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& JAZZ | Dean S. Dutton (BA ’68), Shelia Porter Dutton (BA ’69),
Judith Lamoreaux Dutton (’92), Timothy D. Dutton (’95), Jennifer Frandsen
Dutton (BS ’96), Jonathon M. Dutton (’98), and Amy L. Dutton (’98): Nine-member family bluegrass
ensemble; made the top 10 on NBC’s America’s Got Talent. Jay U. Lawrence (’83): BYU percussion professor;
performed with Sammy Davis Jr., Lou Rawls, Della Reese, and other greats. Daniel T. Truman
(BA ’84) plays keyboard for Diamond
Rio, the Nashville band that has earned nine Grammy nominations, sold more than
5 million records, and repeatedly won top country-music awards. Quint B. Randle (BA ’84): BYU communications professor;
reached No. 1 on Power Source magazine’s top-20 list. Jeffrey L. Hinton (BA ’86): Singer and songwriter; performed
twice in the Charlie Daniels’ Talent Roundup, broadcast nationally on The
Nashville Network; also a member of the band Joshua Creek. Tony J. Martin (BA
’86): Songwriter;
has had 12 No. 1 country hits, including chart toppers for George Strait (“Go
On”), Tim McGraw (“Just to See You Smile”), and others. Ronald M. Saltmarsh
(BA ’87):
Composer and musician; member of jazz duo This Way That with Daniel T. Truman (BA
’84); composed promos for CMT, ESPN, and more. Jenny Jordan Frogley (’93): Singer; opened for Ray Charles
and has recorded on nearly 100 albums. D. Bryan Long (BM ’93): BYU assistant lecturer and
saxophonist; plays in the 10-piece soul ensemble Wave O’ Blues; arranged music
for motion pictures, including X-Men movies. David H. Tolk (BA ’93): Attorney, pianist, and guitarist;
member of the band Big Parade; has released six solo albums. Wilford M.
Kimball (BM ’94):
BYU trombone professor; international jazz and symphony performer; has recorded
for The Sandlot
and other movies. Bret P. Bryce (BS ’01), Abe R. Mills (BA ’00), Dave R.
Kimball (BA ’02), and
Justin T. Smith (BA ’02): Former Young Ambassadors; joined to create boy band
Jericho Road. Lisa K. DeSpain (’91) was the American Society of Composers’ 2000
Emerging Jazz Composer of the Year. She has received a fellowship from the
National Endowment for the Arts and three commissions from the American
Composers Forum. Bart
J. Olson (BA ’03)
and Craig K. Miner (BS ’77): Members of Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband; their album Dream
Big climbed to
No. 13 on Billboard’s country charts. John R. Preator (BFA ’05): Singer; belted out Michael
Bolton’s “That’s What Love Is All About” in his season-three American Idol debut; cut his own album, I’ll
Be Seeing You, in
2005. | INSPIRATIONAL | Parley L. Belnap (MM
’50), Robert M. Cundick (’57), Bonnie Lauper Goodliffe (BA ’65), Linda Swenson
Margetts (BA ’70), Clay R. Christiansen (BM ’71), Douglas E. Bush (BA ’72), Don
Cook (BM ’80), and
Andrew E. Unsworth (BM ’95): Temple Square organists, either as designated performers
or frequent guest players. Four of the six mainstay organists are BYU alums. Merrill B. Jenson
(BM ’80) composed music for
three Temple Square feature films (Legacy, The Testaments, and Joseph
Smith—Prophet of the Restoration) and three temple pageants (Manti, Mesa, and
Oakland). Jenson’s works encompass numerous symphonies and media projects. Orrin G. Hatch (BS ’59): Lyricist, composer, and U.S.
Senator (R-Utah); his song “Hear Our Land” was performed at the second
inauguration of President George W. Bush. Janice Kapp Perry (BA ’60): Composer; has written and recorded more than 1,000 inspirational songs; best
known for her beloved Primary songs. K. Newell Dayley (BS ’64): BYU music professor emeritus and
composer; recipient of the Legacy Award from the Faith Centered Music
Association (FCMA). Ronald P. Brough (BM ’74): BYU music professor;
percussionist for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Pan Jam, his family steel
band. Michael H. McLean (’74): Composer and songwriter; author of The Forgotten
Carols; has
composed more than 20 albums and scores for numerous movies, including The
Best Two Years. Randall
Boothe (MEd ’76):
BYU music professor and director of the Young Ambassadors; directed Light of
the World, the
spectacular presented by the Church during the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. David
A. Zabriskie (BM ’80): Composer; wrote music for the Nauvoo Pageant. David W. Fletcher
(’81): Composer;
wrote Sabbath Song II; conducted the Mormon Oratorio Chorus in Carnegie Hall. Ronald W.
Simpson (BA ’83):
Administrator in the School of Music; composed music for Church’s seminary
videos. Staci L. Peters (BA ’88): Composer and publisher; cocreator of the Pearl
Award–winning album series Women of Destiny. Saints Unified Voices choir, the Grammy-winning
choir, led by Motown sensation Gladys Knight, has 29 BYU alumni in its
100-member chorus and an additional 21 BYU–Hawaii alumni. Saints Unified
Voices welcomes various faiths and cultural backgrounds into LDS chapels to
hear soulful gospel music. Hillary Novakovich Weeks (BA ’93): Singer; winner of FCMA’s Album of the Year award
and numerous Pearl Awards. Tyler D. Castleton (BA ’94): Composer; has written more than
100 LDS and other Christian songs. Jenny Harris Phillips (BA ’96): Singer; top-selling artist
on Deseret Book’s music label. Cherie A. Call (BA ’03): Singer and songwriter; has won
six Pearl Awards and recorded seven solo albums. | INSTRUMENTAL | James W. Thatcher
(BM ’75) is a leading
Hollywood horn player, recording on 70 to 80 film scores each year. He
currently plays principal horn for the Pasadena Symphony and the Los Angeles
Music Center Opera and is an associate professor of French horn at the
University of Southern California. David M. Randall (BA ’65): BYU clarinet professor; performed at three Congresses of the
International Clarinet Society. David H. Sargent (MM ’68): BYU composition professor; works premiered at the
International Kodally Symposium. Julie Bevan
(BM ’73): BYU
cello professor; principal cellist of the Chicago String Ensemble for 15
seasons. Marden J. Pond (BM ’74): Composer and professor; arranged and conducted music for a
special performance in Arlington National Cemetery
on the one-year anniversary of 9/11. Donald
L. Peterson (BM ’76): BYU music
education professor; led the Cougar Marching Band and the Symphonic Band. Karl
P. Johnson (BM ’98) is a bass trombonist
gunnery sergeant in The President’s Own Marine Band. The band plays various
private events for the president of the United States, including the annual
Easter-egg roll. Jeffrey
L. Shumway (BM ’76):
BYU piano professor; member of the American Piano Duo; has arranged pieces for
five pianos. Laurence M. Lowe (’78): BYU horn professor; soloist at five International Horn
Society workshops. Michael K. Runyan (BA ’78): Harmonica soloist with the
Baltimore Symphony, Houston Symphony, and many others. Also published more than
100 choral works and arrangements. Michael D. Hicks (BM ’80): BYU composition professor; his
chamber and solo works have been performed across the country. Kelly Clark
Parkinson (BM ’80):
Violinist and international soloist; recorded in Disney’s The Little Mermaid, Oliver and Company, and Newsies. Brady R. (BM ’85) and Carol Goodwin Allred (BM
’84): University
of Utah music professors; performed as artistic ambassadors for the U.S.
Information Agency. LeeAnn Jolley Morgan (BS ’86): BYU violin instructor; former
member of the Bellevue Philharmonic, the Northwest Symphony Orchestra, and
others. Daniel E. Gawthrop (’88): Composer;
recipient of more than 100 commissions. Once a music critic for The
Washington Post. Jeffrey D. Manookian (MM ’88): Pianist and
composer; international prizewinner and composer for Warner Bros., Feature
Films for Families, and more. Claudine Bigelow (BM ’91): BYU viola
professor; played with the National and Utah Symphonies and the Smithsonian and
National Chamber Orchestras. Christian B. Smith (BM ’91): BYU bassoon
professor; principal bassoonist in the Orchestra at Temple Square; has recorded in
numerous film and television scores. Stephen R. Thomas (BM ’91): Pianist;
professor at California State University, Stanislaus, and an international performer.
Steven L. Ricks (BM ’93): BYU trombone professor; won three
Barlow Endowment Commissions; directs the Electronic Music Studio at BYU. Hillary
Haddock Kimball (BM ’95): BYU flute instructor; won first prize at the
National Association of Music Clubs Competition. Todd S. Coleman (BM ’96): Assistant
professor of music at Elon University in North Carolina; compositions
incorporate digital visual elements projected behind live performers. Nathan
L. Hofheins (BA ’97): Arranger for the Orchestra at Temple Square and
the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Wrote the score for the movie Brotherhood of
the Wolf. Rone E. Sparrow (BM ’97):
Percussionist; section leader in the United States Military Academy Band at
West Point. Winona Vogelmann Fifield (MM ’99): Violinist; began
studies at Juilliard while in high school; played with the Schleswig-Holstein
Orchestra throughout Europe. Nathan B. Fifield (BM ’01): Pianist and
conductor; director of music for the Tulsa Ballet. | OPERA | Ariel Bybee (BS
’65), a
legendary star of The Metropolitan Opera, sang 18 consecutive seasons in New
York City’s Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Her voice has been heard in
numerous other operas at home and abroad, in motion pictures, on stage with the
New York City Ballet, and on two solo albums. Jack Morris (BA ’63): Tenor; opera director at Western
Washington University for 20 years; has sung more than 40 major roles and in
four different languages. J. Arden Hopkin (BM ’71): BYU voice professor; teaches at
the Crittenden Opera Workshop in Washington, D.C.; frequent oratorio soloist.
Murray E. Boren (BM ’75): Composer of nearly 100 chamber works and nine operas, including The
Book of Gold,
written for the celebration of Joseph Smith’s 200th birthday. Lawrence P.
Vincent (BA ’73) was awarded Austrian citizenship for singing lead roles in more
than 600 opera performances in Vienna during a five-year solo engagement.
Vincent, a BYU vocal professor, has performed as a soloist in more than 20
countries. Christian
T. Asplund (BM ’88):
BYU associate professor of theory and composition;
prolific opera composer and soloist. Ruth M. Christensen (BM ’91): BYU voice professor and
mezzo-soprano; national finalist in San Francisco Opera’s Merola Program. M.
Todd Queen (BM ’94):
Tenor; artistic director of Opera Fort Collins and director of opera at
Colorado State University. Lindsay Robison Killian (BM ’98): Soprano; grand finals winner in
the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 2000. V. Issac Hurtado
(BM ’99): Tenor;
principal artist in residence with Opera San Jose. Thomas G. Glenn (BM ’99): Tenor; portrayed the lead tenor
role in the new opera Doctor Atomic. Brian C. Stucki (BM ’00): Tenor; spent the last year touring
in Israel, England, and Mexico City; performing in three stateside operas this
fall. Nathan D. Northrup (BM ’01): Tenor; performing in his first professional leading role
this year, performing in Germany as Ernesto in Don Pasquale. | BROADWAY | James Royce
Edwards (BFA ’01) has a Broadway résumé
that includes Hairspray, Mamma Mia!, All Shook Up, Les Miserables—the list goes
on. He’s also done film, television, and magazine modeling work. Royce Campbell Twitchell (BA
’63): Vocal
coach; played piano in the pit on Broadway; judges new musical submissions to
the National Music Theater Network (NMTN). Mindy Smoot Robbins (BFA ’99): Performer; Les Miserables national Broadway tour vet. Christeena
Riggs Driggs (BFA ’00): Performer; acted in the national tour of Wicked; has also appeared in Broadway
musicals Cats,
Les Miserables,
and others. William R. Swenson (BFA ’02): Performer; seen in Broadway’s 110 in the Shade, Lestat, and Brooklyn. Sandra Dudley
Turley (BFA ’02) joined the Broadway Les
Miserables cast as Cosette’s understudy. One year later, she was offered
the role, which she held for three years. Turley was the last to play Cosette
with the original Broadway cast. Clark L. Johnsen (BFA ’02): Performer; debuted as an original
cast member in the Tony Award–winning revival of La Cage Aux Folles. Noel E. Twitchell (BA ’60): NBC stage crew; worked on the
national Broadway tour of Me and My Girl; judges new musical submissions to the NMTN. Jason
W. Celaya (BFA ’03):
Lead in off-Broadway Altar Boyz; vied for the lead in Grease on NBC’s You’re the One That I
Want. Carlos
L. Encinias (BFA ’04): Performer; part of the Mamma Mia! and Good Vibrations Broadway casts. Dallyn V.
Bayles (BFA ’04):
Performer; seen in Les Miserables in China; played Joseph Smith in the Nauvoo Pageant. Paul
S. Canaan (BFA ’05):
Performer; currently in Legally Blonde: The Musical on Broadway; also seen in Chitty
Chitty Bang Bang, La Cage Aux Folles, Miss Saigon, and others. Cody Walker (BFA ’05) and Valerie Chamberlain Walker
(BFA ’05):
Performers; lead roles in the national Broadway tour of 42nd Street. Summer
Wood Smart (BFA ’06): Performer;
member of the Chicago cast of the Broadway musical Wicked. | MEDIA | W. Vaughn Johnson (BA ’84): Composer; wrote music for CBS’s
The Amazing Race, NBC’s America’s Got Talent, and more. Arlen
L. Card (BM ’86): Composer; has credits for more than 100 films; recipient of numerous
awards; composer for the LDS film Joseph Smith—Prophet of the
Restoration. Chance Thomas (BA ’87) composed music for the video games
The Lord of the Rings, X-Men, and King Kong. He was the first video-game composer
to produce music for an Academy Award–winning film (the animated short The
ChubbChubbs!), and he led the movement to bring game music into recognition
at the Grammy Awards. Gregory
B. Hansen (BA ’89):
Music producer; has more than 400 albums, 80 film scores, and 900 sheet-music
arrangements to his credit. Sam F. Cardon (BA
’93) is an Emmy Award–winning composer. He has authored scores
for nine large-format films, composed themes for the National Geographic
Channel and Good Morning America, and provided original music for two Winter
Olympic Games. C.
Michael Perry (BA ’82): Composer; wrote music for PBS’s Emmy Award–winning Cinderabbit;
also composed
music for commercials, television shows, and two feature-length films. Susan
Hobson
Kenney (MM ’77): BYU
music education professor; advised the TV shows Shari Lewis and Lamb Chop and Sesame Street on their music segments. Kurt
R. Bestor (BA ’93):
Composer; produced more than 40 themes for television, motion pictures, and
theater, including music for the NFL, IMAX,
and Ballet West. He won an Emmy for co-producing
music for ABC’s coverage of the 1988 Winter Olympic Games. J Michael Bateman
(BA ’94): Composer and producer;
composed music for ESPN and for the film Saints and Soldiers.