Alumni + Student News

We don't talk about Bruno, no, no, no! But we do talk about Theater alum Jessica Darrow, who voices Luisa (second from right) in the animated Disney film Encanto . Brava!

Art & Design Department alum Jennie C. Jones’s solo exhibit, Jennie C. Jones: Dynamics, ran February 4 through May 2 at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City. “Jennie’s career is an object lesson in being an authentic artist and operating outside the framework of the market,” gallerist Alexandra Gray told The New York Times.

A huge thank-you to theater alum Ben Jeffrey (aka Pumbaa in Broadway’s The Lion King) for leading a master class onstage at Nicholas Music Center on November 22 with our vocal performance students. Kudos to Jared Borja, Michelle Molina, David Charris, and Noelle Vallario for their beautiful performances, and to Carlos Avila for piano accompaniment. “We are storytellers,” Jeffrey remarked. “The music tells the story.”

Dance alum Kyle Marshall was named one of “12 Under 40” by the Rutgers University Alumni Association. The New York Times dance critic Siobhan Burke has praised Marshall for having “a choreographic voice like no one else’s.” “Continuing to present groundbreaking work in New York City and nationwide, Marshall is also inspiring as a teacher and mentor to younger artists, including students at his alma mater, ” the RUAA said. Marshall’s company, Kyle Marshall Dance, performed several shows at the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center in the fall.

Music alum Eric Lindberg and his Jewish bluegrass band, Nefesh Mountain, made their debut at the legendary Grand Ole Opry in December and performed on the Mountain Stage radio show's 38th anniversary episode. Rolling Stone describes the band as a “powerhouse unit.”

Dance alum Megan Amen has been appointed a congressional staffer with the U.S. House of Representatives, where she is involved in public relations and scheduling. Amen is pursuing a master's degree in international affairs and leadership at Arizona State University.

Music alum Paul Chwe MinChul An made his LA Opera debut in On Gold Mountain, which ran May 5 to 15.

Graduating BFA artist Jon Lewis has been selected as a fellow at Yale Norfolk School of Art for summer 2022. The sculptor/painter is one of approximately 25 artists entering the highly selective program.

Dance alum Anna Gichan is the inaugural recipient of the two-year Arts & Social Justice Residency at Brooklyn College and BAX/ Brooklyn Arts Exchange.

Art & Design alum Charles Ray has had four surveys of his work mounted around the globe this year, including at New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and Paris’s Centre Pompidou. The New York Times describes this as “a summation moment for an artist who has thought harder than anyone about how to haul sculpture into the 21st century, and to retain the distinction of three-dimensional art in a world reshaped by flat screens.”

Theater alum Jessica Darrow voices Luisa in Disney’s wildly successful animated film Encanto, with music by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Darrow figured Encanto might just be about “Latino superheroes...but once she started speaking with the creative team, she realized how much this would be an incredibly poignant film about family,” says Buzzfeed. Darrow’s song “Surface Pressure” from the film cracked the Billboard Top 10, and Encanto won Best Animated Feature at the Oscars.

Earlier this year, sonic and visual artist Jennie C. Jones, Art & Design alum, had a solo show at the Guggenheim in New York City.

JASON FRANK ROTHENBERG

Art & Design alum Raque Ford’s work appeared in 2021’s edition of Greater New York at MoMA PS1, alongside faculty Steffani Jemison. Ford’s first solo exhibition with New York City’s Greene Naftali ran from March 4 through April 9.

Theater alum Sebastian Stan starred in Hulu’s Pam & Tommy, a miniseries about the Baywatch star and Mötley Crüe drummer that premiered in February. In January, co-star Lily James and Stan appeared on the cover of Variety.

Bravo to music alum Andrew Moore: He has signed with IMG Artists and will join Zürich Opera as a principal soloist next season.

In December, The Watermelon Woman, a film by Art & Design alum Cheryl Dunye, was added to The Library of Congress's National Film Registry. Dunye wrote, directed, and starred in the film, which made history in 1996 as the first narrative feature to be released by an out Black lesbian filmmaker.

The Scarlet Knights Jazz Trombones were named winners of The United States Army Band American Trombone Workshop's National Jazz Trombone Ensemble competition.

Entertainment Weekly says theater alum Sheryl Lee Ralph “commands her scenes” as the been-there-done-that teacher Mrs. Howard in season one of the hit ABC sitcom Abbott Elementary. We couldn't agree more!

Music alum Tom Nazziola was nominated for a Grammy Award this year in the Best Instrumental Composition category for his piece “Cat and Mouse.” The composition is from his album Distant Places, recorded and written in part when he was a PhD student at Rutgers. Nazziola’s music has been performed by ensembles including the Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra, Bang on a Can, VocalEssence, and the New Jersey Youth Symphony and has been featured on TV and radio, including John Schaefer’s New Sounds show on NPR member station WNYC-FM.

On January 21, music alum Amanda Batista took second place in the Houston Grand Opera's 2022 Concert of Arias. In addition, Batista has been selected as a Merola Opera 2022 Young Artist. Merola alumni include Debra Voigt and Joyce DiDonato. Next season, she will join the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at the Metropolitan Opera.

Music alum Peter Martin’s ensemble Third Coast Percussion earned three Grammy nominations this year, for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance, Best Contemporary Classical Composition, and Best Engineered Album. Their album, Archetypes, is a collaboration with Brazilian father-and-daughter musicians Sérgio and Clarice Assad. Third Coast won a Grammy in 2017 for their recording of Steve Reich’s works for percussion.

Recent Department of Art & Design MFA alums Peggy Chiang, Anoushé Shojae-Chaghorvand, and Renana Neuman are recipients of the Skowhegan summer residency in Maine.