March 2019 Class Notes
In January 2019, Sandra Falkenmayer Van Dam (C ’77) welcomed her first grandchild into the world, Aksel Finian Van Dam.
On March 10, the Washington Saxophone Quartet celebrated its 40th anniversary with a new recording and a brand-new composition by Shenandoah University composer Thomas Albert (C ’92) at the Saint Francis Episcopal Church in Great Falls, Virginia.
Heather Wilson (B ’93) was appointed to Equifax’s board of directors. Wilson will also serve on the board’s technology committee.
On Feb. 21, 2019, Joel LeMon (C ’98) presented his lecture, “Break the Teeth of the Wicked’: Picturing Righteous Violence in the Ancient Near East” at the Michael C. Carlos Museum on the Emory University campus in Atlanta, Georgia.
In October 2018, Jamie Petrone (C ’98) and Michael Miller (C ’01) celebrated the world premiere of their documentary, “AND…SEEN” at the Louisville’s International Festival of Film in Louisville, Kentucky. “AND…SEEN” challenges mainstream perceptions of disability through the perspective of an actress and wheelchair dancer (Petrone) as she explores the possibility of walking again with the help of technology and alternative medicine. In February, the film was featured at the Beloit International Film Festival in Beloit, Wisconsin.
On Sunday, March 10, 2019, Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez (C ’99) helped Musica Viva NY celebrate Leonard Bernstein’s centennial with “Bernstein at 100: In friendship with Copland,” at The Brick Church in New York, New York. The concert included Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, and Make Our Garden Grow, as well as the chamber version of Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring, and Concerto for Clarinet, Strings and Harp.
Erin Regan Adams (C ’09) and her husband, Nickolas, welcomed their son Julian Grant Adams into the world on Jan. 16, 2019. Baby Julian weighed nine pounds, seven ounces, and was 22.5 inches long. (Pictured to the left.)
Kyle Feldman (AS ’11, B ’11, HP ’14) is the division head of ReShape Physical Therapy in Winchester, Virginia. He is in charge of growing a physical therapy model that improves access and care for musculoskeletal pain.
Brandi Buckler Bohrer’s (N ’15) daughter, Lylah Noel Bohrer, celebrated her first birthday on Dec. 28, 2018. (Pictured to the right.)
On Nov. 08, 2018, Stephen Readyoff (C ’16) and Kyla Rose Wilcox (C ’16) were married surrounded by friends, family and fellow Shenandoah alumni. During the reception, Wilcox even received a pitch-perfect serenade from the gentlemen of Phi Mu Alpha. (Pictured to the left.)
In Memoriam
Julia Wynnyk Rohr (C ’40) of Sarasota, Florida, passed away on Feb. 27, 2019. During her musical life, Rohr founded both the Sarasota Boys and Sarasota Girls choirs, directed the Sarasota Choral Society for 38 years, led many church choirs, played in what is now the Sarasota Orchestra and taught in every Sarasota public school north of Nokomis. She also founded the Julie Rohr Academy (now the Sarasota Academy of the Arts). Rohr received an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from Shenandoah in 1991. Rohr’s contributions to the community have been recognized through many honors. And, on her 100th birthday she received a resolution signed by Shenandoah’s President Tracy Fitzsimmons honoring her. Rohr is survived by her daughter, Julie Rohr McHugh; five grandsons Michael, Mark, Matthew, Martin, and Mitchell McHugh; and six great-grandchildren Sienna, Michael, Macy, Brooks, Julian, and Brittney.
Malcolm B. Wiseman (AS ’44) of Antioch, Tennessee, passed away on Feb. 24, 2019. Wiseman was known as a guitar-picking solo artist, recording more than 800 songs in his career and continued to do so until his death. He recorded and performed alongside fellow country legends Molly O’Day, Merle Haggard, Andy Williams and many more. He was made popular for his participation in the bluegrass duo, Flatt and Scruggs, and The Bill Monroe’s Bluegrass Boys. Wiseman was one of the founders of the Country Music Association in 1958. Wiseman’s successful career led to an induction in the International Bluegrass Hall of Fame in 1993 and most recently his induction to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2014.
Rhonda Lineburg Rinker (C ’72) of Midlothian, Virginia, passed away on Feb. 28, 2019. After attending Shenandoah Conservatory, Rinker went on to earn a Master’s degree from Florida State University in music therapy. She devoted 35 loving years of her life to helping physically and sexually abused children recover at the Virginia Treatment Center for Children in Richmond. Rinker also earned accreditation in “Guided Imagery,” using those skills to ease the pain of suffering for adults with PTSD and other unresolved life issues. She also promoted the music therapy profession by training countless interns and lobbying the Virginia General Assembly on behalf of the National Association for Music Therapy. Rinker is survived by her husband, son, daughter, three grandchildren and three sisters.
