Alumni Notes
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.
In the 2023–24 season, Madison Montambault (BM ’17, MM ’19, voice) made her company debut with Dayton Opera in Wagner’s Das Rheingold, singing Wellgunde and covering Fricka. Later in the season, she debuted at Edmonton Opera in Wagner’s Das Rheingold as Wellgunde. In January 2024, she made her Kerrytown Concert House recital debut.
In January 2024, Katrina Fasulo (BMA ’17, voice), who minored in performing arts management & entrepreneurship, joined Opera MODO as executive director.
Thomas Cilluffo (BM ’15, MM ’17, voice), a tenor who studied at SMTD with George Shirley, made his European operatic debut with the Deutsche Oper in Germany, followed by a debut with Teatro Regio Torino in Italy. Also in 2023 he performed with the Santa Fe Opera in New Mexico. (3/2024)
Karen Jane Ludwig (BMA ’23, multidisciplinary: voice), also known as KJ, aims to blend her passions by opening KJ’s Cupcakes, a unique cupcake shop and music venue. She combines baking, graphic scores, and painting in her creative endeavors. She recently released her independently recorded and produced debut album, Identity Crisis. (3/2024)
Frank Ward (MM ’84, DMA ’87, voice) was promoted to the rank of professor at the University of Akron beginning academic year 2023–24. Recent performance engagements include bass soloist for Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the Akron Symphony, and his “All Spiritual Recital” at Illinois College and at the University of Akron. (3/2024)
Jenny Lynn Stewart (BM ’81, voice) hosted Sing-a-long-a Sound of Music, presented by Tarrytown Music Hall, Tarrytown, New York, in fall 2023. Stewart has performed the role of the Mother Abbess across the globe, most notably in the international tour with Marie Osmond. She continues to perform her one-woman shows for age 55-plus audiences.
Ned Hanlon (MM ’08, SM ’10, voice) – a member of the Metropolitan Opera Chorus since 2014 and the American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA) since 2009 – was elected AGMA president in June 2023. Hanlon also founded a nonprofit that raised nearly $750,000 to support out-of-work artists during the pandemic.
A 2022 Tony nominee for excellence in arts education, Janeece Freeman Clark (BM ’99, voice) serves on the faculty at Manhattan School of Music and Seton Hall University, and she is the founding, producing, and artistic director of Vanguard Theater Company in Montclair, New Jersey. Freeman Clark is a 2023 SMTD Alumni Award winner.
Daniel Neer (SM ’95, voice) performed world premieres of two new vocal works Tin and Meat and Algo Viene. A sneak peek of his libretto adaptation of Andreyev’s He Who Gets Slapped, a collaboration with composer Alex Burtzos, was recently offered at Orlando’s Steinmetz Concert Hall.
Scott Lefurgy (BM ’99, voice; BS ’99, biochemistry) was promoted to professor of chemistry at Hofstra University (Long Island, New York). (6/2024)
Dennis C Jackson (DMA ’70, voice) finished a year as president of the Denver Lyric Opera Guild. The organization has an annual competition with a top prize of $10,000. Jackson was formerly the head of the opera program in the College of Music at the University of Colorado, Boulder, for 25 years.