2025 Alumni Award Recipients
Presented by the School of Music, Theatre & Dance Alumni Board
HALL OF FAME AWARDS
Justin Paul (left) and Benj Pasek
Benj Pasek & Justin Paul
Benj Pasek (BFA ’06, musical theatre) and Justin Paul (BFA ’06, musical theatre) are Oscar, Grammy, Tony, Emmy, and Olivier Award-winning songwriters and producers. They are best known for their Oscar, Grammy, and Tony-winning work on La La Land, The Greatest Showman, and Dear Evan Hansen, each of which spawned albums that landed in the Top 10 on the Billboard 200. The Greatest Showman soundtrack spent multiple weeks at #1 and in 2018 was the world’s best-selling album. In 2024, Pasek and Paul won their first Emmy Award as songwriters of Only Murders in the Building and, as a result, achieved EGOT status, joining a rarified list of artists who have won all four major show business prizes.
Additional film and television credits include Apple’s Spirited, Sony’s Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile, Disney’s live-action Aladdin and Snow White, Dreamworks Animation’s Trolls, Amazon’s Harlem, Apple’s Dear Edward, NBC’s Smash, The CW’s The Flash, Amazon’s P!NK: All I Know So Far (Grammy nomination), and FX’s Welcome to Wrexham. Among their varied stage credits, they made their Broadway debut with the musical A Christmas Story (Tony nomination), further adapted into a live telecast for Fox (Emmy nomination), and won their second Tonys for co-producing Best Musical winner A Strange Loop.
Among their countless honors, Pasek and Paul became the youngest winners ever of the Jonathan Larson Award and the first writers for stage or screen to be honored with the ASCAP Vanguard Award. In total, they have each won two Tonys, two Grammys, two Emmys, and an Oscar across six distinct projects, including their most recent 2025 Children’s and Family Emmy Award for writing Sesame Street’s heartwarming anthem “That’s Why We Love Nature,” performed by Brandi Carlile.
Ian Eisendrath
Ian Eisendrath (BMA ’03, voice) is an Olivier Award-winning and Grammy-nominated music producer, music supervisor, conductor, and arranger for theatre and film.
Eisendrath served as the executive music producer for Disney’s live-action Snow White (starring Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot), Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building Season 3 (starring Meryl Streep, Steve Martin, Martin Short, Paul Rudd, and Selena Gomez), Apple Original Films’ Spirited (starring Ryan Reynolds, Will Ferrell, and Octavia Spencer), Sony Animation’s Kpop Demon Hunters, and Sony Pictures’ Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile (starring Shawn Mendes, Javier Bardem, and Constance Wu).
Eisendrath is also the music supervisor, conductor, and arranger for the critically acclaimed stage musical Come from Away (Broadway, London, Australia, Toronto, North American tour). Past credits include music supervisor and conductor for A Christmas Story (Broadway, North American tour) and music supervisor and arranger for Diana: The Musical (Broadway).
Other recent credits include music supervisor and conductor for Fox’s A Christmas Story Live, Apple TV’s live capture of Come from Away, and Netflix’s live capture of Diana: The Musical. Eisendrath produced the soundtracks for Spirited; Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile; Come from Away; A Christmas Story Live; and Diana: The Musical.
In addition to his freelance work, Eisendrath held the full-time position of music supervisor and director of new work development at Seattle’s 5th Avenue Theatre from 2003–16.
CHRISTOPHER KENDALL AWARD
Jessica Bonenfant
Jessica Bonenfant (MFA ’13, dance) is the founder and creative director of Greywood Arts in Killeagh, Cork, Ireland. As a cultural producer, she is passionate about creating spaces for artists and communities to connect, explore the creative process, and learn together. Since launching Greywood Arts as an artist residency in 2017, she has expanded it into a vibrant creative hub offering studios, arts education, cultural programming, and collaborative community projects. Rooted in creative placemaking and arts participation, Greywood fosters personal growth, well-being, and a deeper sense of belonging.
Bonenfant works closely with artists to design impactful programming that engages diverse participants, encouraging co-creation and artistic experimentation. With a background in dance composition and an MFA in choreography from U-M, she spent over a decade in New York City as a choreographer, exploring feminist themes, improvisation, and site-specific performance. She has taught at U-M, the University of Toledo, Grand Valley State University, and Dance Cork Firkin Crane in Ireland.
Bonenfant’s arts management career began in 2003, when she began coordinating an interdisciplinary art space in NYC; she later transitioned to bookkeeping for nonprofits. In Ireland, she completed entrepreneurship and social enterprise training through Munster Technological University’s Women’s Rural Entrepreneurial Network (WREN) program and Social Impact Ireland. Bonenfant is committed to cultivating creativity as a tool for social connection and transformation.
PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS
Professional Achievement in Music Award
Ezra Donner
Ezra Donner (BM ’08, composition) is an American composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher. He is the composer of approximately 100 works for large and small ensembles and the theatre, with performances at Carnegie Hall and throughout the world by ensembles including Chamber Orchestra of New York, New Voices Opera, and the Akropolis Reed Quintet.
Donner has received awards from the American Prize, the Respighi Prize, and the G. Gershwin International Music Competition. He was a composer fellow at Brevard Music Center, the John Duffy Institute for New Opera, and Chamber Music Festival in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. His choral music is published by See-a-Dot Music Publishing, and he has released two commercial recordings.
As music director and conductor, Donner has led productions with Chicago Summer Opera, Horizon Performing Arts, and the U-M Gilbert & Sullivan Society. He has served as a church and synagogue musician and a collaborative pianist at various institutions.
Donner has taught music at Indiana University and Washtenaw Community College, and he currently maintains a private piano studio of over 30 students. He holds degrees from U-M and Indiana University. He is also an avid visual artist and has created over 250 drawings and paintings.
Professional Achievement in Theatre Award
Jake Wilson
Jake Wilson (BFA ’07, musical theatre) is a director and writer based in New York. In music, he has directed artists including Lizzo, Jonas Brothers, Cher, LISA, Camila Cabello, Latto, Kacey Musgraves, Ava Max, and Saucy Santana. In comedy, he has written and developed TV shows at NBC, FOX, Disney, Bravo, MTV, Warner Bros., and Sony TV. Commercial clients include Amazon, Savage X Fenty, Dunkin’, Wendy’s, Maybelline, and e.l.f. Cosmetics.
Wilson was named one of AdWeek’s Creative 100 “Visionary Directors” for 2024 and is the winner of five Clio Awards for his work on Cann’s Taste So Good campaign. He created the groundbreaking musical web series The Battery’s Down, and his first feature, Are You Joking?, is streaming on Amazon. Wilson currently directs Celebrity Substitute, a digital series with Amazon, executive produced by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul.
Professional Achievement in Dance Award
Sam Stone
Sam Stone (BFA ’07, dance) is a dance performance artist, teacher, community organizer, and creator. She is a professor of dance at Appalachian State University, a certified Axis Syllabus teacher of anatomy and biomechanics, and a dance education specialist.
Stone’s passion for learning, exchanging, and disrupting the status quo fuels her dance advocacy in local communities. She has founded several outreach programs, including Dance Class for Humans, a Salt Lake City-based contemporary class series offering affordable training for local freelancers; Peer Practices, a nationally recognized peer-exchange dance class model; and Free Up the Space, a guided improvisational space for artists of varying media to freely exchange.
Stone is responsible for choreographing over 50 original dance theatre works, often integrating her own musical and visual creations. She founded and danced in the vîv dance company and has danced for Bianca Cabrera’s Blind Tiger Society, Kathleen Hermesdorf, Joanna Kotze, Ashley Trottier, and Rosemary Hannon. She has performed and/or shown work at theatres including CounterPulse, Mission Theatre, Temescal Art Center, SAFEarts, PianoFight, El Rio, Adeline Lab, Sunset Studios, Spy Hop, and Hayes Christensen Theatre. As a guiding principle, Stone follows art’s potential to rebel and rouse.
PAUL BOYLAN AWARD
Matt Landry (left), Tim Gocklin, Ryan Reynolds, Kari Landry, and Andrew Koeppe. Photo: Jason Walker
Akropolis Reed Quintet
Founded in 2009, the Grammy Award-winning Akropolis Reed Quintet is “a sonically daring ensemble who specializes in performing new works with charisma and integrity” (BBC Music Magazine). Akropolis consists of Tim Gocklin (BM ’12) on oboe, Kari Landry (BM ’11, MM ’13) on clarinet, Matt Landry (BM ’10, music education) on saxophone, Andrew Koeppe (attended ’12) on bass clarinet, and Ryan Reynolds (BM ’12, MM ’14) on bassoon.
Musicians and entrepreneurs unbounded by limits or categorization, Akropolis has graced the Classical Billboard charts with each of their last three albums, including the #2 spot in April 2024, and has won seven national chamber music prizes, including the 2014 Fischoff Gold Medal. Having premiered and commissioned more than 200 works by living artists and composers, they are pioneers and champions of a new genre of classical music – the reed quintet.
Composed of the same five members that brought about its founding over 15 years ago at U-M, Akropolis delivers 120 concerts and educational events worldwide each year at luminary series including Tanglewood, Bravo! Vail, UMS (the University Musical Society), Chamber Music Northwest, and more. Akropolis became the first-ever Grammy-winning reed quintet with their 2024 album Are We Dreaming the Same Dream?, in collaboration with Pascal Le Boeuf and drummer Christian Euman, taking home the award for Best Instrumental Composition for the track “Strands” at the 67th Grammy Awards held in February 2025.
Utilizing their “sheer musical imagination” (Gramophone), the quintet is also known for powerful collaborations with youth and others within its Southeast Michigan community. Certified as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Akropolis runs a Detroit-based summer festival called Together We Sound; holds annual, school-year-long music composition residencies at Cass Tech, Martin Luther King Jr., and Detroit School of Arts high schools; and produces the 10-day Akropolis Chamber Music Institute at Bay View (ACMI), focused on artist training and mentorship, at the Bay View Music Festival in Petoskey, Michigan.
Behind the Scenes of the Alumni Awards: The School of Music, Theatre & Dance Alumni Board
Each year, the Alumni Awards are conferred by the School of Music, Theatre & Dance Alumni Board. Consisting of 15 volunteer members appointed on a rotating basis, the SMTD Alumni Board represents the breadth of disciplines at SMTD and a variety of career paths. Board members give generously of their time and expertise, providing support for SMTD students, programs, and endeavors. In addition to recognizing exemplary alumni with the annual awards, board members serve as partners to the administration and work to inspire an enduring connection to SMTD and the University of Michigan among their fellow alumni. Board members also work with three undergraduate student representatives and one graduate student representative, as well as the dean of SMTD and members of the Office of Advancement.
Below, several current and former members of the board reflect on their choice to serve on the board, what serving has meant to them, and advice they would share with today’s students (or their college-age selves).
Anthony Alterio (MFA ’16, dance)
Current board member
What made you want to serve on the SMTD Alumni Board?
I wanted to give back to the community that helped jump-start my career. Without my time at SMTD, I wouldn’t be where I am today, both personally and professionally. I know a lot of people might say that, but for me, U-M came into my life at exactly the right time. My mentors (all but two of whom have since retired) pushed me to become the best version of myself, one I didn’t even know was there. Serving on the board has been a way to stay connected to that pivotal part of my life. After graduation, people go their own ways and can fall off the radar, but serving on the board has helped me stay engaged and build a stronger bridge between alumni, current students, and faculty – as well as remain a part of the creative energy that makes SMTD so special.
Anthony Alterio
What has the experience of serving on the board meant to you?
When I was at SMTD, I was fairly siloed. I was in a three-year MFA program that, at the time, was condensed into two years, which didn’t leave a lot of time to connect across disciplines. But being on the board has opened that door for me. It’s been incredibly rewarding not just to serve, but to really get to know alumni from different generations and fields. Hearing about their time at U-M, whether it overlapped with mine or was from decades before or after, reminds me of how deep and vibrant this community is. The board is a place where we all bring our stories, talents, and generosity to the table. It’s a privilege to be part of that.
If you could give any advice to current students or to your college-age self, what would it be?
Don’t wait for someone to tell you you’re ready or tell you what your story will be. Start creating, collaborating, and dreaming big right now. Even if it’s not exactly how you envisioned it, the hustle is never wasted. And, maybe most importantly, invest in your relationships. The people you meet in college will become your collaborators, mentors, and lifelong friends. That network is one of the most valuable parts of your time at SMTD.
Amy K. Bormet
Amy K. Bormet (BFA ’06, jazz studies, piano)
Former board member, 2019–24
What made you want to serve on the SMTD Alumni Board?
I wanted to serve on the Alumni Board because I had often returned to the school for reunions and recitals and to give master classes, and it felt like a natural step to see what was happening with the Alumni Board.
What did the experience of serving on the board mean to you?
I loved having in-depth conversations with the dean and the other board members and all of the student members and staff who bring their insights to the board’s work. Getting to know so many alumni through the board and the awards process was powerful. Seeing the diversity of what everyone builds after they leave Michigan was fascinating.
If you could give any advice to current students or to your college-age self, what would it be?
These are your colleagues, your peers, and your team! I left school ready to tap into the Michigan network on the East Coast and in Los Angeles. Take advantage of the broad alumni base of the University of Michigan and join your local alumni club. Connect with people outside of the arts – build your audience and supporters to gain a bigger perspective of where and why the arts are needed in your community.
Daniel Gwirtzman (BFA ’92, dance)
Current chair
What made you want to serve on the SMTD Alumni Board?
I wanted the opportunity to create meaningful connections with current students and alums. Thanks to, and since my time at, U-M, I have incredible mentors in my life that have supported me throughout my career. My view is that mentorship is often in terrific demand but very low supply. I recognized that serving on the Alumni Board would allow me to help maintain an active relationship with the university and create possibilities to expand the role of alums as mentors.
What has the experience of serving on the board meant to you?
The education I received at U-M has set me up for longevity in my career and happiness in life. Serving on the board has ignited a spark to ensure this continues for current generations of students, who are living in a world that is more fraught and uncertain. The relationships that have developed with other board members have been meaningful and inspiring.
Daniel Gwirtzman
If you could give any advice to current students or to your college-age self, what would it be?
To believe there is no impossibility, if you want to do it enough. Leave no stone unturned. Think outside the box. Reach out to those that support you and can help edit your work. Be honest with yourself about the advice you can hear and take in. Be realistic while also shooting for the moon. Find the balance between unbridled ambition and self-care. Stay connected with colleagues and mentors. Be kind to yourself. Staying focused means saying no to other things, even goals, that may not be primary. This is a hard lesson to learn but one that yields huge dividends.
David Myers
David Myers (PhD ’86, music education)
Current board member
What made you want to serve on the SMTD Alumni Board?
I wanted to serve out of gratitude for the ways U-M influenced my thinking, knowledge, musicianship, and career development in higher ed, which in turn inspired me to want to be part of that ongoing legacy for others.
What has the experience of serving on the board meant to you?
The experience has provided a rich dynamic of shared and positive thinking among professionals representing all three divisions [music, theatre, and dance], engaged in a wide range of pursuits, living in disparate areas, yet all committed to the common goal of advancing Michigan’s value across continuing generations. I’ve also enjoyed hearing from student representatives what their interests and concerns are and how the board might help address them.
If you could give any advice to current students or to your college-age self, what would it be?
As you build your knowledge and skills in a trajectory toward career aspirations, be curious, flexible, an ongoing learner, resilient, and adaptable to change in society and all aspects of your life. Dream big, take things one step at a time, be authentic, and be sure to attend to your own mental and physical well-being.