Behind Stowe Spring & Summer 2016

Behind Stowe WA L N U T H I L L S C H O O L F O R T H E A R T S

Spring & Summer 2016

Rethinking space.

Reenergizing program.

Reflecting on a memorable year.

Volume 6 Number 1

Behind Stowe WA L N U T H I L L S C H O O L F O R T H E A R T S

Spring & Summer 2016

Volume 6 Number 1

A Year of Growth With growth being one of our five core values, it is no surprise that our community has embraced the many noteworthy developments that have come about over the past year at Walnut Hill.

New spaces, new programs, new classes, and more have made this a year to remember. Read on to see what’s new and you’ll surely see that, while some things may change, our commitment to providing world-class educational experiences has remained the same from our birth as an institution to today—and will continue to do so well beyond!

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE Betsy Blazar Director of Marketing & Communications Amanda Grazioli Director of Content Marketing Elizabeth Kendrick Advancement Associate DEVELOPMENT OFFICE Marie Longo Chief Advancement Officer Jennifer TumSuden Director of Development Garrett Murphy Assistant Director of Alumni Giving and Engagement Melissa Graves Database Manager Lindsay Moncrieff Assistant Director of Donor Relations Carole Allen-Scannell Director of Major and Planned Giving EDITORIAL TEAM Judy Kiviat Editorial Assistant Betsy Blazar Fyfe Design Design PHOTOGRAPHY Coffee Pond Photography David Elmes Liza Voll Photography Patrick Rogers Photography

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A NOTE FROM STOWE

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THE JANUARY PROJECT

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REENERGIZING PROGRAM

Introducing Fiber Arts WFMA's Evolution

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A NEW ARTS CENTER

RETHINKING THE CAMPUS EXPERIENCE

A Freshman-Year Foundation Maximizing Time on the Hill A Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

NEW BEGINNINGS

IDENTITY

A First Look at Our New Logo

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CLASS NOTES

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ALUMNI VOICES:

Kelsey Miller ’02

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A YEAR IN REVIEW

A Look Back at a Year of Art-Making

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REUNION WEEKEND

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ALUMNI AWARDS

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REMINISCENCE

Adrienne Gang ’66

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SEEN OFF THE HILL

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SEEN ON THE HILL

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GRADUATION

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NEW TRUSTEES

Amini Kajunju Jordan McCullough ’94

© 2016 Walnut Hill School for the Arts. All rights reserved. Published by Walnut Hill School for the Arts, 12 Highland Street, Natick, MA 01760-2199 (tel) 508.653.4312 (fax) 508.653.9593 | Please send change of address to Melissa Graves: mgraves@walnuthillarts.org

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

A NOTE FROM STOWE

David Elmes

Redefining Excellence

Steve Jobs once said, “Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.” At Walnut Hill, excellence is counted among our five core values, and we consistently strive for excellence in everything we do. Sometimes this pursuit involves staying the well-tested course, but in other moments we’re called upon to take calculated risks and demonstrate a willingness to grow and change. This issue of Behind Stowe showcases some of the ways that we have reimagined our campus, rethought our curriculum, and reinvigorated aspects of our program in the past year.

Our year has been one of creation and evolution. We celebrated the successes of a newly expanded arts major: Writing, Film & Media Arts. We enjoyed valuable moments of connection as a result of our adjusted daily schedule. We experienced the Music Department’s January Project, which offered a pause for deep communitywide engagement with a musical composition. Behind the scenes, we were hard at work developing a new logo that nods to both the rich past and the possibility-filled future of our institution.

Among our faculty and with our students we often talk about process and product, work and vision, quality and reflection. One major development that touches on all of these concepts is our first-ever dedicated arts building, which has been under construction all year and is scheduled to open in fall 2016. The building itself is beautiful, but the true excitement stems from the anticipation of what those walls will contain. There will be excellent performances, challenging rehearsals and classes, and collaborations and projects that we have never before had the opportunity to pursue.

It is a time of great change on the Walnut Hill campus, but also one in which we have recommitted ourselves ever more deeply to our mission of training and educating the world’s most talented young artists. We hope that you enjoy reading about some of the many developments being made on campus and that you will join us here in the coming year to experience them for yourself.

Antonio Viva Head of School

Spring & Summer 2016

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THE JANUARY PROJECT

ABOVE The Music Department, conducted by Jonathan Richter, performs the Vivaldi Gloria.

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www.walnuthillarts.org

The January Project: A MUSICAL TRANSITION

INTO THE NEW YEAR

by Amanda Grazioli

A

fter a lively December full of holiday celebrations, end-of-semester performances, and final academic projects, returning to campus from Winter Break to wrap up the last few weeks of the semester can be a bit . . . anticlimactic. Beginning this year, however, the Music Department decided to change the game entirely and make January remarkable.

All music classes and chamber group rehearsals were suspended for the last three weeks of the semester so that every student and faculty member in the department could collaborate together on something special, something they called the January Project. Planning for the project began in early fall, when music faculty met to determine which composition for chorus and orchestra would be best for the inaugural year of this processoriented exploration. It was important to the group to choose a piece that they loved, that they thought the community would love, and that they thought was realistic for the first year of this large-scale undertaking.

They soon came to the consensus that the Gloria in D Major, RV 589, composed by Antonio Vivaldi, was the perfect choice.

Free of class commitments and rehearsals, the Music Department spent afternoons together as a community delving deeply into the background of Vivaldi, the artistic environment of the baroque period, and the characteristics of this particular piece. There were rehearsals, of course, but beyond that there was a carefully constructed, rich curriculum developed to give students multiple ways of engaging with the music and the text.

RIGHT Director of Music Jennifer Elowitch performing with her students

Spring & Summer 2016

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Number of music students involved plus many faculty and staff from the department

Number of movements in the Vivaldi Gloria

Number of nonMusic Department faculty and staff who performed in the chorus

Number of rehearsals the chorus had to learn the piece

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Students were selected as vocal soloists or for different parts in the orchestra, and the remaining members of the department made up the chorus. The chorus also included several faculty and staff members, including some from other departments across campus. “Being a part of the chorus for the Vivaldi Gloria was a great experience,” reflected Math Department faculty member Allison Mansour, who joined the soprano section for the project. “It was a wonderful opportunity to work with students outside the classroom and to make music together. I really enjoyed getting a glimpse into the artistic life of the students here.”

Number of years since Vivaldi was born ........

FUN FACT:

Vivaldi didn’t write very much sacred music, despite being a priest.

Trumpet was played

by Tom Huang ‘13 in the Keiter performance.

Did you know?

Baroque dance involves a great deal of symmetry and precise movements.

demonstrate the high value we place on helping our students become truly thoughtful, educated musicians.”

With that emphasis on thoughtful exploration in mind, Elowitch and her faculty planned and offered workshops ranging from lectures and master classes on music history and diction, led by Walnut Hill faculty, to guest presentations by renowned musicians and educators such as Dr. Ellen Exner of New England Conservatory and Carol Rodland, professor of viola at Eastman School of Music. Learning from these experts, students were able to develop a more complete understanding of Vivaldi as a person and a composer, the time period in which he worked, and the structure of his Gloria. Armed with this common understanding, everyone involved in the project

When Walnut Hill Director of Music Jennifer Elowitch welcomed everyone at the first full orchestra and chorus rehearsal, she began by thanking them for giving their hearts to this grand experiment and reminding them that it isn’t as much about the end performance (which, by the way, was spectacular), but rather about the process of working together as a community and developing a meaningful understanding of the musical selection. “We conceived the project as a ‘deep dive’ into the piece from many different perspectives. By approaching the Vivaldi through visual art, dance, and history, we were able to

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www.walnuthillarts.org

THE JANUARY PROJECT

worked together to bring out the contrasting emotions of each movement and the varied rhythms that give texture to the piece.

When they weren’t singing or playing, members of the Music Department were examining the baroque era through different artistic lenses—a trip to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, a screening of the Mark Morris Dance Group’s Gloria performance on video, and even baroque dance workshops taught by Melinda Sullivan, instructor of movement and dance for the opera program at New England Conservatory. While several students were initially hesitant about the dance classes, they ended up being the surprise hit of the entire project! In groups of about 25, students and faculty alike worked with Sullivan to learn 8-measure baroque dance together. “The baroque dance master class gave me insight into what baroque music should feel like, which really strengthened my ability to appreciate the style of the music,” shared Fernando Lopez ’17. “The class provided a fun and relaxed environment in which I felt like I was in the most unique experience possible for learning about the baroque art form.”

Spring & Summer 2016

After an intensive three-week rehearsal period, the ensemble shared the polished performance at an All-School Assembly that was livestreamed for parents, alumni, and other remote audience members to enjoy.

It was a moving and unprecedented moment to hear a full orchestral work, featuring the entirety of the Music Department, played in the Keiter Center during a typical school day. We are already looking forward to seeing what’s in store for next January. ♦ OPPOSITE PAGE TOP Ellen Exner speaking to the Music Department OPPOSITE PAGE BOTTOM Elowitch and students inside the courtyard of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum ABOVE A full chorus and orchestra rehearsal of the Gloria BELOW LEFT Baroque dance handout BELOW RIGHT Melinda Sullivan teaching a baroque dance workshop

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A NEW ARTS CENTER

Unveiling a New Arts Center

by Marie A. Longo

ABOVE Alumni tour the dance studio in the new Delbridge Family Center for the Arts

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www.walnuthillarts.org

I

f you’ve been to campus during the past year, you’ve seen something amazing taking shape—a new building connected to the Dance Center and adjacent to the Head’s House, with soaring rooflines and gleaming windows peeking above the treetops.

Since Walnut Hill shifted its mission in the 1970s to educate talented artists from around the world, the School’s enrollment has nearly doubled, resulting in a strain on our physical spaces. More student artists means more demands for places to sing, dance, act,

give a concert, display art, read new works, and screen films. That’s why the Board of Trustees agreed in 2014 to embark on this ambitious construction project, the first dedicated arts building in the School’s history.

Named in honor of our lead donors, the Delbridge Family Center for the Arts is made possible by a generous gift from longtime Trustee Sandra Delbridge and her husband, Kevin, parents of theater major Jessica Delbridge De Kler ’00 and visual art major Alyce Delbridge ’05.

“Witnessing firsthand the impact that the School has had on our two daughters, it was easy for us to step forward to make this gift,” said Sandra. “Jessica and Alyce were able Spring & Summer 2016

to pursue their dreams in large part because of what they learned at Walnut Hill. Kevin and I wanted to give back because we are passionate about education and enjoy being able to nurture student artists like our daughters.

We love helping young people lead enriched lives, while making the world a more accepting place.”

This beautiful new arts center houses a dance studio with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Highland Street, a 175-seat performance studio, a two-story lobby that serves as an art gallery, dressing rooms, and faculty

offices. Designed for maximum artistic flexibility, the performance studio includes movable staging, flexible seating, state-of-the-art lighting and soundboard, and acoustic enhancements. Courtyards at the front and rear entrances expand the opportunities for creative collaboration and community-building.

“Walnut Hill is poised to do a lot of exciting things in the years to come,” noted Sandra, “and we’re proud to be a part of that.”

If you want to see what all the buzz is about for yourself, please contact the Advancement Office to arrange a tour, or join us for a performance or event in the year to come! ♦ Behind Stowe | 7

Small Steps, Big Impact Rethinking the Campus Experience

When welcoming faculty at the start of the 2015–2016 school year, Head of School Antonio Viva talked a lot with the adult community on campus about the concept of “kaizen.” From the Japanese term for “change for the better,” kaizen is a strategy that encourages people of all levels to proactively make continuous, incremental improvements, always seeking ways to make an organization function more effectively. This year brought numerous ”kaizen moments“—read on to learn about just a few.

A FRESHMAN-YEAR FOUNDATION

by Jen James, Director of Organizational Development The Foundations Class is a nongraded social curriculum for our freshmen. The students meet weekly over lunch to receive instruction and engage in dialogue about a variety of topics, including personal health, peer pressure, stress management, and goal setting.

In mid-February, I had the opportunity to lead a class on identity. I wanted the students to explore the different facets of their identity— who they are at home, at school, with their friends, and in their arts discipline—while also thinking about what they might be like in the future.

I was pleasantly surprised with the students’ level of reflection and depth. I took the opportunity to pair students across artistic majors for this work and to have them find commonalities.

One of the more poignant moments occurred when I asked them, “Why are your lists different for at home versus at school?” The answers

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ABOVE Director of Health Services Ros Gendreau teaching a session of Foundations to freshmen

varied from “I’m more comfortable here and people get me” to “At home I can be myself and I don’t have to worry about how I behave.”

It’s this level of understanding—both of themselves and of others—that I wanted them to reach during the session: taking time to come

together, talk about deeper issues, and continue to build community through shared discussion. This is just one of the ways Walnut Hill adds to the social growth of each student while working to unite the students around common experiences. ♦

www.walnuthillarts.org

RETHINKING THE CAMPUS EXPERIENCE

Director of Math & Science Tom Keenan teaching a 70-minute chemistry class as part of the new schedule

MAXIMIZING TIME ON THE HILL

by Ben Gregg, Director of Academic Studies

We looked at the time available to us in a week and thought long and hard about what we needed to accomplish in order to give the students the best possible experience. We adjusted academic class times to be consistently 70 minutes long, as opposed to a mix of 50- and 85-minute blocks. This change has made it easier for teachers to plan engaging, complete lessons and has helped students to stay more attentive in class.

increased student participation in clubs and a much greater presence of them on campus. Existing clubs such as Environmental Club, Community Service, Yearbook, and our a cappella group Mixed Nuts have been thriving with the consistent time to meet and work. In addition, some exciting new clubs have developed, including a school newspaper, The Walnut Street Journal, and an active Photography Club led by none other than our Head of School, Antonio Viva.

Under the leadership of our four class deans, our advisory program has also become even more central to the student experience. Having consistent times to meet each week has helped students develop stronger bonds with their advisors and within their advisory groups.

We also decided it was important to dedicate some time each week for non-academic, non-arts community programs, including advising, clubs, and student leadership. We’ve seen

By moving Assembly, advisory, and club time to the afternoon, these activities have come to serve as a transition between the academics and the arts portions of the day, and

A school’s daily schedule influences nearly every aspect of school life, and for this reason it can be tricky to change a schedule even a little bit.

This year, we made a few modest but significant changes to our schedule, and we have seen some important positive results.

Spring & Summer 2016

all faculty—arts and academic—can participate. In addition to special Assembly presentations by students and faculty, we have hosted some amazing guest performances, including drummers from the Dagara Music Center in Ghana and dancers from Prometheus Dance, a professional dance company in residence at Walnut Hill and run by our own Dance Department faculty member Diane Arvanites. As we head into next year, we are very excited to see what new ideas and new creativity are in store! ♦

ABOVE Students decorating pillowcases for Camp Dreamcatcher with their advisory group as a Patriots’ Day service project

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RETHINKING THE CAMPUS EXPERIENCE

A COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

by Jen James, Director of Organizational Development

ABOVE Our student leaders, some of whom are pictured here at a fall retreat, represent a diverse cross-section of the student body.

For the past three years, we have been actively working on issues of diversity and inclusion at Walnut Hill.

The Diversity Committee, comprised this year of staff and faculty and co-chaired by me and Assistant Head for Enrollment Management Susanne Carpenter, has been meeting every three weeks and having some very rich and honest conversations.

At its essence, diversity work is all about making connections, about building relationships and both fostering and participating in cross-cultural communication and interactions. One of the major goals for this year was to “put tools in the toolboxes” of all the committee members. We wanted to enhance the group’s ability to have brave, bold conversations and to begin thinking about how diversity and 1 0 | Behind Stowe

inclusion play out in their specific areas of our community.

This year, we focused on the following initiatives: creating a mission statement for the committee, discussing the implementation of affinity groups, creating programming for the next school year, and facilitating professional development for the faculty. We are fortunate to have Linda Hughes, a Walnut Hill Dorm Parent and parent of a Walnut Hill alumna, as a trained diversity facilitator. Linda piloted the Taste of SEED (Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity) discussion groups. We also have begun to document and recognize diversity-focused work that is currently occurring on the Walnut Hill campus: the Humanities Department is evaluating its curriculum; the 9th-grade Musical Theater class has diversified its curriculum, as

has the French 4 class; and Walnut Hill has become A Better Chance school, teaming with an organization that has transformed the lives of young people of color through education and prepared thousands of students to take positions of leadership in American society.

At its essence, diversity work is all about making connections . . .

The work of diversity and inclusion is ongoing. For the foreseeable future, all students, staff, and faculty will continue to strive to connect to one another and include our entire community in conversations across difference. ♦ www.walnuthillarts.org

REENERGIZING PROGRAM

WFMA’s Evolution: Challenge Ignites Inspiration

by Beckett Azevedo ’17, Writing, Film & Media Arts Major

Introducing Fiber Arts

by Rachel Chambers

I am excited to have joined the Visual Art Department faculty and to be exposing students to a new artistic medium—fiber arts. Fiber arts projects can be composed of natural or synthetic fibers, but can also include wires and plastics. Most fiber arts practices are repetitive and labor-intensive. Handweaving through plaiting, twining, coiling, or knotting to create abstract 3-D forms, students learn about the importance of the process. The new Fiber Arts course that I’m teaching at Walnut Hill is a good mixture of fibers techniques and foundational sculpture practices. The students need to learn the characteristics of materials in order to build properly, so it’s a new challenge for them.

I emphasize that the Fiber Arts class is a lot of work, and that the students need to find joy in the process, just as they should find joy in everyday activities. The same kind of care that they put into layering oil paint on canvas must be taken when dying warp strings to weave on the loom. Classes have become a very social space where students help each other. I love that moment when they begin to rely on one another to move work around the room, or get fresh plaster for a sculpture. I feel that we can’t let go of learning basic three-dimensional techniques. I don’t want to see the world go to the 3-D printer. To create something that takes weeks, months, maybe years, and then becomes a part of you is really beautiful. ♦

Spring & Summer 2016

When I walked through the door of the new WFMA building last August, it was clear: change had happened, and it had happened fast. Over the course of just one summer, the former facilities building—once filled with clouds of sawdust, unused 2x4s, and winterizing equipment—became a thought of the past. The smell of new carpet and freshly painted drywall made way for a shiny new home for our department: Writing, Film & Media Arts, a joining of the Creative Writing Department and the Film and Media Arts classes that formerly took place in the Visual Art Department and during the academic day.

WFMA keeps its creative writing roots strong by offering many of its original writing classes.

I had the pleasure of exploring photography for the first time in the Darkroom Photography class, where I got to use my prior digital photography experience and apply it to a practically whole new art form in the darkroom. It’s been far more challenging than rewarding (as I think of all the photos I printed on the wrong side), but it’s made me a much better darkroom worker as a whole. I also took my first-ever poetry class, where I explored how the form of a poem relates to its feeling, its mood. This was all incredibly new, but no matter what the class was, I was ready and excited for the challenge.

“The only thing constant around here is change,” our program’s director, Margaret Funkhouser, said to my class while we were going through submissions to our literary magazine, The Blue Pencil. It could not be more true. Each semester brings new classes that make us break old habits and strive for what seems unachievable.

Though I am very apprehensive to call the 2016–2017 school year my senior year, WFMA’s second year of life will be even more inspiring, and I look forward to its commencement! ♦

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NEW BEGINNINGS

Congratulations to the Class of 2016 for a Truly Impressive Acceptance and Matriculation List!

Academy of Art University Adelphi University Alfred University American University American University of Paris Arizona State University ArtCenter College of Design Austin Ballet Baldwin Wallace University Bard College Barnard College Bates College Belmont University Bennington College Berklee College of Music Boston Conservatory Boston University Bowling Green State University Brown University Bucknell University Butler University California Institute of the Arts Camberwell College of Arts Carnegie Mellon University Case Western Reserve University Central Saint Martins Chapman University Charlotte Ballet Cleveland Institute of Music Colorado College Columbia College Chicago Columbia University Connecticut College Cornish College of the Arts DePaul University DePauw University Dominican University Drew University Drexel University Duke University Eastman School of Music Elon University Emerson College Fordham University George Mason University George Washington University Georgia State University 1 2 | Behind Stowe

Goucher College Hampshire College Hofstra University Houston Ballet II Indiana University Ithaca College James Madison University Joffrey Ballet Johnson & Wales University Juilliard School Juniata College Kansas City Art Institute Keio University Lake Erie College Lasell College Lawrence University Lesley University Maine College of Art Manhattan School of Music Mannes School of Music, The New School Maryland Institute College of Art Marymount Manhattan College Massachusetts College of Art and Design McGill University Millikin University Mount Holyoke College Muhlenberg College New College of Florida New England Conservatory of Music New School for Drama New York University Northwestern University Oberlin College Oberlin Conservatory Oklahoma City University Oregon College of Art and Craft Otis College of Art and Design Pace University Paris College of Art Parsons School of Design, The New School Pennsylvania State University

Pepperdine University Point Park University Pomona College Pratt Institute Princeton University Providence College Purchase College, State University of New York Quinnipiac University Reed College Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rhode Island School of Design Richmond, The American International University in London Rider University Roger Williams University Rollins College Roosevelt University Royal Academy of Dramatic Art Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Royal Conservatory of The Hague Royal Danish Academy Rutgers University Sarah Lawrence College Savannah College of Art and Design School of the Art Institute of Chicago School of Visual Arts Shenandoah University Simmons College Skidmore College Smith College Southern Methodist University St. Edward’s University St. Lawrence University Suffolk University Syracuse University Temple University Texas State University Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance

Tufts University Tulane University University of Arizona University of Buffalo, State University of New York University of Cincinnati– College-Conservatory of Music University of California, Davis University of California, Santa Barbara University of Connecticut University of Hartford University of Houston University of Illinois University of Massachusetts Amherst University of Maryland University of Michigan University of Minnesota University of New Hampshire University of North Carolina School of the Arts University of Notre Dame University of North Texas University of San Francisco University of Southern California University of Texas University of the Arts University of the Arts London University of Utah University of Washington Vassar College Virginia Tech Wagner College Wake Forest University Washington College Washington State University Washington University in St. Louis Webster University Wesleyan University Williams College Wright State University

www.walnuthillarts.org

IDENTITY

Introducing Our Logo We are thrilled to share a sneak peek of Walnut Hill’s new logo with you—this logo is the product of over a year of exploration and dedication from a group of trustees, administration, faculty and staff, and alumni. The image and text below share the thought process behind the different parts, and a few ways the logo can be used. We’ll officially switch to this logo in August 2016 . . . and we cannot wait!

Shape reminiscent of eaves in our architecture. Curves of letter create an obvious letter W and a more subtle letter H.

The addition of “Est. 1893” to our logo is a nod to our extensive history as a school.

The logotype, which can be used either combined with the typographic treatment or alone (see below), combines a traditional serif font with a more modern type—a blending of our ever-evolving curriculum and teaching styles and our commitment to classical training.

Logo Treatments

Seal

Spring & Summer 2016

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CLASS NOTES

Class Notes at Walnut Hill Submit Class Notes online at walnuthillarts.org/ alumni or email alumni@walnuthillarts.org.

We love including your photos in Class Notes. Photos should be at least 300 dpi and no less than 5 inches wide. Please feel free to contact us with questions . . . we want to make sure your photos look terrific.

2009 After several years of working in computer science and dancing very little, Lisie Michel returned to ballet part-time, performing in the 2015 production of Tony Williams’s Urban Nutcracker in Boston. She danced several roles, including Sugar Plum Fairy, Snow, Flowers, and Spanish. Lisie continues to work full-time as a software engineer for Google.

1951

MARY DYE/DUNHAM’S book Assumptions Can Mislead: Failures in Healthcare and Elsewhere, which is based on true stories illustrating how incorrect assumptions can lead to painful outcomes, recently received two awards: Trafford Publishing Company’s Gold Seal of Literary Excellence due to a fine review by The US Review of Books, and the Eric Hoffer Award for Excellence in Independent Publishing.

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1956

1964

Congratulations to JOAN TOWER on being nominated for a 2016 Grammy Award in the Contemporary Classical Composition category for a piece from her album Stroke.

1963

Walnut Hill Trustee MOLLIE ​ TOWER ​B YRNES was one of three women to be honored at Wellspring’s 18th Annual Women Honoring Women Luncheon on May 2, 2016, in Danvers, MA, for her dedication as an active community volunteer and philanthropist. Together she and her husband, John,

ABOVE Mollie​Tower​Byrnes ’63 and her sister, fellow alumna Cynthia Tower Doyle ’65, at the Women Honoring Women Luncheon

have focused their attention and resources on causes that speak to their hearts, including the arts, social services, and education.

RENIE HELFAND BRUUN is still living in Falmouth, MA, and is loving every moment of it. She continues to make jewelry and weave, and she carries her camera with her everywhere she goes. Retiring from social work has allowed her to travel and to visit with her six grandchildren. Her husband, Jorgen, is still working, however, so she has been traveling alone; but she is looking forward to his retirement so they can go together.

www.walnuthillarts.org

1965

Musée des Beaux Arts with the impressive Chihuly Sun at the entrance, grab a bite at the trendy Mandy’s salad bar, and view a few Westmount gardens before Antonio and Betsy’s departure back to Boston.

Lana found it a privilege to reconnect with Walnut Hill as a result of her 50th Reunion last May.

mom, while trying to get a busy, but sleepy, 16-year-old out of bed in the morning!

Terry is working as a Title I teacher for grades 2–6 in Bernardston, MA, and is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Stewards Education Project.

1970

DR. MILLIE GADBOIS has returned to Egypt to manage a major agricultural project in the southern region, based in Aswan and Luxor, to increase small farmer incomes through the production and export of high-value horticulture.

TERRY ATKINSON was sad to miss out on her 45th Reunion last year! Life is in the sandwich-generation stage in Greenfield, MA, as she cares for her 90-year-old

1971

Notes from the Hill Theater major Gabrielle Corsino ’17 was a Finalist in the Fidelity Young Artist Competition last spring and competed at Boston Symphony Hall. She was accompanied by Walnut Hill repertoire instructor Elaine Smith Purcell.

Violinist Noah Kelley ’18 was also a Finalist.

Barbara Nitke

LANA POLLACK HARPER was delighted to welcome Antonio Viva and BETSY PAINE MCCLENDON for a short but activity-filled visit to McGill University’s Schulich School of Music and Montreal last August. Highlights of the visit included touring the newly renamed Elizabeth Wirth Music Building, the MMR (multimedia room), recording rooms, and the library, as well as attending the opening of MISQA (the International String Quartet Academy) at Pollack Hall.

They also had time to visit the Rodin exhibition at the

Jesse Hansen ’17 was chosen as one of 12 up-and-coming fashion designers to compete in the inaugural season of Project Runway: Junior co-hosted

by Tim Gunn and Hannah Davis and featuring Kelly Osbourne, Christian Siriano, and Aya Kanai as judges.

The work of Writing, Film & Media Arts faculty member Stephen Lacy was discussed in a December 2015 article in ARTnews.

August 2015 Director of Music Jennifer Elowitch (sixth from right) spends her summer as the Artistic Director of the Portland Chamber Music Festival in Portland, ME. In the summer of 2015, many Walnut Hill alumni, along with Head of School Antonio Viva and other Walnut Hill staff, gathered in Portland to see one of the festival’s performances­—a treat for all.

Spring & Summer 2016

Writing, Film & Media Arts major Samantha Mackertich ’16 won one of two Helen Creeley Student Poetry Prizes. As a result of this honor, she was invited to present a poem at a reading in Acton, MA, by Pulitzer Prize–winning poet Tracy K. Smith.

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CLASS NOTES

1985

ABOVE Kate Hutter ’00 and her husband, Eric Mason, with their baby girl, Charlize “Charley” Mina Mason, born on December 14, 2015.

1979

Congratulations to MEGAN HENDERSON on being named the new music director of Revels, Inc., a nonprofit organization in Watertown, MA, whose mission is focused on bringing diverse cultural

performances to the community through music and theater. Megan joins the organization as an accomplished keyboardist, singer, composer, and conductor.

Her appointment starts this summer, and we cannot wait to see her flourish in this new role.

1981

MARGARET BURDICK ADAM (known professionally as M.L. Burdick) exhibited her artwork as part of the Spatial Articulation exhibit at the Agora Gallery in NYC last summer.

Shortly after her 25th Reunion visit at Walnut Hill in 2010, together with her husband Kevin and their three kids, ADRIENNE GURNETT DUECK moved from Phoenix, AZ, to the tiny European country of Luxembourg for her husband’s work. She described it as “an amazing journey—we enjoyed traveling at every opportunity and over the course of five years, we visited cities in 25 different countries.” Adrienne and her family have since moved to San Jose, CA, with the hope to never stop traveling and trying new things. She remains forever grateful to Jackie Sand, who gave her language, life, and travel skills that really made her European adventure possible for her and her family.

1986

JACKIE COLEMAN recently stepped into the position of education consultant for the arts with the Connecticut State Department of

2006 Kristin Parker had the joy of playing Young Norma on Season 3 of Netflix's Orange Is the New Black.

She was last seen onstage in the off-Broadway hit A Wilder Christmas, comprised of two of Thornton Wilder’s incredible short plays. She is engaged to be married to the love of her life, Kyle Schaefer.

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CLASS NOTES

Education after spending six years with Hartford Public Schools as their central office senior executive advisor for the arts. She is thrilled to continue to have opportunities to reference her Walnut Hill experiences in her work as an administrator, a teaching artist, and an actor. Jackie lives in Manchester, CT, with her husband, Jerry, and their 110-pound dog, Bullet.

JENNIFER REISHUS WINSLOW and her family are moving to Haiti for two years starting this summer. Her husband is now a Foreign Service officer for the U.S. State Department, and his first post will be in Port-auPrince. Jennifer also has a book published under her pen name, Alice E. Keyes.

1987

Notes from the Hill Katie Roeder ’18 was cast in the ensemble of Boston Children’s Theatre’s production of the Stephen Sondheim musical Assassins in August 2015.

Clarinetist Lacey Schroeder ’17 was invited to join the Honors Woodwind Quintet at the New England Conservatory Preparatory School, an opportunity that included a full scholarship for her chamber music studies with the group.

ABOVE Classmates Michael Baskowski ’08 and Garrett Murphy ’08 reunite after a performance of Beauty and the Beast, in which Michael performed.

JENNIFER WELLS recently relocated to Denmark to work for LEGO Systems in its Digital Games division, working to develop new mobile experiences for the LEGO Friends and Elves franchises. If there are Walnuts out there in Scandinavia, she invites you to look her up!

1991

Congratulations to MICHELINE MAHON CACCIATORE on publishing her first book, When a Child’s Anxiety Takes Over, which has received rave reviews on Amazon.com.

She also helped organize her class’s 25th Reunion in May.

Spring & Summer 2016

ABOVE Jake Fried ’02’s prizewinning work “Brain Lapse.”

MICHAEL MACCAFERRI is a member of the Chicagobased sextet chamber ensemble eighth blackbird, which won a Grammy Award this year—their fourth thus far!—for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance for their 2015 album Filament.

1993

JODI BAKER debuted her first book, Trust, part of what she hopes to be an eight-volume series titled “Between Lions,” last June.

The series is a young adult mythological thrill ride that captures the essence of the supernatural, similar to Harry Potter books but with a female main character.

Visual Art faculty member Stephanie Stigliano, who teaches Printmaking and Books as Art courses, curated Absence and Presence, an exhibition at Curry College in Milton, MA. The exhibition was shown in two parts. Prints by students Mikaela Dillon ’16, Joe Tighe ’16 and Sophia Jakobson ’16 were on display in the first exhibition of 25 prints until late October. The second exhibition of 25 prints, which included the work of students Jesse Hansen ’17 and Sarah Decossard ’17 and Visual Art faculty members Jessie Nickerson and Stephanie Stigliano, followed in early November.

Cellist Wangshu Xiang ’17 was named First Runner-up in the 2015 New England Philharmonic Young Artist Competition.

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CLASS NOTES

Notes from the Hill Film short “Bad Habits” by Annie Palmer ’17 was selected by the All American High School Film Festival, which has been renamed the Teen Indie Film Festival (the Tindies!).

Newton Nomadic Theater presented The Compass Rose, a play by Walnut Hill Writing, Film & Media Arts faculty member Ronan Noone. It was staged in an immersive format, with each show taking place in a different location around Newton, MA.

Noah Silverman ’18 was named Best Supporting Actor in a Feature Film at the Southampton International Film Festival (England) for his performance in No Letting Go, a film about a teenager struggling with a debilitating mental illness and his mom, who risks everything to save him without losing the rest of her family.

Alexandra “Zan” Berube ’16 was invited to perform as a special guest at a Boston Children’s Theater event at WGBH Studios where Kristin Chenoweth received an award.

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2006 Principal dancer Joe Walsh, Antonio Viva, soloist Lauren Strongin, and Michael Owen reunite after a performance at San Francisco Ballet.

AMELIA WATKINS is an active singer in New York, specializing in new music and teaching. She played Musetta in La Bohème with the Norwalk Symphony in May.

VREELAND: his play From Ship to Shape was selected to be among the works featured at Bay Street’s 3rd Annual New Works Festival, held April 29–May 1.

1995

2000

ROBIN BAYNE MORGAN recently joined the board of directors of INTERSECTION Contemporary Music Ensemble. This organization, founded in 2014 and based in Nashville, TN, is committed to focusing on musical repertoire from the 20th and 21st centuries.

Robin is currently working for TrustPoint Hospital as an emergency behavioral health clinician and licensed social worker, and as if that wasn’t enough, she just bought her first house!

1997

Some exciting news for theater alum WALKER

ZSOLT BOGNÁR is enjoying a successful career as a classical pianist and is currently hosting Living the Classical Life, a web series consisting of interviews with classical musicians and ensembles.

KATE HUTTER, Walnut Hill Board of Trustees member and this year’s Graduation speaker, has had quite the busy year. Amid choreographing, teaching, and now serving as the board chair for L.A. Contemporary Dance Company, most excitingly she and her husband welcomed their first child, baby girl Charlize “Charley” Mina Mason, on December 14, 2015.

2001

Puppet master and creator of The Joshua Show, JOSHUA HOLDEN was named one of the “Top 20 to Watch” by American Theatre magazine. The show was then presented by the Romanian International Theater Festival for Young Audiences. Joshua also made his debut at Lincoln Center as part of its Meet the Artist School Series.

Congratulations to the tastefully talented ZAC YOUNG on being named one of 2015’s Top 10 Pastry Chefs in America by Dessert Professional online magazine!

2002

JAKE FRIED was named one of the 2015 Massachusetts Cultural Council Artist Fellows in Film & Video. He received a $10,000 grant for his work “Brain Lapse.”

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CLASS NOTES

2005

Last summer, ASHLEY BLANCHET performed in the ensemble of the Paper Mill Playhouse’s world premiere musical Ever After, alongside two-time Tony Award winner Christine Ebersole and Emmy Award winner Charles Shaughnessy.

2006 2010 Dancer and model Laura Love was literally on her toes in a six-page fashion spread titled “On Pointe” in the January 2016 feature of Town & Country magazine!

2003

KATE PARLATO CURRIN was appointed associate director of Triangle Youth Ballet in Chapel Hill, NC, where she has been on the faculty since 2007. Triangle Youth

Ballet is a member company of the Southeastern Regional Ballet Association, where Kate’s choreography has been shown on multiple occasions. Her son, Grayson, turned 1 in December.

CHRISTOPHER GEARY graduated from the Yale School of Drama last summer. In September, he performed at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles in the West Coast premiere of These Paper Bullets!, written

by Rolin Jones, directed by Jackson Gay, and with music

by Billie Joe Armstrong.

On January 15, BLAKE HINSON was appointed to the faculty at Stony Brook University, a position to begin this fall. The university extended applications to accommodate students

March 2015 Each year, Head of School Antonio Viva takes a trip to Asia to meet with alumni, parents, and prospective students. He had the chance to reconnect and catch up with many alumni in Seoul during this year's visit.

Spring & Summer 2016

Notes from the Hill Si Hyun “Sia” Uhm ’16 won Second Place in the Robert Avalon International Composers Competition for high-school-aged composers, held in Houston, TX. The prize included a performance of her violin and piano piece in late November. She also received Honorable Mention in the Senior Category of the MTNA (Music Teachers National Association) Composition Competition for the state of Massachusetts and won the Quincy Symphony Concerto Competition.

Two pieces of artwork by Visual Art faculty member Richard Schwartz were included in a show titled Small Works at the Dedee Shattuck Gallery in November and December 2015.

Evren Ozel ’17 was named one of two First Place winners and Yiming “Sebastian” Li ’16 was named Third Place winner in the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Concerto Competition. Both students received cash prizes, and Evren was invited to play with the Boston Pops next season.

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2008

Notes from the Hill

MICHAEL BASKOWSKI is performing several roles in the national tour of Beauty and the Beast, which stopped at the Boston Opera House for a January engagement.

He plays the young prince who becomes the beast, a gargoyle, a villager, and several other roles. GARRETT MURPHY had the chance to see his fellow classmate perform and caught up with him after the show.

Gabrielle Corsino ’17 landed her first professional paid acting job this past summer, performing in Motel Rasdell: A New Musical at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium.

She played the role of a 1940s teenage daughter of the Applegate family.

A large number of Walnut Hill students participated in the National Association of Teachers of Singing National Student Auditions, Boston chapter, hosted at the Boston Conservatory in November. In addition to many honorable mentions and semifinalists from the Walnut Hill cohort, the following students were named winners in their respective divisions: Thalia Cook-Hansen ’18 (Second Place in Contemporary Commercial Music), Teddy Edgar ’16 (Third Place in Division 1B Classical), Sara Hargrave ’17 (Second Place in Division 1B Classical), and Alexandra Berube ’16 (Second Place in Division 1B Musical Theater).

Evren Ozel ’17 was selected to play on NPR’s From the Top program, which taped in New York in late May. Evren also won both First Prize and the Bach Prize in the 2016 A. Ramon Rivera Piano Competition.

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Congratulations to NICK CHRISTOPHER on being cast in the Broadway production of Hamilton.

Congratulations to SOO JIN HAN, who released a new pop single in 2015 titled “Blushing Bride,” described as “total tongue-in-cheek bliss about getting married.”

2010 & 2011 We were so excited to hear the news that not one but two of our alumni were prestigiously named 2015 Princess Grace Award recipients.

Congratulations to Emilie Leriche ’11 and Harper Watters ’10 on this amazing accolade.

who wished to apply for the opportunity to study with him. Blake joined the bass section of the New York Philharmonic in 2012 and was appointed assistant principal this past April.

Before his time with the New York Philharmonic, he was a member of the Grand Rapids Symphony.

2007

TONY RYMER performed at the Marlboro Music Festival in Vermont last August as part of the fourth week of the prestigious festival, playing Dvořák’s String Sextet in A Major, Op. 48.

It was wonderful to welcome PATRICK MCGUIRE back to campus for a special master class with our music students! A graduate of Juilliard, he now works as an education program associate with the Silk Road Project.

Congratulations to cellist THOMAS MESA, a Manhattan School of Music student, who was awarded First Place in the Senior Division of the 19th Annual Sphinx Competition. He received a $50,000 award as well as the prestigious opportunity to be featured with the Sphinx Soloist Program Partners.

2009

ERIC HERBST is living in Miami (and Manhattan one week a month) and is currently the senior

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CLASS NOTES

coordinating producer of America with Jorge Ramos.

JAN SHÉ released his latest album, Ten Thousand Threads, last September.

It features “hypnotizing, calming, and centering chants from Judaism, Islam, and Hinduism” with original music by Jan. MEREDITH TREASTER received her master’s degree from Juilliard last spring and has accepted a position in the viola section of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra in Birmingham.

ABOVE Nick Christopher ’08 recently cast in the Broadway hit Hamilton

2012 Daniel Salas (sixth from right) performed with Ballet

Notes from the Hill Pianist Evren Ozel ’17 was named a National YoungArts Foundation Finalist and traveled to Miami for National YoungArts Week in January 2016. He also received a cash award. Soprano Sara Hargrave ’17 and composer Si Hyun “Sia” Uhm ’16 were recognized with Honorable Mentions. YoungArts received 12,000 applications this year across several disciplines and chose 819 students as finalists, honorable mentions, or merit winners.

The PSAT/NMSQT recognized the top 5% of the more than 1.5 million students who entered the 2016 National Merit Competition by naming them Commended Students. Anthony Ra ’16 and Mary Rzepczynski ’16 were so named, and Neeraj Ramachandran ’16 was named a National Merit Finalist and later chosen as a National Merit Scholar.

Four Walnut Hill students, Sara Hargrave ’17, Mats Roolvink ’16, Mary Buckingham ’16, and Melissa Goldberg ’17, advanced to the final concert round of the Powers Music School’s Peter Elvins Teen Voice Competition in late January. Sara took First Place and Mats took Second Place in the competition.

Hispanico II for Her Majesty Queen Sofía of Spain at the World Monuments Fund’s 50th Anniversary Hadrian Gala in New York City, which raised $970,000 for the preservation of the world’s architectural heritage. Daniel also appeared on the cover of the December 2015 issue of O, the Oprah Magazine with fellow students from the Ailey School.

Spring & Summer 2016

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CLASS NOTES

Notes from the Hill This year, we had a number of students recognized in the Boston Globe Scholastic Art & Writing Awards program.

For art, awards went to: Beckett Azevedo ’17 (2 Honorable Mentions), Sophia Jakobson ’16 (Silver Key, 2 Gold Keys), Fanjie “Mike” Jin ’17 (3 Honorable Mentions, Silver Key, Gold Key), Jiacheng “Jason” Li ’17 (2 Honorable Mentions, Silver Key), Samantha Pallat ’17 (Honorable Mention, Silver Key, 3 Gold Keys), Jian “Chili” Shi ’18 (Honorable Mention), and Brianna Zuñiga ’17 (Honorable Mention, 2 Silver Keys). In the writing categories, awards went to: Jordan Barrant ’18 (Honorable Mention), Gabriel Braunstein ’16 (Honorable Mention, Silver Key), Odessa Ernst ’17 (Honorable Mention), Helli Fang ’16 (2 Honorable Mentions, 2 Silver Keys), Samantha Mackertich ’16 (3 Honorable Mentions, Silver Key), Lucia Mulligan ’18 (Honorable Mention), Hannah Ortiz ’18 (Honorable Mention), and Brianna Zuñiga ’17 (Honorable Mention).

Director of Writing, Film & Media Arts Margaret Funkhouser was awarded the Mudge Teacher Fellowship at the Boston Athenæum, which carries a stipend, a four-week residency, and a year's membership to the Boston Athenæum. She will be using the residency to develop a series of writing prompts that reveal how libraries and their collections can be used to spark poems, stories, and other kinds of creative writing.

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ABOVE Simone Senibaldi ’14 (second from left) performing with Boston-area disco group Vinyl Groove

2010

ASHLEIGH CHUANG joined the Ballet San Antonio company as an apprentice in the fall of 2015, and we are thrilled to congratulate KATHERINE MAXTED on her recent promotion to the rank of soloist in the same company!

After graduating from Walnut Hill, COOPER JORDAN moved to New York City almost immediately and is now producing a concert parody titled The Rat Pack Undead, in Times Square. Another of his current projects is producing Dex! A Killer Musical: The Unauthorized Parody of “Dexter.” The production was a hit at the 2015 FringeNYC Festival.

2011

KATHARINE BRAGG was one of 20 contestants in the New York Musical Theatre Festival’s (NYMF)

Next Broadway Sensation competition.

A graduate of Rice University and a first-year violin fellow at New World Symphony, REBECCA REALE was recently appointed principal second violin of the Houston Symphony.

TEAGAN ROSE made her television debut in the January 6, 2016, episode of ABC’s The Middle.

2012

After training at Portland Festival Ballet in Oregon with the late John Magnus, JENNIFER HARRISON was excited to join the St. Paul Ballet in Minnesota as an apprentice for the company’s 2015–2016 season.

KATHERINE WILKINS is a senior directing major and dance minor at Pace University. Last year, she was accepted into the

Planet Connections Theater Festivity in NYC and was excited to open Elise: A New Musical in their lineup last June as the director/ producer. Written by Pace musical theater students through Ryan Scott Oliver’s Musical Theater Writing Program, Elise has been performed as a staged reading throughout Manhattan—including at NYU, 54 Below, and Don’t Tell Mama—with great success. Katherine was honored to be able to join the writers, Jamen Nanthakumar and Liana Wright-Mark, in the show’s first fully staged production.

2013

A drama student at the University of Cincinnati– College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), OWEN ALDERSON and some fellow students came together to form a theater

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CLASS NOTES

company called #theatercompany (“Hashtag Theater Company”). The group fundraised during Indiegogo and devised an original show in 12 days, using suggestions of words, props, and costume pieces from their funders. They presented the show, titled The Gospel of Fat Kathy, in Cincinnati. Following that,

they presented the show at the Sonnet Theatre at the Producers’ Club in Midtown Manhattan last July. Owen is an actor in the show and is also a co-author.

We are so proud of AUDREY EMERSON, who was recently awarded First Place in the arts at the University of Southern California

Undergraduate Symposium for Scholarly and Creative Work for Pamoja Project.

After more than a year of hard work, Audrey is humbled to be able to share the lives and stories of the women at the center of this project with the rest of the world.

ABOVE Audrey Emerson ’13 receives a First Place award at the University of Southern California Undergraduate Symposium for Scholarly and Creative Work for her documentary, Pamoja Project.

Though he only graduated from Walnut Hill three years ago, GEORGE LI has created quite the name for himself.

In the past year, he had an extremely impressive Silver Medal finish at the XV International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, Russia. Most recently, Li was named an Avery Fisher Career Grant Recipient for 2016. On top of all that, he still had time to visit campus to give an outstanding performance to the Walnut Hill community.

SAMANTHA SCHEIB participated in a collaboration between Swarovski and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in the spring of 2015. She handcrafted a hat and three bags with Swarovski products for the Spring/Summer 2016 launch event in New York and Los Angeles.

2013 Teddy Quinlivan debuted as one of the five new Louis Vuitton models at Paris Fashion Week. She was chosen exclusively to be one of the few models to make their runway debut in the prestigious Louis Vuitton Spring/Summer 2016 collection in October. It is an exciting time for Teddy, who is currently a full-time visual art student in Paris.

Spring & Summer 2016

ABOVE Hannah Schott ’14 (right) with her acting teacher and fellow Walnut Hill alumna Careena Melia ’91.

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CLASS NOTES

Notes from the Hill Each year, the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) offers awards for outstanding work by advancement professionals in secondary schools, colleges, and universities.

This year, Walnut Hill won three awards in the following categories: Gold Award in Special Events for Give Day 2015; Silver Award in Advertising for our entry in Pointe magazine; and Bronze Award in Video-Fundraising for the “Wake Up” video.

Voice student Sara Hargrave ’17 won First Place and voice student Mary Buckingham ’16 won Second Place at the MetroWest Opera Voice Competition for High School Singers.

2014

Last summer, BRYCE MCALLISTER contracted with RWS & Associates as a performer and swing for the company at the Santa’s Village amusement park in Jefferson, NH. EMILY MEREDITH had an exciting summer last year. She performed the role of Jenny in an Equity production of Shenandoah at the Totem Pole Playhouse, a professional summer theater in Fayetteville, PA. She performed with noteworthy cast members such as Tony Award winner Ben Davis. As part of Totem Pole’s season, Emily also performed in a children’s show and as a Pink Lady in Grease.

HANNAH SCHOTT, currently a student at Muhlenberg College, was excited to be studying acting from a fellow Walnut Hill alumna, Careena Melia ’91. Careena is currently the artistic director of Walden Shakespeare, an Acton, MA–based professional theater company.

from Chaka Khan, Barry White, Michael Jackson, and the Three Degrees, among others. They are all about “grooving” and giving their audiences an excuse to have a fun time and dance all night.

SIMONE SENIBALDI has been performing with a local disco group called Vinyl Groove for the past two years. During that time, the group has opened for Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, the Stylistics, and Tavares; they also had a show in October with Evelyn “Champagne” King and France Joli. The group typically performs songs

Since graduating from Walnut Hill, RACHEL RAVEL has already been featured in an episode of a TV show—Murder Made Me Famous, documenting prolific serial killers—as well as two films. The first film was a modern adaptation of Love’s Labour’s Lost, set at a boarding school, in which she played the Princess.

The second film, Glass, tells the story of a young

2015

Mike Jin ’17 was awarded the John P. Garrahan Leadership in Diversity Award presented by the Alliance for MetroWest Unity. The award recognizes current juniors from 13 schools in the Boston MetroWest area who have taken an active role in their communities on issues of diversity and difference.

In

November 2015, we hosted an alumni gathering at the

trendy and tasty Beat Hotel in Cambridge, MA, featuring murals by our very own Jordan Piantedosi ’06 (fifth from right). More than 30 alumni, parents, faculty, trustees, and staff came together to catch up, relax, and enjoy the company of fellow Walnuts.

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CLASS NOTES,

IN MEMORIAM

man who is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s and begins to forget those he loves (including his girlfriend, played by Ravel).

BOSBA SISOMBAT traveled to Washington, DC, to see her fellow Class of 2015 graduates ERICA OGIHARA (cello, Oberlin Conservatory

of Music ’19) and CAROLINE JOYNER (violin, Cleveland Institute of Music ’19) perform as part of the Kennedy Center Summer Music Institute. Bosba is now at the New England Conservatory as the first female composer from Cambodia to attend the institution.

BELOW Rachel Ravel ’15 (far left) made her film debut as the Princess in Love’s Labour’s Lost.

ABOVE Classmates Erica Ogihara ’15 (left) and Bosba Sisombat ’15 catch up after a performance at the Kennedy Center Summer Music Institute.

In Memoriam MARY HYMAN SAMUELS ’36 passed away on May 31, 2015, at the age of 97.

She graduated from Vassar College and then went on to receive her medical degree from the University of Michigan. In 1947, she joined the staff of the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center as assistant attending pediatrician in the Pediatrics Service of the Presbyterian Hospital, while also serving as an associate in pediatrics at Columbia University. During her tenure, Mary worked on the Fetal Life Study, a long-term evaluation of congenital malfunctions. She

Spring & Summer 2016

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

married Nathaniel Samuels in 1952, who was shortly thereafter appointed to the Nixon administration. She was extremely well traveled, visiting Europe extensively in the 1920s, the Near and Far East, and the Soviet Union, as well as crossing the Rockies in Pullman cars, among other wild adventures. Her life was filled with rare delights, a marriage of 47 years, friendships that started at college and lasted for decades, and professional achievements that furthered medical research.

Mary is survived by her two sons, two grandchildren, and a niece and nephew.

CONSTANCE “CONNIE” DUBOSE JONES ’38 passed away on August 4, 2015, at the age of 95.

She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in pharmacy—one of only two women in a class of more than 100 students. Connie worked for the U.S. Civil Service in weather research for the U.S. Army at the Dugway Proving Ground.

Afterward, she served as the sole pharmacist at Akron City Hospital in Ohio.

She was a member of the Antique Club, the First Congregational Church, and the Women’s City Club. She

leaves three children, along with grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

MARY FOLSOM CROCKER ’39 passed away on April 22, 2015. She graduated from Skidmore College in 1943 and married Lt. Emlen T. Hutchins that same year.

The couple was stationed in South Carolina before Emlen was deployed to the battlefront in Europe during WWII. They moved around, ending up in Needham, MA. After Emlen’s sudden death, Mary married Winslow Crocker.

In 1976, they built a home on Lake Winnipesaukee on property she had inherited from her parents. She was

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IN MEMORIAM

an active member of the Meredith Congregational Church and served on the Flower Committee for many years. She also belonged to many bridge groups. Mary is survived by her eldest son, her stepson, many grandchildren, two greatgrandsons, and numerous nieces and nephews.

SALLY WELLS BECHTOLD ’40 of Wakefield, RI, passed away on Monday, May 11, 2015, at the age of 93.

Born in Kingston, RI, Sally attended Western College in Oxford, OH. She was the beloved wife of the late Col. Charles Bechtold, USMCR, who was a local insurance agent and former state senator representing South Kingstown, RI. She was employed at South County Hospital and was an active member of the Kingston Congregational Church for many years, the Tuesday Club, and PEO. She is survived by three children, four grandchildren, and two great-granddaughters.

KATHARINE “KAY” HUBBARD BELL ’42 passed away on June 14, 2015, at the age of 90. She graduated from Mount Holyoke College and later earned a master’s degree in English as a second language from San Jose State University, going on to work for Boston University’s International Programs and subsequently at Green Mountain College.

Her students came from throughout the world, and she served them as a devoted teacher and mentor. Kay loved music, golf, travel, and swimming.

She deeply valued education

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and family life, and instilled those values in her children and grandchildren. She is survived by her three children, her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and her sister.

BARBARA CORYELL DEVOR ’42 passed away peacefully on January 4, 2016, at the age of 91. She graduated from Smith College and resided for over 55 years in Vero Beach, FL, where she was a member of the John’s Island Club. She was also a lifelong member of the Mullett Lake Country Club and spent her summers at Mullett Lake, MI, a place she loved dearly. Barbara is survived by her sister, three children, nine grandchildren, six great-grandchildren, and eight nieces and nephews.

JUDITH “JUDY” COGSWELL FISKE GROSS ’42 passed away on November 9, 2015, at the age of 91.

She graduated from Smith College in 1946 with a degree in child development and married Thomas A. O. Gross in the same year. In 1978, realizing a lifelong dream, she co-founded Country Weddings, a successful custom floral design business, which she continued her work for into her 80s. Judy was a loving and devoted wife, mother, and grandmother. She was creative, kind, generous, tolerant, and inclusive and could see the humor in any situation. She loved flowers, crossword puzzles, glitter and glue, crafting miniatures, and the New England Patriots. Judy is survived by her five children, nine grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.

MARIE T. CREEDAN ’44 passed away on November 15, 2015, at the age of 89.

She lived nearly all of her life in Hopkinton, MA. She attended Brown University and worked many years at the law firm of Sullivan and Sullivan in Framingham, MA. She was a volunteer at St. Patrick’s Manor and was a longtime parishioner at St. John’s Church. She is survived by several cousins.

KATHARINE “KATIE” DAVIS HUDSON ’44 passed away on September 4, 2015, at the age of 88. She attended Hendrix College in Conway, AR, and later received her bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she met her husband William “Bill” Elijah Hudson. She was a member of Jarvis Memorial United Methodist Church, the Greenville Service League, and the North Carolina Colonial Dames. Katie led a full life in Greenville, NC, with her treasured friends and through her bridge and book clubs. She is survived by her daughter, son-inlaw, grandchildren, and great-granddaughter.

JOAN FLANAGAN SHEA ’44 passed away on July 19, 2015, at the age of 88. She graduated from William and Mary College in Virginia and worked at the Daily News, Theodor Swanson Public Relations, and Earl Newsome Public Relations.

In 1953, she married Joseph C. Shea, and the couple had five children. After her divorce, she lived in New Rochelle before moving to Pelham Manor, NY. Joan

traveled extensively in Europe, Asia and, America.

She was a volunteer at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, NY; a member of the Manor Club for many years, even while living on Long Island; and, to the end, an avid New York Yankees fan. She is predeceased by her sons Joseph and Daniel, both of whom worked at Cantor Fitzgerald at the World Trade Center and were killed in the September 11, 2001, attacks. Joan is survived by three other children and will be greatly missed by her 13 grandchildren.

GRACE FAIRHURST TATE ’44 passed away on February 24, 2016, just short of her 89th birthday. She attended Smith College and married her husband, Ken, in 1948, a marriage that would last 65 years. Grace was the president of the Woman’s Auxiliary at Westerly Hospital in Westerly, RI, and volunteered there for more than 25 years. She was an avid traveler and sportswoman, enjoying sailing, skiing, tennis, golf, and paddle tennis. Grace will be remembered for her signature smile, which stretched from ear to ear, the twinkle in her eye, and her great wit and sense of humor. She is survived by her two children and one grandchild.

BARBARA COHN ROSENTHAL ’45 of Maplewood in Orange (in CT), passed away peacefully on January 14, 2016, at the age of 87. She graduated from Vassar College and did some postgraduate studies in fashion and social work

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IN MEMORIAM

before marrying. She was a true lady, blessed with great intellect, a good sense of humor, and an ability to really see people. Barbara was predeceased by her beloved husband of 49 years and leaves her son-in-law, two grandchildren, sister-in-law, and many loving nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews, as well as dear friends.

ELIZABETH “BETSY” SACHS NOYES ’50 passed away on October 28, 2015, at the age of 83. Betsy devoted her life to her family and raised four children with her husband of 64 years, Cadwallader V. Noyes. After her children reached school age, she returned to college, learned to play the organ, and served on the Organ Search Committee for St. Francis Church in Potomac, MD. Betsy is survived by her husband, four children, four grandchildren, and one great-grandson.

SALLY READ DOW ’53 passed away on January 28, 2016, at the age of 80. She was a graduate of Connecticut College and Simmons College, where she received her master’s degree in library science, and worked as a librarian at Harvard University and the New York Public Library.

She retired as head of the Children’s Room at the Ossining Public Library in 2012. Among her many contributions, she helped select the winner of the annual Caldecott Medal for children’s books. Sally was a longtime member of the Asbury United Methodist Church, where she played in

Spring & Summer 2016

the handbell choir. She was also an active participant in folk dancing and tai chi, and an enthusiastic world traveler. Sally is survived by her husband of 53 years, Bryden M. Dow; three children; and nine grandchildren.

NANCY GREENE WOOD ’53 passed away on November 23, 2015, at the age of 80.

A registered nurse for many years, she worked at several Boston-area hospitals, with a short stint at the American Hospital in Beirut, Lebanon, before becoming a psychiatric nurse, first at McLean Hospital of Belmont, MA, and later at Tri-County Mental Health. Nancy was a longtime member of the First Universalist Church of Norway, where she was active in social justice issues, as well as in the choir and the campaign for a new church organ. Known for her joy in life, big heart, and sense of adventure, she loved her family, good friends and good food, classical music, foreign travel, and sunny beaches.

Nancy is survived by two sons, her brother and sisterin-law, her granddaughter, and many nieces and cousins.

LINDA SHERMAN JOHNSTON ’55 (a.k.a. Margery Linda Sherman) passed away on January 8, 2016, at the age of 79. Her parents moved around a lot in the early years, eventually settling in Greenfield, MA. Linda took classes at several colleges until deciding to attend the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. There

she majored in printmaking, including lithography and silkscreen, and acrylic painting. After a few years of using a garage, then a basement, as a studio, she rented a third-floor wing at the Waltham Watch Factory.

She gradually switched over from silkscreen prints to large acrylic paintings in abstract style. Her most successful agent was Elinor Woron of Chestnut Hill, who stuck by Linda for many years and ended up by selling a $20,000 painting right off the upstairs hallway.

Linda’s work was also placed at IBM corporate headquarters and other venues.

JO ANNE JOLICOEUR SCHILLER ’56 was born on February 18, 1938, in Chicago, IL. After earning a B.B.A. and an M.B.A. from Northwestern University, and working more than 20 years in ascending administrative positions, Jo Anne founded Everyday Learning Corporation, becoming its president and chief executive officer.

In subsequent years, her plans were reported and described in business journals and case studies used in M.B.A. programs at various universities, and ELC was recognized as number 47 on Inc. Magazine’s “Inc. 500,” a list of the fastestgrowing businesses in the United States. She was most gratified that her five grandchildren, living in different parts of the country, all received their basic math educations using the products that she had published. Jo Anne loved

nature and the outdoors, having spent most of her adolescent life living in rural areas of Quebec City, her father’s home. She and her husband were active together in both sailboat racing and cruising, initially in New England and later on the Great Lakes.

MARGARET “MARGIE” WINTER CARABILLO ’66 of West Hartford, CT, passed away on June 27, 2015, at Hartford Hospital after a courageous battle against brain cancer. After attending Walnut Hill (where friends may remember her as “Maggie”), she earned a degree in English from Green Mountain College.

Margie was a gifted watercolorist who exhibited her works in many juried shows and sold numerous paintings privately. A kind and gentle soul with a pure heart, she always tried to make the world a better place. She was the beloved wife of Vincent J. Carabillo for 37 years. In addition to her husband and mother, Margie is survived by a sister and numerous other family members and friends.

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ALUMNI VOICES: KELSEY MILLER ’02

Kelsey Miller publishes her first novel, Big Girl Kelsey Miller ’02 visited Walnut Hill on March 3 to speak to our students at Assembly about being empowered to try something new and stepping out of one’s comfort zone. Miller largely attributes her success as a writer to her willingness to take risks and to try on many hats, whether or not they were ultimately a fit. A graduate of Walnut Hill’s theater program, Miller is now a senior features writer for Refinery29, where she started “The Anti-Diet Project,” and recently celebrated the publication of her first book, Big Girl.

In the following Q&A, Miller talks about how her training at Walnut Hill has helped her develop her voice as a writer, and the ways in which she seeks to relate to her readers.

Q

How did being a theater major influence your writing style and voice? Did it help develop a theatrical approach to your writing?

A

Writing and performing are both forms of storytelling, and I think studying acting certainly made me a better storyteller. You need to have a sense of those beats: drawing someone in, making them care enough to stick with you, and then offering some kind of takeaway at the end—even if they need to chew on it for a bit in order to figure it out. Good theater and good writing do both those things, I think.

That all sounds very artistic and noble, so I’ll add that, on the less-than-noble side, there’s also the audience element. As an actor, I certainly loved that buzzy feeling of performing for a good audience. And when I write with a specific audience in mind—even if it’s theoretical—I think the piece comes out better. A good audience doesn’t always make the work better, but I think it makes doing your best work easier. That buzz is real, whether you’re onstage or in front of a computer.

Q A

How do you use humor to empower your readers?

Honestly, it’s not a deliberate thing. I think I’ve always relied on humor to make the hard stuff easier, as many people do. But I also think it helps put things into perspective. I write about heavy, personal issues sometimes—like disordered eating and body shame. And it helps to remember that, in a

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sense, this is totally ridiculous. The way I used to behave around bagels, for example: bagels were a source of such mental anguish for me, so I acted like a maniac around them. I acted like a Looney Toon! Yes, I had to do hard, emotional work to get past that. There was plenty of crying on the couch. But it was also liberating and funny to reflect on that period and roll my eyes at myself.

Q

With your book, Big Girl, what core message do you seek to get across to your readers?

A

I don’t believe there are any issues in my book that are unique to me. It’s my story, but many, if not all people, can probably relate to something in there. I think that’s the message I’m always trying to share with readers, and indeed with myself: you’re not alone. It’s so easy to believe that you’re alone, you’re the weirdest, you’re the most damaged. That’s especially true regarding things like food issues, body image, sexual trauma, family dysfunction—all of which I talk about in Big Girl. But when you recognize that essentially everyone is walking around with that same fear, no matter how different their life looks from yours, it eases the burden tremendously.

Q

How did you transition from being a freelance contributor, to being a staffer with your own column for Refinery29, to writing your own book?

A

I think the short answer is, by just not taking no for an answer. I had a day job and freelance writing during my free time. I pitched like mad, and I applied for every job I was even slightly qualified for. I wasn’t a writer when I first started at Refinery29; I was a Search Engine Optimization Editor. Still, I kept pitching and writing stories for the site, and did everything I could to prove I should be a full-time writer. I pitched myself into a Staff Writer position and then became Senior Features Writer.

The Anti-Diet Project was just one of the many ideas I pitched, and when it took off, that’s when I got my literary agent and, soon after, my book deal. It’s been the most magical experience of my life, but there’s no real magic to it. I think I’m a pretty good writer, but that only gets you so far. It’s true, I did get very lucky working at a place like Refinery29, and even luckier getting a book deal. But neither of those things would have happened if I hadn’t just refused to quit pitching myself and my work.

www.walnuthillarts.org

Harry Tanielyan

Kelsey’s best friends are still those from her Walnut Hill days: classmates Deborah Siegel, Jonathan Parks-Ramage, and Chrissy Angliker— all Class of ’02.

Q A

How does it feel to be a published author?

I’m not sure yet! It’s only just starting to feel real. Up until a few months ago, the book didn’t really feel like a book. It just felt like a very long Word document that I stressed over in my sweatpants every weekend. Now it’s starting to sink in that I really am an author—though I still can’t say that out loud without giggling.

Q

Can you talk about how you relate to your readers through meaningful storytelling?

A

I think people relate when you’re honest. It goes back to what I said earlier about everybody being able to relate to the book on some level. We all go through similar fears and phases in our lives; we just do so in different ways. I wrote about being obsessed with the popular girl in my sixth-grade class at a private school in Westchester in the early ’90s — how she wore Delia*s hip-huggers and sky-blue Hard Candy nail polish, etc. Stuff that’s very specific to a certain kind of childhood at a certain time. Yet I get emails from readers of all ages, from all over the world, being like, “Oh my God, we’re the same person.”

And I get it! I feel that way about writers too!

Spring & Summer 2016

Q

Why do you think it is important for artists to take care of, and celebrate, their bodies?

A

I truly believe that respecting and embracing your body, at every stage, is vital to everyone’s personal happiness— whether you’re an artist, a chemical engineer, or, I don’t know, a race-car driver. If you’re ashamed of your body, you carry that shame with you everywhere. It changes the way you interact with people, the goals you set for yourself, in addition to the way you feed and move your body. I know without a doubt that things like body positivity and the “health at every size” movement could change the world. They certainly changed my life.

Q A

What would you tell your Walnut Hill self?

I’d like to say something really wise and specific about personal success, happiness, and confidence, but I don’t know how much I would have listened back then. I was very busy practicing my ballad and whatnot. I guess I’d just like to tell her, “You’re doing just fine, lady. You’re doing great. Just keep on going, you lucky duck.” ♦

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A YEAR IN REVIEW

Closer Than Ever October 23–25

Italian American Reconciliation November 12–15

New Ink/ Rough Cuts October 24

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The Nutcracker December 8–19

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Chamber Music Celebration December 16

Voice Recital: Songs from Shakespeare and Other Elizabethan Texts December 11

Winter Visual Art Show January 21

Dear Edwina January 30–31

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Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike February 25–28

Spring Dance Repertory

April 14–17

Black on White April 5–6

Sing On! An Evening of Opera in Two One-Acts

April 2–3

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From the Hill to the Shore April 28

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A YEAR IN REVIEW

West Side Story May 13–22

New Works May 27–28

Chamber Music Celebration May 18

Coda: Readings & Screenings May 30

Spring Visual Art Show May 26

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CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT Class of 1966; Carolyn Sproule ’06 bringing down the house with her performance of Habañera from Carmen; Jackie Coleman ’86, Nicole Gakidis ’81, Margot Schwarz Heilbronner ’81, Sarah Peacock Moran ’81, Lynne Schoenharl ’80, Hajna Moss-Fishburne ’81, Paula Savage ’81, Merle Perkins ’81; Garrett Murphy ’08, Carolyn Sproule ’06, Katie Crowley ’06, Conor Ryan ’10, Anastasia Papanicolaou ’08, DeLaney Harter ’11; Deborah Frisch Thomas ’66 sharing a yearbook photo of the 1966 Mischords with members of the 2016 Mixed Nuts; Gloria Chien ’95, Emily Smith ’05, and Aidan Basile ’08 kicking off the inaugural Encore! alumni showcase performance with the fourth movement of the Brahms Horn Trio

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www.walnuthillarts.org

REUNION WEEKEND

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT Alumni Luncheon; Amanda Choate ’06 accompanied by Theater Department faculty member Gina Fiore; Jee Hae Ahn ’10 and DeLaney Harter ’11; Rose-Antoinette Bellino ’11, Head of School Antonio Viva, Ashley Robillard ’13; Merry Scheft Kurtz ’66 and Jo-Ann Edinburg Pinkowitz ’06; Sally Nee Brady ’73, Susan Duane ’73, Sarah Morrison Cail ’76, Sydelle Gomberg, Sandra Valhouli Even ’77, Cathy Hugo Janiak ’75; Adrienne Jabush Gang ’66, Lee Marks ’66 and husband John DePrez, Ruth Milne Schifani ’66, Cynthia Lord ’66; Melanie Atkins Varga ’91 and daughter Sophie, Micheline Cacciatore ’91 and daughter Giulia, Heather Gehring-Plotkin ’91 and daughter Annaleigh, Sonja Heintz ’91, Anastasia Tsioulcas ’91 with daughter Sophia and husband Josh, Amelia Burroughs ’91

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A LU M N I AWA R D S

At Reunion Weekend, Head of School Antonio Viva and President of the Board of Trustees Betsy McClendon ‘65 presented the Wendy Wheeler Award to Sydelle Gomberg and the Young Alumni Award to Conor Ryan ’10 in honor of their accomplishments in the arts.

The Wendy Wheeler Award is given to an individual or organization for his or her extraordinary work in the area of arts and education. This year’s recipient, Sydelle Gomberg, is well-known as a cornerstone of ballet pedagogy. At age 18, she danced in the Broadway musical Lute Song with Yul Brynner, Mary Martin, and Nancy Davis Reagan. Following an impressive career in dance, performing with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet and Radio City Ballet, Gomberg created and ran the Dance Department at Walnut Hill while also serving as Dean of the Arts until 1985. She went on to become Director of the Boston Ballet School and continued to serve as a mentor to many of her Walnut Hill students.

The Young Alumni Award is given for exceptional achievement in his or her field to an alumnus who graduated less than 15 years ago. This year’s recipient is a 2010 graduate who went on to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Michigan.

Since graduating from Michigan, Conor Ryan has already starred opposite Kate Baldwin in the Off-Broadway revival of John and Jen, appeared in the Public Theater’s production of The Fortress of Solitude, and recorded cast albums for both productions.

He also performed on Broadway in Cinderella, and most recently he has been seen in the Second Stage Theatre’s premiere of Invisible Thread, directed by Diane Paulus.

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www.walnuthillarts.org

REMINISCENCE

Knowing what you know now, what advice do you wish you had received when you graduated from Walnut Hill? As the Class of 1966 prepared to return to campus for their 50th Reunion in May, we asked one of their classmates to reflect on her time since graduation and to write her high school self a letter. In the following letter, Adrienne Gang gives her former self, and perhaps those freshly graduated from the Hill, some advice about the future and how to experience life to the fullest.

“MIS S ADRI ENNE ’S SCHO OL OF DANC E” A LETT ER TO MY HIGH SCHO OL SELF FROM ADRIE NNE GANG, CLAS S OF 1966 EDUC ATION CONS ULTAN T RETIR ED SCHO OL PRINC IPAL AND SPECI AL

Dear “A,”

—Walnut Hill Graduation! upon you­­ Phew! It’s over—the finale is (still can’t grasp the 50 s year 50 I’ve thought about the past of dance, I want to share some part); and, feeling your love you. thoughts and advice with steps you take will become more Position yourself well. The they the dance of your life when beautifully integrated into t. hear your in are based on the values

well your dreams. Learn the role Figure out the mechanics of ngth stre with ge emer can rpretation so that your individual inte e. and become your own voic in you’ll be stronger and more Create YOUR solo first. And then . life your comes into step when the right partner ll find it important to be able Balance will be critical. You’ you feel you’re falling. And when to regain your pose, even ally you need to hold on to remember, it’s okay if occasion may decide the pose really you , time something. From time to and needs to be adjusted. doesn’t portray your elegance

.” to the beat of a different drum Learn about those who “dance between you es renc diffe the e brat cele Appreciate, embrace, and and others. you love, admire, and find fun.

Share the stage with people h l tears flow and you can’t catc unti es Laugh easily at yourselv to n Lear . ways hful her in trut your breath. Support one anot ly. messages can be received gracious dance with your words so your ut Hill has been a major You deserve to take a bow! Waln ain th and realize that the curt performance. Take a deep brea is just now going up.

Break a Leg, Adrienne

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SEEN OFF THE HILL

Over the course of this school year, Walnuts have taken their art and passion off the Hill in a major way! Through off-site performances and events, as well as club activities, our students and their work went everywhere, from down the street in Natick to as far as New York City and Seoul.

Clubs Are Going Places Our newly energized student clubs have done various forms of incredible community-building and service both on campus and off: The Factory Collective kicked off the year with a visit to the Natick Farmers’ Market with a typewriter in tow and produced “Free Range Poems” on the spot for residents who stopped by. In addition to walking along the Charles River in Boston to raise funds for breast cancer research, the Community Service Association organized a trip to Whitney Place Assisted Living Residences in Natick and treated residents to holiday carols. The Ceramics Club visited Lilja Elementary School and collaborated with students to produce more than 200 ceramic bowls for an Empty Bowls Project event that raised money and awareness in the fight to end hunger. Earlier in the year, Lilja students enjoyed a visit from members of Walnut Hill’s Harry Potter Club who did reader’s theater from the beloved book series. Our Academic Olympiad Club won two quiz bowls held at Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The Environmental Club toured Natick Community Organic Farm and learned about its compost system, the animals there, and the maple syrup production process.

Other great trips included Photography Club and Fashion Club visits to the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, off-site performances by the Mixed Nuts a cappella group, a trip to an LGBTQ College Fair organized by the Gender Sexuality Alliance, and more!

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A group of 12 music students traveled to New York to perform at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Balcony Bar as part of “Teens Take the Met.” The students performed along with Walnut Hill alumnus Ralph Farris ’89 and his acclaimed string quartet, ETHEL.

As part of its “Love to Give” campaign, Neiman Marcus curated a special boutique of items and designated 10% of the sales of these gifts to benefit financial aid at the School. Walnut Hill musicians played at a special kickoff party for the campaign at the Neiman Marcus located in the Natick Mall.

www.walnuthillarts.org

Closer to Home As much time as we spent engaging with audiences and organizations off campus, we also took the opportunity to invite groups from our community onto the Walnut Hill campus to experience performances. In December, the Dance Department held a special weekday matinee performance of The Nutcracker for students from Natick’s Lilja Elementary School. Then, in February, the Theater Department arranged an accessible performance of the children’s musical Dear Edwina for students with autism and their families from New England Center for Children. Both productions were tremendously successful in sharing the art and wonder of Walnut Hill.

Natick held its first TEDxNatick event this year, and the program included art by Walnut Hill students.

Three short films by students in our Writing, Film & Media Arts program were screened in between talks, while other WFMA students wrote poetry on the spot. Also, a group of chamber musicians played String Quartet Op. 76, No. 1, Allegro non troppo, by Franz Joseph Haydn, which accompanied a photo slide show of Natick.

This spring, Walnut Hill musicians have performed far and wide across Massachusetts and even in New Hampshire! In April, they performed a showcase of chamber music at the Morse Institute Library in Natick to help celebrate National Library Week. They also performed at Tower Hill Botanic Gardens in Boylston, MA, later in the month as part of the organization’s spring concert series. In May, they participated in a charity event hosted by Family Promise Metrowest at the Wellesley Congregational Church. The event raised money for homeless families, and it featured both classical chamber and popular music performances from Walnut Hill students. Finally, in late May, a group of students crossed the border into New Hampshire to present an all-classical period concert that fit in perfectly with the historic Portsmouth homes in Strawbery Banke.

In collaboration with Rockport Music, Walnut Hill faculty, students, and special alumni guests Melissa Reardon ’96 and Ralph Farris ’89 performed a free concert, From the Hill to the Shore, at the beautiful Shalin Liu Performance Center, overlooking the ocean in Rockport, MA. Along with Walnut Hill Production and Events Manager Mike Bucco, theater students have volunteered to run drama workshops with children in grades 4–7 at the Tobin Afterschool Program’s “Club 73.”

BELOW Sean Diehl ’19 (violin), Si Hyun “Sia” Uhm ’16 (piano), and Donghyun “David” Kwak ’19 (violin) performing at Rockport Music’s Shalin Liu Performance Center

Walnut Hill visual art students from Korea gathered over Spring Break in Seoul to display their work at the Yongsan Art Hall. The opening reception was attended by alumni, parents, and other guests.

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SEEN ON THE HILL

This year, we have been fortunate to welcome numerous artists and guest speakers to campus for master classes, Assembly performances, and more. Alumni returned to share their experiences since leaving the Hill and gave invaluable advice and coaching. Music students benefited from the implementation of weekly master classes, allowing students to perform for and work with a range of prominent musicians. Read on to learn about a small sampling of the incredible guests who have graced our campus this year.

“What Does It Mean to Be an Artist in Today’s World?”

Cellist Patrick McGuire ’08 gave a presentation to music students on navigating a life in the arts based on his own diverse and globe-spanning experiences. After attending Walnut Hill and Juilliard, McGuire took a nontraditional path that eventually led him to work with the Silk Road Project, a nonprofit founded by cellist Yo-Yo Ma. McGuire led students in creating visual representations of their lives in music from the first time they picked up an instrument to the present.

Cellist and teacher Paul Katz visited campus for a livestreamed master class. He is a founding member of the world-renowned Cleveland Quartet, currently serves on the faculty of the New England Conservatory, and is the founder of the CelloBello website, a resource for cellists and other string players.

Paul Katz working with Ho Tin Chan ’18 during a master class 4 0 | Behind Stowe

Annika Vlock-Drewitz ’16, William Hite, Shiqi “Melody” Qiao ’17, and Min Seong Kim ’16

Gilles Vonsattel teaching in Boswell Hall

Tenor William Hite is a member of the faculty at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He has appeared as a soloist with the Boston Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Mark Morris Dance Group, Emmanuel Music, and many other renowned ensembles.

Pianist Gilles Vonsattel is an artist member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and was recently chosen as the recipient of the 2016 Andrew Wolf Chamber Music Award by Bay Chamber Concerts in Maine. He is a member of the faculty at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. www.walnuthillarts.org

Theatre Espresso performing at Assembly

Saakumu Dance Troupe of Ghana on the Keiter stage

Emilie Leriche teaching a master class

Dance Alumni Share Their Expertise Dance students had many opportunities this year to benefit from the knowledge and experience of our accomplished alumni.

Award-winning dancer and visual artist Zoe Scofield ’97, co-artistic director and choreographer of zoe | juniper, taught a master class in the fall. Riley Watts ’03, who has danced with the Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, Bern Ballett, Netherlands Dance Theater II, and the Forsythe Company, gave students insight into the professional dance field abroad. Emilie Leriche ’11, company member of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and a Princess Grace Award winner, visited in the spring to discuss her journey in becoming a professional dancer and to teach a master class.

Spring & Summer 2016

Theatre Espresso, an educational theater company based in Boston, gave an interactive performance of their original play, Justice at War: The Story of the Japanese Internment Camps, at Assembly.

The performance was a meaningful complement to our 2015 community read, When the Emperor Was Divine

by Julie Otsuka.

The Saakumu Dance Troupe of Ghana encouraged the whole school community to get on our feet and dance when they performed at Assembly in March. The troupe is dedicated to introducing audiences to traditional and contemporary African dance and music through joyful, participatory performances.

Partnering with Prometheus This fall, Prometheus Dance, a company co-directed by Dance Department faculty member Diane Arvanites with Tommy Neblett, found a new home on the Walnut Hill campus. This residency allows for exciting collaborative opportunities, and for dance students to learn from and alongside professional dancers. In April, the company gave a special performance at Assembly showcasing a new work in progress, Echo, and a 2008 piece titled Devil’s Wedding, after which they discussed their process with the community.

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Dr. Christina Marín, assistant professor in the Department of Performing Arts at Emerson College, gave an inspiring speech at Assembly on building cultural bridges through artistic expression. With her extensive experience teaching theater to diverse student bodies in the United States and Colombia, she shared insightful stories about embracing difference and creating inclusive spaces through art.

Antonio Viva, Rep. David Linsky, Cathy Gorman, Emmie Smith ’16, and Tias Volker ’17

Walnut Hill’s spring musical, West Side Story, elicited many important discussions on campus about equity, diversity, and social justice.

In acknowledging that some works of art, including many canonical American musicals, contain racially or culturally problematic themes, Dr. Marín urged students and faculty to engage directly with these issues and create spaces for dialogue.

She encouraged students to “be inquisitive—be critical about the world you live in,” and when cultural or racial questions or issues arise, to view the moment as an opportunity for discussion.

Kate Colby, author of six books of poetry, visited the Creative Writing Foundations class to discuss her latest book of poetry, I Mean. She answered questions and spoke to the class about her journey as a poet, which includes serving as a founding board member of the Gloucester Writers Center in Massachusetts and publishing widely in journals and anthologies.

Video, photography, and installation artist Barry Anderson, whose work has been featured in 30 solo exhibitions and more than 80 group exhibitions, visited the WFMA Department’s Expeditions class. Anderson guided students in working through a creative idea, going from idea to object, and building a body of work.

Visual art students enjoyed the opportunity to hear from Jake Fried ’02 about his path as an artist since leaving the Hill, the process behind his work, and the evolution of his style. Beginning his career as a painter, Fried now creates experimental animated films that have been shown widely, including at the Tate Modern and the Sundance Film Festival.

Georgia Stitt speaking to students

Composer, lyricist, and conductor Georgia Stitt visited Walnut Hill in April to give master classes to both our Theater and WFMA Departments. Stitt engaged students in thinking about the interplay between music and lyrics, and discussed her own process in composing songs.

In addition to speaking at the Assembly, Dr. Marín led workshops for students, faculty, and staff throughout May using Theater of the Oppressed techniques, processes geared to promoting social and political change. We are grateful for all the work that Dr. Marín has done with the Walnut Hill community!

Jake Fried ’02 speaking to visual art students

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www.walnuthillarts.org

SEEN ON THE HILL

Marshall Davis Jones Inspires at MLK Jr. Day Assembly Poet Marshall Davis Jones gave a stirring presentation on the power of art and communication for our Martin Luther King Jr. Day Assembly. In his Assembly speech, he urged students to consider their own roles as artists, visionaries, and change-makers: “The beauty of being an artist, a creator, is that you have the ability to show the world how to become a better place.”

Craig Carnelia, composer and lyricist of musicals such as Working and Sweet Smell of Success, conducted a musical theater master class in November. Carnelia led the students in considering song interpretation and storytelling through music.

An impressive letter-writing campaign organized by Emmie Smith ’16 and Tias Volker ’17, co-leaders of Walnut Hill’s Gender Sexuality Alliance (GSA), brought Massachusetts State Representative David Linksy to campus. A co-sponsor of Bill H. 1577 and S. 735: An Act Relative to Gender Identity and Nondiscrimination, Linsky commended Walnut Hill students for their efforts in writing 130 letters to their representatives and Governor Charlie Baker to vote in favor of the bill.

Spring & Summer 2016

We welcomed Tony Award–winning writer and director James Lapine to campus following a screening of his most recent film, Custody. Lapine offered theater and WFMA students

advice on finding their voice, based on his wealth of experience in theater and film: “As actors, directors, writers—whatever you do—the first thing is to find out who you are.”

James Lapine speaking to students

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Congratulations to the Class of 2016 AN EXCERPT FROM CLASS OF 2016 THEATER MAJOR EMERSON MAE SMITH’S POWERFUL GRADUATION SPEECH: It’s fair to say that while at this school, nearly everything about me has changed. And I’d wager that’s true for many of us. When I came here, I knew very little about acting and even less about myself. We were offered a way of growing into ourselves through the mediums of art and education.

And now we are expected to pack these new selves up and walk away into other institutions, possibly reinventing all over again. I don’t agree with The Onion [July 26, 2013, “School of the Arts Aims to Transform Boys and Girls into Insufferable Young Men and Women”] because it’s hard to grow an ego when every afternoon you set out your heart and soul only to have it refigured. Unearned praise is the death of the good artist and no one should be worried about the good artists of Walnut Hill. There is nothing easy about school here, but I couldn’t expect anything less. This institution has shaped us, not to fit a mold, but precisely to excel against it. The great philosopher, Bruce Springsteen, once said, “Blind faith in your leaders, or in anything, will get you Emerson Mae Smith ’16 delivering senior farewell address at Graduation killed.” This is a school where it is nearly impossible to regurgitate responses fed to you by superiors. In order to learn, you have to question the people looking for answers. We don’t take any response for granted and are always looking for kinks to smooth out. I think graduation can best be summed up as “the acknowledgement that you’ve taught us everything, but also that you can never teach us again.” . . . In Senior Seminar this fall, [Humanities Department Head] Jason Stumpf taught me that the Greek root of the word graduate is “grad” or to “step.” This is our step, away from this new home and towards a newer one. I’ve had the greatest four years of my life so far, and now I invite every one of you to hold each other tightly, secure your place in the soft summer grass, and push off.

Graduating Class of 2016 4 4 | Behind Stowe

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G R A D UAT I O N

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT Kate Hutter ’00, Antonio Viva, Betsy McClendon ’65; the Class of 2016 celebrating; Raymond Launer, Rees Launer ’16, Ellen Reynolds; Elizabeth Rookey ’16, Joseph Tighe ’16, Alejandro Coakley ’16, Samantha Mackertich ’16; Samuel Hiser, Evan Haller-Hiser ’16, Enid Haller ’78; Annika Vlock-Drewitz ’16, MinSeong Kim ’16, Ross Freeman ’16

Community Award Winners HESTER R. DAVIES CITIZENSHIP AWARD: HAYEN KIM ’16 CATHERINE T. CHAN AWARD: KATIA LEHNHOFF ’16 ARNOLD C. TAYLOR AWARD FOR ACADEMIC AND ARTISTIC ACHIEVEMENT: NEERAJ RAMACHANDRAN ’16 FRIENDSHIP AWARD: AMANDA BLACK ’16 JOANNA RAPPAPORT '96 AWARD: MEGAN KIM ’16

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NEW TRUSTEES

Meet Our New Trustees Amini Kajunju Amini Kajunju has 20 years of experience in entrepreneurial and economic development, and now serves as President and CEO of the Africa-America Institute (AAI), a U.S.-based nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening human capacity in Africa through education, training, and dialogue.

Prior to AAI, Amini was Executive Director of the Workshop in Business Opportunities (WIBO), a nonprofit small business development service provider serving New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. She is a founding member and Vice President of the Board of the Association of New Generation Leadership for Africa (AngelAfrica), a nonprofit organization whose mission seeks to build a network of business and professional leaders and promote economic growth in Africa.

Before finding her professional calling in the nonprofit world, Amini played violin, performed, and sang in choirs. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in international relations from Brigham Young University and a master’s degree in public administration from New York University. Originally from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, she now lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband, Mouhamadou Gueye, and their daughter, Sakha.

Jordan McCullough ’94 Jordan McCullough graduated from Walnut Hill as a piano performance and conducting major, and earned a Bachelor of Music from Oberlin Conservatory. Studying music at the highest levels ingrained in him an extreme attention to detail and the ability to dissect large problems into manageable parts—skills that have benefited his work clients and that he is honored to use in giving back to his alma mater.

Today, Jordan utilizes his talents in the media world. He started his professional career in classical radio at WCRB-FM and has spent the past nine years at CBS Television. As a member of the Business Development and Community Partnerships team, he works across all CBS Television, Digital, and Radio properties to develop multimedia marketing campaigns, many of which focus on positive community benefits.

Jordan lives in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, with his wife, Joanna, and their two children, Duncan and Hazel, and is an avid skier, a beach bum, and an art enthusiast.

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