A 1908 Shenandoah Collegiate Institute & School of Music catalog, which belonged to Shenandoah alumna Myrtle M. Powell 1907, was recently donated to the university by her granddaughter, Linda L. Burges. In May 2019, Burges presented the catalog to Executive Director of Alumni Affairs Emily Burner (EL ’16). Former Shenandoah University Alumni Association Board of Directors President Pam Bell (AS ’71, B ’83), who is a childhood friend of Burges, was also there for the presentation. Powell is stated to have graduated in 1907 from the institute in Dayton as an art major. She studied piano, voice culture and band — string and reed instruments. Burges believes that her grandmother was on the faculty of the music school as a piano teacher. She later married Walter Larrick of High View, West Virginia. This is the oldest copy of the university catalog that the university has in its possession. (Pictured the right.)
In May 2019, James Mason (C ’74) retired as principal oboe from the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony after joining the group in 1979. Mason’s last performance was “Sing Me A Song” in the symphony’s “Baroque & Beyond” series on May 4, which he curated. In his retirement, he will continue to perform in summer music festivals and will be focusing on his business, Jimboe Products, the largest distributor of oboes in the country, with customers around the world.
On Thursday, May 16, 2019, after 44 years of teaching with Virginia Beach City Public Schools, Don Krudop (C ’75, C ’92, C ’03) conducted his final concert at the Visual & Performing Arts Academy in Salem High School in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The next phase in Krudop’s career is continuing his work at Regent University in Virginia Beach, where he serves as director of choral activities and is the point of contact for Regent’s new music program. He is not the only Shenandoah alumni at the university, as Conni Ironmonger (C ’94, C ’11) leads one of Regent’s two vocal practicum studios and Martha Springstead (C ’99, C ’08) serves as accompanist for the Regent University Choir and Chamber as well as numerous vocal practicum students in Ironmonger’s studio. (Pictured to the left.)
In May, Winchester Public Schools announced the appointments of Angie Lewis Cain (AS ’88) and Cherish Skinker Smith (AS ’98). Cain will take the position of early childhood coordinator for the school system and Smith will be the alternative education administrator. Their appointments are effective July 1, 2019.
Earlier this year, Amy Childers (HP ’99) opened her own practice called Sky’s the Limit, in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. This is the first pediatric occupational therapy practice in the Eastern Panhandle.
On May 19, 2019, Musica Viva NY concluded its 2018-19 season with “Homage to Peace” at the The Brick Church in New York City, New York. The program featured reflective masterworks by Duruflé, Poulenc, and Pärt, which was performed by the Musica Viva NY Choir and led by Artistic Director Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez (C ’99).
Kyle King (AS ’02) is running for a seat on the Central York School District board of directors in York, Pennsylvania. King is the chief administrator for the Office of the District Attorney.
Augusta County has announced several new school principals for next year, and four of them are Shenandoah University alumni; Matthew Stevens (AS ’05) (Riverheads High School), Yvonne Howdyshell (EL ’07) (Beverley Manor Middle School), Vanessa Mundie (EL ’09) (Wilson Middle School) and Sarah Goodelle Melton (AS ’06, EL ’11) (Curriculum supervisor for music, art and physical education). These alumni will begin their new positions at the start of the 2019-20 academic year.
On Oct. 07, 2018, Sara Alipanah (C ’08) and Tim Slattery were married in front of family and friends in Alexandria, Virginia. Several of Sara’s friends from Shenandoah were in attendance at the wedding, including her Matron of Honor Robin Smith Beckman (C ’07) and her bridesmaids Katie Kjellman Huneke (C ’14) and Lindsey Mitchell Donnelly (C ’10). (Pictured to the right.)
“Popular Music in Higher Education: Finding a Balance,” an article by Harrison Endowed Chair in Piano, Director of Jazz Studies and Associate Professor of Jazz Piano Robert Larson (C ’08), D.M.A., was recently accepted for publication in the College Music Society’s College Music Symposium.
Autumn Apsey Servera (AS ’09, AS ’10, HP ’10) is an occupational therapist in the inpatient rehabilitation unit at Randall Children’s Hospital in Portland, Oregon. (Pictured to the left.)
On April 25, 2019, Arielle Heyda Hedrick (AS ’10) and her husband, Daniel welcomed their son Carson Daniel Hedrick into the world at 3:15 p.m. Baby Carson weighed seven pounds, 14 ounces, and was 21 inches long. (Pictured to the right.)
On May 22, 2019, Kevin Kline (B ’11) and Kelcy Kline (AS ’15) welcomed their daughter Bromley Rae Kline into the world at 10:15 a.m. Baby Bromley weighed seven pounds, three ounces, and was 20 inches long. (Pictured to the left.)
Ashley Sindle Wenner (C ’11) is in the father/daughter duo Something Different with her father Brad Sindle. On June 1 and 2, the duo performed at the Arts in Middle Festival at Hewick Plantation in Urbanna, Virginia.
Mariagracia Rivas Berger (C ’13, C ’16) has launched a research study at the Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. The study is focused on the benefits of a music therapy intervention for teenagers experiencing pain related to sickle cell disease. This study, which is part of her research at Shenandoah, is opening up opportunities for an ongoing research collaboration with the hospital. (Pictured to the right.)
Shana Oshiro (C ’13) along with her colleagues from Harmony’s African-American Legacy Organization (HALO) received a $10,000 award from the Barbershop Harmony Society’s Outreach Innovation Grant to support her Race and #RealTalk community music therapy program. (Pictured to the left.)
Research by Allison Echard (C ’14, C ’18) and Amanda Rosado (C ’09, C ’18), “Adolescents’ Experiences of Music Therapy in an Inpatient Crisis Stabilization Unit” and “Making Sense of Self: An Autoethnographic Study of Identity Formation for Adolescents in Music Therapy,” respectively, has been accepted for publication in Music Therapy Perspectives. (Pictured to the right.)
Jessica Bourscheid (EL ’17, ’AS 17) was named the 2019 Elementary New Teacher of the Year for Loudoun County Public Schools. Bourscheid is a fourth-grade teacher at Evergreen Mill Elementary School.
In May 2019, Michelle Adams Rawlings (AS ’17) was promoted to managing editor of the Conservative Institute, which is the top editorial position within the company. In this role, Rawlings is responsible for all content that comes from the organization, managing their team of freelance writers, maintaining the company’s style guide and training new writers and editors.
Chesterfield County Public Schools named Kimberlyn Abel (AS ’18) the Beginning Teacher of the Year at Ettrick Elementary School in Petersburg, Virginia.
Regine Bumper (AS ’19) and Micah Earnhardt (AS ’18) received the 2019 Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award. Each year, the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Awards are presented at 70 colleges and universities across the American south, and goes to individuals who are committed to creating positive change. (Pictured to the left.)
Johanna Horn (C ’19) and Perinatal Education Coordinator at INOVA Loudoun Hospital Jaimee Robinson, recently had their poster, “The Psychosocial Benefits of Music Therapy for Hospitalized Antepartum Patients: A Case Series,” accepted to the Virginia Nurses Association and Virginia Nurses Foundation fall conference in Richmond, Virginia. This is the first study of its kind to examine the benefits of music therapy on specific side effects experienced by women hospitalized for complications related to pregnancy. (Pictured to the right.)
In Memoriam
Grace Wynn Beck (D ’38) of Mauldin, South Carolina, passed away on April 21, 2019.