 |
Class of 1980
Dear Class of 1980,
Welcome to class notes online!
Your class notes are published on a continual basis as we receive your news, and appear below in the order they were received, along with your CD/book art or photos.
(last updated 10.29.08)
Submit your own class note here.
You may also submit news, CDs, books, and photos by mail to:
Class Notes
New England Conservatory
290 Huntington Avenue
Boston MA 02115
You will also find information on this page about your Reunion contacts, and other information relevant to your class year.
Help us find your lost classmates.
Some recent news from the class of 1980. Your class note will remain on this page for up to one year, or until you submit a new note to replace it.
 |
Steve Eckels ’80 M.M. is currently finishing a book for MENC called Teaching Classroom Guitar. He is also finishing his 20th book for Mel Bay Publications on a modern method for fingerstyle guitar. Steve currently lives in Kalispell, Mont. 10/29/08 |
 |
Composers Robert Aldridge ’80 M.M. and Herschel Garfein ’82 M.M. were featured in the New York Times in an article that spoke of their struggles and eventual successes of their opera Elmer Gantry. The work premiered with much acclaim at the Nashville Opera as well as the Peak Performances series at Montclair State University in New Jersey. Robert and Herschel currently live in Brooklyn, N.Y. 8/18/08 |
 |
Composer David Hahn’s ('80) percussion sextet Mbira has just been published by C. Alan Company. David has also recently posted a video on YouTube, for which he created the sound and music and stars him and his two daughters. In 2005, David's Kindergarten Word List for octaphonic speaker system, premiered at the Sonic Odyssey Electronic and Computer Music Concert Series in Los Angeles and in 2004 David's composition Passionate Isolation, a three-movement suite for guitar and mandolin, won the 2004 Composition Contest sponsored by the Classical Mandolin Society of America. David plans to travel to Croatia this summer. He currently lives in Seattle, Wash. 8/18/08 |
| Arthur Bragg ’80 M.M. is a father of three and has been working in the software business for almost 20 years. He is the technical director of a small company that supplies software for the public safety sector. In addition to this full-time job, he moonlights as a consultant to a company in Ohio. He has been getting seriously involved in music again, directing his own choir that specializes in Renaissance music and is the assistant director of another choir. Arthur occasionally performs piano concerts of ragtime and early jazz, especially at the retirement home where his mother is living. In addition, he and his wife Becky have taught swing dance lessons. Arthur currently lives in Boulder, Colo. 8/18/08 | |
 |
Richard R. Bunbury ’80 M.M. has been appointed as Assistant Professor of Music Education at Boston University. He is an active educator and performer in the Boston area, and is in his twenty-seventh year as Organist and Music Director at St. Theresa of Avila Parish in West Roxbury, where he has built a prominent liturgical music program. In addition, he has served on the Music History and Music Education faculties of Boston Conservatory since 1998. Richard serves on the boards of several professional organizations and is active as a lecturer, organist, choral conductor, harpsichordist, and singer. His articles have appeared in several journals, and in the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. 1/13/08 |
 |
Les Misérables Brass Band, which includes NEC alumni Frank London ’80, Matt Darriau ’91, Marcus Rojas ’85, John Mettam ’90, Richie Barshay ’05, Vinny Nobile ’83, and David Harris ’81, performed a sold-out concert with David Byrne at Zankel Hall, and also performed with David Byrneat at the Tonic in New York City. The band performed music from around the world, including Serbian coceks, Mexican banda, Nigerian ju ju music, music by David Byrne and Jimi Hendrix’s “Manic Depression.” 1/13/08 |
 |
Jeremy Kahn '80 recently released a CD of music from The Threepenny Opera, entitled Most of a Nickel. He currently lives in Chicago, Ill., where he is a freelance pianist. 9/28/07 |
 |
The Cab Jivers, under the direction of Chris Calloway Brooks ’80 had a live performance at Lincoln Center broadcast by PBS. It was aired on the “Live at Lincoln Center Series.” They performed for the Lincoln Center Donors Reception as well as the Final Farewell Concert for the old Alice Tully Hall before it closed for renovation. Other participants in the concert were Tom Brokaw, Wynton Marsalis, and Phillip Glass. 7/3/07 |
 |
Viola da gamba player Jonathan Dunford ’80, ’84 M.M. has been touring with his wife Sylvia, a viol player, and his son Thomas, a lute player. Jonathan has taken part in the festivals Saint Guihem le Désert and d’Uzès, and has recorded for Universal. Hear Jonathan play Demachy on YouTube. 7/3/07 |
 |
Trumpeter, bandleader and composer Frank London ’80 has been receiving accolades for his work as a solo artist and as a founding member of The Klezmatics, among other ensembles. The Klezmatics were awarded a Grammy in the “Best Contemporary World Music Album” category for Wonder Wheel. In addition, Frank performed at the prestigious Lincoln Center Institute for the Arts in Education in July of 2006. 7/3/07 |
 |
Composer Bruce Wolosoff ’80 M.M. collaborated with City Ballet dancer and choreographer Benjamin Millepied in March at New York's Joyce Theater, which features dancers Ethan Stiefel and Gillian Murphy. Also, in February 2007, his chamber opera Madimi was given a staged reading at the Leonard Nimoy Thalia Theatre at Symphony Space. 7/3/07 |
Help us find your lost classmates.
Unfortunately, NEC has lost touch with some of your classmates. If you have e-mail or other contact information for any of the people listed below, please let us know so that we can keep them informed of reunions and other NEC activities.
Luis Canizales-Vargas, Stephen Concordia, Alvaro Cordero, Maria Demogenes, Thomas Gibson, Marisela Gonzalez de Hernandez, Laya Harbater, Denise Hoyle, Susan Innes, William Malone, Sandra Nash, Charles Pottie, Gary Shore, Lisa Sotak, Steven Stukas, Yutaka Sugino, Gale Tolman, Lydia Tyson, Lois Wald, Koji Yanagida.