October 2018 Class Notes
Paul Noble (C ’56) is pleased to announce that composer John Rutter, and Oxford University Press have joined with him in the dedication of his arrangement of Rutter’s “Agnus Dei,” from his “Mass of the Children,” to Alexander Kaminsky and the students of the Stoneman Douglas High School Bands, in Parkland, Florida. Stoneman Douglas is the school where 17 people lost their lives in February 2018 to a school shooter. The piece, which includes the William Blake (1757-1827) poem, “The Lamb,” so poignantly describes little children that Paul Noble felt the need to precipitate this dedication and relationship. Paul’s arrangement includes, as in the original work, parts for a choir and a children’s choir with the concert band. But, as with most of his arrangements of John Rutter’s music (now numbering over 100 titles), it may also be performed by band alone, with a solo trumpet playing the melodic lines of the children’s choir. Noble believes John Rutter’s compositions are so beautifully conceived that the meaning and essence may be achieved, even without the words.
Ann K. Werner Van Dyke (C ’68) and H. Ray Van Dyke (AS ’75) celebrated their 51st wedding anniversary on Aug. 27, 2018. The two have been together for 54 years, after first meeting at Shenandoah Conservatory in 1964. (Pictured right to left.)
On Sunday, Sept. 30, 2018, Sharon Larew (C ’72) performed in a piano concert at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Petersburg, Virginia.
Kathryn Rohlf Martin (B ’84) was selected as Top Leadership Coach of the Year by the International Association of Top Professionals for her outstanding leadership and commitment to the industry.
Roberta “Bobbie” Forssell Textor (C ’89) and Brian Schlegel (C ’04) recently played at a concert at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California. (Pictured left to right.)
On Sunday, Sept. 23, 2018, Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez (C ’99) helped Musica Viva NY kick off its 2018-19 season with Songs of Love, an evening of lieder by Johannes Brahms, Robert Schumann and P.D.Q. Bach at All Souls Church in New York, New York.
Marquita Ntim (C ’99) has published her own music charts for beginning music students on Amazon titled, “Mrs. Marquita’s Music Charts: Charts for Beginning Students–Piano, Violin, Viola Cello Fingering Charts, Key Signature and Time Signature Charts.” Ntim’s music charts can be accessed at http://a.co/71c4aPJ.
On Saturday, Sept. 29, Alamo Drafthouse Winchester held a special screening of “A Mother’s Will,” based on a play created by Tom Sweitzer (C ’94, C ’11) and the Middleburg-based music therapy non-profit, A Place To Be. “A Mother’s Will” tells the story of Ann-Charlotte Robinson, an inspiring woman who takes the stage in a production based on her son’s suicide.
On Sept. 19, 2018, Jonathan Moser (C ’01) performed in a recital for Mercyhurst University’s D’Angelo Department of Music, where he is a violin instructor and director of the Mercyhurst Civic Orchestra.
In September 2018, Charlotte Fritts (AS ’02, EL ’08, EL, ’10), a Coast Guard Petty Officer, was deployed to South Carolina to help with the relief mission after Hurricane Florence.
During the months of August and September 2018, Sara Sincell (C ’02) portrayed a “Washing Well Wench” at the Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival in West Newton, Pennsylvania.
Jennifer Starliper (C ’02) was featured in a LancasterOnline article, “Crochet meets jewelry thanks to Lancaster woman’s creativity.” The article details how Starliper has turned her crocheting into jewelry.
Amber Parker Hoffman (AS ’03) is a business process consultant for Acorio in Boston, Massachusetts. (Pictured to the left.)
Kevin Forrer (HP ’04) has been named the 2018 Best Physical Therapist by The Northern Virginia Daily, a newspaper based in Strasburg, Virginia.
On Sept. 21, 2018, “The Vitali Trio” with Enrique Reynosa Oviedo (C ’04) performed in the Bistro at Shenandoah Valley Westminster-Canterbury in Winchester, Virginia.
On Sunday, Sept. 30, 2018, New York-based Empirical Theatre performed “Jeffrey” by Paul Rudnick in Shingleton Dance Space on main campus. The performance featured several Shenandoah alumni, including Lyddall Bugg (C ’06), Adam Pribila (C ’07), Ricky Jones (C ’07), Josh Kellman (C ’08), Mike Misko (C ’08) and Brent Deekens (C ’12).
Brandon Thomas (B ’09) has written a book called “The Christmas Backpack.” Thomas also created a children’s version of the book called “The Legend of the Christmas Backpack.” The Legend of the Christmas Backpack (Pictured to the right.)
On Sept. 15, 2018, Dustin Bogan (AS ’11, HP ’16) and Tiffany Sheffer (AS ’12, HP ’14) were married at Bandit’s Ridge in Louisa, Virginia.
On Sept. 21, 208, Kyle Farrell (B ’11, B ’14) and Jillian Sweeney (A&S ’11, P ’14) were married in Baltimore, Maryland. More than 30 Shenandoah alumni were in attendance on their special day. (Pictured left to right.)
Shana Oshiro (C ’13), and her quartet, HALO (short for Harmony’s African-American Legacy Organization) are using barbershop music to bring people together through not only performance, but also a new program they’ve established, called Race and #Real Talk. The program, which operated as a pilot program in fall 2017, officially began in February, with meetings occurring every other week at Centennial Methodist Church in Frederick, Maryland, and culminated its first full workshop cycle with a performance by all participants at All Saints’ Church in Frederick, on June 30, 2018. (Pictured to the right.)
Michael Mendillo (C ’13, C ’15) accepted a position as the director of corporate engagement at the Orlando Science Center in Orlando, Florida.
Haley Smith Nelson (AS ’13, EL ’13) and Cory Nelson (B ’12, B ’16) welcomed Parker William Nelson into the world on Sept. 28, 2018. Parker weighed eight pounds, and was 20.5 inches long. (Pictured to the left with big brother Turner.)
Anthony Barnwell (C ’14, C ’18) was selected as a trumpet performer in the United States Army Band Program.
Sara Miller Woodward (C ’14) is a neurologic music therapist at Ingleside at King Farm, a continuing care retirement community in Rockville, Maryland, where she serves older adults in independent living, assisted living, short-term rehab and memory care. She is the coordinator of therapeutic programming at the retirement community and works with patients suffering from stroke, Parkinson’s disease and dementia. More information about Woodward’s experiences can be found in this story on Shenandoah University’s website. (Pictured to the right.)
Annie Wong (C ’16) was appointed to the piano faculty of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, Canada.
Emma Benson (C ’18) and Zachary Michael Bigelow (C ’18), have been cast in the national tour of the Tony-nominated musical, “Something Rotten!” The two serve in the ensemble, and the tour launched on Sept. 19 at the RiverCenter for the Performing Arts in Columbus, Georgia.
In Memoriam
Laura LaFontaine White (AS ’70) of Berryville, Virginia, passed away on Sept. 30, 2018. White actively supported Shenandoah University through the Bernard J. Dunn School of Pharmacy because her husband, Eugene, had his own pharmacy practice. She was also a member of Duncan Memorial United Methodist Church in Berryville, Virginia. She taught Sunday School, sang in the choir and chaired many programs within the church. White served as president of the Berryville/Clarke County Business & Professional Women’s Club and was a charter member of the League of Women Voters of Clarke County. She is survived by two children, Lynda White and Patricia White; two grandchildren, Alexis Mercke and Kyle Hott; one great grandchild, Aydenne Mercke; and her honorary daughter, Gladys Grace of Chile.
