Alumni Notes
Damien Crutcher (MM ’96, conducting) is the CEO of Crescendo Detroit, a nonprofit transforming youth through music, and managing director of Detroit Symphony’s Detroit Harmony initiative, a city-wide collaboration aiming to provide more students with access to instruments and music education. Crutcher was named a 2024 Kresge Artist Fellow in Music Performance.
Ana Maria Otamendi (DMA ’11, collaborative piano) has forged a diverse career as a vocal coach, collaborative pianist, chamber musician, recording artist, pedagogue, entrepreneur, and conductor. She is is co-founder and co-director of the Collaborative Piano Institute. Otamendi will return to SMTD as an associate professor in fall 2024.
Steven Ball (BM ’00, MM ’03, and DMA ’08, organ) worked with former Engineering Dean Dave Munson to coordinate the restoration of his 1927 Barton Opus pipe organ and its forthcoming donation to the Rochester Institute of Technology, where it will become the centerpiece of a new performing arts center in 2026.
Dr. Charlene Archibeque (BM ’57, music education, teach.cert) is considered one of America’s foremost choral conductors and teachers. She was named the 2025 Robert Shaw Choral Award Honoree at the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) national conference, given to a leader who has made unusual contributions to the art of choral music.
Nancy Yunhwa Rao (MM ’89, voice and music theory; PhD ’94, music theory) is a Distinguished Professor of Music at Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University, and currently editor-in-chief of the journal American Music. The 2024 SMTD Alumni Awards honored Rao with the Professional Achievement in Music Award.
Mike Mosallam (BFA ’01, musical theatre) is a Tony Award-winning producer, director, and writer for theatre, film, and television. He was honored with the 2024 Professional Achievement in Theatre Award from the SMTD Alumni Board.
Alexandra Beller (BFA ’94, dance) teaches dance and has been the artistic director of Alexandra Beller/Dances since 2002. She has created over 50 original dance theatre works, presented at theaters and universities throughout the U.S. and internationally. The 2024 SMTD Alumni Awards honored Beller with the Professional Achievement in Dance Award.
Honored with a 2024 Hall of Fame award from the SMTD Alumni Board, Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR) (MM ’95, DMA ’00, composition) is a prolific and collaborative composer, performer, educator, and social entrepreneur. DBR is an avid arts industry leader and tenured institute professor at Arizona State University Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts.
Kristen Pellegrino (MM ’93, violin; PhD ’10, music education) is a professor of music education at the University of Texas at San Antonio, who has authored and edited 40 scholarly publications. She served as president of the American String Teachers Association from 2018-2024.
Catherine Coury (BFA ’10, dance) is the co-founder and co-artistic director of award-winning international contemporary dance company Marcat Dance and Festival Vildanza, based in the south of Spain. As a dancer she has been recognized with prominent awards and nominations. Her career was honored with a 2024 SMTD Alumni Award.
A composition by pianist, composer, and arranger Nicole DiPaolo (BM ’08, music theory) was published by EVC Music. Her Nocturne in G# minor, written to prepare late-intermediate pianists for the challenges of Chopin’s music, was included in the volume 22 Nocturnes for Chopin, which features the work of 22 women composers chosen through a worldwide call for scores.
Sean Jackman (DMA ’02, organ; MM ’05, organ, music education) is the teacher-leader of the Arts Academy @P-CEP in Plymouth-Canton Community Schools in Plymouth, Michigan. The Arts Academy is a smaller learning community of musicians and artists of all kinds who thrive on an arts-enriched curriculum at the high school level.