Alumni Spotlights

Helen Sung (B.M., Applied Music, 1993; M.M., Music Studies, 1995) was recently named a 2021 Guggenheim fellow in music composition. The College of Fine Arts honored Sung with the E. William Doty Distinguished Young Alumna Award in 2017 for her prolific work as a jazz pianist.

Jacob Schnitzer (B.M., Music Studies, 2016) collaborated with composer Thomas B. Yee (M.M., Music, 2017) to create the Holocaust Remembrance opera documentary film, Remembrance and Ritual: Reflections on Eva and the Angel of Death. The film is based on the opera Eva and the Angel of Death by composer Yee and librettist Aiden K. Feltkamp and contextualizes the story of Eva Mozes Kor, a survivor of Josef Mengele’s twin studies in Auschwitz. Photo by Hannah Rose Photography

Christine Boone (M.M., Theory, 2006; Ph. D., 2011) is now an associate professor of music at the University of North Carolina Asheville, where she recently received tenure and a university teaching award.

Justin Badgerow (M.M., Piano, 2001) recently released his debut solo piano album, Reminiscences of Brazil, with Divine Art Records. The album is available from all streaming sites, Amazon and at divineartrecords.com. Photo by Sam Interrante

Troy Armstrong (M.M., Composition, 2016) was selected as a game designer for The Escape Game. In this role, Armstrong will create puzzles and challenges for various escape rooms and write the music and sound effects for new products. His most recent work can be heard in the soundtrack and sound effects for The Escape Game’s recently opened in-person game, The Depths.

A new choral work by Joshua Shank’s (D.M.A., Composition, 2016, Musicology, 2019) was performed by 34 choirs in a nation-wide effort to raise money for professional musicians decimated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The consortium of choirs from 21 states raised more than $10,000 for relief.

Kimberly Archer (D.M.A., Composition, 2003) has been selected by the president’s own Marine Band to compose a new work to be premiered during the presidential Inauguration ceremony. The work, “Fanfare Politeia,” celebrates the traditions of a free and fair election and a peaceful transfer of power. Photo courtesy of Murphy Music Press

Julie Bistolfo (M.M., Music and Human Learning/Music Education, 2017) launched a business for live online baby and toddler music. She has been a credentialed teacher for over 10 years and is using her skills in a new way to create a community during a time of disconnect.

Jocelyn Chambers (B.M., Composition, 2017) composed the music for Mama Gloria, a documentary directed by Luchina Fisher. The film premiered on Oct. 14 in partnership with the Chicago International Film Festival. Chambers also spoke on a panel run by the Association of Music Producers focusing on "African American Composers in Advertisement Music."

Michael Benson (D.M.A., Piano, 2008, M.M., Piano, 1995) began his tenth year serving as an Associate Professor of Music and Coordinator of Keyboard Studies at Malone University in Canton, Ohio and his sixth year serving as chair for the Department of Music. Benson continues to serve as the Ohio Music Teachers Association's state chair for the Buckeye Auditions and was recently elected to serve on the Ohio Alliance for Arts Education (OAAE) Board of Directors.