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LACRETTA ROSS (MA 06) is a performer at American Girl Place, where "Circle of Friends" opened September 29, 2006 in New York City.

AGNES WAN (DMA 04) recently received the Artist Diploma in Piano from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. She is currently an assistant professor of music at Maryville College in Tennessee, teaching primarily piano, as well as other music courses and the college-wide "First Year Experience" classes.

RAYCHEL KOLEN (BA 03) is the Marketing & Public Relations Director for the Eugene (OR) Symphony, where she manages the marketing and PR for this professional, union orchestra with a budget of $1.8 million.

NICOLE WONG (BFA 03) joined Kim Robards Dance where she is in her first year as a principal dancer.

SARA GIOVANELLI (BM 02) spent a week in the summer of 2005 as the hornist of the University of Illinois Graduate Brass Quintet with Professor of Trumpet, Doctor Michael Ewald, at the Hans Marteau Brass Festival in Lichtenberg, Germany as the premiere American ensemble for 2005. She also will be performing in Carnegie Hall in February 2006 with the University of Illinois Wind Symphony under Professor James Keene.

CORMAC CANNON (BM 01) accepted a teaching assistantship at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where he will pursue his Master of Music degree in wind conducting, studying with Rodney Winther.

JEN JACKSON (MA 01) was appointed Public Relations Director at the University of Minnesota School of Music, Twin Cities campus. Jackson previously worked for the Minnesota Orchestra and the Seattle Symphony in marketing and communications.

BRANDT PAYNE (BM 01) was recently appointed Associate Director of Bands at the University of Hawaii directing the 250 member Rainbow Warrior Marching Band and Symphonic Band. He is also teaching courses in conducting and music education.

ANDREW MAST (DMA 00, BM 89) is currently the director of Bands and assistant professor of music at the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music in Appleton, Wisconsin. At Lawrence he conducts the Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band and teaches courses in conducting, music education, and wind band history and repertoire. In May 2006 he was invited to the Pilsen Conservatory in the Czech Republic to conduct the wind symphony there.

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ANTHONY STOOPS (BM 97) was appointed assistant professor of double bass at Oklahoma State University.

SHAWN KIRCHNER (MA 97) has been singing with the Los Angeles Master Chorale, and had the privelege of performing at the gala opening of Disney Hall in October of 2003. This last December 2004 was also a big month for me: the LA Master Chorale performed one of my pieces at Disney Hall, and I made my debut as a pianist at Disney Hall accompanying the Master Chorale. Also, on Christmas Eve, an hour-long holiday special for which I was music director and arranger was broadcast nationwide on CBS.

JENNIFER (Kolkmeier) STONEMEIER (BM 97) graduated with a Music Therapy degree, and in 2004 completed a Master's in Child and Family Law at Loyola University Chicago School of Law. She is working as an advocate for parents of children with special needs, and does part-time music therapy work with adults with disabilities.

ALANA MADON SCIFERT (BM 96) completed her M.M. in Violin Performance and Suzuki Pedagogy at the University of Memphis under the guidance of Soh-Hyun Park-Altino, Susanna Perry-Gilmore and Kimberly Meier-Sims in December of 2002. Prior to relocating to Memphis, TN she was Director of Orchestras at Elm Place, Sherwood and Indian Trail Schools in North Shore School District 112 in Highland Park, IL.

ERIC KABERLE (BM 95) is in his fifth season as the drummer for country music legend Loretta Lynn. The typical tour schedule consists of 60 shows throughout the U.S. and televised performances on the Grand Ole Opry. While not on the road, he plays on recording sessions in various studios in Nashville, Tennessee. He also operates a home recording studio, writes and records original material, and maintains a teaching studio of 20 students. He and his wife Trisha, reside just outside of Nashville.

JASON PLOSCH (BM 95) remains active as a trumpeter for the USAF Band of Flight at Wright-Patterson AFB outside of Dayton, OH. He is lead trumpet in the Night Flight Jazz Ensemble and is active in the concert band and brass quintet. He is also an active freelance trumpeter in the the Dayton, Cincinnati and Columbus areas.

DIANE PAIGE (MA 94) was recently appointed with her colleague Alejandro Rutty, co-director of the Hartwick College Summer Music Festival. The Festival celebrates 60 years this coming summer.

ROBERT BROWNLOW (DMA 93) remains active as a teacher, performer and composer. He teaches theory and composition at the University of Central Florida during the academic year and at the Interlochen Arts Camp during the summer months. He currently plays second trumpet in the Bach Festival Orchestra.
He also remains active as a composer with several premiers scheduled for 2005 in Michigan, New York and Minnesota.

JOHN ECTOR (MA 93) is entering his final year of doctoral studies in Choral Conducting at the University of Arizona, Tucson. In addition to activities at the University, he is also active as a performer with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra Chorus and the Tucson Chamber Artists, as well as Choir Director at Oro Valley United Church of Christ.

JAMES KNABE (BM 93) and his wife Deborah are celebrating the birth of their third child, Carissa Joy, in December of 2003 as well as a shift in location from Boston to Chicago and a shift in career for James. James is now a full-time trumpet performer in the greater-Chicago area and is on the faculty at several schools of music in suburban Chicago.

DARLENE FETT (PhD 93), is currently Associate Professor of Music Education at The University of South Dakota in Vermillion, SD. She is also the president of the South Dakota Music Educators Association.

ANDREW POOL (BM 92) is an active violist and teacher in western Michigan. In addition to regular performances with the Grand Rapids Symphony, Andrew will perform with the GRSO in Carnegie Hall in May of 2005. Andrew and wife, Kathleen, live with their three children in Grand Rapids, MI.

AMY ANDREW ROSCIGNO (BM 92) teaches music at a private school in Los Angeles, California, where she conducts numerous choirs from grade school through high school, and teaches general music.

KERRI BURKHARDT (ROSENBERG) (MA 91, BA 87), while singing with the Zurich Opera in Switzerland, began working summers for the American Institute of Musical Studies (AIMS), a summer vocal training institute in Graz, Austria. This led to her current fulltime position as AIMS Director of Auditions and Admissions the past eight years. She and her husband, Brian (MA, Voice/Choral Conducting,1988) reside in Coralville with their two children, Brandon (6) and Karissa (4).

ARTHUR HOULE (DMA 91) was appointed associate professor of music and director of Keyboard Studies at Mesa State College in Grand Junction, CO.

JAMES QUEEN (DMA 91) completed 20 years of leading the music for Emmanuel Episcopal Church of San Angelo, TX. He teaches piano and organ privately and is an active member and officer in the local association of the Music Teachers National Association. He is also the Sub-dean for the West Texas AGO Chapter.

ERIC DELORA (MFA 90) is currently an instructor at the Jewish Community High School of the Bay in San Francisco, teaching choir, chamber music, and music theatre. He is a freelance coach-accompanist in San Francisco with Arts Education Project, Ray of Light Theatre, Theatre Rhinoceros, and New Conservatory Theatre. Eric also recently staged The Wisdom of Eve with Alchemy Works in Berkeley, CA and Audition at the Jon Sims Center in San Francisco.

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PHILIP BLACKBURN (PhD 89) produced a public radio special, aired nationally May 2005: "Music and Nature" (musicandnature.org). He was awarded a Bush Foundation Fellowship to build a soundpark in Belize, produced CD recordings from Havana, Cuba, and Garifuna youth from Belize, and is completing a definitive 7-part series of publications (book, DVD, CDs) on composer Harry Partch, started 20 years ago in Iowa.

BRIAN BURKHARDT (MA 88) has served as the Director of Vocal Music at Clear Creek Amana High School for five years. He has also served as the Director of Operations for AIMS (American Institute of Musical Studies) in Graz, Austria, for the past 14 summers. He and his wife, Kerri (BA, Voice, 1987; MA, Vocal Performance, 1991) reside in Coralville with their two children, Brandon (6) and Karissa (4).

LINDA THAYER (BM 88) currently teaches adjunct bassoon at Dordt and Northwestern Colleges in NW Iowa. She is also a member of the Northwest Iowa woodwind quintet and symphony orchestra.

JAMES POPEJOY (MA 87) serves as director of bands and associate professor of music at the University of North Dakota. His UND Wind Ensemble was selected to perform at the 2006 College Band Directors National Association North Central Division Conference. Dr. Popejoy was recently honored as a 2005 "Distinguished Alumnus" from the Central Missouri State University Department of Music, as well as the "Music Educator of the Year" by the North Dakota Music Educators Association at their 2006 Conference. He holds the DMA in Conducting from the University of North Texas.

DAN BELL (BM 85) has been the director of bands at Cheyenne Mountain Junior High in Colorado Springs for nine years. In that time, the symphonic band has performed for the Colorado Music Educator's Association conference/clinic 4 times, and the jazz band one time. The symphonic band is performing at the end of June for the ASBDA convention in Colorado Springs. He won "Distinguished Fine Arts Teacher of the Year" as awarded by the Arts and Business Consortium in May 2005, currently maintains an active private studio of trumpet and french horn players, freelances as a trumpeter on the Front Range of Colorado, adjudicates at concert and jazz festivals and competitions, and appears with area honor bands as a guest clinician. He has presented workshops for the Wyoming Music Educator's Association, and the CMEA at their conference/clinic.

ROBERT DUNDAS (MFA 85) sang in Germany for 11 years after leaving The University of Iowa, where he also directed several operas and operettas at festivals and opera houses. Since 1997 he has directed the Vocal Studies and Opera program at Florida International University, and is now a tenured Associate Professor, remaining active as a professional singer and stage director.

GEOFFREY GALLEGOS (MA 85) was recently appointed Music Director and Conductor of the Kensington (CA) Symphony Orchestra and the Golden Gate Opera Company (Marin, CA). He continues as Assistant Conductor of the Peninsula Symphony of N. CA. and as an Artist in Residence at the San Francisco School of the Arts.

JAN BOLAND (DMA 84) and JOHN DOWDALL (MA 1982) launched a celebration of the centennial of Antonin Dvorak by commissioning 15 Iowa composers to write variations inspired by a theme that Dvorak wrote while living in Iowa. They performed work, titled Spillville Variations, in October 2004 at Hunter College in New York, at the Czech Embassy in Washington D.C., at the National Museum in Prague, and at Janacek Academy in Brno, The Czech Republic.

DAVID STONE (BM 84) was selected as Dawson Midddle School's Teacher of the Year for 2004. He was then selected as the District's Teacher of the Year. Dawson Middle is part of the Carroll Independent School District in Southlake, Texas. Carroll is the largest district in the state to have received the Exemplary rating.

SUSAN BENDER (BM 83) recently accepted the position of artist/teacher at the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point.

GREGG LAUTERBACH (DMA 83) recently completed a two month off-Broadway run in an updated Fledermaus. Eisenstein is a Donald Trump stand-in; Orlofsky is a downtown, transexual fashion designer; and Falke (my role) is PR man for them both. He also performed the title role of Elijah in May 2004 with the Oratorio Society of Queens, followed by the Mozart Requiem in June. In August he plays the role of Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream.

CHARLES RUZICKA (DMA 83) Retired as director of Choral Activites from Minnesota State University Moorhead in May 2005. He is currently a member of their adjunct voice faculty.

JOAN BOISSONNAULT (Engelstad) (MA 82) has been the orchestra director at Heim Middle School in Williamsville, NY since 1996. She received the award for excellence in music education from the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and Erie county Music Educators Association.

STEPHEN JEPSON (BM 82) recently completed a tour with the Jean Ann Ryan Company on board the M/S Norwegian Sky, which involved six performances per week in the Eastern Caribbean. He had previously performed the title role in Sondheim's Sweeney Todd (Elgin. IL), premiered the role of Edward Munch in The Lovesong of Ed for Rose (Naperville, IL), was a soloist in Carmina Burana (Richmond, IN), played Harliken in Ariadne auf Naxos (Middletown, OH), and Figaro in the Barber of Seville (Quincy, IL). He is currently working on a solo show called At The Drop of a Hat.

IRENE BARBER (BA 81) is co-founder and Artistic Director of Crystal Sea Drama Company, a drama school for K-12 homeschooled students. The company is part of Grace Point Conservatory of the Arts in San Antonio, TX. The school offers both class and performance opportunities. Recent shows include This is a Test, Emperor's New Clothes, Help Wanted, and Little Women of Orchard House. This year's production will be Shakespeare!.

LARRY MALLETT (DMA 81, BM 69) is chair of the Department of Music and Dance and Professor of Music at the University of Kansas. He received two music degrees from Iowa (BM clarinet in 1969 and DMA in Conducting in 1981). Larry was director of the School of Music at the University of Nebraska for eight years and is in his sixth year at KU. He has been an active participant in the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) and currently serves on the NASM Commission on Accreditation. Larry and his wife, Dana, live in Lawrence, KS.

SUSAN LAMB COOK (MFA 80) performed the Elgar Cello Concerto with the UC Davis Symphony Orchestra in Jackson Hall of the Mondavi Center in February 2006. She is currently an artist affiliate in cello at the University of California, Davis.

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TANYA LESINSKY CAREY (DMA 79) will release her new book Cello Playing is Easy: Part 1-Warm-ups at the ASTA Convention in March in Detroit, where she will also give a master-class for the ASTA Solo Competition Cello Winners. She returned to Argentina in October where she is training a group of 25 teachers. She was a presenter and teacher at the World Suzuki Convention in Turin, Italy in April where she made her debut as a conductor at the Teatro Regio.

WILLIAM WEINMANN (MA 76) has completed his second year as Director of Worship and Music Ministries at St. Paul's United Methodist Church in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. In addition to the overseeing the direction of 4 vocal choirs choirs and 2 bell choirs, he has started and directs a chamber orchestra which has enhanced worship services four times over the past year.

CHRISTINE GRODT (BM 73) has retired from teaching music in Maryland Public Schools and currently ismusic director/organist at Community United Methodist in Laurel, MD, where she plays a 90 year old tracker pipe organ. She plans to move to Colorado in the near future.

DOUGLAS R. PETERSON (DMA 72, MA 54) recently retired from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, as an Emeritus Associate Professor of Music after 36 years of teaching. He also directed the Southern Nevada Musical Arts Society, a community music organization in Las Vegas dedicated to the performance of choral-orchestra masterworks.

KAY PECH (MA 68) recently directed the Cal Poly Pomona String Ensemble, including works by Holst, Bach and Brahms, in the Music Recital Hall at California State Polytechnic University.

ROBERT MONIGER (MA 65) is currently a member of the choir at Zion Lutheran Curch in Iowa City. He also performs in the New Horizons Concert Band.

LAIRD ADDIS (BA 59) retired from The University of Iowa after 41 years on the faculty of the Department of Philosophy. My most recent book, OF MIND AND MUSIC published by Cornell University Press, has recently come out in a paperback edition. I am also retired from the Quad City Symphony Orchestra, but continue to play the double bass in the Iowa City Community String Orchestra.

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Last updated 23-jan-07