Spring 2011

Behind Stowe WALNUT HILL SCHOOL FOR THE ARTS

Spring & Summer 2011

Volume 1 Number 1

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Behind Stowe WALNUT HILL SCHOOL FOR THE ARTS

Spring & Summer 2011

Volume 1 Number 1

on tHe Cover Visual art student Yoon Ji Lee ’11 with Pierrette Noe of Natick, MA (Photography by Tom Kates) Left Stowe Administration

Building, enjoying a year’s worth of internal renovations

4 MarketinG and CoMMuniCationS teaM Michele Levy Director of Marketing & Communications Priscilla ramsay Manager of Marketing & Communications david dietz Director of Publications deveLoPMent offiCe Bruce Smith Chief Development Officer Jennifer tumSuden Director of Annual Giving erica ancrum Senior Development Associate editoriaL teaM design & Production DeFrancis Carbone editorial assistant Judy Kiviat Photography Joe Cabral Dave Dietz Tom Kates Priscilla Ramsay

feAture

Sages and Seekers: Bridging the Generations to Build a Community 1

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A note from stowe

seen on the hill

clAss notes

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Chetham’s School of Music and Walnut Hill Enjoy Faculty Exchange

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Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author of Tinkers Visits Walnut Hill

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cAmpAign recognition

Fund for the Future Successfully Completed!

10 ApplAuse

in memoriAm

perspective

Q&A with Head of School Antonio Viva

© 2011 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 Paul Fleming: pfleming@walnuthillarts.org

www.youtube.com/user/walnuthillschool | www.facebook.com/walnuthill | www.walnuthillarts.org | 508.653.4312

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As we contemplated the future of our alumni magazine, we entertained a multitude of questions: Are we creating a publication solely of interest to our alumni body? Should we set our sights more broadly, conceiving of this as an institutional magazine? Do we need to go to the time and expense of creating a print publication or can we transition to an online magazine? What will we call it?

I am thrilled to report that we have tackled those questions—in my opinion, quite successfully.

Welcome to Behind Stowe.

In celebration of our role as an international leader in the education of young artists, Behind Stowe offers an inside look at the world of Walnut Hill, and a broader look at the world of arts education. The “Applause” section will highlight the accomplishments of our extraordinarily talented students, faculty, and alumni, and “Seen on the Hill” will allow you to share in what we learn from the many visiting artists we host each year. Published twice yearly, the magazine will also help us keep our community connected through a robust “Class Notes” section.

Behind Stowe exists as both a printed magazine and an online publication (stowe.walnuthillarts.org). The two share content, but the online version offers more current information, and provides a more expansive view into our world through multimedia and social media. It will also furnish us with a venue for broader conversation with our supporters.

A word on the name of the publication. Those of you who have been around for a while may know that the alumnae magazine was once titled Behind Stowe.

Once I learned that, and after some additional research on the esteemed graduate Elizabeth Bishop ’30 (writer of the poem of the same name), I could not conceive of any other name for this publication.

It is our sincere hope that you will take some time to read through the magazine. In the short time I have been a part of Walnut Hill, I have come to appreciate that much of what happens here connects you back to your own experience and memories. It is truly an amazing time to be a Walnut. We have our sights clearly set on the future, looking forward to the long-range planning process that will help us create our path toward that future. At the same time, we remain a community engaged in our daily work with purpose and enthusiasm.

We are pleased to present you with this new publication that speaks both to our accomplished past and to our promising future. I look forward to hearing your comments and suggestions!

Regards,

Antonio Viva Head of School

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far Left Elizabeth Bishop (1911–1979) Left An archival copy of The

Blue Pencil, featuring the work of a young Elizabeth Bishop

The year 2011 marks the centenary of Elizabeth Bishop’s birth.

Born in Worcester, Massachusetts, the young woman experienced significant family tragedy and transience—her father died, her mother was committed to a mental asylum, she was sent to live with grandparents in Nova Scotia and was then (in her words) “kidnapped” and returned to Worcester. She entered Walnut Hill School in 1928, and earned a bachelor’s degree from Vassar College in 1934.

The Academy of American Poets describes Bishop thus: Her images are precise and true to life, and they reflect her own sharp wit and moral sense. She lived for many years in Brazil, communicating with friends and colleagues in America only by letter. She wrote slowly and published sparingly (her Collected Poems number barely a hundred), but the technical brilliance and formal variety of her work is astonishing. For years she was considered a “poet’s poet,” but with the publication of her last book, Geography III, in 1976, Bishop was finally established as a major force in contemporary literature.

She was Poet Laureate of the United States (1949–1950), a Pulitzer Prize winner (1956), and a National Book Award winner (1970). She was also awarded the Fellowship of the Academy of American Poets in 1964 and served as a Chancellor from 1966 to 1979. She died in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1979, and her stature as a major poet continues to grow through the high regard of the poets and critics who have followed her.

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Behind stowe I heard an elf go whistling by, A whistle sleek as moonlit grass, That drew me like a silver string To where the dusty, pale moths fly, And make a magic as they pass; And there I heard a cricket sing.

His singing echoed through and through The dark under a windy tree Where glinted little insects’ wings.

His singing split the sky in two.

The halves fell either side of me, And I stood straight, bright with moon-rings.

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Fund for the Future Successfully Completed!

above One of the projects completed as a result of the capital campaign— Elizabeth Bishop Hall, a new residence hall

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n June 2010, Walnut Hill successfully completed its Fund for the Future capital campaign. Launched in 2005, the Fund raised a total of $19.5 million: $12.8 million for capital and endowment projects, and $6.7 for the Annual Fund. The gifts received have enabled Walnut Hill to increase its endowment dramatically, build a state-of-the-art dormitory to house its burgeoning student population, and renew much of its 118-year-old campus.

Walnut Hill students pursue their dreams with passion and commitment. In our supportive community, they learn that hard work will take them further than talent alone, that intensive study of an artistic discipline requires perseverance and creativity. They learn to manage a level of competition unusual for high school students. They bring these skills to a wide variety of colleges and conservatories, and ultimately into a myriad of professions. As we look out across our student and alumni community, it’s clear that Walnut Hill School for the Arts provides an exemplary secondary education.

Successful fundraising efforts like the Fund for the Future provide us with the resources necessary to deliver that education, now and for years to come. The past few years have clearly demonstrated the value of fundraising. Walnut Hill weathered the recent economic downturn exceptionally well due to the campaign leadership and the generosity of the campaign contributors.

As the new Chief Development Officer for Walnut Hill, I offer my thanks and admiration for the team led by Martha Kleinman, upon whose good work I hope to build in this new chapter for Walnut Hill School for the Arts.

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tHiS PaGe Ballet student Devon Lodge ’11 with Evelyn Goldman of Natick, MA faCinG PaGe Walnut Hill’s Steve Durning discusses Sages and Seekers with program founder Elly Katz (parent of alumnus Max Hirschberger ’09).

Photography by Tom Kates

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Begin with art, because art tries to take us outside ourselves. It is a matter of trying to create an atmosphere and context so conversation can flow back and forth and we can be influenced by each other. —W.E.B. Du Bois

Sages and Seekers: Bridging the Generations to Build a Community

By Priscilla Ramsay

hat happens when a young artist meets an elderly stranger and is expected to connect with that person in eight weeks— in an unfamiliar setting?

Through Steve Durning’s Art and Community class, Walnut Hill students took up the challenge of creating art with members of Natick’s Senior Center while learning as much as possible about life from them. Along the way, something delightful happened—stories were shared, conversations deepened, and friendships grew.

Durning explained the genesis of this interaction: “Our goals in this class are to explore ways that art can positively impact the world and to perform community service projects that have art-making as a component. When Elly Katz approached me about our students spending one day a week with older people, I knew without a doubt that this would really enrich the class experience—and would definitely capture the hearts and minds of my students.”

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Left Visual art student Kate

Lipton ’11 with Ricky Ball of Natick, MA BeLoW Sages and Seekers

collaborated on projects in visual art, theater, and dance. faCinG PaGe, BottoM

Ballet student Catherine Vining ’11 with Jay Ball of Natick, MA

Elly Katz, a Natick resident, friend of Walnut Hill, and parent of alumnus Max Hirschberger ’09, works with area senior centers to bring older people and students together in a program known as Sages and Seekers.

According to Katz, this is her passion and she’s having the most fun ever in her career.

She explained, “I started this program to connect the wisdom of the sages with the energy of students, because I love old people and I know they like to be in touch with how it felt to be young. When Steve Durning and I first started on this, I could tell we were going to do something amazing—Steve brought an element of play, which was a new dimension that we didn’t have before.

Steve’s games, icebreakers really, allowed all of us to laugh and to feel like we were all one community, not just one sage connected to one seeker. And that’s the point of all of this, to build a community.”

Many of the students attempting to build that community had to learn how to reach across generations and cultures…and listen in earnest to find common ground.

Bronwyn Whittle ’10, a student from Ireland, said, “I didn’t know if this was going to work. Some people don’t want to be prodded about their life. With my sage, we soon forgot about going after juicy stories and just talked—we focused on our friendship. It was so private and personal.

One time we asked them to bring a very valuable object from their lives so we could talk about it. Over time we became more comfortable with one another.”

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Brian Park ’10, a student from Korea, enjoyed getting to know his sage, although the connection started slowly.

“This was my first time to get to know an older person.

I liked looking at my sage’s photos from his childhood and listening to his jokes. Also, he really wanted to learn about my culture,” he noted. In turn, at the end of the program, Brian wrote a thoughtful essay about what he learned from his sage’s life.

Sages and Seekers is not just a drop-in meeting.

Katz structures the program to help participants make connections right from the start. The first meeting begins with a discussion of pop culture that may lead to a question like “What do students do to rebel?” Through individual stories, everyone hears about different life experiences and viewpoints; in this case, the group concluded that youth rebellion is universal, whether through protesting war, dressing differently, or espousing a controversial cause.

Pop culture week is followed by “speed dating,” a relatively popular networking practice of getting to know someone one-on-one by spending a few minutes asking questions, then moving on and interviewing someone else. This series of interviews leads to a selection process where all individuals make a list of their top “partners.”

If a student’s first choice matches an older person’s first choice, the relationship begins.

To help foster conversation another week, Katz asks the sages to bring in photographs and other precious www.walnuthillarts.org

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mementos. Pictures of children and grandchildren, friends and relatives, and even younger photos of the sages themselves are brought out for display and discussion. For Durning’s group, a few sages brought maps of their home states or countries they traveled to, using the time to trace routes to their hometowns. Some brought awards and talked about past accomplishments.

After a few weeks, and as conversation begins to flow, sages start to pass along important lessons they feel their seekers should know.

Student Laura Jane Williamson ’10 enjoyed the giveand-take with her sage. She recalled, “During the time we had together, they told us things that they wanted us to know about life—wisdom they wanted to pass along— like how important it is to travel and what they learned as travelers. My sage sent me a letter about her childhood.

She had lived in Spain and was very cultured. She also gave me letters recommending operas I might like. With all of the sages, we talked about how we changed their minds about teenagers.”

For Drew Santoro ’10, who was paired with a woman 92 years old, this was a unique opportunity to learn firsthand about history. Her sage had a lot to say about McCarthyism, civil rights, and the Great Depression, which gave Drew an appreciation for that period in history. “She was interested in me, too, which was really nice. And at the end, she gave me a book about ballet,” said the appreciative seeker.

As the parent of a Walnut Hill alumnus, Katz knew that working with young artists would bring a different dimension to her program, and Durning’s students delivered! Durning encouraged his students to put their own stamp on Sages and Seekers by creating something from their own artistic disciplines to give to their sages.

In the final days of the program, students created and recorded songs, played piano, choreographed dances, and wrote poems. At Celebration Day, each student in some way performed the creative piece for his or her sage. Katz noted that there were many tears when the students performed that day.

Maggie McGuire ’10 described the experience of creating an art piece for her sage: “I wrote a song about my sage and recorded a CD for him. At first I thought, ‘I’m doing something for old people,’ but in the end I gained as much as my sage did.”

Clearly, the Sages and Seekers program has touched the hearts and minds of those fortunate to participate…and likely changed a viewpoint or two. As student, seeker, and future sage McGuire said, “Sometimes you struggle in your art to connect—we realized that through a relationship, that connection is there.”

Sounds pretty sage to us already.

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Learn more about Sages and Seekers 2011, and see video from the class online at stowe. walnuthillarts.org

“Sometimes you struggle in your art to connect— we realized that through a relationship, that connection is there.” —Maggie McGuire ’10

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Visual Art

The Visual Art Department has been both inspiring and prolific. Our young artists continue to create engaging work across a variety of media, sharing the results of their own explorations at the highly successful All-Department Visual Art Show in January. See more online at my.walnuthillarts.org.

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Writing & Publishing The Writing & Publishing program continues to build visibility across educational and literary circles. The 2010–2011 school year brought visits by noted writers, poets, and playwrights; myriad awards won by students and faculty; and two successful events, Anthology and Black on White: Works from Writing & Publishing. See more online at my.walnuthillarts.org.

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Left Writer Jason Stumpf

teaches in the Humanities Department.

A Cloud of Witnesses: faculty member Jason Stumpf’s Latest Creative work

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n 2004, Jason Stumpf completed a 40-page collection of poems as part of his graduate work. This accomplishment, however, was tempered by the fact that Stumpf felt somewhat confined by the finished piece. He decided to return to translating in an effort to revitalize his writing.

Over the next three years, Stumpf translated works by Mexican poets Pura López-Colomé and Luis Felipe Fabre, but eventually felt it was time to test his own creativity by trying something new: writing something he wouldn’t ordinarily write. To challenge himself, he settled on the idea of working on a sestina, a highly structured poem consisting of six

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6-line stanzas followed by a tercet, for a total of 39 lines.

What emerged in a matter of months was a collection of works that Stumpf describes as a “novel in poems,” where each poem is a chapter or fragment of something else—“things I’ve remembered or misremembered from what I’ve read,” Stumpf stated. This volume, A Cloud of Witnesses, has recently been published by Quale Press and is distributed by Small Press Distribution. According to the publisher, A Cloud of Witnesses is “for those who live and travel in books—for those who dwell in Victorian landscapes, those who have written letters by hand, watchers of old films,

those who get lost but continue, those who get lost on purpose. It's enough to warm a cold, postmodern heart.”

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Ji-weon ryu ’11 wins first Place in flute Competition Ji-Weon Ryu ’11 won first place as a high school soloist in the National Flute Association’s competition at the national convention in August 2010. She also won the Geoffrey Gilbert Award and the Deveau Scholarship.

writing & Publishing Department wins 21 Scholastic writing Awards Walnut Hill’s Writing & Publishing Department is pleased to announce that eight student writers won a total of 21 Boston Globe Scholastic Writing Awards in the recent regional competition.

In the Gold Key category, Walnut Hill writers received 16 awards. This award is the highest level of achievement at the regional level, and these works are forwarded to New York City for national adjudication.

Gold Keys were awarded to: • Kaiyuh Cornberg ’13 (Poetry) • Evangeline Delgado ’11 (6 Gold Keys for Poetry, Short-Short Story, Dramatic Script) • Kevin Hong ’11 (8 Gold Keys for Poetry, Short Story, Dramatic Script) • Shelly Pires ’13 (Poetry) Silver Key award winners are: • Sophia Martins ’12 (Poetry) • Daphne Reed ’11 (Poetry) • Renee Richard ’12 (2 Silver Keys for Dramatic Script) Honorable Mention was given to: • Laura Wanamaker ’12 (Poetry)

national Classical Singer Competition Several Walnut Hill singers competed in the first round of the National Classical Singer Competition. These singers were chosen to advance to the next round in Los Angeles in May:

• Ashley Robillard ’13 and Samantha Hankey ’11, First Place (tie) • Elizabeth Chang ’11, Third Place Also advancing are William Su ’13 and Rose-Antoinette Bellino ’11.

Lana Suran ’11 wins Salzburg Chopin Competition

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or the past four summers, pianist Lana Suran ’11 has attended the Mozarteum International Summer Academy in Salzburg, Austria. This year, after one of her teachers urged her to enter the Chopin competition, Suran emerged as the winner from among 15 entrants with her performances of Ballade no. 4 in F Minor and Étude op. 10, nos. 4 and 5. “I didn’t expect to win,” she said of the competition, “because I was the youngest.” In addition to receiving the Chopin award, Suran was selected by the academy as best performer of the summer session.

Have a notable accomplishment to share? Send the details (and a high-resolution photo, if available) to alumni@walnuthillarts.org.

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APPLAuSe

© Photo courtesy of the Parker Quartet

the Parker Quartet wins a Grammy for Best Chamber music Performance Cellist Kee-Hyun Kim ’01(far left in photo) is a member of the Parker Quartet, which won Best Chamber Music Performance at the 2011 Grammy Awards. Their winning selection was the complete string quartets of György Ligeti. In addition to Walnut Hill, Kim attended the Korean National University of the Arts and the New England Conservatory.

George Li ’13 wins top Honors in International Piano Competition

elizabeth Chang ’11 takes top Prize in elvins Vocal Competition

Pianist George Li won first prize in the inaugural Thomas and Evon Cooper International Competition, held at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. Li was among three finalists who performed with the Cleveland Orchestra conducted by Jahja Ling.

Li, who is 14 years old, performed Chopin’s Piano Concerto no. 1 in E Minor, op. 11, and was selected as the winner by the evening’s adjudicators. For the solo finals round, Li performed the allegro movement from Haydn’s Sonata in C Major, Chopin’s Andante Spianato and Grande Polonaise Brillante, and Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody no. 2.

The $10,000 prize is one of the largest awards offered by an international youth competition and includes concert participation with orchestras in Beijing and Shanghai, China, and a four-year scholarship to Oberlin Conservatory in Ohio.

At the finals competition on January 29, 2011, Elizabeth Chang ’11 won first place in the Peter Elvins Vocal Competition at the Powers Music School in Belmont, MA. Created in memory of longtime Powers voice faculty member Peter Elvins, the competition is open to all vocalists ages 15–39. The winners of each division are awarded a cash prize.

Selected among the top five finalists were Rose-Antoinette Bellino ’11 and Jake Wilder-Smith ’12.

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niu niu ’14 Honored with PrIx montblanc 2010 Award For five years, Montblanc has honored young emerging talents with the PRIX Montblanc Award. In fall 2010, the PRIX Montblanc was awarded to Shenliang Zhang (Niu Niu) ’14. With the release of his CD, Niu Niu Plays Chopin: The Complete Études, Niu Niu is the youngest pianist ever to record all the Chopin études.

To read more about our accomplishments, visit us at www.walnuthillarts.org

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national Association of teachers for Singing In February 2011, the National Association of Teachers for Singing (NATS), held its annual competition at Boston University.

Walnut Hill winners included: • Min Young Park ’14, 1st Place (ages 13–15 division) • Samantha Hankey ’11, 1st Place (ages 16–18 division) • William Su ’13, 2nd Place (ages 16–18 division) and prize for “Best American Song.”

Comcast Leaders and Achievers Scholarship Comcast Corporation selected Evangeline Delgado ’11 as a recipient of the 2011–2012 Comcast Leaders and Achievers® Scholarship. This award, funded through the Comcast Foundation, recognizes high school seniors from Comcast communities for commitment to community service, academic achievement, and demonstrated leadership. Recipients receive a onetime grant of $1,000.

Joseph Zaidan Book Prize Thanks to the generosity of the parents of an alumnus, Writing & Publishing awards the Joseph Zaidan Book Prize each semester.

This prize is given to the member of the department who has best exemplified a determination to engage in and develop his or her craft.

In fall 2011, for the first time, the faculty was not able to choose between two highly deserving young writers—Kaiyuh Cornberg ’13 and Sophia Martins ’12. It’s especially noteworthy that just a few months ago each of these writers was new to Walnut Hill, just beginning to train as writers, readers, thinkers.

Samantha Hankey ’11 and Kevin Hong ’11 Honored as top u.S. Student Artists

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eniors Samantha Hankey and Kevin Hong were among 150 finalists initially chosen as the top student artists in the nation by YoungArts, the core program of the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts.

YoungArts recognizes America’s most talented 17- and 18- year-olds in the visual, literary, and performing arts.

Hankey and Hong were selected from a pool of more than 5,000 applicants representing all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories.

At YoungArts Week in Miami, both were named Silver finalists. Silver finalists receive a cash prize of $5,000, are eligible for an all-expense-paid trip to New York City for In the Studio/Out of the Studio (held April 9–16, 2011, this year), and are one step closer to becoming a Presidential Scholar in the Arts, the highest recognition that can be given to an artistically talented graduating high school senior in the United States. Hankey is a finalist in classical voice and Hong is a finalist in writing.

Rose-Antoinette Bellino ’11, Elizabeth Chang ’11, and Serena Creary ’11 all received honorable mention in the music category, which means they were in the top 5% of the applicants and will receive a $100 prize.

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Ballet

The Ballet program expanded its reach to new events and venues‌including participation in a national ballet competition and a first-ever performance of New Works at the Boston Conservatory. A number of our Community Dance Academy students have been chosen to dance with New York City Ballet this summer, and we gained a new fan when Governor Deval Patrick attended The Nutcracker! See more online at my.walnuthillarts.org.

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© Photo courtesy of from the top

Music © Photo courtesy of From the Top

Our Music students continue to demonstrate the power of our collaboration with New England Conservatory. Whether achieving high honors in national and international competitions, or being heard nationwide on National Public Radio’s From the Top, Walnut Hill musicians are helping to ensure that the School is known internationally for its music program. Visit my.walnuthillarts.org to learn more.

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For many years, Walnut Hill has been developing connections with art and music schools in China, the United Kingdom, Korea, Hong Kong, Israel, and Japan. In 2006, Walnut Hill decided to deepen these connections by pursuing faculty exchanges with selected schools to learn more about how other art education schools work and to explore teaching practices in other countries.

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ith that plan in mind, the Music Department welcomed Nicholas Jones from Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester, England. Jones spent a few days at Walnut Hill to teach master classes, meet with faculty, coach chamber ensembles and cello classes, and visit the New England Conservatory.

This is not an inaugural visit for Chetham’s personnel, as several of their school’s administrators visited Walnut Hill in the fall of 2008.

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Head of Chamber Music Laura Thielke is pleased with the blossoming exchange and recognizes the power of these connections. “I’ve visited seven schools since 2005 and each time have come away renewed and awed by the connections within the music world. Similar issues in music education exist all over the world, and there’s tremendous potential to learn—and learn enjoyably—from each other,” she remarked.

Walnut Hill plans to continue these exchanges. As Thielke stated, “Experiences like our faculty exchanges help both students and faculty share ideas, compare educational techniques, and deepen our sense of connection to the wider music world.”

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Pulitzer Prize-winning Author of Tinkers Visits walnut Hill “What is beautiful is what you take the time and effort to describe precisely.”

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hat more meaningful advice could a Pulitzer Prize-winning author offer to young writers? Maybe this: “Don’t feel guilty about all that you do to engage the reader. Your job is to take up people’s time with your writing. You just have to do it well.”

In September 2010, author Paul Harding visited Walnut Hill and thoroughly engaged the audience with his thoughtful, sometimes humorous descriptions of the process of becoming a writer—a process he described enchantingly as something that builds up like silt in a river.

He shared stories about the myriad twists and turns in his career, offering a lesson in patience by admitting that his oft-rejected manuscript for Tinkers sat in a drawer for three to four years before a friend suggested he approach Bellevue Literary Press (of the NYC School of Medicine). The novel ended up winning the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

Harding came to Walnut Hill as a result of several influences. Writing & Publishing faculty Daniel Bosch and Allan Reeder talked about book ideas for the studio writers, and Reeder suggested Tinkers. Kevin Hong ’11, who had taken a summer class with Harding, also recommended his visit to the School.

What transpired was an honest writer-to-writer dialogue that allowed students and Harding to explore together the intricacies of the writing process. Students asked probing questions. “How do you know when a piece you’ve written and rewritten is acceptable?” (Harding’s answer: “Writing is a long process of advance and retreat and many rewrites. Perfection is the ideal, though you know you won’t attain it.”) And, Spring & Summer 2011

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from another student: “How do you collect images for your writing, and how do you decide where to use them?” (Harding: “I keep stacks of notes on all sorts of pieces of paper.

When chaos begins to form a constellation, then you know you have something.”)

Harding also emphasized the importance of channeling the writing process through a character.

He stated, “I’m never just describing a landscape; I’m describing a landscape through the mind of a character. I’m always looking for a person—who is the person experiencing these things, and what is their soul, their character?” He added, “Whenever you have a problem in your story that you don’t know what to do with, give the problem to your character and you’ll find a solution.”

Harding’s award-winning work began as a 12-page short story but ended up as a 192-page novel that he hopes feels “a thousand pages deep” to his readers. Harding told the class that his writing is interrogative, which means he writes to discover rather than to declare. To get to the depths of this discovery process, he said, “you have to climb down into the world you’re writing about. Then you have to listen, pay attention, and above all sustain what you’re doing.”

For the Writing & Publishing students, this was a unique opportunity not only to connect with a master but also to check their own progress. Harding reinforced what many young writers learn—that all writers travel many roads and witness many landscapes, and that to be a good writer one must cover them intimately.

As Harding stated about the writing experience, “There is something beautiful about people trying to explain the world and themselves to each other and to themselves.

We’ve been doing it for ages.”

BeLoW Pulitzer Prize-winning author Paul

Harding (left) with Allan Reeder, Director of the Writing & Publishing program

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Theater

The Theater program continues to offer compelling, quality theater experiences‌for students and audiences alike. The 2010 spring musical, Over Here! was extraordinarily successful, as were the 2011 winter performances, A Year with Frog and Toad (the family show) and The Heidi Chronicles. Learn more about these productions at my.walnuthillarts.org.

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riGHt Sarah Geraghty Herndon ’66, Margaret Cowen Muller ’40, Janet Couperthwait Goodyear ’49, Lucy Lee Coombs ’42, and Wendy Tiebout Ford ’56 gathered for the almost annual luncheon in the beautiful Coveside Restaurant in Christmas Cove, ME, in August 2010.

1945

Betty mAin cAnnon has been living in the same home for 50 years in Orange County, CA. Her two younger sons and their families live within walking distance. Betty notes, “What a blessing for me.”

1947

Ann Bigelow hAmilton writes that she is “still alive, but not kicking as high!”

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nAncy mcclellAnd wilson and chArlotte hAll were guests of pAt delAney snider (a 1948– 1949 Walnut Hill attendee) and husband Steve for a dazzling weekend in Dallas spent visiting the superb cultural institutions of the area.

1951

lolA fortmiller BAldwin misses spending time at Walnut Hill but hopes to get back for Reunion and the Gala. Lola and her husband are still enjoying downhill and cross-country skiing, and as she notes, “What a winter for both!”

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1953

After 30-plus years, sAlly reAd dow is still working at the Ossining Public Library in upstate New York, where she welcomes the challenges of her position as a children’s librarian.

1955

suzAnne comins meijerink and husband Ewoud travel to the United States at least twice a year. This summer, their family will hold its annual reunion in Wolfeboro, NH. “Might we run into some WH acquaintances? I have such good memories of my four years there and still see or hear from friends made in those years.” kAthy lloyd-rees miller is a member of the Junior League of Norfolk– Virginia Beach and the Junior League of Charlottesville, a 25-year active mission volunteer for Operation Smile, and a retired executive of RAM Aviation Inc. She is also an active field hockey coach. mArily dwight wilson moved to Heritage Heights, a CCR in Concord, NH, a

couple of years ago. She continues to live independently while husband George receives the care he needs for Alzheimer's.

She calls it “a sad situation, but the good care he gets helps.”

1956

nAncy hoffmAn underhill is writing her fourth book on Australian art. Living in Australia since 1962, she founded the Department of Art History and an art museum at the University of Queensland. Nancy is retired but still does some postgraduate teaching in London, where she spends six weeks a year with one of her sons.

Traveling the world?

Recently married or a new addition to the family? Starting a new career or just retired? Share professional news, personal milestones, and messages to fellow Walnuts.

Submit Class Notes online at alumni. walnuthillarts.org or email to alumni@ walnuthillarts.org.

1958

susAn kAllAnder and her husband are full-time RVers traveling the United States for their fifth year. She wrote and illustrated a children’s picture book called Up in Smoke and is working on three more books. Susan will be having a one-woman show of her recent travel paintings in the West Brookfield, MA, library in September 2011.

For more Class Notes, log in at alumni.walnuthillarts.org

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the San Francisco Chronicle hailed pAtriciA silver for her “tour de force depiction” of the title character in the show Olive Kitteridge, produced by Word for Word. meg fAllon wheeler is looking forward to the oncampus Gala this spring and to the great Class of 1962’s 50th reunion in 2012. “See you there, classmates!” lindA dAmon wAkefield and husband Rick are retirees in the Hilton Head, SC, area and love it there.

They have nine grandchildren living in Virginia and Pennsylvania, ranging in age from college freshman down to six months old.

aBove A group of Walnut Hill alumni, current parents, and faithful friends gathered in London in September. They were surprised by a video greeting from new Head of School, Antonio Viva. Pictured from left to right are: Elizabeth Bishop (parent of Caroline Bishop, ’12), Elaine Kaneb ’75, Lisa von Clemm, Captain Adriane de Savorgnani ’58, and Stefanie von Clemm.

susAn Bitter jones comments, “Hello to all. If you are ever in San Diego, call and let’s get together: 619435-5940.”

1959

connie wAtermAn lAmpert is particularly enjoying life this year after beating breast cancer last winter. In June, she traveled to Italy with her three children and their spouses and seven grandkids. “It was really an incredible experience and such fun seeing it through the children’s eyes.” She and husband Alan also went to Israel in the fall. susAn crAig zeltmAnn and husband Gene are retired and enjoying traveling. Last year, they went to Egypt and Jordan, and this year to Norway. Daughter Laura and husband Justin have a 4-year-old son; and through son John and wife Rebecca, Susan has a granddog, Sadie!

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1960

mAry turner cAttAn received the Distinguished Alumna Award from Walnut Hill in June 2010 for her work as a pastoral counselor. Since 2005, she has traveled to Sri Lanka several times to train indigenous people to counsel on grief and trauma. She is currently a Doctor of Ministry candidate at Andover Newton Theological School.

1961

elizABeth “lizzie” sArnoff Burrell had open heart surgery to replace a faulty aortic valve and address a few related issues, but she says that “all is good!” She is very lucky and happy that she took the initiative to go to a cardiologist in the first place. Lizzie, a grandmother of three, notes that she lives in a great country—“Viva Canada!” nAncy wright howArd writes that she is looking

forward to seeing many of her classmates at her 50th Reunion in June.

1962

deBorAh fAirBAnks corr is now living on Lake Waukewan in New Hampshire, which she calls “a childhood dream come true.” Her three sons live in Vermont and own the Vermont Country Store, Inc. Deborah has one grandson, as well as a granddaughter on the way. cArol Alger peschel is continuing to enjoy beautiful Sarasota, FL. She is active with her UCC church community and Garden Club board, and she enjoys doing design projects, kayaking, and learning to play Mah Jongg. Carol has four grandkids ranging in age from 4 to 12, with a fifth expected in May. Among its “Best of Bay Area Theater in 2010” selections,

1963

mollie tower Byrnes lives in Gloucester, MA, with husband John. She recently rejoined the board of Rockport Music in Rockport, MA, and encourages all of you to come hear a concert. pAm Apostol kuklA, now retired from a long career in marketing, is living on Cape Cod and getting to see more of the world with Tom O’Hearn and visiting family in Tucson. Pam was very happy to have reconnected with pAtti silver ’62 more than 10 years ago through Walnut Hill.

After 45 years, mArciA hunter mAtthews and husband Bill are looking forward to retiring from St. Paul’s School in June 2011. They will be living in Kennebunkport, ME, and Venice, FL. Marcia has nine grandchildren and hopes to spend time with them in retirement. www.walnuthillarts.org

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1964

Anne rosenthAl leads an active life on Cape Cod. She is president of the Cape Cod Chapter of the Brandeis National Committee.

1965

susAn wickenden hunter has worked as the middle school librarian in Springfield, VT, for 27 years. “It's been a wonderful job, but time marches on, and I am planning to retire in June 2012.”

1966

jo-Ann edinBurg pinkowitz is a volunteer at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

In addition to enjoying time with her grandchildren, BArBArA roBinson is involved with the Hamlin Memorial Library and Museum, a granite building that was originally a county jail, on Paris Hill in Maine. She is also an officer in Oxford Chapter #168 of the Order of the Eastern Star. For a few years she has been the deputy clerk in the town of Hartford, ME, and has learned many interesting things about municipal government.

Bonnie levine rodmAn writes that she and tinA pAshigiAn BAndoiAn met for dinner in early February and spent a wonderful evening catching up about their careers, families, and remembrances of all the things they did at WHS. dorie pouch petrochko is an accomplished painter and natural science illustrator, who has taught art for more than a decade.

Dorie is also the recipient of Spring & Summer 2011

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numerous awards and fellowships for her work, most recently the Don Eckelberry Fellowship Award for Wildlife Painting from the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences. She exhibits her paintings and drawings through galleries and commissions nationally. Dorie invites you to contact her for more information: www. doriepetrochko.com, www. ctnsi.com, dpetrochko@ earthlink.net.

1967

sArAh jAyne everdell and her husband will be retiring in June after 38 years of teaching and will be moving to Maine.

1968

kAren koehler ArrAs and husband Rob are living in Costa Rica, where she is actively involved in using native plants in landscaping, as well as volunteering for ProNativas.org and the Organization for Tropical Studies. Karen’s goal is to teach respect and appreciation of nature to her three children and four grandchildren and anyone else who is interested. meg vAn de wAter skidmore is patiently waiting for the construction industry in Atlanta to return to life and is looking forward to daughter Julia’s wedding in Maine this July.

1969

leslie tucker has been entering many juried art shows and competitions internationally. She works in photomontage, digitally silhouetted images she either shoots, scans from

magazines, or sources from online retail catalogues. Her work is printed as largeformat Endura Metallic c-prints. You can see her work online through the alphabetical list of artists at www.artslant.com.

1970

juliA mitchell vArriAle has been teaching online at UCLA Extension for its College Counseling Certificate program since 2008. She writes that she "enjoyed seeing classmates at her 40th Reunion in 2010!"

BlAnnie whelAn is currently living in Tampa, FL, and working as a nurse practitioner in emergency and family medicine. “I still think about my friends from Walnut Hill, so many who helped to shape the person I am today.”

1971

Anne dutton keesor is continuing her interest in photography that started at Walnut Hill! She invites you to join her on photography trips to Europe and Guatemala—any level of experience is welcome.

Learn more from her website at www.akportraits.com, or email her at akportraits@ comcast.net.

1972

sArA perry correiA is still working in real estate and recaning antique furniture, plus running a diaper bank program in her neighborhood. jAcqueline dunn writes that “2010 has been a year of challenges and 2011 continues in that tradition.”

Her mother, Mida Dunn, a French teacher at WH in 1968, sold her home and moved to a nursing health center. Jacqueline's husband, Kevin, was terminated from his job after 17 years, and they are now trying to move forward and find new employment. The good news is that all three children are healthy: Mida is in Vancouver, Cruger finished the Peace Corps and is married and working in Hartford, and Schuyler is finishing up his education degree at McGill.

“I hope my classmates are well; I have had fun reconnecting with BArBArA decrow goldBerg and sArA perry correiA.” lindA piccinini would love to hear from any Walnut Hill alumni, especially from the Classes of ’72 and ’73, if and when they are in Chicago. “I miss New England but love my second home here in the Midwest!”

Non Nobis Solum Approximately 50% of our students receive financial aid. This year, Walnut Hill allocated over $2.8 million annually to ensure that quality arts education remains accessible. Please join us in our commitment to excellence, and invest in the education of a young artist today. Make your gift online at giving.walnuthillarts.org or call 508.652.7835.

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Academics

Walnut Hill faculty have helped to build visibility for the School and the quality of our academics by sharing their expertise in workshops, and by opening their classes to guests at the annual Board of Visitors Day. See more online at my.walnuthillarts.org.

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1974

roBin griffey is still working at the Jimmy Fund Clinic as a pediatric oncology nurse. Her son, Quinn, is now 5 and thriving in kindergarten.

1977

sue eckstein is a published novelist. Her works are The Cloths of Heaven (Myriad Editions, 2009) and Interpreters (Myriad Editions, 2011). She has also written four radio plays for BBC Radio 4. elizABeth griffey retired from the practice of general surgery and is actively raising a teenager and three dogs. She is living in Quincy, MA, with her significant other and spends weekends in New Hampshire.

Elizabeth is refining her skills as a homemaker, including burning wood for heat, so cutting/splitting/stacking is a yearlong job. As she notes, “Long way from my 7 Highland Street home!”

1978

diAnnA holton crossmAn traveled the world as a dancer and is now teaching the talented students at Nevada Ballet Theater. She comments that she has a “wonderful husband who flies airplanes and two beautiful children—Johnny, who is 12, and Hunter Lynne, who is 10.” donnA sAcco is living in Arlington, VA, where she teaches students with autism. She is also an adjunct professor at George Washington University in the Bilingual Special Education Department. She is the Spring & Summer 2011

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president of the DC Unit of the Council for Exceptional Children and is very active in volunteering for Best Buddies. Her husband is a wildlife, nature, and travel photographer. Daughter Madeleine is a sophomore at Harvard and daughter Sophie is a sophomore at Yorktown High School in Arlington. pixley lewis schiciAno comments that “Walnut Hill is thriving! I hope you all will stay in touch and let us all know what you are up to these days!”

1979

For kAtherine switzer pelletier, 2010 was a very busy year. Middle daughter Rachael and her husband bought their first house in March. Soon after, oldest daughter Sarah got engaged. In May, youngest daughter Hannah joined the Class of 2014 at Emmanuel College. Katherine and husband Joe celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary in June. “I hope that 2011 is as joyful! I wish you all the best!”

1980

Adrienne zolondick loved seeing all her fellow classmates at Reunion! She is still writing songs, performing, and recording. You can hear her at www.reverbnation. com/adriennemusic.

has been cast as Scout in the Boston Children's Theatre production of To Kill a Mockingbird.

In May, juliA lloyd will happily complete a library degree at Rutgers University. At the moment, she is interning at General Theological Seminary in NYC. Her grandmother, Dora P. Chaplin, was the first woman to teach at General, and Julia’s internship involves archivally processing her papers, which Julia’s mother donated last winter. Julia writes, “I’m finding it incredibly fascinating and fulfilling to rediscover my grandmother through her writing and correspondence.”

1982

kAtiA izmery dABAsh, husband Pete, and their three children—Stephanie (13), Christian (11), and Sebastien (9)—are now living in Jordan. Katia continues to work for the World Bank as an information officer, and Pete is the Marine and Naval Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Amman.

1983

jeAn rowley roBertson has been married to husband Dave for 25 years (“yikes!”), and they have two beautiful kids, ages 18 and 14. In late 2005, Jean had a massive stroke, but she has recovered and continues to

grow her legal practice at Calfee Halter in Cleveland, OH. She is chair of the Business Restructuring and Insolvency practice group and is on the executive committee of the firm. elizABeth gAnzi is living in Naples, FL, with her 9-yearold son as a single mom.

She wrote to say she was back at work and producing an event for H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco on March 5. “It is my first event in a few years, so I am excited.”

Beth Bench fecteAu is the artistic director of Nacre, an organization dedicated to revitalizing American modern dance through professional performance experiences. Prior to Nacre, she served as the director at the National Museum of Dance in Saratoga Springs, NY. “Check out my new promotional video at www. nacredance.com.”

1984

pAtriciA hudgins erickson recently moved back home to Houston to take care of her mother. Patricia loves Pilates Houston and is teaching a little ballet too.

“It's good to give it back....

Writing and editing freelance is also gratifying for the old soul….Love to Ms. MacBeth, the best teacher in the world.”

1981

donnA kAplAn figueroA graduated with her B.S.N. in May 2010 and became an RN in July 2010. nicole gAkidis writes that her daughter, Tori Cargill,

Your Annual Fund gift can make an even greater impact when you sign up for our Recurring Gift Program. Save checks, postage, and time by setting up a secure, automatic monthly deduction from your credit or debit card. Simply select “Recurring” at giving.walnuthillarts.org to enroll.

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Left Zac Young ’01 welcomes Trustee Janet Pattillo in September 2010 to the Flex Mussels restaurant of NYC, where he is Pastry Chef.

1989

kAren delgAdo hoffmAnn is working for CallinArt, a Mexican art exporting enterprise featuring the works of painters, sculptors, photographers, and glass artists.

1985

This spring, mAyA ciArrocchi had a solo exhibition of new video art at the Chocolate Factory in Long Island City, NY. The opening reception was Saturday, April 9, 5–8 p.m.

Audrey white recently heard from a former student of hers, Danielle Yuen, whom she taught through the Walnut Hill Extension Division when Danielle was a 2-year-old studying Suzuki Method violin. She is now a senior at MIT and plays in a string quartet.

1988

lArA french hArth gave birth to Keira Autumn Harth on October 23, 2010.

Lara’s 35mm film has been in five festivals and won two awards.

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sArAh vollmAnn and her husband adopted a baby boy from Korea named Thomas, who is now 2½ years old. “He is a rambunctious cutie pie who keeps us running!” Sarah is still working as a therapist in a school setting, as well as maintaining a small private practice. She is also an adjunct professor at Long Island University.

“I hope to come back to WH soon for a visit!” melissA pontes surprenAnt’s daughter, Peyton, and joAnnA levine ’93 were part of the cast of the Worcester Hanover Theatre’s annual Nutcracker performance. Peyton danced as a party attendee for all five performances, while Joanna danced the role of Spanish soloist during the two Saturday performances.

Benny iBArrA dellAno recently released La Marcha de la Vida, his seventh solo album. He began his tour at The House of Blues in L.A. and enjoyed the visit of Walnuts mAtheA weeB, mAndi collins, joe dAley ’88, and liBerty BrAdford ’88. Benny filmed a DVD at the 10,000-seat Auditorio Nacional in Mexico City on April 14 and will tour the United States this year.

Follow him on Twitter: @bennyibarra. emily weissmAn schindler and husband Stephan live in Marin, CA, but spend summers in Austria, where Stephan is from. Their wine import company, Winemonger, now has distribution in California, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Arizona. You can find the wines on the best restaurant lists, and they have tastings in NYC and California: “Local Walnuts, get in touch!”

They have released the first vintage of their own wine, Easkoot Petaluma Gap Pinot Noir. Emily and Stephan have four children now: Olive, Lotte, Linus, and stepdaughter Hannah. Lotte studies violin with chArmiAn stewArt in her Suzuki violin

studio. Emily and Charmian live a mile from each other and their kids are in the same school. This year, Charmian played with Sharon Jones & the DapKings at the Warfield in San Francisco and with Belle & Sebastian in the Treasure Island Music Festival. She adds, “I am really enjoying playing with my gypsy jazz quartet, Jardin Gitane.” Visit gardengypsies@groupcafes. com.

1990

jonAthAn deilysweAringen recently took the position of entertainment director with Howl At The Moon in their new location in Boston. “I'm very happy to be off the road!” michelle gAAl rAider is the founding director of the River City Youth Ballet Ensemble, the official youth ballet for the state of West Virginia. In 2008, she was named a Young Gun by West Virginia Executive magazine and was featured on the cover of the magazine. She is residing in Elkview, WV, and has two children—Byron, 8, and McCartney, 16 months. shAryn peAvey lives in Freeport, ME, with her 4-year-old daughter, two dogs, and two chickens! reBeccA ellen wolf is currently living both in NYC and Paris, France. She will be performing in Paris this www.walnuthillarts.org

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Spring at the Théâtre du Renard.

1991

micheline mAhon cAcciAtore sold her ballet school, The Ballet Space, in Framingham in the summer of 2010. After five years of amazing success, she realized she wanted to spend more time with her daughter, who is 10, and her son, who is now 2½. The family, now enjoying a sunny life in Miami, still frequently travels to Utila, Honduras, where Micheline volunteers to teach ballet to the children of the island. “It is a very rewarding and beautiful experience and an amazing place to escape the hustle and bustle of life and enjoy the peace and beauty of island life. I hope to make it back in the spring for the 20th Reunion. Amazing how 20 years has really flown by!”

1992

nicole gAllAnt criss is living with her husband and their son, Roman, in Italy until this summer, when they will move back to the States temporarily. Nicole has stopped working since Roman's birth in 2009 and is happily devoted to being a mom. kAtie schlAikjer joined the Colorado String Quartet in 2009 and the faculty of the University of Connecticut in Storrs in 2010.

1993

sArA denslow-gonzAlez downing hardly ever sings anymore, but is taking her love of photography more seriously now. Three of her photos are on display at the Spring & Summer 2011

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corporate offices of Environ, an environmental consultant firm in Novato, CA. Sara is still working full-time in the plumbing wholesale business, which makes it a little harder to do art as fully as she would like. She is happier now than she ever dreamed she would be as a young adult at Walnut Hill.

“In these times of political unrest and economic insecurity, it's important to marvel at this incredible journey we call life, and to savor the small gifts that are presented to us every day.” rose merrill is collaborating on a screenplay with her second cousin and fellow alum, helen pAttonplusczyk ’80. Rose also translated a book: the notvery-scintillating, but quite useful, Become a Successful Designer—Protect and Manage Your Design Rights Internationally, published

by Switzerland’s Birkhauser Press.

1994

jeremy conn, wife Erinn, and new son Maxwell currently live in New Jersey.

Jeremy works for MLB.com and does consulting for various companies, including thetoysaver.com, a company that his wife founded after she was inspired by rich tAylor during a lunch in Portland, ME, where Jeremy and his family will be moving this year. courtney greene is having a great time fundraising for Wellesley College and is always excited to hear of the new initiatives under way at Walnut Hill.

dAvid todd got married in August and is living in Brooklyn.

Last summer, jordAn mccullough attended the wedding of dAvid todd and Gladys Ng in New York.

Also in attendance from Walnut Hill was jeremy conn.

1995

This summer, nicole shields krieger and husband Joachim moved to Switzerland, near Lausanne.

They had a baby girl named Maribelle Christina Krieger in October.

1996

nicole deponte writes that after two awesome years of hard work, she is launching a new line with a local tie maker called Asterfield & Co. next fall. Her daughter, Lilian Asterfield, is turning 3 this year. “Life is full of travel, making art, and enjoying my family.”

In January 2010, fAnnie hungerford moved to Iowa City, IA, where her husband joined the theater faculty at the University of Iowa. They had a baby boy, Henry Bones Kalina, in June 2010. Fannie says she is loving mom-hood, teaching yoga, and living in a small town again.

sofiA longoriA tAylor was married in 2010 in Monterrey, Mexico. Her best friend from Walnut Hill traveled two days from Latvia to attend. Sofia had not seen Natasha in 14 years!

“Thank you, Walnut Hill, for a wonderful experience and such great friends.” reBeccA smedleyschulmAn is now in her fifth year of running the Dance Department at Amersham & Wycombe College and is just finishing her master’s in dance science at Laban.

She continues to work part-time as an acupuncturist as well. Rebecca still loves living in England, now made even better by erinn leAhey mArzo ’97 often working there. “I still dance with the salsa company Salsa Cubana. So, basically, busy, busy, busy (as usual).” erin o’hAllorAn-weAver lives in the NYC area with her husband and son. Erin is the director of membership for the Metropolitan Opera.

1997

vAnessA johnson married Richard Wright. They had a pre-honeymoon in Ireland and also spent a weekend in the beautiful Ruidoso area of New Mexico. In addition to Rich, her new family includes his two children, Daniel and Hope. They will be having various small parties throughout the fall and

Return to the Hill for Alumni Weekend 2011 friday and Saturday, June 3 and 4

Reminisce with classmates, meet the new Head of School, and immerse yourself in the Walnut community. Contact Jillian Kohl at alumni@walnuthillarts.org or 508.652.7817 for more information.

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winter, and they hope to see everyone soon, or for those farther away, when you pass through El Paso next.

1998

sArA clevelAnd married Jason Brown on December 28, 2010, in Bonita Springs, FL.

2001

mAtAn chorev was honored to be invited to join Walnut Hill’s Board of Trustees this fall. After three years spent working as a researcher at the Harvard Kennedy School, he moved to Washington, DC, this fall and joined the Foreign Service as a Crisis, Stabilization, & Governance officer. This summer, he will be getting married to Claire Putzeys in Cambridge, MA. In the fall, they will head to Rabat, Morocco, for their first post abroad.

2002

erin ginn is still living in NYC, dancing as a freelancer, and teaching Pilates Mat. She performed in the White Wave Cool NY Dance Festival. jAclyn mAtAyoshi vAry and husband Michael had a son, Lucas Paul Vary, last April and were looking forward to his first birthday on April 23. They enjoyed meeting up with elizABeth chAse-levin guthrie and husband Dave at Niagara Falls in September.

2003

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Westchester in 2010. He is performing regularly in operas, recitals, and oratorios in the United States and abroad.

AriAnA wAtson still lives in the Boston area, currently serving as the principal gifts coordinator at Partners In Health, where she has been working for the last two and a half years. She still plays violin and loves getting together to play chamber music. “If anyone is in the area and would like to join, please get in touch!”

2005

jAninA Arendt writes that she is busy finishing her large paintings and an animation to earn her diploma at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna in Austria in June 2011. “Love to the Hill from Vienna!” jennie lee colosi BAlBoni writes: “Stowe third floor will forever be in my heart.”

Since graduation from NYU Tisch, dAshA kittredge has been acting in independent films, music videos, commercials, and web series. Check out her portfolio and recent work at www. dashakittredge.com. cAitlin steever is now a working copywriter in advertising and marketing. She is currently enjoying her first job at Upshot in Chicago, where she works on campaigns for Hilton Worldwide and Disney Vacation Club.

2006

emily herder will be starting law school (most likely back in Boston) this fall.

In Memoriam

We fondly remember the following members of the Walnut Hill community who passed away between July 1, 2010, and March 1, 2011. mAry mA ry f. m c c ue k e Ating treasured staff ing, member of Walnut Hill for nearly 40 years, died on February 2, at age 95, at home in Natick, MA, surrounded by her family. She was loved and admired by faculty, staff, and students and was the voice of Walnut Hill for decades. Her twosyllable pronunciation of the word “Hill” in the School’s name is famous in WH lore. She worked at the School in a range of positions, from managing the annual textbook distribution to covering the switchboard, where she continued to take shifts up until just a few years ago. r uth BA B A rnes BA B A ldwin B Athrick ’32, cherished mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, died on October 19 in Ponte Vedra, FL. *Bertine n iles w illis ’34, loving mother of two sons and daughter Bertine Willis Slosberg ’62, died peacefully on December 11 at her home in Framingham, MA, surrounded by her family.

is survived by her three children, including Susan Strickler ’69. cArolyn cA rolyn k ing h e Ath ’44, longtime resident of Concord, MA, and accomplished violinist, passed away in Fort Collins, CO, on January 8. She is survived by her five children and their families. h ortense BrighA Brigh A m mAyer ’47, highly mAyer regarded pediatrician of Richmond, VA, died on September 16. A 1984 recipient of the Smith College Medal, she is survived by her three children and their families. * gA gAil il r osen osenB B erg l udvigson ’60, beloved mother and successful financial analyst, died on July 2. She is survived by her two daughters and sister DeAnne Rosenberg ’57. m eredith j . Aldrich ’62, lifelong educator, died peacefully on August 23 at her home on Martha's Vineyard, surrounded by those she loved. She is survived by her husband, T. Dunbar Moodie, their children, a brother, and sister Adriane Aldrich de Savorgnani ’58. *Denotes Ellison Circle Member

j oA n o ’ c onnor s trickler ’42, died in Charlottesville, VA, on January 19 after a period of declining health. She

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Q&A with Head of school Antonio viva

Q A

Tell us a little about your background. Where did you grow up?

Where did you attend high school?

I grew up in Schenectady, a small, blue-collar city just outside of Albany, New York. I attended Linton High School, where I first fell in love with choral performance and theater. After Linton, I went on to Union College and Union Graduate College School of Education. Most recently, I was Associate Head of School for Worcester Academy, where I also taught creative writing for high school students.

Q

Q

Q

What has been the biggest surprise to you since joining the Walnut Hill community?

Schools across the country are slashing spending on arts education.

In your opinion, why does arts education matter?

What’s next?

What can we expect in Year Two of your leadership?

How much there is to learn and absorb.

It is an extraordinarily inspiring and engaging place. As I continue to get to know our diverse community, I am amazed daily at how they contribute to the School as well as to the larger world.

For centuries, the arts have served as a vehicle to express imagination, as a means to critically examine aspects of society, and as a way to entertain, inspire, and communicate in a universal language that transcends boundaries. I can’t think of a more important time in our history for us to be investing in the arts. I also believe that training in the arts equips young people to become successful in any career path they choose.

Wow. That’s a hard question to answer. I would say that the biggest task ahead of us is to begin working on our next strategic plan. I truly believe that we are at an inflection point as a school. It would make sense that now would be the time for us to think about what comes next and what direction we want to take as an institution.

My firm belief is that our mission is as timely and as important as it has ever been. We have a unique opportunity to solidify our strengths and begin working toward exciting new initiatives that will position us for a bright future.

A

Q A

A

When did you know that you’d made the right decision to come to Walnut Hill?

When I surprised the Leadership Students at their retreat at the beginning of the school year. The group heads out to the Berkshires before school starts. I wasn’t sure I'd be able to make it given how busy my schedule had been, but Ms. Faulstich and I decided to get in the car at 7 p.m. and drive out to surprise the group. They had no idea I was coming and when I walked in, the greeting I received cannot be described. I knew that night, after spending a few hours with that group and hearing how they felt about Walnut Hill, that I had made the right choice.

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A

Behind Stowe | 2 7

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A whole new perspective‌

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Once a Walnut, always a Walnut.

Invest in the power of arts education.

Make your gift to the Annual Fund today.

giving.walnuthillarts.org or by completing the enclosed return envelope.

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Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage

PAID

Natick, MA Permit #23

Look closely at these archival copies of Behind Stowe and you may recognize some familiar faces! Fast-forward to 2011, as we continue to build both our reputation abroad and our campus here at home.

www.youtube.com/user/wa alnuthillschool | www.facebook.com/wa alnuthill | www.walnuthillartss.org | 508.653.4312

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