayWorld in March. The series has already garnered positive reviews, winning IndieWire’s "Project of the Year" and NYC Web Fest’s "Best Pilot" in 2017.
2017
This summer, BECKETT AZEVEDO will be living and performing on Cape Cod with Hyannis Sound, a professional a cappella group that has been performing on the Cape since 1994 and was nominated for Best Funk Song in the 2018 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards. Performances occur every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday in Falmouth, Chatham, Dennis, and Hyannis,
respectively. The group’s season there starts June 4 and ends August 25, and Beckett would be ecstatic to see some fellow Walnuts in the audience! Check them out at www. hyannissound.com. Violinist ELIZABETH DAVIDSON-BLYTHE had a great freshman year at Smith College and recently won the school’s yearly concerto competition. ERICA MAUL is enjoying her freshman year at Wellesley College, where she is on the novice rowing crew. This is the first time she has even participated in a team sport! EVREN OZEL won the New England Conservatory Mozart Piano Concerto Competition as a freshman, and performed as a soloist with the NEC Chamber Orchestra in Jordan Hall on February 7.
ABOVE Lydia Tuffy ’15 and Will Anderson ’15 in London with a friend
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Want to see a note about yourself or a classmate in the next issue of Behind Stowe? Here’s how to submit a class note: 1 visit
www.walnuthillarts.org/alumni/stay-connected or walnuthillarts.org and then click Alumni Class notes
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scroll down under the contact information section, until you reach Submit a Class Note
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enter your news, upload a photo (if you wish), and press Submit.
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2017 / 2018
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REUNION
May 17 & 18, 2019
Join us on campus for this annual event. Reconnect with your classmates and your favorite faculty, and marvel in alumni and student performances. 3 0 | Behind Stowe
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TRUSTEES
Meet Our New Trustees Dave Edelman P’18 Dave Edelman is the Chief Marketing Officer at Aetna, where he has been leading a broad transformation of the company into a healthoriented consumer brand. A known thought leader in marketing, with over one million LinkedIn followers, he has also held senior positions at McKinsey, Digitas, and Boston Consulting Group. Dave received his bachelor’s degree in economics from Harvard College and his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. An avid music and theater fan, and occasional saxophonist, he is the father of Walnut Hill theater major and new graduate Andy Edelman. Dave's wife, Miriam Adams, serves on Walnut Hill’s Ambassador Circle. In addition to Andy, they have two older children. Katharine O’Connell P’18 Dr. Katharine Dunson O’Connell joined the Board of Trustees in May 2017. She has served as a licensed clinical psychologist, family and community educator, and independent consultant since earning her doctorate in child clinical psychology in 1996. She earned her B.A. from Marquette University, and her M.A. and Ph.D. from DePaul University. She completed her clinical training at the University of Chicago. Katharine and her family relocated to the Boston area from Minneapolis in 2016. She now resides in Wellesley, MA, with her husband and four children, the second of whom, Annie O'Connell, just graduated from Walnut Hill as a visual art major.
John Paolella Although originally trained as a concert pianist, John Paolella has built a career in private wealth management and now works at Eaton Vance Investment Counsel, advising high-net-worth families. Previous employers include Pelican Investment Management; Donaldson, Lukfin & Jenrette and Sullivan & Cromwell. John graduated from Princeton University, after obtaining a Premier Prix in piano performance from the Conservatoire Royal de Musique in Brussels. He holds a master's degree in history of art from Yale University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. John is a member of New England Conservatory’s Board of Visitors and treasurer of the Conservatory Lab Charter School Foundation. He and his wife, Elliot Bostwick Davis, live in Dedham, MA, and have two grown sons. Linda Wisnewski Linda Wisnewski has had a strong interest in education and is committed to helping advance educational opportunities for the underserved population as well as in the arts. She has been a long-standing board member of the Epiphany School in Dorchester and is also a member of Berklee College of Music’s Presidential Advisory Council, an Overseer at the Winsor School, and a board member of the Artists Association of Nantucket. Previously, she was Chair of Voice 4 Girls and has served on several other nonprofit boards. Linda is an avid photographer, painter, and gardener, and is the proud mother of three daughters. She resides in Newton, MA.
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A YEAR IN REVIEW
Swing! A Musical Review October 27–29
Pronoun November 9–12
The Nutcracker December 5–17
New Ink/Rough Cuts October 28
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Winter Chamber Music Celebrations December 12–13
Winter Visual Art Show January 25
Voice Recital: “Art Songs: Comedies and Tragedy” December 11
January Project: Leonard Bernstein at 100, Selections from Candide January 25
Unity 1918 December 15–17
Jazz Ensemble Concert January 22 2017 / 2018
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A YEAR IN REVIEW
Composers’ Concert February 8
A Doll’s House March 1-4
From Script to Screen
Fallen Fairies
February 1
Ivy + Bean The Musical February 3–4
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April 6–8
Black on White April 4–5
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Spring Repertory April 19–22
Spring Chamber Music Celebrations May 8–9
Urinetown
May 18–27
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New Works May 25–27
Spring Visual Art Show June 6
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PLANNED GIVING
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IN MEMORIAM
In Memoriam MARY MURPHY TURNER ’34 passed away on December 24, 2017, at the age of 101 at her home in Massapequa, NY, where she had lived for the past 55 years. Mary was a former teacher and world traveler. She is survived by her children and grandchildren. JANE MAYHEW RUST ’36 passed away on May 2, 2017, at the age of 98. Majoring in French at Wellesley College, she spent her junior year (fall 1938 to spring 1939) in Paris, where she lived with a French family. She worked at the Liberty Mutual insurance office in Boston as a claims examiner until her father died in 1941, when she moved back to West Tisbury to be with her mother. During World War II, Jane worked at the Red Cross office at the airport on Martha’s Vineyard. She married Eugene Rust of Boston in 1949, and the couple built a house near World’s End in Hingham, where they would raise their family and stay for 58 years before moving to Allerton House in Hingham in 2009. Over the years, Jane and her husband established a second home on Martha’s Vineyard, where they spent the summer months with their family. She was an avid downhill skier, skiing into her 70s; an accomplished knitter and needlepointer; and a cook who mastered several Julia Child and
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We fondly remember the following members of the Walnut Hill community.
James Beard dishes. She especially enjoyed playing bridge with her group at Allerton House. Jane is survived by two children and two grandchildren. JOAN MAYER HABER ’37 passed away on August 29, 2017, at the age of 97. She graduated from Vassar in 1941, married Ensign Charles M. Stern Jr., and moved to Honolulu. On December 6, 1941, Joan joined her husband for dinner on board the USS Oklahoma. The next day, he died in the attack on Pearl Harbor. She then moved to New York and worked at Grumman Aircraft during World War II, testing flight instruments for fighter planes. In 1945, she married Richard Haber, and they moved to Kensington, CA, where they raised three sons. Inspired by a personal letter of condolence she had received from Eleanor Roosevelt urging her to get involved in her community and politics, Joan organized and managed school board, school bond, and Democratic Party election campaigns and was active with the PTA, League of Women Voters, and Neighborhood House. After that, she chaired and served on Planned Parenthood and Richmond Emergency Food Pantry boards. Joan was a role model who led by example, and worked tirelessly for equal opportunity for all. She accepted death as she did
life, with a clear eye and a sharp wit. Joan is survived by two children, five grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. LOUISA TALCOTT GROGAN ’37 passed away on January 23, 2018, at the age of 99. She was a member of the Madison Presbyterian Church in Madison, VA. Louisa is survived by two daughters. BETTY “HYDIE” HYDE SWANSON ’38 passed away on October 1, 2017, at the age of 97. Betty would tell everyone that she had a full life; she was an active member of her Grosse Pointe community, participated in the PTA, and was a Girl Scout leader and member of the Junior League. She loved playing bridge and traveling with her husband, Bob. She left her children with lessons of strength and independence from how she lived her own life. Betty was a kind and generous friend to many, and a loving daughter and wife. She is survived by three children, six grandchildren, six greatgrandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild. DOROTHY DRAPER HAWKINS ’38 passed away in January 2018, at the age of 97. She was a resident of Denver, CO, at the time of her death. EDITH “EDIE” GORDON SPIES ’39 passed away on May 24, 2017, at the
age of 96. After attending Wheaton College for one year, she married Walter Burnett of Waban, MA. A second marriage followed, to Frederick W. Spies. Edie lived in St. Petersburg, FL, for 51 years. She had a wonderful 20-year relationship with John Kelly Murphy, who died in 2009. Edie loved fashion and worked for John Baldwin on Beach Drive for many years. She volunteered with several service and charitable organizations, and was named Queen of Hearts in 2004. Edie is survived by two children, two grandchildren, and several great-grandchildren, nieces, and nephews. VICTORIA “VICKY” SEARS O’GORMANTHALER ’39 passed away on August 27, 2017, at the age of 97. Known professionally as Mrs. Thaler and to close friends as Vicky, she graduated from Tufts University and earned a master’s degree in social work from Boston University. A pioneer in the field of social work, she cared passionately about the elderly, and for 30 years managed the Doane Fund to lend financial support to retired and disabled nurses and other needy women in Greater Boston. An excellent tennis player and strong sailor, Vicky opined that learning to sail taught her about “staying on course” in life. Having been widowed at a young age, she raised her five children with this
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strong sense of optimism, reflecting that "difficulties are opportunities." In her retirement years, she ran Golden Years Counseling Service out of her home in Chestnut Hill, making house calls, just as her late husband, Dr. Thaler, had done. She was a loving mother, who, some said, "conducted from the orchestra pit," taking enormous pleasure in her progeny and the enduring friendship of her brood’s peers. She often referred to an anonymous quote: "Look at yesterday with gratitude, today with pride and tomorrow with hope." Vicky is survived by five children, 11 grandchildren, and two greatgrandchildren, as well as nieces and nephews. CONSTANCE “CONNIE” JUDKINS BOWMAN ’40 passed away on July 29, 2017, at the age of 94. While at Walnut Hill, she was the newspaper editor-in-chief and was voted Most Curious. She received her B.A. in psychology from Wellesley College, where she was active in Barnswallows, the college theater group. From 1945 to 1947, she worked in Columbus, OH, for IBM as a systems service engineer. In April 1947, she married Jack Bowman, and the couple had three children and settled in Elm Grove, WI, where Connie lived for the next 41 years. She worked as a public relations consultant and participated for 40 years in extensive volunteer and fundraising activities, particularly in the arts. She particularly loved the theater and served as a board member for the Milwaukee Repertory
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Theater. The Rep named her Volunteer of the Year in 1998, and one of the theater’s rehearsal halls bears her name. With her vision failing, she moved in 2003 to the Westminster-Canterbury of the Blue Ridge retirement community in Charlottesville, VA, to be near family. She met her vision loss and other physical challenges with quiet courage and grace, spending many happy years at WCBR. Connie is survived by two children and five grandchildren. ELIZABETH “BETTY” STEVENSON WHITTAKER ’40 passed away on May 6, 2018, at the age of 95. She attended Garland Junior College and graduated from Pierce Secretarial School in 1942. In 1948, she married Philip Whittaker and the couple moved to Tarrytown, NY, where they lived for 10 years. They eventually moved to Potomac, MD, where they raised four children. Betty was active in many church, civic, and volunteer organizations. In Potomac, she was instrumental in starting the first Head Start Program in Montgomery County. She served in various capacities for St. Francis Church, including pastoral assistant. She and her husband enjoyed traveling, skiing, and sailing. They retired to Falmouth, MA, in 1989, where they were active members of St. Barnabas Episcopal Church. Betty is survived by four children, eight grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, and two siblings.
NANCY NICKERSON RYDER ’41 passed away on March 26, 2018, at the age of 95. She was born and raised in Winchester, MA, and spent summers in Wellfleet. At the age of 10, she began violin studies. She attended Wheaton College, where she frequently played violin at Chapel. Nancy married in 1951 and taught violin while raising four children. Always ambitious and energetic, she earned her bachelor’s degree in education from Tufts University in 1966 and went on to teach elementary school for 20 years in Woburn. Nancy performed with the Brockton Civic Orchestra under Moshe Paranov, and later played first violin with the Boston Civic Symphony. She joined the Philharmonic Society of Arlington in 1970. Aside from music, Nancy loved to travel, having visited Africa, Iceland, Mexico, South Africa, and the USSR, often traveling independently with Elderhostel programs. She was also an amateur horticulturist and a lifelong member of the First Congregational Church in Wellfleet. Nancy is survived by three children, six grandchildren, seven greatgrandchildren, and many nieces and nephews. LUCY LEE COOMBS ’42 passed away on December 21, 2017, at the age of 93. She was a resident of Bremen, ME, and spent summers in Duxbury, MA. Lucy entered Walnut Hill as a freshman just days after the Great New England hurricane of 1938, and as a senior she watched
the country enter World War II. She loved to travel and visited destinations such as Holland, Germany, and Norway during her life. Lucy is survived by her husband, Alexander, four children, and seven grandchildren. ANNETTE ROBERTS MCDONALD ’42 passed away on November 2, 2017, with her family by her side. Her sisters also attended Walnut Hill and predeceased her: Constance Roberts Page ’43 and Virginia Roberts Emery ’45. Annette is survived by a niece, fellow alumna Constance Emery DeSanto ’70, as well as other loving family members. JANE MONTGOMERY BROOKS ’43 passed away on December 1, 2017, at the age of 91. She graduated from Radcliffe College in 1947 and married Dick Brooks before moving to the Conantum neighborhood of Concord, MA. Jane brought her lively sense of humor as well as her keen attention to detail to the various roles she played in her family and community. She volunteered for many Concord institutions, among them the Concord Free Library, Trinity Church, Timothy Wheeler House, and Emerson Hospital. She also worked as a guide at the Concord Museum, at that time known as the Concord Antiquarian Society, and did bookkeeping work for the Timothy Wheeler House and the New England Wild Flower Society. As many will remember, she managed to drive to all of these obligations without taking any left turns. The center
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IN MEMORIAM of her life was her family, and she hosted countless Thanksgivings, dinner parties, and gatherings through the years. Jane is survived by two siblings, two children, three grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews. NORMA NICKERSON TAFT ROHRS ’44 passed away on January 7, 2018, at the age of 91. Known as “Nicky,” she was a proud graduate of the University of New Hampshire and a member of Theta Upsilon sorority. It was at UNH where she met her husband, Nathaniel C. Taft. After their marriage, they lived in New Hampshire, New York, and for many years in Lexington, MA. They summered in Megansett, where they were members of the Megansett Yacht Club and actively raced Cape Cod Knockabouts. While in Lexington, Nicky was a member of Hancock Congregational Church, a Cub Scout den mother, and a member of the Junior League of Boston. The Tafts later made their home in Vero Beach, FL, where Nathaniel died in 1978. In 1984, Norma married Robert Rohrs, who died in 1998. Nicky loved her family, swimming, boating, wildlife, playing cards, big band music, seascapes, good manners, and everything in its assigned place. She is survived by three children, four stepchildren, nine grandchildren, 11 greatgrandchildren, and many nieces and nephews. PRISCILLA PATCH GREGORY ’45 passed away on June 4, 2017, at the age of 88. She
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was a proud graduate of Mount Holyoke College as a biology major in 1949, and she married her late husband, Thomas D. Gregory, in New Rochelle, NY, in 1951. They settled in Chatham, NJ, for nearly 20 years while Tom worked for AT&T. In addition to being a devoted wife and mother, Priscilla loved gardening, was an avid tennis and paddle tennis player, enjoyed swimming and playing bridge, and was a self-proclaimed "chocoholic." In 1983, Priscilla and Tom retired to South Yarmouth, MA and later moved to King’s Way in Yarmouth Port, where Priscilla became very active with the Historical Society of Yarmouth, served as the chair of the Town of Yarmouth Historical Commission, and organized the Town of Yarmouth’s 350th Anniversary. She also took a leadership role in forming the Taylor-Bray Farm Preservation Association and volunteered many hours serving the farm. Priscilla is survived by four children, five grandchildren, two nephews, and one sister. KATHARINE “KAY” ISENBERG LAVITT ’45 passed away on September 23, 2017, at the age of 90. Kay was a lifelong resident of Hartford, CT. She was elected the first female president to the board of Congregation Beth Israel in 1976, where four generations of her family belonged. She later served as the administrator at Beth Israel for 10 years. Kay also enjoyed volunteering at Hartford Hospital. Her boundless
energy, compassionate nature, and zest for life were an inspiration to everyone who knew her. Her most cherished times were those spent with her family and friends. Kay is survived by two children, five grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. ELIZABETH “BETTY” HEDLUND O’CONNOR ’45 passed away on March 24, 2018, at the age of 91. Born and raised in Natick, she went to Westbrook College after Walnut Hill and eventually entered the nursing field, working as an X-ray technician at Newton-Wellesley Hospital and later at Waltham Hospital. Elizabeth was the wife of the late Robert V. O’Connor. She was a resident of Dartmouth, MA, at the time of her death, and a communicant of St. Mary’s Church in South Dartmouth. She is survived by five children, seven grandchildren, and 12 great-grandchildren. KATHARINE SWARTZ PENFIELD ’45 passed away on February 13, 2018, in Orleans, MA, at the age of 90. She attended Walnut Hill for just her senior year, having previously attended high school in Syracuse, NY. Katharine graduated from Wellesley College in 1949. She and her husband, A.J. Penfield, enjoyed spending winters in Long Boat Key, FL, and summers in Quebec in a house they built near the Vermont border. Predeceased by her husband in 2011, Katharine is survived by her loving family.
ROSEMARY PHELAN ’45 passed away on May 7, 2018, at the age of 90. She was a graduate of Smith College and a retiree of Jordan Marsh and Bank of Boston. She loved to travel, ski, participate in road races (winning many medals), cook, and entertain; and she loved to talk, laugh, and read, especially the New York Times, which she enjoyed cover to cover on a daily basis. She loved her family and friends, her parents and her brothers especially. NANCY FLEISHMAN HARLAN ’47 passed away on August 8, 2017, in Bellevue, WA, at the age of 87. Nancy attended the Pennsylvania College for Women, now Chatham University, in Pittsburgh. She belonged to the Daughters of the American Revolution and volunteered her time at church, soup kitchens, and public schools. Nancy cared very deeply for her friends, dearly loved her family, celebrated and adored her grandchildren. She is survived by three children, four grandchildren, and several cousins. ANN “WINKIE” BIGELOW HAMILTON ’47 passed away on May 5, 2018, at the age of 88. She graduated from Smith College in 1951 and was an active alumna of Smith, having served as class secretary and Alumnae Fund chair. Winkie married Dick Hamilton in 1954 and moved to western Canada, Seattle, and Toronto before returning to Springfield, VT, where they had a family home. In all of these places,
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Winkie was an active volunteer, primarily in the educational and hospital fields. At the age of 50, she returned to graduate school to earn her M.Ed. in guidance and counseling so that, as she often joked, she could earn money for what she was doing for “nothing” as a mother. After completing her degree, she worked as a guidance counselor. In 1999, Winkie and Dick sold their home and moved to Rutland, VT, to be near their sons and their families. She continued her active life on the tennis court and at the bridge table, and was able to travel throughout the world. Winkie’s husband passed away in February of this year. They are survived by three sons and eight grandchildren. JANET LYMAN LINDEMAN ’47 passed away on January 31, 2018, at the age of 88. She graduated from Syracuse University. Janet was a resident of Lexington, KY, at the time of her passing and was a member of Thomas Jefferson Unitarian Church. She is survived by four children and one brother. BETSY SUTTON JEVON ’48 passed away on October 14, 2017, at the age of 87. She was a school administrator for La Roche and Robert Morris Colleges. Betsy is survived by her husband, two children, one grandchild, and one brother. MARY JENNEY WILBER ’48 passed away on April 10, 2017, at the age of 86 after an eight-year battle with Alzheimer’s disease. She received a
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B.S. in political science from Wellesley College in 1952. Mary met her late husband, Grant F. Wilber Jr., on a blind date and married him after he proposed on the Isles of Shoals, where she was summering as a Relish Girl at the historic hotel. Mary devoted her life to her family and her dogs, her friends, and the community. She was a talented artist and sailor; loved the beach, boating, history and maps, and her dogs; was a Girl Scout leader, superintendent of Sunday school at Pilgrim Church, and a cartoonist for the Duxbury Clipper; and served as a volunteer for 35 years in the Jordan Hospital Club in Plymouth, MA. She was a longtime member and faithful supporter of Journey Community of Faith in Duxbury, where she taught Sunday school and hosted Bible studies. She carried on correspondence with dozens of friends and family around the globe throughout her life. Mary had a great sense of humor and laughed easily. She is survived by three children, nine grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren. JANE GALE HOLT ’49 passed away on July 2, 2017, at the age of 86. After attending Finch College, she married George Beckwith and raised five children in Palm Beach, FL. She later married Clark Holt, with whom she raised her sixth child in Connecticut. Jane was a real estate agent for 25 years and was beloved by her clients. She was also an avid fisherwoman and was included
in Chisie Farrington’s Women Can Fish in 1951, standing next to her 475-pound tuna. Jane was a lover of animals and was known to have a wide variety of pets, including such exotics as a penguin, monkeys, and African finches, in addition to typical household animals. She was known for her quick wit, unyielding loyalty, culinary skills, and green thumb. As a lifelong Episcopalian, she was a member of the altar guild in multiple parishes. She also volunteered with the Junior League and Good Samaritan Hospital. Jane is survived by three sisters and five children. JANE LEWIS KENDALL ’49 passed away on September 12, 2017, at the age of 86. She attended Colby Junior College and qualified to work as a medical secretary. Jane met Alan Kendall in South Woodstock, VT, where she also learned to drive a Jeep and hunt deer. They were married in 1951 and moved to Burlington while Alan completed his engineering degree at UVM. Jane worked for an arthritis specialist. The Kendalls eventually moved to Marion, NY, where they built a home in the early 1970s. Jane had a brief career in real estate in addition to her role as a homemaker. She loved to dance and was a graduate of the Arthur Murray School of Dance. In 1986, Alan lost his battle with Huntington’s disease, and Jane went on to marry his older brother Donald. With their union, two nephews and a niece became Jane’s stepchildren. She adored her dogs, and after Don’s
death, she preferred to remain alone with them for company, although she looked forward to calls from her family. Jane is survived by two children, one grandchild, three stepchildren, four stepgrandchildren, and many nieces and nephews. SUSAN “SUE” MCADAMS WATROUS ’50 passed away on June 7, 2017, at the age of 84. She attended Wellesley College before getting married and raising her family. Sue went on to obtain a B.A. from Bridgewater State in 1975, as well as her certificate as a professional librarian, and worked at the Paul Pratt Memorial Library in Cohasset, MA, for 30 years. She thoroughly enjoyed meeting people and talking about books, and made many friends through working at the library. She was thrilled that many of her "kids" from her early career as the children’s librarian would stop by and say hello as the years passed. Sue loved books, travel, music, movies, plays, museums, and lively gatherings of friends and family. She spent many hours on the water rowing her Alden shell. She also loved paddling her kayak in Little Harbor and in Westport, where her family vacationed each summer. She enjoyed continuing her education auditing classes in Boston, and kept busy with activities such as tai chi, yoga, and a brief fling with tap dancing. Sue will be remembered for her wonderful laugh, love of life, sense of adventure, and independent spirit, as well as for being a
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IN MEMORIAM wonderful listener who drew people to her with her warm personality. She is survived by her devoted companion William Stetson, with whom she spent many wonderful years, as well as two children, four grandchildren, one greatgranddaughter, nieces and nephews, and one sister. NANCY OBER BATCHELDER ’51 passed away on December 4, 2017, at the age of 84. She attended Colby Junior College in New Hampshire. In 1959, she married Earle Batchelder and moved to Bradford, MA, where they had their first two children. In 1962, they moved to Natick, where they spent 13 happy years with Earle as Headmaster of Walnut Hill. During that period, they added two sons to the family. Nancy performed enthusiastically not only in her role as mother and wife, but also as friend, counselor, and hostess to students, faculty, alumnae, trustees, tradespeople, and visiting dignitaries. In 1975, Nancy and Earle moved to Cape Cod, where Earle joined the administration of the Dennis-Yarmouth School System. Three years later, they moved to Erie, PA, and Nancy became director of the Girard Senior Center. Again, her capacity to relate warmly to people of all walks of life endeared her to all who came to know her. Nancy and Earle’s next move was to Longmeadow, MA, where Nancy continued her work in senior services, as a case worker, director of volunteers, and unofficial
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morale booster for the Greater Springfield Senior Services. Nancy and Earle retired to the Cape in 1999. She is survived by Earle, with whom she enjoyed 58 years, as well as four children, nine grandchildren, one sisterin-law, one nephew, and one niece. JUDITH “JUDY” PERRY CONNOLLY ’54 passed away on July 26, 2017, at the age of 81. While attending Bennett Junior College in Millbrook, NY, she spent many joyful weekends in Williamstown, MA, visiting her future husband, Dave, and his friends at Williams College. Judy believed that service, unity, and serenity made a difference day-to-day and served as a first responder for the Liberty Corner First Aid Squad. She was a loving wife and mother, dedicated to making a home that invited holidays around a table-of-plenty, open to anyone. Her intuition, emotional intelligence, and consideration for others were legendary, and will be missed by all. Judy is survived by four children, 10 grandchildren, and one greatgrandchild, with others on the way. BRENDA HINKSON BROWNLEE ’56 passed away on September 23, 2017, at the age of 79. She attended Chatham College in Pittsburgh, PA, where she majored in music. Brenda married George Lloyd Brownlee and raised two children in Crofton, MD, where she worked as an office manager and bookkeeper for a number of medical practices.
She was devoted to her husband, her children, and her many dogs. She loved playing the piano, crocheting, gardening, and cheering her children on at their sports competitions. Brenda loved life and fought five courageous battles with cancer, winning four of them. She enjoyed the last several years of her life as a popular resident of the Campbell-Stone Retirement Community in Buckhead, GA, where she cultivated her own garden plot and was an enthusiastic participant in the facility’s many activities, including Zumba classes and variety shows. Brenda is survived by two children, four grandchildren, one sister, and her beloved granddogs. BARBARA EDGERLY LUFF ’57 passed away on May 25, 2017, at the age of 77. She attended Wheelock College for two years, after which she continued her studies in Italy. In 1961, she married Richard DeWitt Luff of Lynnfield, MA, and in 1962 they commenced building Sagamore-Hampton Golf Club in North Hampton, NH. When her husband died in 1998, Barbara moved back to Brownsville, VT, the place she always loved. She is survived by longtime companion Pieter van Schaik, two brothers, three children, and her beloved dog. DAMON “POKEY” REED ’58 passed away on April 7, 2017, at the age of 77. Damon graduated from Connecticut College in 1962 with a major in government, a year after marrying Don “Dee”
Gardner Jr. They moved to Williams College, where Dee worked as a dean. Damon became active in the League of Women Voters, took center stage in many musical theater productions, and worked as a tutor in the Center for the Development of Economics. In 1969, the family enjoyed a year’s sabbatical in Japan, then settled in Andover, MA, where Damon taught writing and served as a house mother at Phillips Academy, and as Director of Alumni Relations and the Board of Trustees at Walnut Hill. Soon after her divorce in 1972, she redirected her ample talents and energy into the corporate world of college textbook sales at AddisonWesley Publishing, moving up the ranks to become a skilled and creative national sales manager. After leaving AddisonWesley, she traveled by dogsled to Baffin Island in the Arctic and lived and wrote in a cabin in the Maine woods. She started her own businesses and later worked with the Clark Art Institute and the Development Office at Williams College. In 2007, she retired and continued to enjoy walking, creating art, gardening, writing poetry and prose, reading, spending time with her grandchildren, organizing neighborhood events, and hosting international students, friends, and family at her home. She is survived by two children, four grandchildren, nieces and nephews, and one sister.
BARBARA “BOBBIE” CARNRIGHT TYNG ’66 passed away on August
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IN MEMORIAM 31, 2017, at the age of 68. She attended Colby Sawyer College and ultimately received her master’s degree in early childhood education from Wheelock College. Bobbie was a founding partner of the Learning Garden Preschool in Orleans, MA, where she was co-director and lead preschool teacher for 31 years. During her decades at the Learning Garden, Bobbie had a lasting impact on the children and families within the community. Even after retirement, Bobbie devoted her time to substitute teaching and volunteering in local schools and with the Treasure Cay Preschool program in the Bahamas. Bobbie is remembered for her indomitable spirit, her generous nature, and her tender approach. Abundant with energy and selfless with her time, she served as an inspiration to all who were lucky enough to meet her. She was fiercely devoted to her family and cherished every moment they had together. Bobbie is survived by her husband, two children, two grandchildren, many nieces and nephews, and her siblings.
endocrinology, and metabolism. She enjoyed intricate baking projects (the more challenging, the better), gardening, and spending time with her beloved Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Penny. Sally is survived by one sister and one cousin.
SALLY KENNEDY ’68 passed away on November 7, 2017, at the age of 67. She graduated from Smith College in 1972, spending her junior year in Florence and earning her B.A. in Italian. Sally worked in clinical operations in the pharmaceutical industry for more than 25 years and founded her own consulting firm. She helped bring drugs to market in the areas of oncology, human immunodeficiency virus, reproductive
ALICE AUSTIN ’89 passed away on August 30, 2017, at the age of 46 after a short illness. She began her career at WGBH Descriptive Video Service in Boston, where she described hundreds of hours of film and broadcast television. In 2003, Alice launched her own business as an audio describer, providing access to such television programming as documentaries, reality TV, children’s programs,
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JANE BAXTER ’74 passed away on September 3, 2017, at the age of 60. She attended Colby College and was an avid sailor, gardener, hiker, and traveler, already having planned a trip to Africa for next spring. Jane was involved in the Hyannis Yacht Club, PTA, Osterville Garden Club, and Cape Cod Rowing Club. She was the fiscal officer at the Barnstable District Attorney’s Office, after which she worked at the International Fund for Animal Welfare and once went on the ice with the baby seals. Jane then became the office manager at her brother’s business, Baxter Crane and Rigging. She is survived by her parents, Hudson Baxter and Betty Forsythe Baxter ’52, and one brother, as well as one son and many cousins, nieces, and nephews.
and crime drama. In cooperation with WETA in Washington, DC., Alice was one of two live audio describers of the 2000 Presidential Inauguration. In 2004, she provided live description for the Democratic National Convention in Boston, including a keynote address from Barack Obama, who was then a senatorial candidate for Illinois. Alice also described live theater performances, presentations, museum tours, and independent films. She was a free spirit, jumping on every opportunity to act for the causes she believed in and plunging into adventures she thought were interesting or fun. She fought fiercely for community, compassion, truth, and common sense and never did anything the "right" way. She was a great friend to many people and was passionately devoted to her children. Alice is survived by her parents and stepmother, siblings and step-siblings, two children, her former husband, and several nieces and nephews. DANIEL STEENHUIS ’02 passed away on August 1, 2017, at the age of 33. He was full of energy and excelled in theater, music, and dance. At a young age, he spent many years at Ithaca Ballet, and later learned to tap and swing dance. Before studying at Walnut Hill for his senior year, he attended the Lehman Alternative Community School and participated in many theater productions. He was active in local musical groups, and performed in productions at the Hangar Theatre. Daniel is survived
by his parents, eight siblings, and several nieces and nephews. ANDREW HUYLER RAMSEY ’14 passed away on July 25, 2017, in Dublin, Ireland, at the age of 22. He had just completed an exhilarating summer program abroad at the Gaiety School of Acting, and told his parents that Ireland had treated him to the best summer of his young life. He had already planned to return to Ireland to pursue his master’s degree. Andrew’s short but very full life was filled with medical challenges from birth, but despite these obstacles, he was fearless in living a life of artistic risk and plowed forward with stunning resilience and amazing success. A rising senior at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Andrew had been on the Dean’s List every semester of his studies. He was a gifted actor and writer with an edgy wit, an engaging personality, and a work ethic that was unmatched. Back when he was a third grader playing the role of the Artful Dodger in Oliver!, Andrew told his Dad: “I love my theater life!” For a number of summers, he participated in shows offered by Merrimack Junior Theatre, North Shore Music Theatre, and Weston Drama Workshop, in addition to his productions as a student at Walnut Hill. Andrew is survived by his parents, grandmother, and stepbrother, as well as uncles and cousins. ◆
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Do you know someone who might be a Walnut? Help us spread the word.
2 Highland Street, Natick, MA 01760 | openhouse.walnuthillarts.org
OPEN HOUSE SUNDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2018 | 12:30–3:30 PM w a ln u th ill a r t s . o r g a dm i ss i ons @w al nut hi l l artBehind s .oStowe r g| 43
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COMMUNIT Y READ
Station Eleven: Author and Insight Come to Walnut Hill by Zach Roberson, Director of Community Programs
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his year, students, faculty and staff came together to participate in the fourth annual Community Read. This schoolwide program serves as an opportunity for everyone at Walnut Hill to read the same book over Summer Break, then come together in the academic year to share unique experiences inspired by the book’s themes and characters. This year’s reading selection, Station Eleven, weaves together the past, present, and future of a group of artists participating in a traveling showcase, bringing arts to a post-apocalyptic world after a swine flu epidemic leaves only five percent of the world’s population alive. The novel challenges the reader to consider what role art plays in survival after societal collapse. Is it enough to merely survive, or do we, as humans, have a deep need to tell our 44 | Behind Stowe
stories through art? The author gives us her answer: inscribed on the side of the wagon of the Traveling Symphony (the band of actors and musicians who stage Shakespearean plays) is the mantra “Survival is insufficient.” In a world where hunting, sleeping, and scavenging in often dangerous territory are a part of the new normal, the plot unfolds through the eyes of several key characters. Through it all, Station Eleven reminds us that fulfilling our basic survival needs is not enough, but creating art can make even a severely hardscrabble life worth living. In mid-October, we held a campout (complete with tents, sleeping bags, and a campfire) under the stars. For many of our students, it was their www.walnuthillarts.org
first time sleeping outside, and, through late-night sensory activities and meditation exercises, kids were able to fully relate to the characters in Station Eleven, who were plunged into a world without electricity or any of the other modern conveniences we take for granted. In the book, one of the surviving colonies settles in an abandoned airport. A motivated colonist repurposes an empty airport store into a museum that pays homage to the world that has collapsed, highlighting items such as credit cards, cell phones, designer shoes, and laptops. Inspired by that idea, our Freshman Foundations program had students create their own museums. Later, in mid-May, the community participated in their own version of a traveling showcase (the Walnut Hill Traveling Symphony!), in which students played chamber music and offered short stories and passages from the novel. This was a terrific way to bring art to the community in a new and creative way. The climax of the Walnut Hill Community Read year came this spring when we hosted author Emily St. John Mandel on campus at an all-School Assembly, thanks to a gift from a generous trustee. Head of School Antonio Viva sat down with Mandel for a conversation about her early influences, and her experiences as a writer and an artist. Born and raised on Denman Island in British Columbia, she later studied comtemporary dance at the School of Toronto Dance Theatre. When she eventually fell out of love with dance as a career, she turned to writing. “Telling our stories is a big part of being human . . . and where I started off as a dancer who sometimes wrote, now I’m a writer who sometimes dances.” In fact, the book itself was inspired by a dance performance by the Forsythe Company called “I Don’t Believe in Outer Space” that Mandel attended in New York. When asked what kind of guidance she could give to young artists in today’s world, Mandel offered some great practical advice: “One: Embrace your day job. In other words, find a job you don’t hate! If you can’t make a liviing at your art quite yet, you’ll need a day job. Two: Train yourself to be able to practice your art in any circumstances (yes, I admit that’s harder if you’re a painter!). As a writer, I’ve trained myself to be able to write anywhere. I don’t need a special pen or a special chair. And three: Don’t be afraid to produce something that’s not perfect—everything’s an evolution.” The talk ended with a lively questionand-answer session and a standing ovation for the author.
Station Eleven served as a fantastically meaty Community Read selection; our community found 2017 / 2018
many ways to engage around the often intense subject matter, and students leave this year with a broadened worldview because of this experience. We hope you will consider joining in and reading next year’s Community Read selection, The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope, by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer. ◆
OPPOSITE Top: Author Emily St. John Mandel and Head of School Antonio Viva discuss Mandel’s Station Eleven writing process and inspiration. Inset: Antonio Viva and Emily St. John Mandel are joined by students Taylor Wang ’20, Saloni Kumar ’18, Board President Betsy Paine McClendon '65, Trustee Betsy Kessler, and Director of Community Programs Zach Roberson. THIS PAGE: Top: A campfire helps students relate to the book's setting. Bottom: Walnuts enjoy the sun and the Traveling Symphony on the Keefe porch. Behind Stowe | 45
WORTH THE READ
Walnut Hill Recommends
Looking for some interesting reading to chew on (or chill out with) this summer? Look no further than this eclectic mix of books that our faculty and staff are recommending as reads right now. Compiled by Jason Stumpf, Humanites Department Head plans his own war effort as the adults of the town desperately try to find the missing gun.
Jay Crawford-Kelly, Humanities Faculty Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light by Patrick McGilligan
Elyse Banak, Math & Science Faculty Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys It’s winter 1945: four refugees, four stories. Salt to the Sea is a captivating account of these four very different individuals whose paths converge. I was drawn into all of their stories. I was also interested in the important historical event that I had never known about that was told through this book.
Ian Buttermore, Humanities Faculty The Machine Gunners by Robert Westall In the fictional city of Garmouth, England, at the height of the German bombing campaign known as “the Blitz,” fourteen-year-old Chas McGill has the second-best collection of war souvenirs in town—but he desperately wants it to be the best. One night, he stumbles across a crashed German bomber and eyes the machine gun that protrudes from the airplane’s back. With the help of his friends, Cem, Clogger, Carrot Juice, Audrey and Nicky, Chas 4 6 | Behind Stowe
The director of such classic suspense films as Psycho, Vertigo, and The Birds—along with my favorite, Notorious—started making movies in his early 20s in the silent era and created many filmmaking techniques that remain in use today. He was also a mighty weird dude. This is a thorough and thoroughly entertaining biography of a 20thcentury icon.
cry. Anna is four years old but has the soul of an ancient. She is wise and curious and matter-of-fact. The love she has for nature and art and science and math is amazing. Her relationship with her rescuer and friend is a true loving bond. I know the book has “God” in the title, but this is not a religious book by any stretch. You can’t read this book and not be moved by it.
Steve Durning, Humanities Faculty Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan It’s twistfully plotful, it’s realistic, it’s got vivid characters, it’s got scuba diving: it’s epic. It also somehow affords the pleasures of a 19th-century British novel. It’s by Jennifer Egan, who wrote A Visit from the Goon Squad.
Jennifer Elowitch, Director of Music The Leavers by Lisa Ko This riveting novel explores personal identity through the lens of a Chinese boy adopted by an American family in New York. I loved Ko’s vivid writing style and never knew what to expect with the many twists and turns of the plot.
Melissa Graves, Database Manager Mister God, This is Anna by Fynn This is the best book I read as a teen. It inspired me and made me
Natalia Gutierrez-Smith, Executive Assistant to the Head of School Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance This book allowed me to see a completely new perspective from my own through the history and social structure of the blue-collar, white working class, particularly those in the Rust Belt. This particular class has seen a lot of poverty and struggle separate from their race, yet they are (or were) politically invisible. It compelled me to feel empathy and compassion and, surprisingly to me, a tremendous amount of relatability for me as a Latina woman and a first-generation American. www.walnuthillarts.org
Tom Keenan, Head of Math & Science and Sophomore Class Dean A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson Bryson covers everything from the Big Bang to molecular genetics with great humor and an amazing ability to boil highly complicated science down to language that is fun and easy to read. Great book for the beach!
Marie Longo, Chief Advancement Officer The Last Painting of Sara de Vos by Dominic Smith With storytelling that spans three different time periods, this novel follows the “life” of a single Dutch painting of the 17th century, the woman who painted it, and the modern-day woman who decides to make a forgery of it. Intrigue and heartbreak, combined with rich details of the contemporary art world, made it a page-turner for me. I was mesmerized!
up with his (initially conjoined) twin brother, Shiva, on the grounds of a hospital in Ethiopia, and the book traces their paths through operating theaters in Missing Hospital in Addis Ababa, the cricket games of NYC, and the internal strengths and struggles of defining one’s self by how others see you. Amid the cultural history, the author, a professor of medicine at Stanford University, deftly weaves in medical terms and procedures that are germane to the plot without becoming boringly technical.
Robyn Mabry, Technology Coordinator Ready Player One by Ernest Cline A dystopian sci-fi novel that centers on 1980s pop culture, music, and video games? Yes, please! As a child of the ’80s, I felt like Ernest Cline wrote this book specifically for me. Read this if: you like sci-fi, you’re into 1980s pop culture, you always wanted to live inside a video game. Skip it if: you don’t like sci-fi, puzzles, or fun.
Pat McDougal, Campaign Coordinator The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See
Caroline Lowe, Humanities Faculty Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese When asked what this book is about, I balk. How to coherently tie together the lush description, the medical exactitude, and the magically tinged feeling of kismet into a pat phrase? Marion Stone grows 2017 / 2018
Do you drink tea and ever wonder about its origins? This engaging and enlightening coming-of-age story, set in a remote region of China, recounts the life of “the tea girl” of the Akha mountain tribe from a child of tea-pickers in the mountains to a prominent tea-seller in Los Angeles. It’s about culture, traditions, family, circumstances, heart-wrenching decisions, and trust. The tea growing, making, tasting, medicinal uses, and trading provides an interesting backdrop to a beautiful story of family and the bond between mothers and daughters. After reading this, sipping your next cup of tea may cause you to pause and appreciate!
Jane Segale, Chief Financial Officer Beartown by Fredrik Backman This novel focuses on the fortunes of a shrinking town and its Hockey Club, and the pressures that are put on the children and adults as a result. The characters are well developed and easy to relate to. The author also wrote A Man Called Ove, another book I’d recommend with a totally different story line but similar character development and a lot of humor.
Jennifer TumSuden, Director of Development, Humanities Faculty I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson Told from the alternating perspectives of teenage twins Jude and Noah, I’ll Give You the Sun is a complex coming-of-age story that grapples with sexual identity, family secrets, and the struggles of becoming an artist. The twists and turns of the plot are engrossing and the prose so completely beautiful that the book is hard to put down. At its core, this is a novel about love and grief. Fair warning: you may at times need tissues. The stories of Noah and Jude affirm how messy the journey to becoming one’s true self is and remind us to embrace both the joy and the sadness along the way.
Antonio Viva, Head of School Daily Rituals: How Artists Work, edited by Mason Currey Have you ever wondered about the working process of the world’s greatest creative thinkers? Discussing such luminaries as Agatha Christie, George Balanchine, Leo Tolstoy, and Pablo Picasso, this book outlines the daily rituals of some of the most noted artists of the past and present. This revealing and inspiring volume is wonderfully compiled and edited to create small snapshots of 161 novelists, poets, playwrights, painters, philosophers, scientists, and mathematicians. ◆ Behind Stowe | 47
SEEN ON THE HILL
The artists, instructors, and leaders who visited our campus this year inspired us with their dedication and commitment to excellence. Representing a diversity of fields, perspectives, and backgrounds, they enriched our community by broadening our understanding of art, history, culture, and more.
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1: Music students performed in a cello master class with Astrid Schween, cellist of the Juilliard String Quartet and a member of the faculty at The Juilliard School. 2: Assistant Head of School Susanne Carpenter and math faculty member Anne Murphy took part in Friendsgiving in November. 3: Students celebrated their diverse citizenship with a flag ceremony. 4: Actress and singer Lauren Kidwell, who played Mother Superior in the Broadway Tour of The Sound of Music, gave an amazing performance as well as invaluable advice to our students. 5:Jeff Perrotti, Director of Transgender Voices–Transgender Youth and Family Members at OUT MetroWest, led a talkback after a matinee of Pronoun. 6: Jenny Elowitch, Director of Music, welcomed Nina Bernstein Simmons, Leonard Bernstein’s youngest daughter, to an all-School Assembly in honor of Leonard Bernstein’s Centennial. 7: The Dance Department welcomed Alumni in Residence Zoe Scofield ’97 and Riley Watts ’03. 8: Che Anderson, founding Director of POW! WOW! Worcester, was our Black History Month speaker. 9: The spirit of the Rennaissance was alive and well at this year’s Boar’s Head festival. 2017 / 2018
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SEEN ON THE HILL
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1: 2018 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards went to Haotian “Tiger” Ji ’19, Karen Morey ’18, Jordan Barrant ’18, Lucia Mulligan ’18, Dai “Debby” Shi ’21, Lidia Calixte ‘21, Jian “Chili” Shi ’18 (all pictured above) and Meghana Basi ’21, Manasi Eswrapu ’19, Eunji Huh ’19, and Fangzhou “Wendy” Tang ’21 (not pictured) 2: Poet Lillian-Yvonne Bertram worked with WFMA students on recording and remixing "A House of Dust," Alison Knowles’s computerized poem from 1967. 3: Actor, director, and educator Akhila Khanna ran a workshop for Walnut Hill students to introduce Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed techniques. 4: Dancers and visual artists debuted collaborative works of performance art inspired by the traditional dance costumes of the Burkina Faso tribe. 5: Composition students worked with composer Yehudi Wyner in music master classes this spring. 6: Students celebrated Lunar New Year at a special dinner with faculty and staff. 7: Promgoers gathered outside Stowe before the big event. 8: Students, faculty, and staff performed in the 10th Annual Walnut Hill Telethon to support the School. 9: Students learned the art of Chinese calligraphy at one of the many workshops across campus at Culture Fest. 5 0 | Behind Stowe
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SEEN OFF THE HILL
Whether it’s bringing art to an appreciative audience off the Hill in our own neighborhood, or meeting with fellow students, parents, or alums halfway across the world, Walnuts took the opportunity this year to explore and engage beyond the borders of our campus this past year.
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1: Promgoers Jordan Cassel '19 and Brooks Andrew '19 enjoyed a moment before the Spirit of Boston launched. 2: Theater majors Andy Edelman ’18, Katie Roeder ’18, Tori Cargill ’18, and Jonathan Haller ’18 performed for the nonprofit Medical Missions for Children event in Boston in December. 3: This spring, Director of Diversity & Inclusion Linda Hughes traveled with a contingent of students to the AISNE High School Students of Color Conference at Moses Brown School in Providence, Rhode Island. 4: Walnut Hill’s Director of Artistic Studies Jim Woodside, Director of Alumni Relations Garrett Murphy ’08, Head of School Antonio Viva, and Assistant Director of Admissions Lela Paultre traveled to South Korea to meet with current students and families, and parents of alumni. 5:Our own Tom Keenan fought the elements at the Boston Marathon in downtown Natick. 6: Walnut Hill’s Director of Artistic Studies Jim Woodside and Head of School Antonio Viva celebrated in Beijing with current and newly accepted students and their families. 7: Walnut Hill students participated in the Asian American Footsteps Conference at Deerfield Academy in April. 8: In Shenzhen, current and newly accepted students and their families met with Head of School Antonio Viva. 9: Humanities faculty member and Director of Development Jen TumSuden brought her art history class to experience the Harvard Art Museums this winter. 10: Walnut Hill students tried to stay dry during the annual running of the Boston Marathon through Natick Center on Patriots' Day. 11: Walnut Hill mascots jumped in to support the local Natick Service Council marathon team, including our own Tom Keenan, Sophomore Class Dean and Head of Math & Science. 2017 / 2018
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Congratulations to the Class of 2018
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e were honored to welcome Rev. Dr. Derrick Harkins as our 2018 Commencement speaker. Former pastor of the Nineteenth Street Baptist Church in Washington, DC, and advisor to the Obama administration and its Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, Rev. Harkins is currently Senior Vice President for Innovations in Public Programming at Union Theological Seminary in New York. Enjoy this brief excerpt from his incredibly moving and energetic speech, which encouraged graduates (including his own daughter Shannon) to take their considerable artistic gifts into the world to tell the truth: It’s important again for us to realize how important it is to tell the truth. Now, here at Walnut Hill you honed and sharpened the skills of giving artistic voice to some powerful messages that have made people look on in awe, and be inspired to the depths of their souls. You’ve dance, acted, sung, played,
produced, created. You’ve shown us beauty, you’ve made us laugh, made us cry, and made us think. So it’s too late: you can’t stop now! You have gifts that can make the world a different place, and a better place. Whether you use those gifts directly now or even indirectly for the rest of your lives, use them: use them to tell the truth that justice and compassion and goodness matter, and that we’re better in community than we are divided. But like the infomercials: but wait, there’s more! Speak the truth, even if your voice shakes. This is the required part of the graduation address where you’re reminded that there are challenges and uncertainties ahead, but the good news is that there are examples and inspiration from those that have gone before you. I love this quote from Dr. King Jr.: “I refuse to accept the view that humankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality. I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.” You all are dealing in potent currency.
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G R A D U AT I O N
Community Award Winners
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1: Head of School Antonio Viva, Commencement speaker Rev. Dr. Derrick Harkins, and Board President Betsy Paine McClendon ’65 2: The graduating class of 2018 3: Community Award Winners, left to right: Catherine T. Chan Award, Longfei "Flora" Sun ’19; Joanna Rappaport ’96 Award, Lucia Mulligan ’18; Head of School Antonio Viva; Arnold C. Taylor Award for Academic and Artistic Achievement, Friendship Award, Colin Canavan ’18; Hester R. Davies Citizenship Cup Award, Noah Silverman ’18 4: Graduates Kai Horvit ’18 and Avery Held ’18 5: Senior Farewell speaker Ho Tin Chan ’18 6: Graduates Noah Silverman ’18, Hannah Brennan ’18, Chili Shi ’18, and Violet Woundy ’18 7: A Walnut string quartet performs at The First Congregational Church in Natick, MA. 2017 / 2018
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NEW BEGINNINGS
Congratulations to the Class of 2018 for a Truly Impressive Acceptance and Matriculation List! American University American University of Paris Art Center College Ball State University Ballet Met Bard College Bard College Conservatory of Music Barnard College Bates College Bath Spa University Belmont University Bennington College Berklee College of Music Boston Conservatory at Berklee Boston University Bryant University Bryn Mawr College Butler University California College of the Arts California Institute of the Arts Catholic University Central Saint Martins Champlain College Cleveland Institute of Music College of Charleston Columbia College Chicago Connecticut College Cooper Union Cornell University DePaul University Drew University Eastman School of Music Elon University Emerson College Emmanuel College Flagler College Fordham University Franklin University Switzerland George Brown College George Mason University Gettysburg College Hofstra University Hollins University 5 6 | Behind Stowe
Indiana University Ithaca College James Madison University The Juilliard School Keene State University Lawrence University Lesley University The Lir Academy at Trinity Dublin Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts London College of Fashion Longy School of Music Loyola University Chicago Loyola University New Orleans Lynn University Manhattan School of Music Marquette University Maryland Institute College of Art Marymount Manhattan College MassCollege of Art and Design Merrimack College Michigan State University Mount Holyoke College Muhlenberg College Musicians Institute New England Conservatory The New School (Mannes College of Music) The New School (Parsons) The New School (School of Jazz) The New School (School of Drama) New York Film Academy New York University Northeastern University Northwestern University Oberlin College Oberlin Conservatory of Music
Otis College of Art & Design Pace University Pacific Northwest Ballet Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University Penn State University Pratt Institute Providence College Purchase College (SUNY) Quinnipiac University Rhode Island School of Design Richmond, The Am. Inter. U London Ringling College of Art & Design Roger Williams University Rollins College Roosevelt University Rose Bruford College Royal Academy of Music Royal Conservatoire Scotland Rutgers University Saint Joseph’s University San Francisco Conservatory of Music Sarah Lawrence College Savannah College of Art & Design School of Art Institute of Chicago School of Visual Arts SciencesPo–Reims Scripps College Seton Hill University Shenandoah University Simmons College Skidmore College Smith College Spelman College Suffolk University Swarthmore College Syracuse University Temple University Tufts University University at Albany (SUNY) University of Arizona
University of Cincinnati (CCM) University of Colorado, Boulder University of Connecticut University of Denver University of Hartford University of CA, Irvine University of CA, Riverside University of Illinois University of Massachusetts Amherst University of Masschusetts Dartmouth University of Miami University of New England University of New Hampshire University of New Haven University of NC School of the Arts University of Oklahoma University of Oregon University of Pittsburgh University of San Francisco University of Southern California University of Tampa University of the Arts University of Toronto University of Utah University of Vermont Vassar College Virginia Commonwealth University Wagner College Wellesley College Wentworth Institute of Technology Wesleyan University Western University Wheaton College (MA) Whitman College York University
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See page 5 for more information on our
125th Anniversary Celebration