Alumni Spotlights
Highlighting alumni contributions
Dana School of Music alumni are everywhere. Lincoln Center. Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Billboard charts. Grammy Awards. Hundreds of university and school classrooms across the globe. They're leaders, innovators, scholars, creators, and game changers. They're making a difference. We're very proud of them.
We celebrate the legacies of our alumni and highlight the contributions they have made to their communities, their professions, and the school.
"Since we produced our first graduates in 1870, Dana alumni have been a driving force across the music ecosystem. We are immensely proud of the impact they make in the classrooms, on the stage and screen, and in the studio. Their success inspires the future accomplishments of our current students. We are eager to see the impact upcoming Dana graduates make in their respective fields."
- Dr. Joseph Carucci, Director and Professor
Raiders’ House Band rocks Allegiant Stadium
When the NFL’s Oakland Raiders moved to Las Vegas and looked for a band to play at home games, they chose David Perrico (B.M., '02) to lead the group. Perrico, a Youngstown native, has lived and performed in Las Vegas for 17 years. His latest gig is as the front man for the 19-piece Raiders House Band, which debuted at the Raiders’ Monday Night Football home opener in fall 2021.
Nine Lives Project
Chris Coles (B.M., ’09) wrote his award-winning Nine Lives Projectin memory of worshippers murdered at the Charleston, South Carolina, Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church by a white supremacist. He won Akron’s 2017 Knight Foundation Arts Challenge for the piece, which draws on jazz, dance, spoken word, and animation. He was named one of Cleveland Magazine’s “Most Interesting People of 2021.”
You’re Gonna Hear from Me
James Suggs (B.M., '03) serves as adjunct professor of jazz trumpet/ensembles at the University of Florida and also performs around the world as a jazz artist. His debut album, You’re Gonna Hear from Me,was released in 2019. Recorded in the legendary Van Gelder Studio with an all-star band and producer, it reached #16 on the national jazz chart.
Watching students excel
Kelly Scurich (B.M., '83; M.M., '85) has built a comprehensive choral program at Canfield High School. When she began in 1994, there were 20 students in the choral program. A decade later, there were over 160 students involved in multiple productions and performances annually.
Carving a new performance path
Jason Moncrief (B.M., '02) is an associate for both the New World Symphony and the Chicago Civic Orchestra on tuba. He is also principal flute for the Center Stage Opera in Thousand Oaks, California, and principal flute and associate conductor of the NYC Renaissance Chamber Collaborative. Watch his YSU Alumni Lecture Series Interview, “Carving a New Performance Path: The Modern-Day Performer.”
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Alton Merrell (B.M.E., '00; M.M., '02) helps bring authenticity to Netflix’s newest hit movie, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.Merrell coached Emmy-winning actor Glynn Turman on how to be believable as a piano player in the movie. The movie is based on a play by Pittsburgh native August Wilson and was shot in the city in 2019.
“The Basics of Jazz”
Eric Ruyle (M.M., '95), of Katy, Texas, published an article, “The Basics of Jazz,” in the Band Directors Talk Shopnewsletter. Ruyle has performed in Mexico, Canada, Europe, throughout the United States, and with a wide variety of internationally known artists.
Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Winner
Victor Cardamone (B.M.E., '16), tenor, won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Indiana District and won the Encouragement Award at the Central Regional Auditions
Hall of Fame
Thomas Brucoli (B.M., '78; M.M., '83), was inducted into the Ohio Band Director’s Conference Hall of Fame. He retired as director of bands after 35 years with Champion Local Schools, has assisted with the Poland Middle School Band, and is in his second year at Lakeview Schools. He has also served as a student teacher supervisor for YSU.
Monograph publication
Christina Reitz (B.M., '00) published a monograph, Jennifer Higdon: Composer in Color(MacFarland, 2018). Dr. Reitz is currently an Associate Professor of Music History at Western Carolina University.
Thiel College Director of Bands
Brian Harris (M.M., '10) has been appointed Director of Bands at Thiel College in Greenville, Pennsylvania. He will direct the college’s Tomcat Marching Pride and its Concert Band. Harris was previously at Shenandoah University Conservatory of Music.
New position
Andrew Erb (M.M., '08) has been named Director of Bands at Grove City College in Grove City, Pennsylvania. He previously taught at Thiel College, where he was Director of Bands and Chair of the Performing Arts Department. In 2010, Erb founded Thiel’s marching band.
David Baker Prize
Sam Blakeslee (B.M., '11) was awarded the David Baker Prize in Composition for his piece "Slow Growth/New Growth" from the Ravinia Steans Music Institute's “Bridges, an International Jazz and Classical Fusion Composition Competition.” He was one of three composers from across the nation to win the honor.
Performer + professor + researcher
Karen Dannessa (B.M., '85) is a Professor of Music and Clarinet at West Chester University in West Chester, Pennsylvania. She has performed internationally in Greece, the Czech Republic, Mexico, and England. As a clarinetist in Quintsylvania Winds, the faculty wind quintet at WCU, she performed a New York debut recital in Carnegie Hall. Her research has been published in the International Clarinet Association Journaland translated to Dutch for the Netherlands Clarinet Journal.
The Complete Harpsichord Method
Frank Mento (B.M., '72) recently published a 10-volume comprehensive online harpsichord method. Mento is Organist Emeritus at Saint-Jean de Montmartre Church and Professor Emeritus of Harpsichord at the Conservatory of the 18th District, both in Paris. He held both positions for several decades until his retirement in 2015. A Campbell, Ohio, native, he also holds degrees from the University of Cincinnati and École Normale de Musique de Paris.
Suite Childhood
Stephen P. Harvey (M.M., '16) recently released his debut jazz record album, titled Suite Childhood.Harvey, a native of Rochester, Pennsylvania, composed and arranged the seven original jazz selections on the CD. The YSU Jazz Ensemble and other Dana School of Music students performed for Harvey’s album and presented the music live at an album release concert.
Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame
Bob DiPiero (B.M., '78) is a longtime rock ’n’ roller who’s making it big in the world of country music. The YSU alum has written 15 number one hits and nearly 175 more hit singles for legendary country superstars, including Reba McEntire, Vince Gill, Montgomery Gentry, Tim McGraw, George Strait, Faith Hill, and Martina McBride. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2007 and was named Songwriter of the Year at the Nashville Music Awards in 1998 and 2000. In 2011, he was nominated for both an Oscar and a Golden Globe for Best Original Song in a Motion Picture, titled “Coming Home” from the movie Country Strong.
Air Force Concert Band tour
Master Sgt. Brett Miller (B.M., '99), a Boardman native, returned home as part of a 10-day concert tour with the U.S. Air Force Concert Band and Singing Sergeants. Miller, who joined the Air Force Band in 2002, serves as principal horn. He stated, “It’s thrilling to come back to Youngstown with the band, and it’s especially great to have a chance to perform for so many friends from Boardman and YSU."
Performance at Westminster Abbey
Todd Beckham (B.M., '81) of Falmouth, Massachusetts, was one of 35 singers nationwide chosen to be part of the Royal School of Church Music in America’s National Choir. Beckham, who is employed as music director and organist at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Falmouth, was one of three countertenors in the choir. Beckham also directs the Meridian Singers of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and tutors for harpsichord, early music, and vocal ensembles in the chamber music program at Harvard University.
SMASH!
Stephen Harvey (M.M., '16) and The Stephen Philip Harvey Jazz Orchestra (SPHJO) released an album, Smash!,that features nine comic book-inspired pieces by the Maryland-based composer, arranger, and educator. SPHJO features a rotating roster of musicians throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, including as many as a dozen other Dana alums as band members at any given time.
U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa Band
Musician Seaman Michael Barkett (B.M., '17) recently joined the U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa Band after graduating from the Naval School of Music.
"Bits and Pieces"
Judy Bruce (M.M., '74), of New Castle, Pennsylvania, is one of four composers chosen nationally to write a composition to be performed by the Hartford Chamber Symphony in Connecticut. Bruce was selected after submitting her piece for woodwind quintet and piano titled, "Bits and Pieces."
Performer + educator
Sean Jones (B.M., '00) was named Richard and Elizabeth Case Chair of Jazz at the Peabody Conservatory in fall 2018. Prior to his appointment, he served as brass department Chair at the Berklee College of Music and is former lead trumpeter with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra.
Principal Horn, Air Force Band
Chief Master Sgt. Brett Miller (B.M., '99) is principal Horn in the U.S. Air Force Concert Band and was recently promoted to the rank of Chief Master Sergeant, the highest enlisted rank in the Air Force. In addition to performing with the band, Miller is the Section Chief of unit travel and a Ceremonial Action Officer and was the Air Force District Washington Ceremonial Action Officer for the 2021 Inauguration of President Joseph R. Biden.
