Catherine Nadon-Gabrion Carignan, professor emerita of music education who taught at SMTD for 30 years, died on March 28, 2026, in Arizona. Carignan was hired as an associate professor of music in 1977 and served as chair of the Department of Music Education. When Carignan earned her emeritus status in 2007, the U-M Regents described her as “a dedicated teacher of teaching…who is committed to providing realism, relevance, and idealism in courses designed for prospective teachers” and who “built a formidable reputation on practical applications of strategies for successful teaching in general music classrooms in public schools.”

Catherine Nadon-Gabrion Carignan

Born and raised in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, located in Berkshire County near Tanglewood Music Center, Carignan worked as an usher at the legendary center, developing her love of classical music. She earned her bachelor and master of music degrees at the New England Conservatory of Music and her EdD degree at the University of Massachusetts. Following her training as an operatic singer, she returned to Tanglewood as a soloist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. She was one of a select few educators invited to author a new music education series for publisher Silver Burdett, and her textbooks reached a sizable percentage of elementary students in the United States. Prior to joining the U-M faculty, Carignan served as a public school music teacher in Massachusetts, assistant professor of music at Westfield State College (now University), and as coordinator of general and choral music in the Montgomery County (Maryland) public schools. She served as president of the Michigan Music Education Association, 1984–86, and was in frequent demand as a speaker at music education conferences, school districts, and institutions of higher education in the US and internationally. In 2014, she established the Catherine Nadon-Gabrion Carignan Scholarship for students pursuing a degree in choral music education, and she also established the Charles Gabrion Scholarship for choral music education students in honor of her first husband, Charles Gabrion (BM ’60, MM ’71, music education).

Ruth Leney-Midkiff

Ruth Leney-Midkiff (MFA ’95, dance), who served as a ballet instructor in the Department of Dance, died in Durham, North Carolina, on May 7, 2026. Leney-Midkiff received her early training from the Point Park College training program for Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, School of the Pennsylvania Ballet (now Philadelphia Ballet), and the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, among others, and earned her undergraduate and graduate degrees at the University of Pittsburgh. She also spent several years under the tutelage of Mansur Kamaletdinov, former ballet master at the Bolshoi Ballet. She later became a freelance artist with various Pittsburgh dance organizations, including the Pittsburgh International Folk Theatre, the Physical Theatre Project, and Pittsburgh Opera, among others. At Michigan, she was frequently a contributing performer and choreographer with Ann Arbor Dance Works, the resident dance company of U-M at the time, and she established and directed a youth program at the Dance Gallery Studio/Peter Sparling Dance Company, where her students were approved to participate in a monthly exchange with the National Ballet of Canada. Other teaching credentials include the Pittsburgh Youth Ballet and the Flint School of Performing Arts. In North Carolina, she taught at Cary Ballet Conservatory and International Ballet Academy before building her own preprofessional ballet program in Wake Forest, where she founded and directed the Wake Forest Civic Ballet (2010–19). She taught master classes throughout the US and abroad in ballet, character dance, modern, and her own contemporary ballet technique. Leney-Midkiff created over 70 original pieces of choreography and frequently contributed commissioned works to regional dance companies throughout the US, and her works were selected several times to be performed as part of the Wake Forest Dance Festival.

Judy Rice, who taught in both the Department of Dance and the Department of Musical Theatre for the past 36 years, passed away on May 12, 2026. Revered as a teacher, mentor, dancer, and advocate for the art of ballet, Rice was the inaugural recipient of SMTD’s Faculty Award for Teaching Excellence in 2020. A mentor to many thousands of students at U-M and at dance schools, conventions, studios, and programs across the country, Rice is remembered for her joyful approach to teaching dance, her meticulous feedback, and her ability to inspire her students. In an obituary published in Dance Magazine, Rice’s former colleague, Professor Emeritus Peter Sparling, said: “Judy was a human generator with enough energy to power the entire building. Her inherent passion empowered students for over three decades.”

Judy Rice. Photo: Greg Bibens

A native of Indianapolis, Indiana, Rice was accepted at age 10 into the prestigious Canada’s National Ballet School in Toronto, from which she graduated. She lived and trained there while completing her academic education and rigorous ballet studies. Professionally, she performed with the Joffrey Ballet, the National Tap Dance Company of Canada, and American Ballet Comedy, and she appeared on a number of television programs. With pianist Paul Lewis and producer Rob Martens, she co-founded Behind Barres, which produced 11 albums of ballet class music and released seven educational DVDs, creating music that filled studios across the country and became part of countless dancers’ daily practice. She joined the SMTD faculty in 1990 and was especially treasured for teaching and encouraging first-year students, treating experienced and novice ballet dancers with the same care and respect.

Most recently, Rice led a groundbreaking collaboration between the dance department and MSA Talent Agency’s education department, the first partnership of its kind between a college dance program and a talent agency, creating a powerful bridge between higher education and the professional commercial dance world. Other dance schools where she served on faculty were the Joffrey Ballet School, Joffrey Midwest, Broadway Dance Center, Peridance, Pace University, and Steps on Broadway. In 2013, Rice was featured on the cover of the September issue of Dance Teacher magazine for an article titled “Ballerina in a Barefoot World: Judy Rice Makes a Case for Comp Kids in College.” A celebration of Rice’s life was held on September 4 at the Power Center for the Performing Arts.

Judy Rice was photographed teaching students in 2013 for the cover story in Dance Teacher magazine. Photo: Peter Smith

Donald Sanderson

A former member and proud supporter of the University of Michigan Men’s Glee Club (MGC) who was also the founding director and president of the MGC Alumni Network, Donald Sanderson (BBA ’68) died on January 15, 2026. A veteran who attended officer candidate school before enlisting as an operations officer in the United States Navy, Sanderson served on the USS Dynamic, deployed to Vietnam and Southeast Asia. He graduated from Wayne State University Law School in 1974 and joined the law practice of Parker and Hayes in Hillsdale, Michigan. In 1978, Sanderson was appointed to serve as the Hillsdale County District Court Judge, a position he passionately served in for 36 years, retiring in 2014. He served as the president of the county bar association, board member of the regional legal aid providers, and legislative committee member for the Michigan District Judges Association. In addition to his volunteer work for the MGC Alumni Network, Sanderson served on boards for the Hillsdale County Community Foundation, Kimball Camp YMCA, the U-M Club of Hillsdale County (as past president and treasurer), and the Hillsdale Youth Baseball program. Maintaining a lifelong love of music, Sanderson was a loyal supporter of the Philip A. Duey Scholarship, established in honor of a long-time director of the MGC, to provide scholarships to MGC members. He also supported other Men’s Glee Club funds, including the 1967 World Tour Fund.