Ken Berry, (BM ’85), recently composed the theme and background music for the first season of Jerry Seinfeld’s Marriage Ref. He has written music for such television programs as Behind the Music, Survivor, Temptation Island, Joe Millionaire, Big Brother, My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiancé and Trading Spouses. He has won three BMI Awards for his work with Dave Vanacore Productions, and this spring he will be awarded two more for the theme for Undercover Boss and additional music for Out of the Wild.
Lindsey Blair, (BM ’80, MM ’93), has worked as guitarist on the Don Francisco Presenta TV show on Univision for the past 9 years. He previously played with Gloria Estefan, Jon Secada, Maynard Ferguson, 2 Live Crew, Bobby Caldwell, Word of Mouth, Cheyenne, Raul Midon, Aurturo Sandoval, LeeAnn Womack, Les Hooper, Ed Calle, and Jeff Berlin.
Jeffrey Lee Campbell, (BM ’80), is currently in his ninth year as guitarist for the hit Broadway show Mamma Mia! Career highlights include Sting’s “Nothing Like the Sun” world tour and Aretha Franklin’s “VH-1 Divas Live.” Other credits include Jon Bon Jovi, Michael Bublé, Bob James, Branford Marsalis, and Sam Phillips, as well as numerous recording sessions and Broadway shows.
Mark Colby, (BM ’72, MM ’75), formerly with Maynard Ferguson, Bob James, Frank Sinatra, and Jaco Pastorius, has solo recordings on Columbia, Hallway, and Origin Records. He has toured Europe, Japan, Canada, Central America, China, and all 50 U.S. states. He has been associate professor of jazz saxophone at DePaul University since 1983 and Elmhurst College since 1998, a Selmer saxophone clinician since 1987, and a Vandoren Reeds clinician since 2000.
Douglas J. Cuomo, (BM ’83), composes for concert and theatrical stages, television, and film. Recent concert music includes Black Diamond Express Train to Hell for the American Composers Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, Arjuna's Dilemma at the BAM Next Wave Festival, Only Breath at Ravinia, and others. Work for television and film include: themes for Sex and the City (HBO), NOW with Bill Moyers (PBS), and Wide Angle (PBS), and music for Homicide: Life on the Street (NBC).
Steve Daynew (BM ‘06) was recently named the winner in the Brighton, MI Bands 75th Anniversary Wind Ensemble Fanfare Composition Competition for…
Recent Frost School of Music grad Nick Deysher wins prestigious Parents' Choice Award for his new children's music CD, People, Places and Things.
Jon Gilutin, (B.M. ’79), has released his first solo effort, When the Heart Speaks, including many solo piano pieces, instrumentals, and songs with guest vocalists. As a songwriter, he won a Grammy award for his song “New Attitude” from the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack and has had many other songs recorded by great artists. He has also written music for countless national television commercials.
The Scottsboro Boys' Joshua Henry (BM ‘06) is on the road to becoming a leading man. Originally from Miami, FL, Henry is currently starring in The Scottsboro Boys as Haywood Patterson - a young African-American man falsely accused of raping a white woman in 1931 Alabama.
Frost School of Music alumna Shari Hoffman (BA, ‘91) was recently hired to manage the Live Television/Videotape Supplemental Markets Fund, a subsidiary…
Laurence Kaptain (MM, ‘75) was named Dean of the LSU College of Music & Dramatic Arts in July 2009, where he also is the Penniman Family Professor…
David LeBlanc, one of the first graduates from the Arts Presenting and Live Entertainment Industries Program at the University of Miami Frost School of Music, is the assistant to the Rhythm Road program in the tour department of Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City. The Rhythm Road is a program that sends American music groups on international tours to promote cross cultural exchange through music. LeBlanc handles the day to day activities of the program and coordinate with other departments within Jazz at Lincoln Center, primarily daily budget tracking of expenses and processing invoices, contracting and processing payments for musicians, preparing visa applications for artists international travel, coordinating artist's domestic travel for concerts in Washington DC and NYC and updating tour itineraries and more.
David L. Mills (Ph.D. '88) is the Director of Bands at the University of Connecticut. He joined the Music Faculty in 1990 and has served as the Director of the UConn Marching Band and conductor of the Symphonic Band, Concert Band, and Varsity Pep Bands. He holds the B.S. in Music and the Master of Music Education degrees from Western Carolina University, and earned his Ph.D. in Music Education from the University of Miami.
Kelly A. Parkes (Ph.D. 2006), assistant professor of teaching and learning in the School of Education in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences at Virginia Tech, received the university's 2010 XCaliber Award for excellence as an individual involved in teaching with technology.
Pianist Marina Radiushina (DMA, '10) has been accepted into a two-year residency at Carnegie Hall called The Academy.
Richard Rose, (B.M. ’76), is professor of commercial music at Miami-Dade College, where he was recently awarded the Sylvan Meyers Endowed Teaching Chair. His expertise is frequently sought in the areas of emerging technologies in music production, performance, and education. Current activities include the development of new course materials in acoustics and entrepreneurial studies for musicians.
Yani Rubio (M.M., Music Therapy, 2001 and B.M., Music Therapy, 1997) established the music therapy program at Creative Children Therapy (CCT), a non-profit…
Dr. Armen Shaomian (D.M.A. 2008, M.M. 2005) recently started his own arts and business consulting company, Armenize Inc., specializing in helping non-profits…
Ed Smart, (BM ’84, MM ’87), is enjoying a diverse career as a composer and multi-instrumentalist. Composing credits for feature length productions include Denzel Washington’s Oscar-nominated and Peabody award-winning documentary Hank Aaron: Chasing the Dream, D.A. Pennebaker’s film Al Franken: God Spoke, and Shaquille O’Neal’s award-winning movie series, Sports Theater (Nickelodeon).
Esperanza Spalding, alumna of the Henry Mancini Institute, received a Grammy award in the Best New Artist category at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles on February 13, 2011.
Taavo Virkhaus, B.M. ’55, is conductor emeritus of the Huntsville Symphony in Alabama. He recently conducted a concert and at a Songfest in Tartu, Estonia, where he was awarded the Tartu Medal at a ceremony in the City Hall. The world premiere of his symphony was performed by the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Carlos Miguel Prieto.
Dan Warner earned a Grammy and multiple Latin Grammy nominations for his work as a producer and engineer, and an Emmy award for co-writing a song with comedian Sarah Silverman. He has recorded with Madonna, Pink, Barbra Streisand, Shakira, Celine Dion, The Hives, The Rapture, Barry Gibb, Nelly Furtado, Alejandro Sanz, Alicia Keys, Chris Cornell, Christina Aguilera, Gloria Estefan, Justin Timberlake and Ricky Martin and performed live with Julio Inglesias, Queen Latifah, Kelly Clarkson, Jon Secada and many more.
J. Steve Watson, (M.M. ’77), is president of WatsonWood Music, Inc., as well as director of jazz studies at The Fine Arts Center in Greenville County, South Carolina, an arts magnet school, and a lecturer at Furman University. He performs with band members Greg Alewine, Hazen Bannister, and the former Marshall Tucker drummer, Paul Riddle. He was previously a studio guitarist for television, movies, and records in Los Angeles and taught at the University of Southern California as an adjunct professor. From 1978 through 1984 he was a member of The Bruce Hornsby Band.
Martin Camacho Zavaleta (D.M.A.,Keyboard Performance, 2006) has been appointed Dean of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences of the Community College…
Zoe Zeniodi (D.M.A. in Instrumental Conducting, 2010), has been appointed Music Director of the Broward Symphony Orchestra starting the 2010-2011 season.…
