What’s New–Alumni

Michelle Nguyen (BA '98, ESM MA '03) is living in Pittsburgh, PA where she teaches piano, chamber music, and music theory at a private music school.  In April 2007, she married Kevin Bitler in Rochester, NY.  With Danny Jenkins (ESM PhD '07) conducting, members of URSO provided beautiful music for the wedding ceremony!  Michelle and Kevin are enjoying life as newlyweds in PA.

The Dubuque Symphony Orchestra recently announced the appointment of Matthew Beecher '00 as principal horn.

Todd Florin, MD, '00, is currently a resident in Pediatrics at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Instructor of Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.  While pursuing his residency, Todd is maintaining his professional musical interests as a principal conductor with the College Light Opera in Falmouth, MA and as a singer with Vox Ama Deus in Philadelphia, PA.  Todd has also published and taught on the various interfaces between medicine and music.  He recently was married to singer Kemper H.L. Florin (MM, ESM, 2005), and they happily reside in Philadelphia.

Stephanie Dyson '99 went to law school after finishing at Rochester, and now owns her own immigration law practice in Boston, Massachusets; however, one day she hopes to go back to the musical side of life!

Things are going well for Elias Axel-Pettersson '03. He graduated with an MM degree in piano performance from the University of Maryland- College Park in 2005. He was is New Mexico during the summer of 2005 for the semi-final and final rounds of the Santa Fe International Piano Competition. Elias is also preparing for a benefit concert at his synagogue in Albuquerque in September.

Eric Hunter '02 recently received a Masters in piano performance at USC. He is now enrolled in the Graduate Certificate program at USC, and is enjoying it very much. Last September, he gave his second Masters recital which consisted of three sonatas by Medtner, Beethoven, and Liszt. Currently, he is working on a program that includes a Clementi sonata, the Liszt Dante Sonata, Stravinsky's Petrushka, and the Scriabin Fantasy, all to be performed sometime in February. He is also preparing for a performance of the Liszt E flat Concerto with the USC Symphony on January 19, as a result of placing second in the school's concerto competition. Eric is also staying busy by accompanying recitals, applying for competitions, and maintaining a studio of private lesson students.

Jennifer Ryan '96 will be working at Grinnell College in Grinnell, IA as a lecturer in African-American literature and Gender and Women's Studies for the 2004-2005 academic year. She recently earned a PhD in English, and hopes to land a permanent teaching job next year in either the Chicago or central Wisconsin areas. Jennifer currently lives in Waterloo, IA. Her husband is a librarian at the University of Northern Iowa.

After graduating from the U of R with his BA in Music, Matthew Beecher '00 moved to Madison, Wisconsin to pursue a MM in horn performance. Matt is currently working on a DMA in horn performance, and has been performing professionally with a number of regional orchestras and school ensembles in Madsion.

Benjamin Drew '01 is living in the 16th District, Paris, France, and is enjoying exploring the city and living the "Parisian life." Last year, he received his Master's in French literature with honors from the University of Rennes. He has since started a "DEA" program (the equivalent of first-year doctorate work) in social-cultural history at the University of Paris-Pantheon-Sorbonne, researching the phenomenon of Americanization and the influx of American culture in France during the 1920s. Ben is also teaching English at the University of Paris.

Julie Hausladen '95 recently finished her Master of Arts degree in Economics and Management Science at Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany, and is currently working at Humboldt in the Finance Department doing research in the Institute of Banking, Stock Exchanges, and Insurance. She is getting married in September '04, and will have a new last name--Mrs. Lakovic! (Croatian)

Allison Scola '94 recorded a six-song CD, Staying Right Here, in 2001, and is currently "shopping" a three-song demo CD to major record labels. She has performed live at some legendary New York City hot spots, such as The Bitter End. Scola's music has been compared to Carole King, Burt Bacharach, and Ben Folds. Also influenced by her background in theater at UR, she finds herself listening to a lot of Cole Porter and other American standards from the early 20th century, as well as the Beatles and early '80s pop music. Scola is working to gain fans "one at a time" through continued live performances and by making songs available on her Web site (www.allisonscola.com). In the meantime, she works as admissions director for the Mannes School of Music, part of the New School, and spends most of her free time performing in New York and Connecticut.

Jennifer Behnke received her Master of Music from Manhattan School of Music, New York City, NY in May 2004. As a part of her graduation requirements, Jennifer performed an exciting, and very demanding recital including works by Edvard Grieg, Olivier Messiaen,Johannes Brahms and giving a NY debut to Grace and Stir by David Evan Thomas. In June, she travelled to Chiari, Italy to take part in the International Vocal Instute, where she performed the roles of Donna Elvira, "Don Giovanni" and Diane, "Orfeo et Euridice", and began her studies with acclaimed mezzo-soprano, Mignon Dunn. Upon her return to New York, Jennifer accepted a position as assistant cantor at St. Joseph's Church - Yorkville, NYC. She also accepted the proposal of her boyfriend and best friend, Jason Jacoby (BA Music and Sound recording, University of New Haven 2000, audio engineer/jazz trumpet) Jennifer is anxiously looking forward to planning their September 2005 wedding, as well as continuing her vocal studies and performance.

Thomas Vaniotis '03 was accepted into the graduate choral conducting program at New England Conservatory in Boston, and instead decided to defer entering a graduate program to work at Framework, Inc. At Framework, Thomas is employed in the software quality assurance department. He lives in Ossining, NY and continues a regimen of piano lessons and academic reading in the areas of music history and theory. In a few years, Thomas plans to apply for a Ph.D program in musicology.

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