Behind Stowe | School Year 2018–2019

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 2018–2019 | Volume 9 Number 1

Celebrating 125 Years!

TIGERS 1933

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

2018/2019 | Volume 7 Number 1

125 Years . . . and Counting

This year’s issue of our magazine, Behind Stowe, celebrates 125 years of innovation in education on the Hill. At our inception, we offered a well-rounded and robust education to prepare young women for the demands of both college and a rapidly changing world, and thanks to the many minds and hearts that have influenced the School throughout the decades, we finish our 125th year as the only arts high school in New England, a leader in arts education, and a space where young people can grow into their best selves.

As we look ahead, we feel confident in knowing that you, our alumni, students, parents, supporters, and friends, will be with us every step of the way as we embrace the opportunities and challenges ahead for our beloved School. Here's to the next 125 years!

EDITORIAL TEAM Garrett Murphy ’08 Director of Alumni Giving and Engagement

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A NOTE FROM STOWE

Jeanne O’Rourke Chief Creative Officer

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A YEAR IN REVIEW A Look Back at a Year of Art-Making on the Hill

Rebecca Mayersohn Stewardship & Research Coordinator

HISTORY FROM OUR

125TH CELEBRATIONS A Peek at Our Many Celebrations Throughout the Year

Judy Kiviat Editorial Assistant blazar design studio Design ADVANCEMENT OFFICE Marie Longo Chief Advancement Officer Jennifer TumSuden Director of Development Leah George Database Manager Pat McDougal Development Associate CREATIVE TEAM Jenna Nastri Marketing Communications Associate Amelia Iverson Technology Integration Specialist

HEADS OF SCHOOL

12 ALUMNI VISIT Alumni Discuss Creative Paths to Success

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BY THE NUMBERS

14 REUNION WEEKEND

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WALNUT HILL

ALUMNI DONOR ROLL

RECOMMENDS

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2019–2020 ALUMNI EVENTS

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42 SPOTLIGHT ON LEADERSHIP Nicola Conraths Is Making Sparks Fly

MEET OUR NEW TRUSTEES

52 IN MEMORIAM

58 GRADUATION

CLASS NOTES

Matt Seifert WFMA Faculty/Creative Team PHOTOGRAPHY Joshua Barnatt Coffeepond Photography Liza Voll Photography Matt McKee Photography Christopher Duggan Photography Matthew Seifert Antonio Viva Walnut Hill Archives

Special thanks to our many contributors this year: Earle Batchelder, Jason Hersom, Joshua Holden '01, Leah George, Marie Longo, Jenna Nastri, Jennifer TumSuden, Rebecca Mayersohn, Stephanie Perrin, Jason Stumpf and the Humanities Department, and Antonio Viva. © 2019 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 Leah George: lgeorge@walnuthillarts.org

Twitter and Instagram: @walnuthillarts | www.facebook.com/walnuthill | www.walnuthillarts.org | 508.653.4312

A NOTE FROM STOWE

Celebrating a History of Bold Thinking When people find out that Walnut Hill wasn’t always an arts school, they are often surprised to know that we were once one of only a handful of girls’ boarding schools in New England founded during the late 19th century. The origin story for Walnut Hill is, at its core, one of mavericks and trailblazers, and most of all an interesting case study of women in leadership positions at a time when they were not even allowed the opportunity to vote. This humble beginning by our founders, Charlotte Conant and Florence Bigelow, paved the way for a century of leadership that provided the foundation for the Walnut Hill that stands today.

It’s true that our story has survived two world wars and two major economic downturns. It is also true that our history includes a second origin story, one that again reflects bold and visionary leadership. The genesis of our identity as an arts school did not come at the expense of being a girls’ boarding school.

On the contrary, it shaped the core of who we would become, and that spirit of growth and innovation endures in many ways on campus today. It is for these reasons and more that this celebratory 125th year comes at the most opportune time, as we find ourselves again as a school set against the backdrop of shifting social norms, threats to basic human rights, intolerance, and the pressures of globalization.

Our quasquicentennial year has been filled with moments of joy and celebration.

We have traveled to more than 20 cities around the globe. We have met with alums, past and present parents, friends, and former faculty and staff. I have been deeply moved by the many stories and memories that people have shared with me about their time as part of our amazing community. I want to thank all those who participated, either in person or online, and I also want to thank the hundreds of donors who helpfully acknowledged this anniversary milestone throughout the year. Your support has given us the ability to start implementing many new projects and initiatives, and we look forward to sharing the details with you in the coming months.

In the meantime, I send my best wishes for a restful summer and also invite you to engage with us. If you are in the Natick area, we encourage you to stop by and say hello or take in a performance or an exhibit in the fall. If distance keeps you away, please be sure to follow us online and enjoy one of our many performances via livestreaming or social media. Thank you, once again, for being an integral part of our shared past, and I look forward to connecting with you in the future.

Antonio Viva Head of School

2018/2019

Behind Stowe | 1

HISTORY FROM OUR HEADS OF SCHOOL

How Walnut Hill Became an Arts School

by Earle Batchelder (Excerpted from original appearance in Behind Stowe, Spring 1998) Earle Batchelder was Headmaster of Walnut Hill School from 1962 to 1973. He and his wife, Nancy, Class of ’51, were instrumental in the implementation of the current mission of the School.

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n one sense, 25 years ago seems like a long time. So much has happened in that period, it is easy to lose perspective. On the other hand, some of the events that led to the conception of the performing arts program at Walnut Hill are vividly memorable, at least to Nancy and me, who lived through the agony and ecstasy of that period.

A BRIEF HISTORY

The popular misconception of the birth of the Walnut Hill School for the Arts is that the idea leaped full-blown in a kind of miraculous conception.

Actually, it was the product of the decade that preceded it.

In the very early 1960s, the Walnut Hill campus was in serious disrepair. Recognizing this, the Trustees chose to have built two new classroom buildings, Conant and Bigelow, and for the next eight years extensive renovation and construction of 10 buildings (the Pooke Museum, the auditorium, the dining hall, to name only a few) was a high priority. Without that preliminary work, Walnut Hill would not have had the facilities (an adequate theater and auditorium, rehearsal and dance space) to make a performing arts program feasible. Of course, I did not know at the time that this was to be the School’s ultimate destiny.

Rather, these improvements were made to meet the needs of a traditional collegepreparatory student body.

At the same time, however, society was changing, and independent schools were

changing accordingly. Inflation was high, enrollments were down, Vietnam and drug usage and student unrest throughout the country challenged all traditional institutions. At first a few, then almost all boys’ boarding schools went coed, not always out of conviction as much as to meet enrollment needs.

They were generally far better endowed than girls’ schools, and they could and did enroll girls with far greater ease than could their female counterparts.

(It was around that time that a secret meeting was called of the heads of about a dozen of the girls’ leading boarding schools in the Northeast, to discuss what could be done to solve their common problem.) As one of those heads speculated at the time, “If something doesn’t happen, a similar meeting might be called five years later, and half of the schools represented here will no longer exist.” For a few, that prophecy proved to be correct.

It was in this context that the “revelation,” if that is what it was, occurred at Walnut Hill. I knew we had to do something better than the other schools, we had to have an identity

1892 The Harwood Estate, in the Walnut Hill neighborhood of Natick, purchased and transformed into Stowe Hall and Highland Hall SEPTEMBER 6, 1893 Opening day of Walnut Hill School, a college-preparatory

2 | Behind Stowe

www.walnuthillarts.org

that would make the School exceptional. And deep in my memory bank I remembered reading about Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan, a school in which the arts were not merely an add-on, but where they enjoyed a full, even primary recognition. No school like it existed in the Northeast, I knew— why couldn’t Walnut Hill be that school?

The following day, I was on the telephone to Todd Perry, General Manager of the Boson Symphony. I had known him from my early teaching days, when I worked for the Boston Symphony in Tanglewood.

Todd was sympathetic, but he demurred—education was not his strong suit, he felt. Why not speak to Gunther Schuller, then President of the New England Conservatory?

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for it. He pledged his complete support and arranged for me to meet E. Virginia Williams, Artistic Director of the Boston Ballet. We had lunch and I found her to be equally enthusiastic.

She suggested I contact Doris Hering, Editor of Dance magazine, and Martha Myers, Head of the Dance Department at Connecticut College. I visited both of them and again met with complete cooperation. Thus the first phase was set: an advisory board that could command respect.

It was at that point that I went to Walnut Hill’s Board of Trustees. If any of them had misgivings, they hid them well.

I remember Nancy’s and my euphoria following that meeting.

In retrospect, I know that all of this violated the principles of participatory management.

Change can be threatening, as well as challenging.

—Earle Batchelder

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He called Gunther and arranged an appointment for me. From that time on we were off and running. Gunther had always wanted to start just such a high school, he said, but had neither the space nor the resources

Faculty had not been consulted, nor students, nor alumnae. But time was important. We had to act quickly, with full realization that such a move would not meet with universal approval.

And it didn’t. The faculty

school for girls, founded by Wellesley College graduates Charlotte Conant and Florence Bigelow

1901 Eliot House built, complete with dormitory, dining rooms, and study and leisure spaces

JUNE 14, 1894 Eight graduate in the first Commencement ceremony

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ABOVE Batchelder with (center) Walnut Hill's current President of the Board of Trustees, Elizabeth Paine McLendon '65.

members were cooperative, although some feared the effect of such a move on the character of the School, the curriculum, and their classes.

Student reaction was also mixed. Some loved the concept.

Others wondered what impact the move would have on them.

The Alumnae Board were the most cautious, which was understandable. After all, they had chosen to remain active because they liked the School as they remembered it. Change

1907 First international students study at Walnut Hill

Behind Stowe | 3

HISTORY can be threatening, as well as challenging.

But at this point the arts program was only a concept.

Much was left to be done. We had to promote it without anything but promises, without even a faculty, really.

Fortunately, we did have an excellent Modern Dance Department under the strong direction of Peggy Brightman.

And we had a music program and some occasional theater, but nothing that didn’t exist in other independent schools. So we had much to do, all at once.

One of Nancy’s Walnut Hill classmates, Arlene Saxe, was married to Jack Rothschild, who owned an advertising agency in Boston. Jack and his partner and I met, redesigned the School’s promotional material, and mapped out an advertising plan that would barely fit our meager budget. At the same time, I asked Virginia Williams to help find a ballet teacher. Before she could reply, we had our first bona fide student applicant, Sue Rosenbaum, from New York. I explained to the Rosenbaums that the hiring of a ballet teacher was in the process, that Virginia Williams had promised to recommend someone. Mrs. Rosenbaum, eager to learn who, called Virginia directly and was told that she was going to recommend a woman named Sydelle Gomberg. Before that

information was relayed to me, Mrs. Rosenbaum called Sydelle, who was understandably mystified to learn that she had been chosen to teach at a school which she had neither heard from nor knew anything about!

Nevertheless, Sydelle did join us, as did Sue Rosenbaum, along with Jeannette Worthen (now known professionally as Jeannette Palmer) and a handful of other students. That first year, 1972–1973, was a year full of excitement, hope, and identity problems. I remember the good times—taking some of the dance students to feeder schools to perform to establish the School’s new identity—and some not-so-good times—the schism that developed between the dancers (the “twinkle-toes,” their disparagers called them) and the athletes (“the jocks”).

I guess birth is never an easy process and sibling rivalry can be intense.

However, the program flourished. Not only did enrollment begin to grow again, but these new students, with their purposeful outlook, were disciplined, organized, and dedicated, and these characteristics were present in almost everything they did. The atmosphere on campus began to come alive. Our relationship with the Boston arts community grew and grew. I was invited to join the Metropolitan Cultural

Council, Walnut Hill being the only private school represented, and that connection helped establish the first of a series of “Boston Arts in the Suburbs,” which brought to the campus about 20 Boston-based arts organizations for performances in our auditorium. We became affiliated with the Boston University School of Fine and Applied Arts, with participation on the advisory board. Our music students, whose numbers were small at first but whose qualities were high, became members of the New England Conservatory Youth Orchestra.

We hosted a concert by the Greater Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra, attended by thenGovernor Michael Dukakis and his wife, Kitty Dukakis, the concert’s honorary sponsor. We were getting known!

A few years ago, when Nancy and I visited the campus, one of the new alumnae, who in the early years had not been particularly supportive of the School’s new direction, asked me: “Did you ever dream the School would become like this?” My answer was, and still is, “Yes. This is almost exactly how I dreamed it.” While I may have been its original parent, it has since had a number of guardians, and I am pleased that it has, in fact, grown so well and so proudly.” ◆

1916 Walnut Hill School legally incorporated as a nonprofit college-preparatory school (notably, gender of students is not mentioned) 1927 An additional tract of land bordering Oak Street 4 | Behind Stowe

www.walnuthillarts.org

Celebrating an Arts Education

by Stephanie Perrin, Walnut Hill Head of School, 1984 to 2008 On the occasion of Walnut Hill’s 125th anniversary, I want to say how proud I continue to be of the School and the outstanding leadership and vision of current Head of School Antonio Viva.

Having held the position of Head of School when Walnut Hill turned 100, I know that running this show can be terrifying, exhilarating, and exhausting all at once. I also know that Walnut Hill’s success is the result of many people from all parts of the community working together. I am grateful that the School is in such good and caring hands.

I had the opportunity to attend the Walnut Hill dance event at the Joyce Theater in New York this spring. I was very moved and impressed by the whole performance and by the heartfelt and enthusiastic response of the audience. As I sat there, I thought about how far Walnut Hill has come and how much it has changed since it was founded 125 years ago. Despite the many changes, it is clear that the core values of the School’s two scholarly and unpretentious founders, the Misses Conant and Bigelow, are still quite present in the community today. These two Wellesley College graduates were not wealthy, but they had a vision of a school that valued serious scholarship, friendship, kindness,

purchased to expand the School 1932 & 1953 Hester Davies appointed Principal, Mildred Marcy appointed Principal

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ABOVE Stephanie Perrin receives her honorary diploma from Walnut Hill School for the Arts.

and community. This final value was one that I was known to speak of often during my tenure on the Hill. The founders were pioneers—women with a remarkable sense of agency.

They were dreamers who knew a place like Walnut Hill should exist.

Luckily for us, they were also driven enough to create it.

or “Not for Ourselves Alone.”

The residue of their vision lingers like fairy dust sprinkled by the elves in Class of 1930 alumna Elizabeth Bishop’s early poem Behind Stowe. Even if the fairy dust only exists in poetry and my imagination, there is undoubtedly magic in the Walnut Hill community.

One might say there is not much left these days of the original Walnut Hill, but I would disagree.

We are still a community of ambitious dreamers who embody the motto penned by our founders: Non Nobis Solum,

Former Head of School Earle Batchelder harnessed this magic when he came up with the idea for the modern Walnut Hill. During his long tenure, he developed many of the programs and facilities that transformed

1962 Mr. Earle Batchelder, the School’s first Headmaster appointed 1971 Walnut Hill Board of Trustees voted to expand the School’s mission to include training in the fine arts Behind Stowe | 5

HISTORY the School. After he left, Walnut Hill had a series of Heads, including Bob Nielson, who held the position when I first came to Walnut Hill in 1984 as Academic Dean. I was not expecting to stay long. After 10 years as a counselor and art history teacher at Phillips Academy, Andover, I was convinced I was not a “school person.” I had intended to be a movie star, but it didn’t work out.

Bob was an experienced school administrator who taught me the critical importance of having a clear institutional vision. He let me make mistakes and I learned from them. At that time, the student body was a diverse bunch of dancers, actors, gymnasts, and non-artists. We had day students and boarding—we even had a hockey team. The campus was charming, though not in great

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of Trustees hire an independent consultant to develop an extensive long-range plan. They agreed, and for the next 25 years we were never without a plan.

So, what I anticipated would be a short stint turned into 30 years, entranced by the possibility of a high school for the arts. Along with the Board, faculty, families, students, and partners like the New England Conservatory, I worked to shape the School into what it is today. Anyone who was skeptical at the start, including some alumni and members of the Board, soon became a believer.

Today, Walnut Hill is known internationally in ways we could never have imagined.

So much of the magic of Walnut Hill is made manifest by the

. . . there is undoubtably magic

in the Walnut Hill community.

—Stephanie Perrin

repair. The endowment was small.

But the people I met were warm, enthusiastic, and motivated.

Before long, I fell in love with the place.

After Bob Nielson left, I worked for two more Heads of School, before being asked to assume the role myself. I agreed, with the stipulation that the Board

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ambitious dreamers who find their way to study here. I recall one young musician whose family went to great lengths to support his artistic goals. Prior to enrolling at Walnut Hill, he would travel by car, bus, and subway from Northern Maine to Boston every Saturday to participate in weekly rehearsals of the New England Conservatory Youth Orchestra.

1972 Under the direction of Earle Batchelder, an Arts Advisory Board formed 1976 Samuel Greene installed as Headmaster

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For this young man, and so many others, becoming a Walnut felt like a homecoming. And what a remarkable gift for the faculty and staff to work at a school filled with students who want—no, long—to be there.

Over my years at Walnut Hill, I became deeply engaged in thinking about arts and arts education. I hold two degrees from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, one in counseling & public policy and the other in arts education.

My coursework combined with my experience at Walnut Hill taught me that intensive artistic training is not only intrinsically valuable, but also offers students the chance to cultivate the confidence, persistence, and work ethic that are necessary to success—whatever their ultimate career and life path may be.

I spoke about the Walnut Hill program and found opportunities for the School to become involved in external educational studies about the value of arts training and the role of creativity in the learning process. It was clear to me that this model of education helped students to cultivate habits of mind, body, and spirit that could support success in anything from ballet to business. I could see the program’s benefits and the kind of people it produced— driven, talented, hardworking graduates who went on to do incredible things. ◆

1978 Robert Nielsen becomes President of Walnut Hill School 1980 Male students admitted to Walnut Hill

www.walnuthillarts.org

Looking Back, Forging Ahead

by Antonio Viva

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hen I arrived at Walnut Hill in July of 2010, it was clear to me that the School had very much benefited from the strong, visionary, and trailblazing spirit of those who had led the

and long-term approach.

In the 10 years since those first few months on campus, I can now look back and reflect on the growth and change we have made as a school. Our programs have continued to evolve, at

ABOVE Head of School Antonio Viva, Janet Pattillo, member of the Board of Trustees, and acclaimed fashion designer Jack McCollough '97 at the Walnut Hill Gala in 2011.

institution before me. However, I had arrived after a small span of turmoil as the fourth Head of School in four years. The students who would become Walnut Hill’s graduating class of 2011 had managed to succeed against the backdrop of the 2008 economic collapse and significant leadership transitions for the School. What I quickly realized was that much of our work as a School would require a steady

times proactively and at other times in response to the shifting expectations and external forces. Some of our most recent alumni have been instrumental in pushing Walnut Hill to fully engage in the work of diversity and inclusion. Our jazz students have brought with them a keen sense of improvisational spirit and creative energy. The birth of our film and media arts program has arrived at

1981 & 1982 Harry K. Herrick becomes Headmaster, H. Beresford Menagh named President of Walnut Hill School

1985 Formal joint program with New England Conservatory formed

1984 Stephanie Perrin becomes Head of School

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the moment when film, video, and media are central to the outreach of any artist or culture creator.

Enrollment has been steady and healthy, attrition is at record lows, and we have increased percentage and depth of alumni engagement, especially during this recently completed year of our 125th Anniversary celebrations.

The past decade has been, on the whole, a successful one.

Physically, we have added several new buildings to the campus, updated our entire kitchen and dining facility, and invested considerable resources to the upkeep and preservation of our historic Natick campus. Just as importantly, we have modernized our student support efforts and established solid community programs. The understanding that students at Walnut Hill are here to receive both arts and academic training is now connected to our belief that we are also here to provide life training. In retrospect, Walnut Hill has managed to adapt and change for the better for well over a century. And now, I find that Walnut Hill must once again embrace change. But why?

As we approach the first full 20

1994 Jane Oxford Keiter Performing Arts Center opens

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HISTORY years of this century, we are again educating young people against a turbulent backdrop. The waves of dissension, discord, and doubt are crashing against a traditional independent school model that

ABOVE Antonio Viva capturing a street protest scene in Seoul, South Korea, March 2017

could be on the verge of collapse.

Indeed, in our own backyard, small colleges and schools across New England have announced their closure, and others have successfully completed mergers with larger institutions. (In fact, in 1970 Walnut Hill engaged in conversations about the potential merger with Noble and Greenough School in Dedham, as well as Rivers School in Weston.)

Fortunately, the universe (along with my predecessors on the Board of Trustees and in the administration) has seen fit to give Walnut Hill a modern and competitive advantage. Our

unique and specialized mission, now rooted in the arts, affords us the opportunity to champion the single most important human trait needed in the 21st century: creativity.

Now, let me paint for you a picture of two schools: one that is slow to change, unable to adapt to outside pressures, and comfortable with the status quo; the other that blossoms from its maverick roots and goes forth into the future with a bold vision, with the ability to adapt to change, and with the desire to engage in a new future. The truth is, Walnut Hill is on the edge of a crucial decision: Should we choose to be the former fictional school, or the latter forward-thinking one? Schools like ours are facing increasing pressure to address not only an outdated financial model, but an educational model that has gone largely unchanged for several decades. The new “sharing economy” has disrupted every industry from taxis to hotels, and this disruption has its sights set squarely on education as one of the few industries remaining fundamentally unchanged.

Disruption is also hitting the art world. In 2016, the National Endowment for the Arts completed its work on a publication called Creativity Connects: Trends and Conditions Affecting U.S. Artists. The report outlined four key trends that are directly impacting artists in

1994 Community Dance Academy launched 1999 Visual Art Center expanded into the Dartley Center for Visual Art, and a digital media lab added

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the 21st century. They include these tenets: technology is profoundly altering the context and economics of artists’ work; artists share difficult economic conditions with other segments of the workforce; structural inequities in the artists’ ecosystem mirror those in society more broadly; and, lastly, training and funding systems are not keeping pace with artists’ evolving needs.

The world is requiring that we evolve to address the pressing challenges of this century, and, in my opinion, artists are the world’s greatest hope. Walnut Hill has been successfully training artists since the mid-1970s. The challenge and opportunity ahead of us, though, is this: to continue to tap into our trailblazing spirit and maverick DNA and once again embrace the evolutionary process of change, while welcoming the new reality of an interconnected, digital society that is increasingly global and continually breaking many long-standing social norms.

So, where does that leave us?

Many have asked me how I think Walnut Hill will change in the future, and my answer actually dates back to 1893 and our motto Non Nobis Solum. We must continue to exemplify the concept that Walnut Hill exists not for ourselves alone, that the artists and creative thinkers we graduate serve as a catalyst to help create a better world. We must expand the opportunities of engagement to

2008 & 2009 Eileen Soskin becomes Head of School, Joseph Keefe appointed interim Head of School 2010 Antonio Viva becomes Head of School

www.walnuthillarts.org

artists as young as 5 (and as old as 80!), and we should push forward a worthy initiative to share art with communities as close as Natick and as far away as Seoul.

I believe the financial model for independent schools is in need of significant redesign. This will require us to explore options to generate alternative revenue, as well as expand our online footprint to extend far beyond 12 Highland Street, while at the same time making a commitment to becoming an integral partner to the town of Natick and the surrounding communities. Walnut Hill has been—and continues to be—an important arts provider to the Greater MetroWest area, and our ability to increase this role will help us live our motto, “Not for Ourselves Alone.”

The building blocks of Walnut Hill’s DNA are bold thinking and innovative leadership. This was true at the turn of the 19th century, and again in the 1970s and 1980s when we adopted our current arts mission. The time has come for us to once more redefine what it means to be an arts school and, equally important, an arts provider and key resource to the community writ large.

Which brings me back to creativity. There has been so much talk recently about the power of creativity and how important it is as a skill of the 21st century.

Stanford University professor

David Eagleman and composer and Rice University professor Anthony Brandt do an excellent job of articulating the elements that can foster and enhance our creative process and creative thinking in their recent work The Runaway Species: How Human Creativity Remakes the World.

One of the most critical ways we can train young artists to flex their creative muscle is to give them opportunities to try things out and experiment with mediums and methods with which they are not familiar. This exercise of pushing a young artist to explore an area that is outside their major field of study develops the kind of bending, blending, and

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We know that our Walnuts have an insatiable appetite to explore a variety of mediums and disciplines. Our hope is that through this structured and complementary program, students’ creative capabilities as a whole will be enhanced.

Ultimately, the path ahead of us in the next 125 years will demand that we experience and pursue the many exciting opportunities for collaboration and creativity both that we seek out and that seek us out. Our future work includes exploring new artistic partnerships, redesigning how we use our time across the campus, and creating a new schedule

We must continue to exemplify

the concept that Walnut Hill exists not for ourselves alone . . .

— Antonio Viva

breaking of mental processes that Eagleman and Brandt discuss.

One way Walnut Hill is beginning to implement this type of thinking into our curriculum is with a new offering we call ART360. The program enables students in all majors to explore a subject outside of their primary major each semester. Next year, mini classes in photography, hip-hop, acting, guitar, podcasting, fashion design, and ballet will be offered.

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that will encourage and facilitate creative and collaborative work. Happily, thanks to those who came before us, we are already rooted in one of the most important and sought-after fields: the arts. Now, we can evolve into an organization that maximizes the advantages that the 21st century provides. I, for one, am looking forward to this journey, as I know it is filled with infinite possibilities and unlimited potential. ◆

2016 The Delbridge Family Center for the Arts opens with a new performance space, studio, and dance offices 2019 Walnut Hill celebrates its 125th Anniversary!

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Behind Stowe | 9

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

Memories from the Hill: Joshua Holden '01 Remembers a Place of Refuge

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ne afternoon when I was a sophomore at Walnut Hill, I was walking down the path toward the Dining Hall when I saw our Head of School, Stephanie Perrin, and her little dog, Renzo, sauntering toward me. I thought Stephanie Perrin was, hands down, the most fabulous woman I had ever met in my 17 years of life. She was articulate, poised, and the definition of fashion-forward.

“Joshua, will you join me in my office? I’d like to speak with you,” she said in her high-pitched, yet very soothing voice. “Of course, Ms. Perrin,” I said, and off we went. I assumed this meeting had something to do with my position as Senior Class President. Whatever the topic, it didn’t matter much to me because I held her in such high esteem, and I was thrilled to be receiving whatever attention I could get from her. However, I soon found out that this meeting had nothing to do with my leadership position at the School.

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I’m truly inspired to ensure that this school continues to thrive—because the world needs people like us, now more than ever.

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“I’ve heard the wonderful news [about your coming out], and I want to take a moment to tell you how brave I think you are. What you’ve done is not easy, but I want you to know that Walnut Hill is a safe place, built on an accepting and loving community, and if this is who you truly are, we are all here to support you.” I broke down crying with joy and an overwhelming sense of gratitude. To give you www.walnuthillarts.org

some context: Two years prior, two boys in the public school I was attending at the time came out. And after their being relentlessly harassed for weeks, the school’s solution was to segregate them into private classrooms, away from the rest of the school as “protection,” and then not discuss it any further with students in a public forum. Yet here I was, doing the same thing those persecuted boys had done, just a year after, and instead of being hidden away in a shameful fashion, I was celebrated, empowered, and loved. That, to me, embodies the true spirit of Walnut Hill.

It is now 19 years later, and the world outside Walnut Hill continues to show us its ugly head in unthinkable ways. Yet, when I step back on that campus, which I do as frequently as opportunity (and time away from work) allows, that same unexplainable energy still pulses there on the Hill. This positive energy is one that we have all contributed to and that is embodied by new generations of mighty Walnuts year after year.

As a full-scholarship student for two years (thanks to Joanne Holbrook Patton P’80, who funded my scholarship), I’m truly inspired to ensure that this school continues to thrive—because the world needs people like us, now more than ever. As a working artist in New York City, I don’t have extra money to give right now. But I give my time and energy with all my might by hosting Telethon, being an active member of the Alumni Association, spreading the gospel to young people to apply, and encouraging my fellow alums to stay connected. Because those good feelings we once fostered on the Hill are still available to us long after graduating, and that’s something I very much choose to celebrate—and I invite you to do so, too. ◆

Joshua Holden '01 is the creater and host of the award-winning internationally touring family show, The Joshua Show, and is a puppet wrangler on Sesame Street through the Jim Henson company.

LET’S STAY IN TOUCH! WE’D LOVE TO HAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS— SEND YOUR CURRENT ONE TO OPPOSITE PAGE Josh Holden performing at the Alumni Showcase last year on the Hill TOP Jennifer Grossman Wheeler '01, Van Hansis '00, Matt Risch '00, and Holden at Bathtub Gin NYC afterparty event this past April BOTTOM Holden (with theater majors and house band) holds court in Boswell as a 2018 Telethon Emcee 2018 / 2019

ALUMNI@WALNUTHILLARTS.ORG OR CALL THE ALUMNI OFFICE AT 508.650.5064.

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ALUMNI VISIT

Creative Paths to Success

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oes an arts high school graduate always end up on a “traditional” arts career path? Not necessarily, say enthusiastic alumni Eric Herbst '09 (Theater), Christine Luciano '08 (Dance), Katie Crowley '06 (Dance), Jordan McCullough '94 (Music), and Margot Schwarz Heilbronner '81 (Dance). These five alumni kicked off Reunion Weekend in May by sitting down with Antonio Viva, Head of School, at an all-School Assembly for a chat about their interesting and non-linear paths to success, and how a Walnut Hill education shaped their formative years for the better.

LEFT Six alumni Walnuts, including Director of Alumni Giving & Engagement Garrett Murphy '08 (far right,) had a lively discussion in the Keiter Theater this past May, moderated by Head of School Antonio Viva.

An award-winning television producer and on-air correspondent, Eric Herbst '09 is currently the Senior Producer for Elliot Productions, where he develops, manages, and hosts prestigious events across the restaurant, retail, and hospitality industries. Eric is an honors graduate from NYU’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study and is currently continuing his studies at NYU's School of Professional Studies toward a Diploma in Coaching.

Christine Luciano ’08 earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance and Choreography from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and went on to dance professionally in NYC. Upon retiring from dancing, Christine created Align at Work—a company founded with the goal of bringing restorative movements to the workplace and promoting alignment between the body and the brain.

Katie Crowley ’06 is a Project Manager at American Well, working with health systems to implement telehealth technology. Prior to joining American Well, Katie was a healthcare 1 2 | Behind Stowe

consultant at a firm in Boston and a Senior Client Engagement Manager at an automation start-up.

She spent one season as a trainee with Charlotte Ballet after graduating from Walnut Hill and holds an undergraduate degree from Boston University and M.B.A. from Clark University.

Jordan McCullough ’94 earned a Bachelor of Music from Oberlin Conservatory, studying piano performance and orchestral conducting. He now works in Business Development with CBS Television, developing marketing and communications strategies across television, digital, and social platforms.

Margot Schwarz Heilbronner ’81 graduated from Southern Methodist University in 1985 with a B.A. in Art History, which fueled her passion for interior design. Margot has now been an interior designer for over 25 years and is the Founder and President of her own residential design firm, Hopkins Rose Interiors. She lives in Natick, making it easy to come to Walnut Hill frequently for performances! ◆ www.walnuthillarts.org

BY THE NUMBERS

SPOTLIGHT ON WALNUT HILL

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STUDENTS ON CAMPUS

20% DAY STUDENTS

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RECEIVE

80 Music 65 Theater 65 Visual Art 20 Writing, Film & Media Arts

WITH AN AVERAGE AWARD OF

33% OF OUR COMMUNITY IS INTERNATIONAL Bahamas Colombia Hong Kong Ireland New Zealand Philippines Singapore South Africa 2018 / 2019

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6 1: Benny Ibarra ’89 and Chi-Wei Lo ’10 performed “The Impossible Dream” from Man of La Mancha 2: Chi-Wei Lo ’10 played an improvisation on “The Sound of Music” 3: During the Alumni Association meeting, alumni broke into four groups to participate in a Design Thinking Challenge around alumni engagement 4: Mary Barlow Mueller '65 and Renee Bennett O'Sullivan '47 5: Clark Rubenshtein '20 with Antonio Viva after he sang to the Golden Alumni 6: Garrett Murphy ’08 with Evangeline Delgado ’11 and Justine Hand ’88, co-chairs of the Alumni Association 7: Ann Keller Plumb '69, Jamie Mosedale '69, Lynne Snierson '69, and Melissa Paine Aycock '69 8: Sean Diehl ’19, violin, Vicky Cheng ’19, cello, and James Kim ’21, piano, performed the first movement of Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio No. 1 14 | Behind Stowe

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9: Members of the Class of 1969 celebrating their 50th Reunion 10: Suzanne "Suzie" Stevens Hamblett ’59 and Natalie "Nini" Colmore ’59 11: Alessandra Bono Horton ’00 and husband Drew 12: Faculty Emerita Jackie Sand, Eddie Armendia '89, and Math faculty member Anne Murphy 13: Jordan Barrant '18, Dean of Students Melissa Cassel, Chili Shi '18, Director of Development Jennifer TumSuden, and Director of Writing, Film & Media Arts Margaret Funkhouser 14: Former Head of School Stephanie Perrin and Director of Alumni Giving and Engagement Garrett Murphy ’08 15: Melanie Elms '94 and Anne Murphy 16: Jillian Rothman ’18, Tori Cargill ’18, and Matt Krauss ’18 17: David Luciano, Christine Luciano '08, and Humanities faculty member Jay Crawford-Kelly 18: Chi-Wei Lo ’10, Gabriella Fee ’11, Sam Waring ’11, Garrett Murphy ’08, Evangeline Delgado ’11, Kevin Hong ’11, and Eric Herbst ’09

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REUNION WEEKEND

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HOMECOMING WEEKEND OCTOBER 27 & 28, 2019 REUNION WEEKEND MAY 15 & 16, 2020 9

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1: Dylan Contreras ’16 and Kess Kessler '14 2: Joshua Holden ’01, Benny Ibarra ’89, Dean of Students Melissa Cassel, and Eric Herbst ’09 3: Ralph Farris ’89 4: Alumni from the 1980s 5: Head of School Antonio Viva gave a TED Talk about the 125-year history of Walnut Hill 6: Host Joshua Holden '01 performs with Mr. Nicholas 7: Alumni from the late '80s 8: Roger Shoemaker, former Dean of the Arts, and Benny Ibarra ’89 9: Silas Bohen ’21, Cris Sack ’21, Ellie Flacke ’21, and Rachel Aveni ’21 performed John Lennon’s “Imagine” 10: Mara Cecilia ’14 closed the showcase with “What I Did for Love” from A Chorus Line 11: The Class of 1969 12: After the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the courtyard behind New Cottage given in honor of Heather and Ron Reid by Eric Herbst ‘09, pictured here with their son, and fellow New Cottage alumni Luke Rothschild ‘89, Eddie Armendia ‘89, and Benny Ibarra ‘89, with Head of School Antonio Viva 13: Victoria Soucy ’19 sang a stirring rendition of Stevie Nicks’s “Landslide”

2018 / 2019

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CLASS NOTES

1959 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.

GAIL CARSON’S granddaughter Miriam Elizabeth Grice was born five weeks premature on April 19, 2018, at Duke Hospital Birthing Center in Durham, NC. Miriam’s parents are Gail’s daughter Victoria Grice and her wife Lynne Tyeryar. The whole family is thrilled.

1964

BARBARA FADEN SMITHSON recently participated in her first Southern California art show. The event was called Rejoice in Art and took place in Redondo Beach in October.

1966

Several members of the Class of 1966 (pictured above) gathered this past fall for dinner and to catch up on their lives: GINNY CLAPP BENSON, LINDA HARPER MCLANE, HOLLY PEASE HUGHES,

Class Notes received as of April 30

1953

NANCY NEVIUS MILCZANOWSKI and husband Gene recently moved to a lovely continuing care retirement community, Asbury Solomons in Maryland, in order to be closer to their daughter and her family.

They are in a very pleasant cottage with a view of the Patuxent River, and are making new friends every day.

1958

PRUDENCE COSTA JENKINS is looking forward to her upcoming two-week trip to India! She has been teaching for 51 years now.

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ELAINE PLATT GOSS, JO-ANN EDINBURG PINKOWITZ, and LEE MARKS (not pictured).

1967

CATHERINE PHINIZY’S grandson Maxx Parys, a junior at Gould Academy in Maine, is now ranked first in the country and ninth in the world in slalom racing.

Catherine and husband John are incredibly proud of Maxx’s hard work!

1972

1950/1977/1978/1988

Last summer, PIXLEY LEWIS SCHICIANO ’78 hosted a luncheon on Martha’s Vineyard followed by a dance performance. In attendance were CHARLOTTE HALL ’50, MELISSA HAYES HEART ’77, SANDY STONE ’78, JUSTINE HAND ’88, and former Walnut Hill faculty member TAMARA KING, in addition to several other local dance lovers.

BARBARA MAHLMANN-BAUER (pictured above) retired in February 2018, having been a professor of German literature at both the Philipps University of

www.walnuthillarts.org

Marburg in Germany and the University of Berne in Switzerland. She still plays the violin, taking lessons to improve her technique.

Notes from the Hill

1977

SANDRA VALHOULI EVEN continues to teach ballet in the Greater Hartford area. Although she could not make it to Reunion this year, she hopes to attend future dance performances and events on campus.

ABOVE Jennifer Caldwell '78 and Pixley Lewis Schiciano '78

1978

PIXLEY LEWIS SCHICIANO and JENNIFER CALDWELL recently reunited for lunch in Edgartown, Martha’s Vineyard.

1988

EMANUELA DE MUSIS was recently interviewed in the Boston Voyager about her life and career. She is an instructor at the Academy of Realist Art Boston and is currently working on a series of paintings dealing with fertility and motherhood. Her work is on view at Williams Fine Art Dealers in Wenham, MA.

2018 / 2019

1952/1959/1962 1963/1966/2008

MARCIA HUNTER MATTHEWS ’63 organized and hosted an alumni luncheon in her home in Kennebunkport, ME, last July. In attendance were ALICE “SNIDLEY” MOBLEY ’63, ELLIE SANDERSON ’52, SARAH CROSS MILLS ’62, JAN MURPHY LEAVITT ’62, CONNIE CROSS ’59, DEBBY SWANSON HANDY ’63, LINDA HARPER MCLANE ’66, and GARRETT MURPHY '08

KIRSTEN PATCHES ELLIS’S band, Naked Aggression, celebrated its 28th year by doing a summer 2018 West Coast tour and releasing an E.P. called Break Free. She is teaching special education at Torres High School East L.A. Performing Arts Magnet, as well as coaching the brass section in the Torres Pep Rally Band.

Kirsten’s son has Becker’s muscular dystrophy, and she recently led a fundraising effort for his team, Revelle’s Warriors, for the MDA Muscle Walk.

The team has achieved the Circle of Strength Award.

1989

LUKE ROTHSCHILD’S group, String Theory, toured to the Gothenburg Fringe Festival last summer.

Other recent engagements include Ellen DeGeneres’s 60th Birthday Bash, the Sundance Film Festival, LACMA Collectors Dinner, and the Getty Villa.

Alumna Jenna HowardDelman '18 and theater major Greg Ward '19 (here with Head of School Antonio Viva) performed during Natick Center Cultural District’s 2nd Annual Multicultural Day.

New Writing, Film & Media Arts faculty and Creative Team member Matt Seifert's most recent project, Under Maintenance, was accepted into the 2018 Boston Festival of Independent Games (BostonFIG), which took place on September 29 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

1990

Congratulations to MAKEEBA MCCREARY, who has been named the new Chief of Learning and Community Engagement at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Makeeba

The Walnut Hill Community Service Association participated in Natick Days on

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CLASS NOTES returned to the San Francisco Symphony to conduct their Chinese New Year concert on February 16. The following month, she was named Designate Principal Guest Conductor for Austria’s recreationGroßes Orchester Graz.

1956/2001 SUSAN LIVINGSTON ’56 has kept in touch for many years with WILLIAM HONG CHUN YOUN '01, after helping sponsor his education here at Walnut Hill, starting in 1996 when he first came to us from Korea as an 8th grader.

Years later, Susan and William are still fast friends, and they were able to reunite in December at Susan’s Marblehead home.

was previously Managing Director and Senior Advisor of External Affairs for Boston Public Schools.

1991

MEI-ANN CHEN, currently the Music Director of Chicago Sinfonietta, 2 0 | Behind Stowe

1992

Last year, RAYNA RUSSOM finished a 2.5-year tour with Grammy-winning band LCD Soundsystem as their synthesist. Since then, she has been working on a solo album and DJ’ing.

She reports that her first experiences in DJ’ing parties were in the Walnut Hill cafeteria and at the senior prom when she was a junior! In February of this year, Rayna was included in the group show Producing Futures—An Exhibition on Post-Cyber-Feminisms at the Migros Museum of Contemporary Art in Zurich, Switzerland. Her large-scale installation for the show, titled SINless, is about surveillance culture and strategies for creative existence outside of its purview. The show will be on view until mid-May. Rayna is a 2019 Artistin-Residence at National Sawdust in Brooklyn and will present three versions of a new performance work titled Physicality there between April and September. This semester, she began working as a mentor at NYU’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music. Rayna currently lives and works in NYC.

1994

CHARLIE HESS recently

paid his cable bill, which was oddly a bit more than he anticipated. The electric bill has been steady over the past few months, which is totally rad. His E-ZPass responsibility is a tricky beast, as Charlie is not sure he completely trusts it. In other news, he has a second daughter now. She was born on October 29, 2018. The garbageman did not pick up the other night, which had him a bit fuming.

But a good movie was on, courtesy of the recently paid cable bill, and he watched that. And all was well with the night.

On January 22 at 8:14am, COURTNEY GREENE TOMASELLI and husband Jerome welcomed daughter Rosalie Grace Ella Theresa Tomaselli, four weeks before her due date.

She measured 19.5 inches and weighed 5 lbs 13 oz.

1995

GLORIA CHIEN and husband Soovin Kim have been announced as Chamber Music Northwest’s new Artistic Directors. The pair will take the reins in 2020, succeeding David Shifrin.

ABOVE Soovin Kim and Gloria Chien '95

1990/2014

DR. SAHOKO SATO TIMPONE ’90, Assistant Professor of Voice at Florida State University, recently connected with CHARLES SCIASCIA ’14, who currently studies at FSU. www.walnuthillarts.org

Congratulations to violist JULIE THOMPSON and the Seattle Symphony for winning Orchestra of the Year at the 2018 Gramophone Classical Music Awards.

1994/1996

STEPHANIE CHANG ’96 and sister ANNIE CHANG ’94 stopped by campus last summer and had fun visiting Jim Woodside and Holly Worthington, while reminiscing about their days on the Hill. Annie is living in Taiwan, where she has a thriving music career as a “crossover” artist with Afternoon Tree, playing jazz and other contemporary music. Stephanie works as an artist, an art teacher, and a graphic designer, specializing in portraits and figures. She lives in Virginia with her husband and 7-yearold daughter, who she hopes might be a Walnut one day.

1996

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HEIDI KAYSER is a practicing studio artist working across media and an Art Director, working for UCLA School of Public Affairs and several advertising agencies. She lives in Santa Monica, CA. KEEJOO HONG PARK visited campus this past fall with her husband and son, after 20 years away from the Hill. Keejoo enjoyed reliving old memories and visiting with former dorm parents. She noted, “I cannot believe how much has changed for the better!

1997

2018 / 2019

1991/2018

Saturday, September 8, painting bike helmets with children from the community.

Pianist HSIANG JOHN TU performed in March at the Park City Beethoven Festival Concert Series, playing Beethoven and Debussy.

ANDREW WHITFIELD was recently hired as Minnesota Opera’s new Chorus Master and Assistant Conductor.

YUL HEE KIM recently joined the faculty of Ewha Womans University’s School of Business in Seoul. She is teaching their new M.B.A. course, Global Art and Luxury Business, which aims to cultivate the next generation of cultural leaders.

Notes from the Hill

Three music majors — James Kim '21, Taylor Wang '20, and Zekai Liu '19 —had the opportunity to play in a master class for famed pianist Meng-Chieh Liu (center, with Director of Music Jennifer Elowitch). Mr. Liu teaches at both the New England Conservatory and the Curtis Institute of Music.

Julide San '19, double bass, was one of two winners of the New England Conservatory Preparatory School's "A Far Cry" competition.

A Far Cry is a Bostonbased string orchestra that was just nominated for a Grammy Award.

As a winner of this competition, she performed with A Far Cry in Jordan Hall in April.

Julide is a student of Lawrence Wolfe.

HANKS TSAI ’18, IAN HSU ’18, and CHRISTINE HUANG ’18 caught up with conductor MEI-ANN CHEN ’91 and TRUSTEE CATHERINE TAN CHAN at New England Conservatory in February.

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CLASS NOTES

Notes from the Hill

In celebration of #NationalPoetryMonth, Writing, Film & Media Arts and Creative Writing Elective Students attended Mass Poetry's Student Day of Poetry in April at Wellesley College. This innovative program brought together local middle and high school students who read, wrote, and performed poetry through workshops led

by Wellesley students and faculty in an effort to spark interest and strengthen engagement with poetry.

Walnut Hill students from multiple majors were recognized for both visual arts and writing in the 2019 Massachusetts Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. The Walnuts received a total of 22 awards, including 4 Gold Keys, 9 Silver Keys, and 9 Honorable Mentions. As entrants in the Massachusetts Art Region, award-winning students from Walnut Hill were celebrated at Tufts University. Gold Key award-winning work was exhibited at the Massachusetts Scholastic Art and Writing Awards regional exhibition at Breed Memorial Hall, Tufts University, in March.

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LEFT Keejoo Hong Park '98

I wish I could go back to school all over again!” Since the birth of her third son three years ago, Keejoo has been on hiatus from her music teaching career. She and her family live outside of Los Angeles.

2000

In September, Dean of Students MELISSA CASSEL caught up with AMIE MIRIELLO and MATT ROSSIN after a

Sugarland concert. Amie sings backup and plays percussion for Sugarland, and appeared with them on the Today show last June.

Matt currently works at the Harvard School of Public Health.

2001

LAUREN CRIDDLE, known professionally as Lauren Michelle, will star in Boston Lyric Opera’s presentation of Pagliacci this fall. Performances will run from September 27 to October 6 at a venue to be announced.

2001/2002

JENNIFER GROSSMAN ’01 married Bleecker Wheeler on September 2, 2018, and had many Walnuts in attendance: DANA ELIASSEN ’01 (who also officiated the wedding), MEGAN KRAUSZER ’02, AMY SEARS MUNANKARMI ’02, SUSAN GOODWILLIE ’02, LAUREN BISIO ’01, PHILLIP BOULANGER ’02, MAYA HANCOCK KRAUS ’01, FAIRLIE MCCOLLOUGH ’02, and BROOKE STONE COHAN ’02.

JOSHUA HOLDEN is now the full-time Puppet Wrangler/Head of Wardrobe for Avenue Q off-Broadway.

ZOE RABINOWITZ was recently in Boston working as Associate Choreographer on the new American Repertory Theater production We Live in Cairo, collaborating with Samar Haddad King, Artistic Director of Yaa Samar! Dance Theatre. The show ran from May 22 to June 16 at the Loeb Drama Center in Cambridge, MA. ZAC YOUNG recently www.walnuthillarts.org

ABOVE Leah Rothschild '03 with her parents at her wedding

opened his first brick-andmortar PieCaken Bakeshop in Roseville, MN. Luckily, they ship nationwide! Zac was also featured in Delta Sky magazine this past fall with his travel tips and preferences.

2003

NILS NEUBERT returned to teach at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, CA, and recently appeared in an all-Schumann program for the International Keyboard Institute & Festival together with his wife, pianist Yuri Kim. He made his Canadian debut with Schubert’s Die Winterreise with the Alberta Chamberfest and pianist Jason Cutmore in Edmonton, and appeared in recital with pianists Thomas Grubb and Frank Daykin under the auspices of the Art Song Preservation Society of New York. Recent orchestral engagements include Haydn’s Seasons with Berkshire Choral International in Baltimore, Bach’s B Minor Mass with the Portland Baroque Orchestra in Oregon, Haydn’s Creation with the Hudson Chorale, and 2018 / 2019

Handel’s Messiah with the Fairfield County Chorale.

As language coach, he prepared Nicolai’s Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor at the Juilliard School, and Beethoven’s Fidelio with Heartbeat Opera. Starting in fall 2018, he joined the vocal coaching staff at Juilliard, where he has taught classes in German diction since 2013. He also continues at the Manhattan School of Music, where he teaches German diction, chamber music, and independent studies in repertoire and role preparation, and at the Mannes School of Music.

Nils and his wife will reprise Schubert’s Winterreise in New York, and with the Cello Plus Chamber Music Festival at Michigan State University in 2019.

Congratulations to LEAH ROTHSCHILD, who was recently married!

After working in the casting department at Roundabout Theatre Company for the past three years, PETER VAN DAM joined Tara Rubin Casting this past fall in a Casting Direction position. He is excited to be working on their many Broadway productions, including this year’s Tony Award–winning The Band’s Visit. He hopes to connect with other alumni through his work at his new office!

2004

KYLE BROWN is in the ensemble of Moulin Rouge, which premieres on Broadway this June.

SARAH CHASIN is now working for Sesame

Street in International Programming.

SARAH WHITE-STERN, known professionally as Sarah Hollis, won StageSceneLA’s “Breakout Actress of the Year” award for her performances in King Charles III and A Raisin in the Sun. She has recently appeared in playhouses such as Pasadena Playhouse, A Noise Within, and Boston Court. She is having a wonderful time working across the L.A. area in theater and television.

ANNA WILLIAMS and her piano trio, the Neave Trio, will perform at the Mostly Mozart Festival this summer at Lincoln Center.

2005

ASHLEY WILLIAMS BLANCHET is in the cast of Broadway's Frozen, which was nominated in several categories for this year's Tony Awards. She performed along with the rest of the cast on the live broadcast.

JACQUELINE CHOI recently performed at the Newport Music Festival.

BRIGA HEELAN GUBE is the proud mama of a 2-year-old daughter, for whom she sings Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star all day, every day, and when she sings with vibrato, her daughter shakes her head "no"! Briga had the honor of working for Tina Fey on the NBC show Great News for the past two years.

Briga doesn’t know what’s up next, but perhaps it will be the semi-absurd show she is pitching with JIMMY FOWLIE '04!

Notes from the Hill Regional Gold Key Awards: Eunji Huh ’19, Busan, South Korea, Visual Arts; Olivia Na ’22, Lexington, MA, Visual Arts; Caroline Solakian ’21, Sudbury, MA, Visual Arts; Annie Zhu ’21, Palo Alto, CA, Creative Writing Regional Silver Key Awards: Eunji Huh ’19, Busan, South Korea, Visual Arts; Sitong “Cindy” Liu ’21, Shenzhen, China, Visual Arts; Olivia Na ’22, Lexington, MA, Visual Arts; Annie Zhu ’21, Palo Alto, CA, Creative Writing Regional Honorable Mention Awards: Lidia Calixte ’21, Queens, NY, Creative Writing; Eunji Huh ’19, Busan, South Korea, Visual Arts; Sitong “Cindy” Liu ’21, Shenzhen, China, Visual Arts; Olivia Na ’22, Lexington, MA, Visual Arts; Natasha Rawls ’21, Colonia, NJ, Creative Writing; Youyi "Louise" Wu ’20, Beijing, China, Creative Writing; Xiaobei “Elisabeth” Xu ’21, Shenzhen, China, Visual Arts

Two of our Walnuts, Yelim Alice Song '22 (oboe) and Ayana Jaycox '21 (violin) at the Galleria

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CLASS NOTES be challenging to share in other contexts.

PAUL MILLER is currently playing Gee-tar in Lyric Opera of Chicago’s production of West Side Story.

2007

Congratulations to RITA WANG, who took Fifth Place at the XXI Johann Sebastian Bach Competition in Leipzig, Germany.

2006/2007

Violinist NIGEL ARMSTRONG ’07 and pianist JUNG EUN YOON ’06, who played together as members of the Neptune Trio at Walnut Hill, performed as a duo in Seoul and Tongyeong, Korea, in September.

MEREDITH LUSTIG performed in Bernstein’s Mass, conducted by Marin Alsop, at the Ravinia Festival last summer.

2006

KRISTIN KELLY (pictured below left) co-founded Creative Traffic Flow, a new theater collective formed to create ensembledriven performances with queer people of color and

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women as leaders. As the 2018–2019 Artists-inResidence at the University Settlement in NYC, Creative Traffic Flow has been developing Duets of Difference, a four-month workshop, with community performers. Sparked by the current political climate, they have conducted workshops that brought together strangers from radically different walks of life—unlike one another in age, identity, faith, and culture, who may not get to connect in real life—to practice empathetic listening and to resist the societal impulse to jump to polarization. Using theater and dance as tools, they created space for the exchange of different stories and ideas that may

MENGTING YU recently presented her work, along with the work of Hope Ricciardi, her former College Counselor from Walnut Hill, at Tufts University’s Slater Concourse Gallery in November. The exhibition was titled Violence Transformed: STAND TOGETHER. LYDIA ZIMMER performed a solo piece, “SONDERLING,” at the Kinetic Studio’s Open Studio Series in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

2008

AMY NEWMAN recently spent several weeks working in Paris, where she caught up with Walnut Hill faculty Emerita Jackie Sand (pictured below).

TAYLOR WALSH has relocated to Dubai and works at the city’s brand-new branch of Barry’s Bootcamp, which specializes in health, wellness, and fitness.

2009

KAREN CUEVA has been selected as part of the inaugural cohort of Sphinx LEAD (Leaders in Excellence, Arts & Diversity), established by Sphinx, a Detroit-based national organization dedicated to diversity in the arts. Karen and the other nine “LEADers” will participate in a two-year professional development program.

ALEX DELEO is currently performing in the North American tour of Bat Out of Hell, which passed through Boston in April.

ALEX GRIMES recently became Principal Viola for Pacific Northwest Ballet.

NICHOLAS RANAURO is currently playing Slave Master in the national tour of The Phantom of the Opera.

SCOTT SHEDENHELM is currently in the ensemble of the Hello, Dolly! national tour, starring Betty Buckley.

He is also an understudy

2007/ 2015 TONY RYMER ’07 won First Prize in the Washington International Competition for Strings last summer. CHRIS ROGERSBEADLE ’15 was a semifinalist. www.walnuthillarts.org

for the roles of Ambrose Kemper and Barnaby Tucker. The show comes to Boston August 13–25.

Notes from the Hill dell'Accademia di Firenze.

They traveled to Italy with the New England Conservatory Youth Symphony over Winter Break.

EDWARD SPOTS performed in Pygmalion this past November at Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carre in New Orleans.

TRAVIS WARD-OSBORNE recently rejoined the cast of Aladdin on Broadway.

2010

After three years spent dancing with Ballet San Antonio, ASHLEIGH CHUANG moved to Jackson, WY, last spring.

She is working as the Registration and Marketing Assistant for Teton Science Schools, as well as enjoying the great outdoors!

Pianist CHI-WEI LO released his newest music video for the song “For Kaohsiung.” Filmed in Taiwan, the video was directed by Kerker Tom and edited by ICing Kuo. ALISON MAHONEY has been awarded a Mitchell Scholarship to pursue her M.A. in contemporary performance practice at Ulster University’s Magee Campus in Londonderry, Northern Ireland.

ANTONIO MARZIALE plays the leading role of Elliot in the upcoming film Alex Strangelove, directed

by Craig Johnson and produced by Ben Stiller.

In October, CONOR RYAN performed at the Abingdon Theatre Company’s 26th anniversary gala, which was dedicated to two-time Tony winner Donna Murphy.

2018 / 2019

ABOVE Conor Ryan '10 (far right) at a rehearsal.

Conor was also in the cast of Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert, which received several Creative Arts Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Variety Special.

HARPER WATTERS was featured in the New York Times this past fall, appearing in a piece about gay male ballet dancers and gender barriers in the world of dance.

MATT SINNO recently joined the Kansas City Symphony as Associate Principal Viola.

2008/2010

TEDDY WIGGINS ’08 and MARGEAUX MALONEY ’10, both violinists at New World Symphony, met Director of Alumni Giving and Engagement GARRETT MURPHY '08 and Chief Advancement Officer Marie Longo for dinner in Miami, FL, in January. The following month, Teddy and Margeaux performed at our 125th Anniversary event in Miami.

Taylor Wang ’20 won 2nd Prize in the Boston Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition.

Double bassist Julide San ’19 received an Honorable Mention and cellist Keina Satoh '19 was also a Finalist.

Prometheus Dance, featuring Walnut Hill alumni and faculty, performed at the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston as a part of the ICA’s Dance Up performance series produced by World Music/ CRASHarts.

Visual Art Department faculty member Eileen de Rosas was recently commissioned by Arlington Public Art to create a mural for the exterior of the Edith M. Fox Branch Library & Community Center in East Arlington, MA. The work, comprised of largescale paper renditions of animals local to the New England area, was affixed to the brick walls of this community hub using wheatpaste.

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CLASS NOTES voice faculty member Angela Gooch, who taught Sam while she was a student at Walnut Hill. A few months later, Samantha won Second Place and the Birgit Nilsson Prize in Placido Domingo’s Operalia Competition in Lisbon, Portugal.

2011

SCOTT COFFEY (pictured above) plays the role of Michael Scusa in the upcoming film The Outpost, based on the book by Jake Tapper. The film stars Orlando Bloom and is currently filming in Bulgaria.

MARIO GONZALEZ recently joined the L.A. Dance Project, under the direction of Benjamin Millepied.

Last summer, SAMANTHA HANKEY (pictured below) performed during An Evening of Brahms at the Rockport Chamber Music Festival. Many Walnut Hill community members attended the performance, including Head of School Antonio Viva and former

DELANEY HARTER played backup for 50 Cent at Radio City Music Hall last summer. She was also in the orchestra for Rent: Live, which aired January 27 on Fox. MACKENZIE KING recently founded her own contemporary dance company, Moonwater Dance Project, in Chicago.

Fellow Walnut Mario Gonzalez choreographed for the company’s inaugural performance.

BAILEY MOON is now the Global Communications Head for a luxury and sustainable womenswear brand, Gabriela Hearst.

He focuses on VIP relations and celebrity dressing, and gets to work with an array of incredible women in entertainment, politics, and art. He is living in NYC’s Chinatown and occasionally gets to see fellow Walnuts out in the city. On the side, he also does creative movement direction for fashion photo shoots, which is a new venture that gives him a touch of both his loves, dance and fashion.

2010/2012

CONOR RYAN ’10 and ERIKA OLSON ’12 appeared in Paper Mill Playhouse’s world premiere of My Very Own British Invasion this spring. Conor played Trip, while Erika played Pamela. chair, nonrotating. She was seen on this year’s Academy Awards live broadcast playing with the Philharmonic, underscoring the In Memoriam montage.

TEAGAN ROSE played Elvira in Blithe Spirit this past September at North Coast Repertory Theatre in San Diego, CA. SUMI YU appeared in the ensemble of Call Me Madam this February at New York City Center as part of its Encores! series.

BELOW Rebecca Reale '11

2012

Congratulations to GERGANA HARALAMPIEVA on her recent engagement to horn player Eric Huckins.

In December and January, NAMI MIWA performed in Die Lustige Witwe (The Merry Widow), an opera

by Franz Lehár, as a dancer with Oper Frankfurt.

Award-winning pianist KONG QI, who was a student at Walnut Hill from the fall of 2008 to 2010, was a Finalist in the 62nd Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition last summer.

After winning a position with the Los Angeles Philharmonic first violin section in September 2017, REBECCA REALE took an internal move-up audition and is now fifth 2 6 | Behind Stowe

www.walnuthillarts.org

2013

Notes from the Hill

OWEN ALDERSON is currently in his second year of law school at the University of Pennsylvania.

He has accepted a summer associate position at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, a New York-based international law firm.

AUDREY EMERSON currently works remotely in L.A. for Rhode Island production company Devlo Media. She returned to the Hill in April for the MetroWest Film Festival.

MIRANDA GELCH appeared in last summer’s Goodspeed Musicals production of Oliver!, playing Bet and Charlotte.

GEORGE LI was busy last July: he played with the Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, and Los Angeles Philharmonic, in addition to performing a concerto with Valery Gergiev in Verbier, Switzerland. The following month, he gave a Tiny Desk concert on NPR. This spring, he signed with Steinway & Sons, joining an impressive roster of Steinway Artists.

GUANBO WILLIAM SU (pictured above left) took Second Place in February’s Houston Grand Opera Studio’s Concert of Arias. The following month, he was a winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.

After earning her M.A. in teaching from Rhode Island School of Design in 2018, MEGAN TRESCA accepted a position as the

2018 / 2019

Visual Arts Instructor at the Winchendon School in Winchendon, MA. She currently teaches painting, drawing, design, printmaking, and illustration courses.

2014

NICOLE BURKE performed the Fauré Requiem and Mozart Exsultate, Jubilate with the Nashoba Valley Chorale in April.

EMILY MEREDITH (pictured above) graduated magna cum laude from the University of Cincinnati– College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) last spring with a B.F.A. in musical theater. Following graduation, she signed with Bret Adams LTD Artists’ Agency. Last summer, Emily played the role of Sophie in Mamma Mia! at Totem Pole Playhouse. She is now a proud member of the Actors’ Equity Association!

This past May, Michaela Martin Mason '20 (top right) was one of a select group of local students who were awarded the 2019 John P. Garrahan Leadership in Diversity Awards. She attended the awards breakfast with Director of Diversity and Inclusion Linda Lifsey Hughes and classmates Mia Philippon '19, Nyah Malone '19, and Sanzia Pearman '20. (Photo courtesy of MetroWest Daily News) Director of Diversity and Inclusion Linda Lifsey Hughes was honored this spring with a Leadership in Diversity Award by DiversityIS Magazine. The award is a recognition of individuals from K–12 independent schools who encourage and support the recruitment and retention of underrepresented students and employees and exhibit true leadership for diversity, equity, and inclusion. ◆

2011/2013/2016

Last summer, our Summer Theater students attended a performance of Born for This in Boston, featuring JJ MCGLONE ’13. Afterward, JJ caught up with three fellow alumni on our summer staff: EVANGELINE DELGADO ’11, AMANDA BLACK ’16, and NEERAJ RAMACHANDRAN ’16.

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CLASS NOTES flight school this past fall, where she is proving just how high a Walnut can fly!

2015

ADELINE CIMINO recently moved to L.A. to start acting and auditioning. She is working on floral design for a hospitality company, Common Table Creative.

2014/2015

BOSBA SISOMBAT PANH ’15 recently held her senior composition recital at New England Conservatory.

Here, she is pictured with fellow alum NOBBY SUGANUMA ’14, who conducted two of her pieces.

ROSIE SILVERSTEIN graduated from the United States Naval Academy last May as a commissioned ensign. Walnut Hill’s once–Snow Queen kept dance a central part of her academia, waltzing her way to the position of USNA Dance Team Captain. Ensign Silverstein fearlessly led the dance team, choreographing for pep rallies, spirit camps, outreach events, and regional dance competitions— and even influencing uniform redesigns. Her achievements at the Academy brought her to 2 8 | Behind Stowe

MATTHEW GILMORE was named a 2018 Princess Grace Award winner. He graduated from Juilliard this spring.

SAMANTHA GORDON is living in L.A.’s Studio City as an auditioning actor, podcaster, and singer. She recently traveled to Ohio to film a new movie.

CAROLINE JOYNER was named the 2018 Presser Scholar at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Students named Presser Scholars are selected by the music faculty guided solely by consideration of excellence and merit. Caroline is working toward three undergraduate degrees at CIM and Case Western Reserve University: violin performance, music theory, and German.

As a senior at School of the

2014/2018

DRAKE DRISCOLL ’14 performed last summer at Meadowmount School of Music and caught up with HO TIN CHAN ’18, who was attending a summer program there.

Art Institute of Chicago, KK LIU (pictured below) was part of a competition team that won Second Place at the 2018 Barbara G. Laurie NOMA Annual Student Design Competition. Their project, titled “Golden Stature,” was a proposal for a mixed-use transitoriented development in Woodlawn, IL. SYDNEY SHEPHERD appeared in the ensemble of the University of Michigan’s production of Sweet Charity this past October.

JUSTIN SHOWELL spent last summer with

Music Theatre Wichita, performing in Guys & Dolls, Sister Act, The Little Mermaid, Pippin, and Freaky Friday.

TESS VOELKER appeared in the Nederlands Dans Theater 2 tour, which came to Boston’s Shubert Theatre in January. After a visit to Walnut Hill, she was off to their next stop in Maryland. A former Walnut Hill staff member and dancer, Lindsay Moncrieff, was in the audience and reported that Tess was incredible. Also in attendance was Trustee JENNY MCAULIFFE P'15 and her daughter LINDSAY MCAULIFFE. MADISON VOMASTEK is one of the featured dancers in the Backstreet Boys’ new video, Chances.

ZAN BERUBE ’16 played Renata Holiday and JUSTIN SHOWELL ’15 played the Narrator in the University of Michigan’s production of Passing Strange in November.

www.walnuthillarts.org

January, while Mr. Owen was traveling for the Walnut Hill Dance audition tour.

JEFF LIAO is a Fellow at Tanglewood Music Center this summer.

2016

Last summer, ZAN BERUBE traveled to Mezzano, Italy, to perform in a production of Cabaret at the Trentino Music Festival.

TEDDY GIBSON appeared in a dramatic reading of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman last September, presented by the University of Michigan’s University Musical Society and starring Alec Baldwin.

Director of Dance Michael Owen and REES LAUNER (pictured above) united at Joffrey Ballet this

2018

2017

EVREN OZEL won Second Prize at last year’s Dublin International Piano Competition, with special prizes in Mozart and Chopin.

BRIANNA ZUÑIGA recently started a podcast called What Does She Know? in which she shares her experiences as a college student in New York.

2018

JENNA HOWARDDELMAN and ANDY EDELMAN appeared in The Music Man at Reagle Music Theatre last summer.

KATIE ROEDER took Second Place in the High School Music Theater category of the National Student Audition Finals during the 2018 National Association of Teachers of Singing Conference.

2016/2017/2018

ANDREW PURDY ’16, OLIVIA FLOWERS ’17, and ANDY EDELMAN ’18 are enjoying their time together at Elon University and snapped this photo showing their Walnut Hill pride!

2017/2018

HARLEY CHAMANDY ’17’S short film titled The Final Act of Joey Jumbler was an official selection of the Academy Award–qualifying Bermuda International Film Festival and the Newport Beach Film Festival. He collaborated with POLINA KUROCHKINA ’18, who composed a piece for the end of the film.

2018/2020

LIAM BIXBY ’18, TRAVIS DOUGHTY ’18, and GRAHAM CAMPBELL ’20 were in the cast of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat last summer at the STAR Theatre in Kittery, ME.

2018 / 2019

They are pictured above with Director of Alumni Giving and Engagement GARRETT MURPHY ’08 after a performance.

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Celebrating 125 Years!

I

n this, the 125th Anniversary year of Walnut Hill, we made a concerted effort to crisscross the globe to celebrate this special milestone in person with alumni and parents, friends and supporters. We enjoyed performances and parties, dinners and discussion, from London to Los Angeles, and San Francisco to Shanghai. Thank you all for your boundless enthusiasm and energy for Walnut Hill.

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4 1: The marquee at The Joyce Theater in New York City for the dance event in April 2: Charlie Hodges '98 and Kate Hutter '00 performing Kate's "While we still can," which they first performed together in Spring 1998 3+4: Student and parent receptions in Beijing & Shanghai, respectively 5: Event in Long Boat Key, FL, hosted by Libby Lummus Keenan '53

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125TH ANNIVERSARY

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6: Event in Vero Beach, FL, hosted by Sarah Morrison Cail '76 7: Teddy Wiggins '08, Margeaux Maloney '10, and Tommy Mesa '08 with Dean of Students Melissa Cassel after their performance at the Miami event hosted by Adrienne Jabush Gang '66 8: Students and their families together in the Dining Hall during Homecoming Weekend 9: George Li '13 with some of his Walnut Hill fans after his performance of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Russian National Symphony in West Palm Beach, FL 10: Sarah Morrison Cail '76, Sheri Moore Nikitas '76, and Lisa Leinbach Huertas '76 at the NYC event 11: Event in Taipei 2018 / 2019

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125TH ANNIVERSARY

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1: Head of School Antonio Viva and President of the Board of Trustees Elizabeth Paine McClendon '65 with Walnut Hill's 125th Anniversary birthday cake during Homecoming Weekend 2: Members of the Music Department performed the final movement of "Dvorak's American Quartet" as part of the special taping of NPR's From the Top celebrating our 125th Anniversary 3: Taylor Wang '20 played Ravel's "Gaspard de la nuit" 4: Event in Gloucester at the home of Mollie Tower Byrnes '63 and husband John 5: Small Works Project on display throughout Homecoming Weekend 6: Ella Thomas-Montgomery '22 with her mother, Denyce Graves, during Homecoming Weekend 3 2 | Behind Stowe

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11 7: Event in London 8–11: Events in Los Angeles in October 2018 and March 2019 12: Argine Yan ’20, Caroline Solakian ’21, Natasha Rawls ’21, Katherine Hanson ’21, Angelica Estrella ‘21, Ameir Taylor ’21, Lidia Calixte ’21, and Sarah Milch ’20 at the MetroWest Film Festival

12 2018 / 2019

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125TH ANNIVERSARY

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4 1: Event in Martha's Vineyard hosted by Jane Gilday '64 2: Director of Admissions and Financial Aid Jason Hersom with Peter Tollman P'13 and Jim Giarrusso P'99 at the Martha's Vineyard event 3: Daniel Salas '12 with Cornelia Brown '48 at the NYC event 4: Ashley Robillard '13 (far right) played Musetta in Opera Philadelphia's La Bohème as part of our 125th gathering in Philadelphia 5: Alumni at our event in Seoul 34 | Behind Stowe

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6: Students, faculty, and guests collaborating during Telethon 7: Event in Shenzhen hosted by Xu Bing P'19 8: Head of School Antonio Viva led us in a toast to Walnut Hill's 125th Anniversary 9: The Grand Finale of Telethon 2018 10: Alumni event in Seoul 11: Our alumni hosts for Telethon: Nicole Gakidis '81, Joshua Holden '01, and Jennifer Caudle '95 2018 / 2019

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Thank You to Our Generous Alumni Donors RECOGNIZING DONATIONS FROM JUNE 1, 2018–MAY 31, 2019

A

t Walnut Hill, innovative independent education is not sustained by tuition dollars alone. The Annual Fund contributes over $1 million each year to Walnut Hill’s operating budget. All Annual Fund donors are important partners in our mission to educate young artists from across the globe in a diverse, humane, and ethical community.

Annual Fund gifts may be restricted to support financial aid, or left unrestricted to be used for the School’s most pressing needs. We know that your investment, at whatever level and for whatever purpose you designate, will bring joy to students and their families for generations to come, while helping to strengthen the reputation of Walnut Hill as one of the world’s leading providers of arts education for young people.

Class of 1940 Molly Hunter Dobson Margaret Cowan Moller Class of 1942 Alice Dodds Elizabeth Bjornlund Grater Class of 1944 Alice Foster Camp Class of 1945 Julie Macauley Carter* Class of 1946 Mary Heinrichs Garner Sylvia Burleigh Sanchez Class of 1947 Elisabeth Brawner Bingham Rosemary Jaicks Flinn Olive Milne Glaser Anne Price Myers Renee Bennett O'Sullivan Nancy Pawle Class of 1948 Jean Gyger Black Lucinda Weil Bunnen Marjory Cook Condit* Patricia Wardley Hamilton Sara Backes Leighton Carolyn Rusk

3 6 | Behind Stowe

Class of 1949 Ann Winans Carson Sally Winter French Anne Havens Fuller Marilyn Hedstrom McKenzie Sally Burch McLagan Barbara Holden Moulton Joan Potter Jane White Wilcox* Suzanne Smith Yeaw Class of 1950 Nancy Wiggin Cameron Carol Cronk Cole Charlotte Hall Cynthia Rolfe Jones Class of 1951 Lola Fortmiller Baldwin Martha Whiting Cox Mary Dye/Dunham Rebecca Tannebring Kling Joan Wilson Payne Suzanne Hiss Roos Arlene Saxe Rothschild Nancy Littlefield Stine Mary Munroe West Mary Bigelow Wheat Class of 1952 Elizabeth Ellis Cherry Sara Hayden Garrod Sherry Howell Hatch Ann Brawner Jeffries Eleonore Phillips Sanderson Sally Tiebout Sumner

Class of 1953 Robin Rolfe Bagley Sandra Stone Linker Nancy Nevius Milczanowski Dinny Hall Polson Carolyn Mock Pruyne Elizabeth Bundy Taft Class of 1954 Ellen Brooks Baldwin Lois Rozefsky Berg Katherine Kinney Holt Dorothy Bigelow Neuberger Phyllis Tater Ritvo Barbara Schade Schwallie Carol Skillin Thwaits Class of 1955 Mary Jane Kase Davis Ann Livingston Gregg Adelaide Anthony Griffiths Sally Schwabacher Hottle Judith Hedstrom Loomis Susan Rothschild Peirson Ellen Van Alstyne Starratt Mary Dwight Wilson Class of 1956 Jane Stocker Barrett Martha Nagle Dare Elizabeth Pool Johnson Susan Livingston Sarah Tracy Russell Julie Nevius Young

www.walnuthillarts.org

THANK YOU Class of 1957 Anne Gagnebin Coffin Stephanie Williams Convey Ann Gouger Davis Nancy Cooke Latta Rebecca Britten Lovingood Ruth Stoller Scheer Susan Webster Talbott Marilyn Falk Wolpert Class of 1958 Mary Merrill Callaway Adriane Aldrich de Savorgnani Mary Lane Donoghue Linda Foster Baila Issokson Janock Prudence Costa Jenkins Lois Aronson Lopatin Eleanor Sager Mercer Gretchen Hug Vienna Class of 1959 Judith Skinner Bruggemann Priscilla Clapp Natalie Foster Colmore Sarah Lord Corson Constance Cross Jane McGown Flynn Constance Waterman Lampert Jananne Sweet McPherson Nancy Stone Shilts Pamela Garland Stebbins Joan Gagnebin Wicks Class of 1960 Sarah Dewey Blouch Elizabeth Callaway Mary Turner Cattan Christie Coon Sue Ellen Taylor Damour Diane Huston Dobbins Catherine Layne Frank Judith Wernick Gilmore Jane Oxford Keiter Anne Fairbanks Sayers Class of 1961 Sarah Williams Farrow Stephanie Reed Hastings Nancy Wright Howard Theodora Hughes Jackson Judith Spicer Knutson Jane Dielhenn Otis Elizabeth Fenn Spiess 2018 / 2019

Terri White Stevens Suzanne Tisne Susan Barnes Titus Carol Trust Jane Lewis Wilson Class of 1962 Marilyn May Duke Virginia T. Friberg Joan Goldthwait Janet Cook Hicks Marie Dresser Larsen Janet Murphy Leavitt Nancy Wyeth Long Sarah Cross Mills Cynthia Newell Oliver Carol Alger Peschel Bertine Willis Slosberg Elizabeth Taylor-Huey Margaret Fallon Wheeler Janet Elder Yeutter Class of 1963 Annetta Smith Benedict Carol Booth Elizabeth Ahr Bright Mollie Tower Byrnes Susan Wells Ferrante Margaret Finch Sarah Watson Healy Pamela Apostol Kukla Marcia Hunter Matthews Deborah Lawton Petruccy Susan Woodward Twing Claire Willis Class of 1964 Andrea Scudder Evans Nancy Fenton Jane Murray Hartley Susan Roberts Hines Marsha Burden Kelley Judith Blustein Liss Joan Deveney Lovejoy Carol Ring Lynch Barbara Faden Smithson Patricia Smith-Petersen Ventry Class of 1965 Lisa Currier Batchelder Susan Talbot Birkett Anne Winslow Carlson Gail Kleven Gelb Rochelle Wise Gorgos

Lana Pollack Harper Carol Hauptfuher Betsy Paine McClendon Mary Silton Moran Mary Barlow Mueller Susan Earl Novelli Carol Richardson Sewell Cornelia Lehmann Throssel Class of 1966 Gayle Barlow Atkinson Mary Graff Barbera Virginia Clapp Benson Laura Cahners-Ford Dorothy Sanborn Elliott Jane Ferguson Adrienne Jabush Gang Elaine Platt Goss Cynthia Lord Amelia Marks Linda Harper McLane Jo-Ann Edinburg Pinkowitz Ruth Milne Schifani Nancy Connelly Truesdell Ellen Meek Vaut Class of 1967 Phyllis Gable Alden Sarah Jayne Everdell Judith Nissen Freeman Louisa Hammond Garrison Patricia Jacobs Anne Koenig Mary MacCready Catherine Phinizy Nancy Wells Silvester Beverley Smith Ann Colucci Thompson Laura Young Class of 1968 Isabel Curtis Baldridge Alison Clapp Susan Griffey Sue Jensen Barbara Knickerbocker Catherine van de Velde Lambe Christina Hill Maloney Jane Herrick Mueller Louise Romanow Nancy Gilday Spark Hillery Barker Tura Joyce Yaffee

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THANK YOU Class of 1969 Melissa Paine Aycock Katharine Fenton-Hathaway Mary Forsberg Luisa Francoeur Class of 1970 Elizabeth Doonan Hampton Cheryl Finkelstein Rosenberg Ruth Rothseid Jean Sherman Sharry Linda Roberts Williams Class of 1971 Carol Peabody Hardy Melanie Stern Mary Martha Steele Wingerath Class of 1972 Susan Frawley Susan Gleason So Class of 1973 Jennie Lee Colosi Balboni Lisa Fabbricotti Drake Susan Rosenbaum Fraga Class of 1974 Marion Browning Class of 1975 Elizabeth Haartz Sally Knapton Schroeder Suzanne McCabe Yamarone Class of 1976 Kim Bonasera Bickford Lisa Leinbach Huertas Kristin Yensen Class of 1977 Amy Bermant Adler Melissa Hayes Heart Carolyn Jolley Sarik Class of 1978 Jennifer Caldwell Pixley Lewis Schiciano Class of 1980 Caroline Brawner Lyons Laurie Roop Singletary Mary Ellen Murphy Stahlman Adrienne Debbie Zolondick 3 8 | Behind Stowe

Class of 1981 Donna Kaplan Figueroa Nicole Gakidis Margot Schwarz Heilbronner

Melissa Pontes Surprenant John M. Tabor Laurie McNiff Twombly Sharon Bass Winn

Class of 1982 Sarah Detenber Nancy Zwieback

Class of 1989 Sacha Blackburne Adamson Eduardo Armendia Jocelyn Scheffel Ballantine Kristin Eaton Bell Ralph H. Farris Jr. Darrell A. Griffin Belinda Horton Benny Ibarra De Llano Stephanie Milling Luke A. Rothschild Emily Weissman Schindler Alisa Simon Charmian Stewart Jason C. Ward

Class of 1983 Patricia Davidson Mary Gregg Beth Rothermel Class of 1984 Lisa Brown Corey Cowper Jennifer Fink Jennifer Jewiss Carrie Nedrow Siobhan O'Neill Heather Archer Smith Class of 1986 Sarah Clarke Joshua Garrett Ariadne Kimberly-Huque Eve Larner Jill Springer Marks Class of 1987 Andrea Denny-Brown Julie Frabotta Rebecca Hurley-Roberts Sara Sessions Naughton David Schindler Jennifer Wells Class of 1988 Liberty Bradford Sarah Clendenning Emanuela De Musis Charlotte Gram Doyle Zoe Hurwitz Dunn Jacques Gascoyne Darrell A. Griffin Jane Hahn Justine Hand Amber Heinze Kimberly Reid Joline Lorie Komlyn Tracey Nagle-Long Janet Carol Norton Vashti Poor

Class of 1990 Larissa Eberly Garniewicz Helen Burghardt Hayashi Allison Perry Iantosca Tammy Patton Sharyn Peavey Sahoko Sato Timpone LiYana Silver Class of 1991 Amelia Burroughs Careena Melia Melanie Atkins Varga Yung-Hsiang Wang Class of 1992 Nicole Gallant Criss Ju-Hyun Lim Class of 1993 Demar Brown Jennifer Emerson Foreman Joanna Levine Class of 1994 Sabreena Kiviat Kropp Jordan McCullough Marion Johnson Rocco Richard A. S. Taylor Courtney Greene Tomaselli

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Class of 1995 Jennifer Akridge Jennifer Caudle June Chen Daphne Gerling Yin Fei Hu Class of 1996 Joan Bissell-LaPrade Reed Farley Frances Hungerford Christopher Moone Melissa Reardon Andrew Whitfield Class of 1997 John D. Brooks Vanessa Johnson Amy Perry Walker P. Vreeland Class of 1998 Emily Gannett Keejoo Hong Park Class of 1999 Jane Guyer Fujita Allyson McGrath Rosa Noreen Eric W. Ramsey Adam Schnell Class of 2000 Matthew Aktani Zsolt BognaĚ r Mary Garcia Charumilind Alessandra Bono Horton Kate Hutter Mason Tiffany Watson Class of 2001 Alexis Andrews Lauren Bisio Matan Chorev Brooke Lieberman Collins Dana Eliassen Jennifer Haas-Scott Joshua R. Holden Jennifer Grossman Wheeler Hong-Chun Youn

2018 / 2019

Class of 2002 Philip Boulanger Elisabeth de Gramont Zoe Ghertner Erin Ginn Class of 2003 Ty Freedman Ingrid Hagan Nils Neubert Peter Van Dam Riley B. Watts Class of 2004 Sarah A. Chasin James W. Fowlie, Jr. Shayna Bentkover Katz Nathaniel A. L. LeTreize Annie Moor Class of 2005 Lillian Joslin Conrad Julie Rubinger DoupĂŠ Briga Heelan Gube Catherine Hancock Anthony Long Levi Marsman III Class of 2006 Kathryn Crowley Kathryn Kelley Class of 2007 Jung-A Bang Celine Ferro Julia Glenn Connor Larsen Tony Rymer Ta Wei Tsai Barrett Wilbert Weed Class of 2008 Leila Alhamoodah Aidan G. Basile Michael Baskowski Georgi Dimitrov Jennifer Dimon David Hertzberg Chu-Chun Huang Christine Luciano Garrett R. Murphy Candace Olusola Sarah Shin Elizabeth Sherlock-Lewis Tollett

Class of 2009 Alexander DeLeo Stefano Fuchs Andrew Hellerick Eric I. Herbst Elizabeth Michel Lillianfeld Nicholas Ranauro Tory Stolper Ethan Van Ness Travis Ward-Osborne Megan Wright Class of 2010 Kristina Bermudez Miles Burnett Mary Carter Laurel Durning-Hammond Julie McNamara Conor Ryan Rosemary C. Salvucci Catherine Keller Van Ness Class of 2011 Rose-Antoinette Bellino Seiwert Evangeline Delgado Samantha Hankey Kevin Hong Bailey Moon Katherine Nemetz Christopher Nishimura Jorge Perez de Acha Chavez Laura Skold Alyssa Surrette Samuel Waring Sumi Yu Class of 2012 Melanie Benker Michael Gonzalez Gergana Haralampieva Hunter McCormick Daniel Salas Class of 2013 Tess Bissell Audrey Emerson Miranda Gelch George Li Benjamin Lidsky Ashley Robillard Sarah C. Treaster Dana Vanderburgh

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THANK YOU Class of 2014 Emily Kessler Bryce McAllister Hannah Dempsey Schott Kat Ward Class of 2015 Adeline Cimino John J. Dwyer Samantha Gordon Lindsay McAuliffe Justin Showell Bosbapan Sisombat Claire Walter Class of 2016 Amanda Black Dylan M. Contreras Hayen Kim Shangwen Liao Andrew S. Purdy Neeraj Ramachandran Caleb T. Smith Emmie M. Smith Class of 2017 Beckett Q. Azevedo Kenneth D. Cedergren Sarah A. Decossard Olivia Flowers Samantha Howe Erica Maul Tias Volker Caitlin M. Yatsuhashi Class of 2018 Kendall Al-Bashir Liam Bixby Colin Canavan Victoria Cargill Aniella L. Day Travis S. Doughty Isabelle Fama Sarah G. Finnegan Elizabeth Green Jonathan R. Haller Avery Held Kai Horvit Jenna S. Howard-Delman Grace Kim Margaret Maloney Noah Martzall Claire Newman Annie O’Connell 4 0 | Behind Stowe

Madeleine Pettit Katherine A. Roeder Shannon Ross Jillian Rothman Jian Shi Raven Whyles Selin R. Yalcinkaya Class of 2019 Miles Ames Brooks Andrew Abigail Burdick Hanzhang Cao Jordan Cassel Danying Chen Zhi Fang Chen Aixin Cheng An-Chieh Cheng John Clark Eleanor Collins Patrick Creedon Camryn Curnuck Lucas Deuterman Sean Diehl Yang Ding Jade Diskin William Dunbar Brunela Elizondo Manasi Eswarapu Xiangyu Fang Ruby George Zoe Gonatas Grace Hall Chih-Yi Huang Eunji Huh Priscilla Jackson Haotian Ji Blair Jia Yu Jiang Rylan Joenk Lila Jones Amanda Jue Emily Kilbourne Jisoo Kim Leah Korchmar Tiger Lily Lane Dylan Letorney Xiangning Li Chi-Ni Lin Heng-Chun Liu Xinyi Liu Zekai Liu Pei-Chen Lung Zhiyao Ma

Nyah Malone Shaocheng Man Rachel Mandelker Jace Mason Nicholas Meyers Nomzamo Mlengana Grace OBrion Yini Pan Mia Philippon Annabelle Press Luis Quijano Alisha Ragatz Max Ross Harriet Rovniak Katherine Ruddy Julide San Keina Satoh Brighton Sawyer Laney Schorno Ivan Schwieger Caitlin Sendlenski Jiaruo Shi Wan-Ting Shieh Olivia Sinnott Ella Smith Victoria Soucy Longfei Sun Cassandra Tervalon Jack Tighe Samuel Valk Jonathan Van De Loo Eduardo Varas Yi Hung Wang Gregory Ward Chaewon Woo Kaelan Woodward Edie Xu Huanyi Yang William Yang Ruoran Yu Muzi Zhang Hanqing Zhao Yutong Zheng * Deceased Please note Walnut Hill's fiscal year is July 1–June 30.

We have printed an alternate date range for the purpose of recognizing giving in this issue of the magazine.

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LOOKING AHEAD

2019–2020 Calendar of Alumni Events SEPTEMBER

Los Angeles, CA Saturday, September 28

OCTOBER Boston Young Alumni Event Friday, October 11 Homecoming Weekend Friday, October 25– Saturday, October 26

New Ink/Rough Cuts Voice Recital Fall Musical Friday, October 25 Open Alumni Association Meeting Lunch & Golden Alumni Lunch Reception Fall Musical Saturday, October 26

NOVEMBER

Taipei Current Parents/ Parents of Alumni Dinner Tuesday, November 12 Taipei Alumni Event Wednesday, November 13 Seoul Event Friday, November 15 2018 / 2019

DECEMBER

6th Annual Holiday Telethon Sunday, December 8

JANUARY Florida's West Coast Thursday, January 9– Friday, January 10

FEBRUARY Lunch in Jacksonville, FL Friday, February 7

Evening Event in Vero Beach, FL Saturday, February 8 Lunch in West Palm Beach, FL Sunday, February 9 Evening Event in Miami, FL Monday, February 10

APRIL

NYC Event Monday, April 20

MAY

Reunion Friday, May 15– Saturday, May 16 Golden Alumni Luncheon Open Arts Classes Alumni Association Meeting Reception Encore!

Friday, May 15 Brunch in Dining Hall Campus Tours Spring Musical Wine Tasting & Dessert Demos Saturday, May 16 Give Day Tuesday, May 19

Philadelphia, PA dates TBD

FEBRUARY–MARCH

(exact dates TBD): Mexico London, England Germany China Japan

HOMECOMING October 25–26, 2019

REUNION May 15–16, 2020

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SPOTLIGHT ON LEADERSHIP

Nicola Conraths Is Making Sparks Fly

by Amanda Grazioli

In her first year on the Hill, Director of Artistic Studies Nicola Conraths traversed the globe to celebrate the School’s 125th Anniversary, donned antlers for Telethon, and mastered the art of getting in and out of the labyrinth that is Highland Hall.

Once you learn about her background, it is no surprise that Conraths fits right in among the artists and thinkers at Walnut Hill. She is an accomplished dancer who performed across Europe before moving to the United States. She studied theater and psychology and conducted research on injury prevention for artists.

Her fluency in multiple art forms, four languages, and a range of technologies contributes to her collaborative approach to art and teaching.

In between attending an inauguration ceremony at New England Conservatory and chaperoning the 24-Hour Play Project, Conraths offered me a glimpse into her background and her new role at Walnut Hill.

ABOVE: Conraths teaches a ballet class at the Shanghai United International School, Shangyin Campus. INSET: A television interview at the Walnut Hill arts show opening in Shenzhen this spring.

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Q

You were born in Rome and grew up in a very artistic family. How did growing up immersed in art influence the way you see the world?

A

Yes, my dad trained as a singer in Germany and New York and he played piano, so I grew up with a lot of Italian opera and music everywhere.

My mom was an archaeological photographer for the Max Planck Institute for Art History, one of the foremost archaeological institutes. She would hang under ceilings and churches and graves and take archival photographs! I went to a bilingual school (the German School in Rome) and, of course, Rome was just a haven for history.

I think it has all helped me to make a lot of connections very quickly between different things. I've always been interested in the intersection of things and in subversive art. I would say that my whole work in collaboration comes from my interest in how new inventions and technology influence art-making. For example, when the camera was invented it suddenly took work away from all the painters who had made portraits for the aristocracy. Then that influenced the www.walnuthillarts.org

Impressionists, who started painting with light. With my students, I like to incorporate really old technology as well as really new technology.

outside to Boston and share more of it using Livestream. There are a lot of great things that happen here that we'd love to get out into the world.

Q

Q

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A

Like Walnut Hill students, you began your artistic training at a young age, studying dance at Balletto di Roma and London Studio Centre. How do you think that type of rigorous artistic training benefits young artists?

I think that the dedicated study of an art form from an early age has incredible value in forming your character. You develop discipline by showing up every day for your practice—whether that means playing your instrument or finding your place at the ballet barre. Later in life, if you are in a crisis situation, your art is something that can center you and give you a lot of resilience.

And then there is also just the pure joy of play and creativity!

Q

Tell me about some of the ways you have worked directly with students during your first year at Walnut Hill.

A

I have been involved in a lot of projects, which has been really fun. I was the movement coach for the spring opera, Odyssey. The movement, mythology, and beautiful score brought together a lot of things that interest me.

I also sang in the choir for the Music Department’s January Project performance of [George Frideric] Handel’s Ode for St. Cecilia’s Day. I worked with the WFMA students along with my partner—he's been doing some music and singer-songwriting with them.

And I was really involved in Walnut Hill’s recent New York dance event, Birthday Variations, the [Gerald] Arpino piece. I've tried to have moments with all of the different majors.

Q

The January Project is such a fantastic exploration. I love that the Music Department dedicates three weeks every year to study a master work together in such a deep, multidisciplinary way.

A

Yes, and all of the arts majors are going to have January Projects starting next year! We are hoping to raise funds for accomplished guest artists to come in and work with the kids. Then the work could all be presented at the end of that three-week time period in the winter. I think that would be really wonderful. I'm also really hoping to take some of the art that happens on campus 2018 / 2019

Speaking of great things, what are you most proud of when you reflect on the work of this first year at Walnut Hill?

We are launching a new initiative called ART360. It will be a window into another art form for our students. Essentially, as of the fall, underclassmen will be allowed to take a class in another major once a week.

We have an incredible roster of classes coming together for this because the faculty is so excited to collaborate. There are some core classes such as acting, lighting—the basics. But we also have things like a video game design class, a Ballet Zen class, a yoga and writing class—there’s even going to be a guitar group class with Jason Stumpf. No grades, no homework. No other independent school is doing anything like this, and we’re hoping it will have a big impact on how we all think.

Q

That’s incredible. I’m sure the students are just as excited as the faculty about it! How do you think student artists benefit from exploring other disciplines through things like ART360 or other collaborations on campus?

A

The first benefit is that it lets them see the world through a different lens. When students from two different art forms start collaborating, they notice that—although the vocabulary might be different—they are working with the same concepts.

A visual artist might talk to a dancer about negative space. Now, the dancer suddenly sees that concept from a choreographic standpoint. When that dancer creates their next piece, they won’t just look at the movement, but also the architecture.

When students learn about a different art form, it immediately influences the next thing that they do.

If we leave student artists from different majors alone in a room together, sparks fly!

Antonio [Viva, Head of School] always says that we want to empower culture-changers here—people who will go on to invent new things and make new connections. To do that, we need to provide opportunities for artistic cross-pollinating. We want to be the school that gives students the tools to be artists over the course of a lifetime, no matter what they go on to do next. ◆ Behind Stowe | 43

A YEAR IN REVIEW

Swing! A Musical Review October 27–29

Mamma Mia! November 2–4, 9–11

The Nutcracker December 5–16

Voice Recital November 2

Composers’ Concert November 7

New Ink/ Rough Cuts November 3

Voice Recital December 10 44 | Behind Stowe

www.walnuthillarts.org

Jazz Ensemble Concert

Chamber Music Concert

January 30

December 11

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead December 13–16

January Project January 25

Winter Visual Art Show January 25

From Script to Screen January 31

2018 / 2019

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A YEAR IN REVIEW

A Year with Frog and Toad February 2–3

Spring Repertory April 11–14

Odyssey the Opera March 29–31

Black on White April 24–25

Snapshot February 22–24

Chamber Music Concert April 23

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www.walnuthillarts.org

New Works May 31

Chamber Music Concert May 8–9

Jazz Ensemble Concert May 23

The Drowsy Chaperone May 10–12, 17–19

Composers’ Concert May 28

Spring Visual Art Show May 31

2018 / 2019

Behind Stowe | 47

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 occasionally funny, John le Carré’s A Most Wanted Man is relevant to many current issues, raising questions about the War on Terror and all of its collateral damage.

Jay Crawford-Kelly, Humanities Faculty The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

Naomi Bailis, Theater Faculty The Sympathizer

by Viet Thanh Nguyen Shades of Heller, Conrad, Greene, Genet, Kafka. A wickedly funny, suspenseful, strange, and tragic novel in which Nguyen offers a voice to the previously voiceless within the literary canon of the Vietnam War. Nguyen's debut novel. Won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize; National Book Award Finalist.

Ian Buttermore, Humanities Faculty A Most Wanted Man

by John le Carré Who is Issa Karpov? Arriving illegally in Hamburg, Germany, in the middle of the night, is he a political refugee? Or a Chechen terrorist? Since he is scarred and bearing a bank account number with access to a tremendous amount of money, everyone wants to know. Gunther Bachmann, a German spy, is looking to recruit Issa to infiltrate local terrorist organizations. For Tommy Brue, a wealthy banker, Issa’s arrival brings up complications from his father’s shady past, and for immigration lawyer Annabel Richter, Issa is the newest case on her docket. And of course, the CIA is watching them all. At turns dark and brooding and 4 8 | Behind Stowe

How much do you love books? Did you ever wish you could walk into a book and meet its characters?

For the bibliophilic residents of the alternate universe that Fforde has created (that’s not a typo in his name; he’s Welsh), including the female protagonist, Thursday Next, books are precious, and crossing into the world of a book is common.

There is even a Department of Jurisfiction with the job to keep changes to the plots of famous books to a minimum. Of course, that never works. It’s the first of a series of seven funny, engrossing books, and it’s ffantastic!

Jennifer Elowitch, Director of Music Becoming by Michelle Obama In this time of political discord, Michelle Obama’s memoir, Becoming, is a refreshing read. I hadn’t realized how reluctant she was to enter the political realm.

Given this, her decision to step forward to model intelligence and humanity to the world is remarkable and inspiring.

Cathy Gorman, Math Faculty Less by Andrew Sean Greer Andrew Sean Greer’s Less was a pleasure to read. I often reread passages just to enjoy Greer’s beautiful and insightful writing.

The story is about a man who wants to avoid going to his exboyfriend's wedding so badly

that he creates a work schedule that involves traveling around the world. It was great fun to join him on his adventures. I believe everyone will be able to relate to his experiences of love and loss.

The lengths he will go to in order to avoid an awkward encounter are hilarious. I found myself laughing at him, with him, and at myself, all at the same time.

Benjamin Gregg, Director of Academic Studies Tales from the Inner City

by Shaun Tan In this collection of surreal tales, animals and empty cities glitter dark and beautiful on the page.

Here Shaun Tan, best known for his wordless masterpiece The Arrival, unleashes the full force of his powers as writer and painter, revealing mysterious and magnetic glimpses of an urban future where nature and city have melded.

His words explore and explain while his gorgeous full-page color illustrations provoke and perplex. If you relish the resonance between words and images, and if you thrill at the building of a world with a single phrase, do yourself a favor and discover the work of author and illustrator Shaun Tan.

Natalia Gutierrez-Smith, Executive Assistant to the Head of School The Underground Railroad

by Colson Whitehead This historical fiction based on the cruel reality of a slave’s life in the plantation South was not a comfortable read. The pain and horror of Cora’s life as a slaveturned-runaway are soothed only by the incredible resilience of her character. To know intimately www.walnuthillarts.org

Cora's inner life is to begin to understand the history seen through the eyes of a black slave and not the history written by a white man. It was an inspiring read that I would highly recommend!

Pat McDougal, Campaign Coordinator Call Me American: A Memoir by Abdi Nor Iftin Call Me American is the deeply stirring memoir of a young charismatic and resourceful boy growing up in war-ravaged Somalia and his struggle to survive and immigrate to America. This is a timely story of ingenuity and perseverance and also gives us insight into what those seeking asylum in America endure.

Anne Murphy, Math Faculty Where the Crawdads Sing

by Delia Owens

Tom Keenan, Head of Math & Science The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams Hopefully, you have not seen the movie version of this sci-fi comedy classic. The book is a far more entertaining and satirical take on our overinflated view of our importance in a world (and galaxy) that we can barely begin to comprehend. It is ridiculous and laugh-out-loud funny while also being thought-provoking.

Kathy Liu, Science Faculty Because of Sex by Gillian Thomas Did the title grab your attention?

It’s not what you are thinking! The subtitle is “One Law, Ten Cases, and Fifty Years That Changed American Women’s Lives at Work.”

Are you interested in women’s rights? Modern American history?

The law and the Supreme Court?

Then this book is for you! Did you know “sexual harassment” was a term coined by Cornell professors in the 1970s? Or that taking maternity leave might cause you to lose your job? Or that having preschool-aged children could prevent a woman from being hired—but this rule did not apply to her husband? And of course, RBG makes a few appearances in the book as well!

2018 / 2019

This is a novel set in the marsh coast of North Carolina during the 1950s and 1960s. The main character is a girl known as Kya, who is abandoned at a very young age by each member of her family, one by one, as they escape the tyrant who is her father. Kya survives loneliness, depression, prejudice, and judgment in an intricately woven story of a community. I was greatly impressed by this Marsh Girl, as town members referred to her, and her resiliency, determination, and resourcefulness. It brought to mind my work with the SEED program this year, and the reality that diversity and inclusivity are lacking on so many levels.

read it with my previous school’s book club (the students were big fans too!). It explores themes such as identity, family, and friendship, but what I love about it is that it both made me laugh and made me incredibly sad—not in a heartbroken, depressing way, but in the haunting, life-affirming way that you want a book to make you sad. The characters are easy to connect with, and the writing is simple, yet beautiful.

Jennifer TumSuden, Director of Development The Immortalists

by Chloe Benjamin In The Immortalists, a childhood prophecy shapes the lives of four siblings in wildly different ways. The novel is ultimately about destiny and choice as each protagonist struggles with the existential question of how to best live out their days. The family saga plays out over 50 years, amid beautiful vignettes of American culture. This is a highly addictive story with characters and moments that stay with you long after you finish the last page.

Tedi Shoemaker, Accounting Manager The Girl of the Sea of Cortez

by Peter Benchley My favorite book when I was in high school. A classic heartfelt novel about the sea and humanity’s relationship with it. An important topic in the current world of global warming, plastic pollution, and ocean conservation.

Kelly Tempest, Humanities Faculty Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

by Benjamin Alire Sáenz This YA novel is a quick read, but it has stuck with me ever since I

Antonio Viva, Head of School On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century

by Timothy Snyder A timely book to read in light of the political landscape we find ourselves in, not only here in the United States but also around the world. Powerful, short, and poignant, this book could be enjoyed in under an hour at a coffee shop. A must-read for any global citizen of the world who wishes to preserve the ideals of democracy.

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TRU ST E E S

Meet Our New Trustees Nicole Gakidis ’81/P’18 Nicole Gakidis is the founding President of Exceptional Executive Search, Inc., a Boston-based executive search firm committed to helping nonprofits advance their missions. Prior to launching her 20-year recruitment practice, she served as Vice President of Corporate Communications at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and held management roles in health care and education. She has served on multiple nonprofit boards and committees advancing fundraising, marketing, and governance issues. Nicole attended Walnut Hill as a rhythmic gymnastics major and dance/theater minor during the School’s transformative years, then earned a degree from Emerson College. She is the proud parent of Tori Cargill ’18, a Walnut Hill theater major. Originally from Cape Cod, Nicole resides in Beverly Farms, MA. Lisa Rothman P’18 Lisa Rothman began her legal career as an Assistant District Attorney in Plymouth County (MA), where she served as Chief of the Domestic Violence Unit. She prosecuted serious cases of physical and sexual assaults on children while in the Middlesex County Child Abuse Prosecution Unit.

She now works as a real estate broker at Rutledge Properties. A resident of Needham, MA, Lisa served five years on the Board of Trustees at the Charles River School in Dover. She is a volunteer at Horizons for Homeless Children and Thayer Academy, and has co-chaired fundraising events for her temple. She and her husband, Stuart, a member of Walnut Hill’s Buildings and Grounds Committee, have three children: Jillian, a 2018 theater major, Joshua, and Jonah.

Kristine Van Amsterdam Kristine Van Amsterdam spent almost 30 years of her professional career in the Federal Reserve System. She received her bachelor’s degree in economics from Vassar College and her M.B.A. from Northeastern University. Kristine has actively served on boards in the government, nonprofit and for-profit sectors, including serving the Town of Natick as a member of the School Committee and the Board of Selectmen. A 14-year member of Walnut Hill’s Board of Visitors, Kristine has strong family ties to the School. Her father, Dr. Joseph Keefe, was interim Head of School and is now Trustee Emeritus. In addition, her three adult daughters were enrolled for many years in Walnut Hill’s after-school and summer programs in music, dance, art, theater, and writing. Kristine and her husband, John, live in Natick, MA. Amy Wheeler Amy Wheeler’s association with Walnut Hill began in the late 1970s when her mother, Wendy Wheeler, became the School Counselor. Over the next 40 years, Amy attended many events on campus with Wendy, a longtime Board member and past President. A lifelong independent school educator, Amy brings experience as a teacher and an administrator in both boarding and day schools, and as a founding board member of the Tremont School. She holds a B.A. from Connecticut College and a master's in educational administration from Boston College. Currently, she is the Associate Head of the Ethel Walker School, for which she also sits on the board of its Horizons program. Amy lives with her partner, Tim, and collectively they have seven children and one grandchild.

PL AN N E D G IVIN G

Join the Ellison Circle legacy society by making a legacy gift to Walnut Hill and help shape the future of arts and culture by encouraging a generation of dynamic young artists.

Get your free Estate Planning Guide at legacy.walnuthillarts.org

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IN MEMORIAM

In Memoriam

We fondly remember the following members of the Walnut Hill community.

(As of April 30, 2019)

KATHERINE SENF SEDGEMAN ’30 passed away on June 22, 2018, at the age of 105. Born in Toledo, OH, Katie graduated from the Smead School for Girls and completed her postgraduate year at Walnut Hill. Katie entered Vassar College in 1930, then took her junior year at the University of Wisconsin, where she joined the Delta Gamma sorority. She graduated from Vassar in 1934 with a degree in economics.

In 1937, Katie married William “Bill” H. Sedgeman Sr. The couple lived in Toledo, where Katie was a homemaker and an active volunteer. Upon Bill’s retirement, they moved to Bradenton, FL. After her husband passed away in 1989, Katie moved to Freedom Village in Bradenton, where she enjoyed an active lifestyle, becoming widely respected as a great independent neighbor and bridge player. She was a member of Trinity United Methodist Church, the Vassar Club of Sarasota, and the Delta Gamma Sarasota Alumnae Chapter, as well as a longtime member of both the Toledo and Bradenton Country Clubs. Katie is survived by two children, four grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.

NANCY WALBRIDGE HANAWAY ’34 passed away on January 1, 2019, three days short of her 102nd birthday. Her sister, the late Suzanne Walbridge Lawrence,

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graduated from Walnut Hill in 1936. Nan attended Smith College and subsequently married Thomas Hanaway, who died in 2003 after 58 years of marriage. She was a resident of Babylon, NY, at the time of her death, but also enjoyed spending time in Jupiter, FL, and Fire Island, NY. Nan is survived by her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

ANNE SHULMAN RAKIETEN ’37 passed away on July 20, 2018, at the age of 98. She grew up in Syracuse, NY, attending local schools before coming to Walnut Hill. Anne graduated from Katharine Gibbs Secretarial School, then returned to Syracuse to work for the Council of Social Service Agencies.

She married Dr. Nathan Rakieten, and the couple moved to Islip, NY, to raise their family. In the late 1960s, they moved to New York City, where Anne became an expert English tutor for new immigrants, before moving back to Syracuse in the 1980s to be near family. Anne loved gardening, synagogue and sisterhood activities, music, and dance, maintaining her sense of rhythm to the end. More than anything, she was a consummate friend and confidante to those who knew her, and was always willing to put aside life’s bitterness to cheer up anyone in need. Anne is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, two grandchildren, and two

great-grandchildren.

LYDIA BREWSTER TOLL ’41 passed away on August 6, 2018, at the age of 94, after a long illness. She originally hailed from Plymouth, MA. Her sister, Lois Brewster Roberts ’37, and niece, Ellen Withington Dietrich ’61, also attended Walnut Hill. Lydia attended Vassar College and married Henry Wolcott Toll Jr. in 1948.

They had five children and lived in Denver, CO, for all of their married life.

Lydia was a member of the Pilgrims Society and the Mayflower Descendants Society, and had a long period of service to the Denver Museum of Natural History and other civic causes. Along with her family, she enjoyed skiing and river rafting. Lydia is survived by four children and one brother.

MARILYN YOUNG HEIN ’42 passed away on August 3, 2018, at the age of 94. Born in Waterloo, IA, she attended Northwestern University after Walnut Hill. While studying there, she met and married Herb Hein.

They made their home in Des Moines, IA, where Marilyn finished her undergraduate degree 20 years later at Drake University. She taught art at Valley High School. As a member of Questors, Marilyn was an avid collector, most notably of antique quilts. She was also a member of PEO and the Junior League of Des Moines. Marilyn is survived by one sister, two children,

three grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

BETTIE LUMB NELSON ’42 passed away on October 6, 2018, at the age of 93. Born in Pawtucket, RI, she attended Garland Junior College after Walnut Hill. In 1943, she married U.S. Navy Lt. Roland “Nels” Nelson. As a Navy wife, Bettie traveled and moved constantly.

Nels was assigned to be commanding officer of a naval base in the Philippines, and Bettie had fond memories of being the “first lady" of the base at the age of 21. The family subsequently moved to a series of locations, including Massachusetts, Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. Nels died in 1995, and in 2002 Bettie married retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Harry Rogers, now deceased. In addition to her family, she devoted her time to reading, singing, and painting. While living in Williamsburg, she developed her skills as an artist and was well known for her portrait painting.

She became hard-ofhearing at an early age, and was proud to work with Williamsburg Hard of Hearing, publishing whimsical cartoons in their newsletters for a number of years. Bettie is survived by three children, two grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

EDNA WEATHERS DENNIS ’44 passed away on July 18, 2018, at the age of 91. Formerly of New York City, she lived in Annapolis,

www.walnuthillarts.org

MD, at the time of her death. Edna is survived by 14 nieces and nephews.

NANCY PATTERSON SHARP ’44 passed away on January 2, 2019, at the age of 91. She was born in Honolulu, HI, and as a child of a U.S. Navy captain, she lived in such places as Panama, Coronado, California, and Connecticut. After Walnut Hill, she attended Wellesley College, then taught for several years at Beaver Country Day School. Nancy married Willoughby Sharp, and they moved to New Jersey to raise a family. She was a devoted wife, mother, volunteer, and homemaker, in addition to being active as a volunteer in the Junior League, Child Services Association of Newark, the Park House Guides in Philadelphia, and various church and school organizations.

Nancy loved her special time and friends on Chebeague Island and was involved with the Historical Society and the Public Library there. She was a beautiful swimmer and loved her daily swims.

Nancy is survived by one brother, four children, 10 grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.

JULIE MACAULEY CARTER ’45 passed away on February 2, 2018, two days short of her 91st birthday. She had fond memories of her time at Walnut Hill.

Julie is survived by her six children.

ANNA WEAVER GABBETT ’45 passed away on July 1, 2018, at the age of 90. She was born in

2018 / 2019

Omaha, NE, and married James Gabbett Jr. in 1949.

A vibrant and energetic woman, she was very giving of her time to her family and her interests, which included a lifelong love of travel and the arts.

Her charity work became the focus of her later years and included the Baton Rouge Symphony League, where she held the position of President from 1985 to 1987, the Wyckoff Newcomers Club, and PEO International. Anna is survived by two children, three granddaughters, and one great-grandchild.

CORDELIA SEELEY LENZ ’45 passed away on May 24, 2018, while vacationing with family in Nags Head, NC. She was 91 at the time of her death and a resident of Charlottesville, VA. Cordelia is survived by one brother, four children, three stepchildren, six grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.

KAY BROWN CUNNINGHAM ’46 passed away on September 26, 2018, at the age of 89. She was a Glee Club member while at Walnut Hill, which inspired a lifetime of choral group experiences.

She also played the cello, and she remembered her cello teacher traveling to campus from Boston every week to give her lessons. Her late sister, Barbara Brown Holekamp, was a member of Walnut Hill’s Class of 1944.

Kay graduated from Bennington College in 1950, after transferring from Indiana University.

She is survived by 11 children.

DEBORAH WOODWORTH EDGAR ’46 passed away on March 15, 2019, at the age of 90. She graduated from Wheelock College before marrying David Edgar in 1948. Early in their married life, they spent summers at Hio Ridge Camp, which he co-founded. Deborah worked in the infirmary, nurturing those who were struggling emotionally.

The couple lived in Brookline before moving to Concord, where he became the Headmaster of the Fenn School. The marriage ended in divorce.

Deborah worked as a kindergarten teacher, and as an administrative assistant for Honeywell Corp., Pitney Bowes, Acton Medical, and Wausau Insurance. She was a longtime member of Trinity Episcopal Church in Concord, a member of the Concord Chorus, an attendee of the Friday afternoon Boston Symphony Orchestra concerts, a member of Mass Audubon, and a volunteer for the American Red Cross.

Descended from several founding families, she was a member of the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America and enjoyed attending meetings with her sister, the late Sally Woodworth Gallagher ’40, and cousins, several of whom also attended Walnut Hill.

Deborah is survived by her daughter and grandson, as well as many nieces, nephews, and cousins.

CYNTHIA SHEAFFER BEAN ’47 passed away on October 2, 2018, at

the age of 88. She was a resident of Maine at the time of her passing. She is the daughter of a Walnut Hill alumna, Katharine Hazzard Sheaffer ’26. Her aunt, Elizabeth Hazzard Clark ’40, and sister, Diane Sheaffer Anderson ’49, also attended. After Walnut Hill, Cynthia graduated from Bryn Mawr College with a major in French. She married Michael Olmsted, and they raised their two children in Wilbraham, MA. After Michael’s retirement due to kidney failure, they moved to Tucson, AZ, and spent summers on Cobbossee Lake in Maine. After his death in 1979, she continued the seasonal cross-country commutes. In 1992, she married Ralph Bean and they enjoyed Maine, Arizona, and many trips together until his sudden passing in 2000. Cynthia was active in Girl Scouts, DAR, and church, and was a faithful choir member of Christ Church in Gardiner, ME. She enjoyed knitting, needlepoint, bridge, walking, yoga, and exercise classes. Cynthia is survived by two children and several cousins, nieces, and nephews.

NANCY VADNER CHANCE ’47 passed away on January 23, 2019, at the age of 90.

Raised in Philadelphia, Nancy was an avid athlete and won several athletic awards as a youth. She graduated from Ursinus College, where she earned 14 varsity letters. She was an All-College field hockey player, a lead scorer on the basketball team, and captain of the tennis and softball teams.

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She was also a member of the Tau Sigma Gamma sorority. Among her proudest achievements was being chosen as one of 15 women to the USA Women’s Lacrosse team, which represented her country in international competition, and being selected in 1953 for the USA Field Hockey Reserve team. In 1975, she founded Eagle Sports Co., where she sold sports equipment, including a new yellow lacrosse ball that she designed. In 1975, she was inducted into the Ursinus College Hall of Fame for excellence in field hockey, basketball, softball, and tennis. In 1994, the annual Nancy V. Chance Service Award was established by the USA Women’s Lacrosse Association in her honor.

In 2002, she was inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame—the highest lacrosse sport honor—for her contribution to the sport. Nancy also served as a coach and an official, and was a nationally rated umpire for more than a decade. She was a longtime resident of Timonium, MD, where she raised three children with her husband, Daniel.

Never at a loss for words, Nancy had a way of making people laugh and putting them at ease. She is survived by one brother, three children, four grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews.

ELIZABETH SPENCER DAWSON ’47 passed away on November 16, 2018, at the age of 88. She was born in Boston and grew up in Wellesley Hills and Stockbridge, MA. After Walnut Hill, Beth attended Wheaton College, spent her junior year studying

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in Paris, then graduated from Barnard College with a B.A. in art history. While at Wheaton, Beth met David Dawson, a Harvard student, and they married in 1954. The couple moved to Ann Arbor, MI, where he attended medical school and she completed her M.S. in social work at the University of Michigan.

After the birth of their first daughter, they moved to Cambridge, MA, where they raised their five children. Upon moving to Concord, Beth worked at the Herb Patch, a shop on Main Street; served as a social worker at Emerson Hospital; and later operated a successful bed-and-breakfast out of the family home. She had a strong personal commitment to social justice and community service, volunteering at AIDS Action Committee and Stop Handgun Violence, and participated in many political protests over the years. With her husband, she volunteered at the Concord Players, with the Concord Sister City program in Guatemala, and later through their church, First Parish, where they both sang in the choir.

Beth and David were avid birdwatchers, whether at their beloved summer home in Peacham, VT, or on trips to Costa Rica, Europe, Australia, Hawaii, and around the United States. Beth is survived by her husband, five children, six grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews.

PATRICIA WRIGHT GWYN ’47 passed away on October 16, 2018, at the age of 89. She graduated from Duke University, where she met

and married the love of her life, Julius Gwyn.

Trish retired as a library director in 1995, as county commissioner in 2000, and was widowed in 2003 after 55 wonderful years with Julius. She loved traveling and volunteering. Trish was a resident of Reidsville, NC, at the time of her passing.

She is survived by one sister, three children, two grandchildren, two greatgrandchildren, and many nieces and nephews.

causes, including Walnut Hill, Alumni Associations of Smith College, the Washington & Jefferson Fund (honoring her husband Russell), Cincinnati Regatta, Cincinnati Center for Developmental Disorders at Children’s Hospital, and the Community Foundation of the Lowcountry. She is survived by four children, 10 grandchildren, and 10 great-grandchildren.

MARGARET MEHAFFIE REID ’47 passed away on August 22, 2018, at the age of 89. She was born in Kalamazoo, MI, and graduated from Smith College. Margaret enjoyed a career as an elementary school teacher, loved traveling the world with dear friends and family, and will be remembered for her generous and kind spirit. She was the devoted wife of 65 years to the late David Reid. Margaret is survived by one brother, two children, and three grandchildren.

DOREEN CLARK GAMMONS ’48 passed away on August 9, 2018, at the age of 88. Born in Poughkeepsie, NY, she graduated from Penn Hall Junior College and Wells College before receiving a master’s degree from Syracuse. In 1954, Doreen married James Gammons, and the two later traveled all over the world together.

She taught elementary school for many years and was an accomplished oil painter. Doreen is survived by one stepbrother, two children, and one grandchild.

MARJORY COOK CONDIT ’48 passed away on January 24, 2019, at the age of 89. She grew up in Hamilton, OH, and graduated from Smith College after Walnut Hill. Throughout her life, Marj deeply valued her friendships. She was an avid shareholder and consumer of P&G goods, and a lover of golf, bridge, travel, the arts, and entertaining. She was an active member of Cincinnati’s Junior League and Coldstream Country Club, as well as Sea Pines Country Club.

Marj was passionate about her many philanthropic

NANCY MOSER CONVERSE ’49 passed away on December 19, 2018, at the age of 87, after a yearlong battle with cancer. She was the older sister of Judith Moser McCutcheon ’52, and had recently moved to the same retirement community. After Walnut Hill, Nancy attended Mount Holyoke College and met her future husband Chuck Converse on a blind date while studying there. They were married in 1953 and settled in Edina, MN, where she devoted her life to raising their two children.

She also took great joy

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IN MEMORIAM in helping to resettle numerous Cambodian refugee families through her church in the Twin Cities. The culmination of that effort occurred when they welcomed an unaccompanied minor boy from Cambodia into their otherwise empty nest. In addition to being a wife, mother, and grandmother, she enjoyed traveling the world, listening to classical music, birdwatching, knitting, and playing bridge. She especially loved her homes in Minnesota, Arizona, and Missouri and had a knack for making them warm and welcoming places for family to gather.

Nancy is survived by her husband of 65 years, sister Judith, three children, nine grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.

HELEN BRYAN SMITH ’49 passed away on June 22, 2018, at the age of 86. She graduated summa cum laude from Smith College in 1953, then received a master's degree in English and library science from the University of Wisconsin.

Helen then commenced a long career as a librarian in 1955 with the Boys and Girls House of the Toronto Public Libraries.

She shared a discerning love of books with people of all ages and was the best of conversationalists, punctuating walks with her Cairn terriers around her Toronto Poplar Plains neighborhood with many stops to exchange thoughts on gardening, books, travel, religion, pets, and poetry. She remembered birthdays and special events of every child in her neighborhood. Helen

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married Ronald Smith, a native of Galashiels, Scotland, who supported the code-breaking work undertaken at Bletchley Park during WWII. With Helen at the wheel and Ronald navigating, the couple set off on many a “toot” to enjoy the autumn foliage and visit friends around the province.

Ronald predeceased Helen, as did their infant son, George Bryan Smith. She is survived by her cousins, Ronald’s nephew and his wife, and her many, many friends.

JOANNE ALHGREN WAKEFIELD ’50 passed away on September 13, 2018, at the age of 85. Born to Swedish descendants in Massachusetts, she completed her postgraduate year at Walnut Hill after graduating from Brockton High School. Joanne then received a B.S. from Wheaton College and completed secretarial school at Katharine Gibbs. She was an avid golfer and tennis player, bridge game aficionado, and loyal friend to many.

Joanne was a dedicated mother and taught her children how to ski, pushed them through long hikes, shoveled snow off the ice to allow them to skate, and was always there to watch an occasionally horrible tennis match.

She loved to needlepoint and knit, and many of the sweaters she made for her grandchildren have been stashed away for future generations. Joanne loved animals and leaves behind her loyal companion, Zoey.

After the family moved to Duxbury, MA, Joanne was an active member of

the Duxbury Yacht Club, where she quickly became one of their top ladies’ golf team members. She loved to open her home to entertain friends and family, especially the tradition of a Swedish smorgasbord on Christmas Eve. In 1988, she built a home on Amelia Island Plantation and moved to Florida. She volunteered at the local Historical Society and managed a high-end swimwear shop.

Joanne became a loving grandparent in 1989, and was affectionately known to her grandchildren as “Marnie.” Longing to be closer to family, she moved back to Duxbury in 2002.

Living on the positive side of life was one of her favorite mantras, even in the midst of her own life challenges. Joanne is survived by three children and nine grandchildren.

CAROL ROSENBURG FREEDMAN ’52 passed away on December 12, 2018, at the age of 83.

She graduated from Wheaton College with a B.A. in government during the same year that she married her husband, Jerry. They proceeded to live in Montgomery, AL, San Antonio, TX, and Milwaukee, WI, while Jerry served as a flight surgeon in the Air Force. They then lived in Chicago while he did his residency at the University of Chicago.

Carol briefly worked in the retail business, but mostly focused on her growing family. They eventually moved to New Haven, CT, where Jerry set up his ophthalmology practice.

Carol raised their three girls, was involved in many local organizations, and later managed her

husband’s practice. She was a great friend to many and was known for hosting some incredible parties. In 1997, Carol and Jerry moved to Princeton, NJ, to be closer to their daughters. There she joined the Present Day Club, the Nassau Club, and the Princeton Art Museum.

Carol is survived by her husband, three daughters, eight grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.

HARRIETT SPALDING HANCHETT ’53 passed away on April 19, 2018, at the age of 84. A resident of New York City, she died peacefully in her second home in Gross Ile, MI, which she inherited from her stepmother, Melody Spalding. Known as Hat, she graduated from Wellesley College in 1957 and became an assistant buyer at Lord & Taylor in New York. She married James Hanchett, a writer-editor with the New York Daily News; was active in Wellesley affairs; and served as treasurer of New York’s Chapin School. Hat is survived by her daughter, as well as a brother-in-law and his family.

MARY CRAWFORD KNEIBLER ’54 passed away on July 19, 2018, at the age of 82. Known as MayCat, she was born in Louisville, KY, and lived in Lake Forest, IL, at the time of her passing. She was passionate about the Art Institute, the Chicago Botanical Gardens, Ravinia, and above all, her family. MayCat is survived by one brother, two children, and four grandchildren.

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IN MEMORIAM CYNTHIA ROBBINS BLAYA ’56 passed away on December 25, 2018, at the age of 80. She was born in Taunton, MA, and attended First Parish Church, where her family donated a stained-glass window. Cynthia attended Endicott College as well as Florida International University, and was a member of Beta Sigma Phi International. She was employed at New England Medical Center before working for the U.S. Embassy in Santiago, Chile. Besides spending time with family and friends, she enjoyed playing bridge with her card group, making silly jokes, and walking her dog, Bandit. Cynthia is survived by her extended family and friends, including three children and three grandchildren.

MARTHA CROSS JOHNSON ’56 passed away on April 24, 2019, at the age of 80. She grew up in Haverhill, MA, during which time she attended Walnut Hill and Bradford Junior College. Martha then moved to Boston, where she met her late husband, Craig Johnson.

Together they raised their six children in Sudbury, MA, and then later in Underhill, VT. In addition to raising her children, Martha worked at the Town Hall in Sudbury, MA, as a real estate agent in Vermont, and at Sears.

Upon retirement, Martha and her husband moved to Kennebunk, ME, where she remained until a recent move to Massachusetts to be closer to family. An avid bridge player and a voracious reader, she also enjoyed doing crossword puzzles, sewing, playing

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the piano, and watching birds. She loved living by the water, and she and Craig spent many hours walking the beaches of Kennebunk and fishing on Lake Champlain.

Martha is survived by one brother, six children, nine grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

ANN WARREN REISHUS ’60 passed away on April 18, 2019, at the age of 77.

She grew up in Keene, NH, and attended Walnut Hill before graduating from Mount Vernon Seminary in Washington, DC. Ann then attended Lake Forest College in Illinois. Although she grew up on the East Coast, as a girl she traveled with her family throughout the West many times and loved it. She met her future husband, Lloyd Reishus, at Yellowstone National Park, where he worked as a wrangler. They married in 1964, and the couple raised their family in the Montana towns of Whitefish and Shelby.

Upon Lloyd’s retirement, they left the wintry north for the warmer climes of Green Valley, AZ, but eventually returned north to Cody, WY, where Ann lived for almost 20 years.

She was a wonderful artist, primarily painting in oils and watercolors, but also worked in sculpture (even winning First Place for a large ice sculpture in Whitefish) and stage sets. She supported the local arts, especially any production in which her grandchildren participated. Ann was a great reader of mysteries and American history, and always donated her latest completed book to the Friends of the Library.

She is survived by one sister, two children, three grandchildren, many nieces and nephews, and her most constant companion for the last few years, a tremendous cat named Toona.

ANNE CLARKE HUNT ’68 passed away on June 18, 2018, at the age of 68, after a battle with glioblastoma brain cancer.

She was the eldest of five siblings, whom she dutifully helped raise and care for throughout her life. Anne grew up in Barnstable, MA, where she loved to play tennis and sail Beetle Cats in Barnstable Harbor. She graduated from Boston University in 1972, then began her four-decade career as a physical therapist, where her firm but loving approach helped thousands of patients along the way, most recently at Back Bay Rehab and Action Sports, both in Wolfeboro, NH. Anne often said, “Family is everything,” and started her own family with Gordon Hunt. As “Nomi” to her grandchildren, she delighted in making cakes for their birthdays and taking them for drives around the yard on her tractor. Anne was most in her element hosting a holiday for over 30 people and making it all look effortless. A talented knitter, she won many blue ribbons at the Sandwich Fair for her owl sweaters for babies and other impressive handicrafts.

She also enjoyed gardening, volunteering at All Saints Episcopal Church and elsewhere, and traveling the world with Gordon. Anne is survived by her husband,

two children, four grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews.

ANN ROGERS ’76 passed away on December 6, 2018, at the age of 60.

She attended Cedar Crest College in Allentown, PA, where she earned a B.S. in psychology. Ann was an active member of the Mayflower Descendants Society and served on the board of her family company. She was a proponent of education and funded tuition for individuals at private Quaker schools, as well as helped with expenses for a number of young adults attending college.

Reading, horseback riding, and musicals were her passions. Ann was a member of Musica De Fillia, a local women’s choir. She grew up spending summers and vacations at the family home on Cape Cod, where she developed her love of the ocean. She traveled extensively early in life, visiting many foreign countries. Ann is survived by her husband, mother, two brothers, and two children.

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OPEN HOUSE SUNDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2019 | 12 : 3 0 – 3: 3 0 PM wa ln u th illa r ts . or g a dm i ss i ons @wal nuthi l l artBehind s. oStowe r g| 57

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Congratulations to the Class of 2019

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n honor of our 125th Anniversary, we were proud to welcome Berklee College of Music President Roger H. Brown as our Commencement speaker this June. President Brown has a rich array of professional and life experiences that have taken him across the globe, including playing recording sessions as a drummer in New York; administering United Nations humanitarian operations in Southeast Asia and Africa; and founding a company with his wife that now employs more than 24,000 people and serves more than 80,000 families. He gave a thought-provoking speech accentuated by clips of songs that had an impact on his own life.

Enjoy a small excerpt of his speech:

I once was lost but now I’m found, was blind but now I see. What should we be opening our eyes to today? Personally, I think our understanding and support of the transgender and nonbinary community is an area that probably most of us need to work on, think about, and grow. I believe that the pollution and degradation of the natural world will seem as unthinkable as hunters shooting thousands of bison from the windows of the Transcontinental Railroad was 100 or so years ago. Maybe it’s our treatment of people we now call disabled, maybe our treatment of animals, our tolerance of crippling poverty. Certainly, our eyes have been opened to the horror of sexual harassment and sexual assault and other abuses of power. But let me just pause and say especially to young people: many of us are open—incredibly open—to people of other faiths, races, gender identities, but we save our hatred and intolerance for people who disagree with us ideologically, who vote for different politicians, or whose beliefs lead them to different conclusions of what’s right and wrong. Fierce advocacy for all forms of diversity with exception for people who disagree with us is not diversity at all.

So I urge you to first commit to seeing other people as worthy human beings. ◆

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G R A D U AT I O N

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1: Board of Trustees President Elizabeth Paine McLendon ’65, Berklee College of Music President and Commencement speaker Roger Brown, and Head of School Antonio Viva 2: The Class of 2019 3: The school procession from the Hill to the church, through a recent colorful art installation in Natick called the Tunnel of Love 4: Gregory Ward ’19 and Chaewon Woo ’19 5: Longfei “Flora” Sun '19 gives her graduation address 6: Graduates Max Ross ’19, Harriet Rovniak ‘19, Nyah Malone ’19, and Eleanor Collins ‘19 7: Community award winners, left to right: Arnold C. Taylor Award for Academic and Artistic Achievement, Eleanor Collins ’19; Catherine T. Chan Award, Longfei “Flora” Sun ’19; Hester R. Davies Citizenship Award, Manasi Eswarapu ’19; Head of School Antonio Viva; Friendship Award, Lila Jones ’19 and Jonathan Van De Loo ’19; Joanna Rappaport ’96 Award, Samuel Valk ’19 2018 / 2019

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Community Award Winners

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NEW BEGINNINGS

Class of 2019 Acceptance and Matriculation Academy of the Art University AMDA College/ Conservatory of the Performing Arts American University American University of Paris Arizona State University Ball State University Bard College Baylor College Belmont University Berklee College of Music Binghamton University Boston Conservatory Boston University Bucknell University Butler University California College of the Arts California Institute of the Arts California State University, Chico Camberwell College of Arts (UAL) Carnegie Mellon University Central Saint Martins College (UAL) Champlain College Chapman University Charlotte Ballet Christopher Newport University Cleveland Institute of Music Colburn School Columbia College Chicago Columbia College Hollywood Columbia University Connecticut College Cornell University Cornish College of the Arts Curtis Institute of Music Dean College DePaul University DePauw University Dominican University of CA Drew University Drexel University Eastman School of Music Elon University 6 0 | Behind Stowe

Emerson College Fashion Institute of Technology Florida Southern College Fordham University George Washington University Gettysburg College Goucher College Hampshire College Indiana University Ithaca College James Madison University Johnson & Wales University The Juilliard School Kenyon College Lasell College Lawrence University Lesley University London Contempory Dance School Loyola Marymount University Manhattan School of Music Manhattanville College Mannes School of Music (The New School) Maryland Inst.College of Art Marymount Manhattan College McGill University Middlebury College Molloy College Moore College of Art and Design Muhlenberg College New England Conservatory New School for Drama New School for Jazz/ Contemp. Music New School for Media Studies New York University Northeastern University Northern Essex Community College Northwestern University Oberlin College Oberlin Conservatory of Music Ohio University Otis College Pace University

PA Academy of the Fine Arts Parsons School of Design (The New School) Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University Point Park University Pratt Institute Providence College Purchase College (SUNY) Reed College Rhode Island School of Design Rider University Ringling College of Art & Design Roosevelt University Royal Academy of Music Royal Northern College of Music Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama Rutgers University Salem State University San Francisco Conservatory of Music Sarah Lawrence College Savannah College of Art & Design School of Art Institute of Chicago School of Visual Arts Skidmore College Southern Methodist University Southern Vermont College Stanford University SUNY Cortland SUNY Oswego Syracuse University Temple University Trinity College Trinity Laban Con. of Music and Dance Tufts University Union College University of Alabama University of Arizona University of British Columbia University of California, Berkeley University of California, Davis University of California, Santa Barbara

University of California, Santa Cruz University of Cincinnati (CCM) University of Connecticut University of Denver University of Hartford University of Hawaii at Manoa University of Houston University of Illinois University of Mary Washington University of MA Amherst University of MA Boston University of Michigan University of Minnesota, Twin City University of New England University of NC at Asheville University of NC School of the Arts University of Northern Colorado University of Northern Iowa University of Oklahoma University of South Carolina University of Southern California University of Southern Maine University of St. Andrews University of Tampa University of the Arts University of Texas, Austin University of Toronto University of Utah University of Vermont University of Wisconsin, Madison Vassar College Virginia Commonwealth Viterbo University Wagner College Webster University Western Connecticut State University Wheaton College, MA Whittier College Wright State University

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THE WORK THE WORK BEHIND THE BEHIND THE SCENES ISN’T SCENES ALWAYSISN’T ALWAYS GLAMOROUS. GLAMOROUS. Much of the magic of Walnut Hill takes place in the studio.

The work to pull in the core and position the feet may seem Much of theto magic of Walnut Hill takes in but the the studio. insignificant the audience during a pas place de trois, The work to in the core andstretching, position the feet may seem hundreds of pull hours of training, and adjustments insignificant to the a pas de trois, but the are what enable ouraudience dancers during to dazzle onstage. hundreds of hours of training, stretching, and adjustments Behind every polished performance and successful dancer is are what enable our dancers to dazzle onstage. a teacher and mentor. Walnut Hill helps dancers develop their Behind every and in successful dancer is strengths andpolished prepareperformance for the next step their artistic journey. a teacher and mentor. Walnut Hill helps dancers develop their strengths and prepare for the next step in their artistic journey.

HELP US CONTINUE THE TRADITION. MAKE A GIFT IN HONOR OF WALNUT HELP CONTINUE HILL’SUS 125 YEARS. THE TRADITION. MAKE A GIFT IN HONOR OF WALNUT

walnuthillarts.org/giving HILL’S 125 YEARS.

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Mural by Hannah Kremin '12

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Members of the 2019 Senior Class at Candlelight, toasting with faux champagne!