Welcome, Students!

October 9, 2018

Each autumn we welcome new students who bring a breadth and depth of diverse backgrounds to our interdisciplinary enterprise, and we welcome back our continuing students for another year of study and fellowship. Many of them accepted our invitation to tell a bit about themselves so that our alumni and friends can catch some of the enthusiasm that abounds at this time of year.

As usual, the ISM community celebrated the opening of the academic year at the ISM picnic at the Eli Whitney Museum in Hamden. View the slideshow.

Compiled by Stephen Gamboa-Díaz.

Stephanie Burette (M.Div. ’19) comes from Paris where she studied French literature and paintings. She holds a Ph.D. in French Literature and specialized in the study of art theory and art criticism in the 17th and 18th centuries. She primarily focused on the evolution of the discourses on paintings at a time exhibitions became public at the Louvre. Her interests now are particularly centered on theological questions raised by European religious paintings in the 16th and 17th centuries. While doing research in Oxford for her Ph.D. she joined the Anglican communion and was confirmed at New College in 2010. After teaching French literature in high school (Paris 3 Sorbonne-Nouvelle and Paris 6) she is now a postulant for holy orders (priesthood) in the Episcopal Church (Convocation of Europe).

Maggie Burk (M.M. choral conducting ’19) is a conductor, singer, and composer hailing from Lawrence, KS. Before coming to the ISM, Maggie taught middle and high school choral music in Minnesota and Kansas. In addition to her public school teaching, she served as assistant organist/choirmaster at Grace Episcopal Cathedral in Topeka, KS. In March of 2018, Maggie was a winner of the American Choral Directors Association’s Graduate Conducting Competition (Eastern Division). She was also a fellow at the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, where she sang under the baton of Simon Carrington. Maggie received her bachelor of music degree in music education and organ performance from St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN. When she’s not making music, Maggie enjoys cooking, running, watching airplanes, and hanging out with her two cats, Leo and Bob.

Nia Campinha-Bacote (M.Div ’20) writes, “I grew up as a classically trained pianist for seven years and am also an avid percussionist. My heart beats for worship and I’m hoping to use my musical skills to help others tangibly encounter the love and presence of God. Additionally, I love belting out the Moana soundtrack at all hours of the day.”

Jerrick Cavagnaro (M.M. organ ’20) is a recent graduate of Westminster Choir College, where he obtained bachelor’s degrees in both sacred music and organ performance studying under Alan Morrison. After gaining experience as a substitute organist in high school, he began working as an assistant organist and substitute in several churches throughout northern New Jersey. More recently he was the music director at Good Shepherd Episcopal Church in Montville and Lincoln Park, NJ, organ scholar at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Morristown, NJ, and is now junior organ scholar at Trinity Episcopal Church, New Haven, CT. During his time at Westminster Choir College, Jerrick maintained several positions as a choral singer, solo singer, and accompanist both in and out of school, singing baritone in and accompanying for the Grammy® nominated Westminster Williamson Voices directed by James Jordan. In his free time, Jerrick enjoys baking and chocolate making.

Peerawat Chiaranunt (M.A.R. religion & literature ’19), born in Riyadh and raised in Bangkok, graduated in 2017 from the “great books” program at St. John’s College (Santa Fe, NM). At Yale, he studies Dante’s Commedia both as the cosmic encyclopedia that it is and as a window into the humanistic thought of Petrarch and Vico. Questions he often probes through literary texts include the place of time in any metaphysic of love, poetry as a mode of philosophical discourse, and the role of the sacred in a poet’s enterprise. In his spare time, he enjoys morning coffee, evening walks, and home cooking.

Originally from Iowa, Diana Chou (M.M.A. organ ’19) received her M.M. in organ from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, studying under Chris Young.  She holds a bachelor of arts degree from Amherst College, where she graduated summa cum laude and double-majored in mathematics and music, studying the organ with Larry Schipull of Mount Holyoke College.

Gabriella Costa (M.A.R. religion & visual arts ’20) comes to Yale from Fordham University, where she received a B.A. in art history and English.  With a larger interest in the ethics of representation, her work focuses on commemorative art and practice in the first half of the twentieth century.  Currently, she is exploring commemorative temporality and its implications for a just representation of suffering and loss.

From 2009–2015, Matthew Daley (M.M. organ ’19) attended the University of Maryland as a piano major and received a B.M. and M.M. degree, studying under Dr. Larissa Dedova. While pursuing his two piano degrees, Matt had the privilege of taking organ lessons with Dale Krider, Mr. William Neal (National Symphony Orchestra organist) and John Walker (former president of the American Guild of Organists). Over the course of his musical journey, Matt became proficient in several other aspects of music, including collaborative piano, violin, and viola. As he has explored music, he has enjoyed sharing his music in various countries including Spain, Italy, South Africa, Canada, Lesotho, Australia and Jamaica. He has also enjoyed performing in concerts at prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall’s Perelman Stage and the Kennedy Center’s Concert Hall. Matt’s greatest passion for music comes from playing in churches and he considers it a great honor to have served as one of the organists at Sligo Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Colesville United Methodist Church, Calvary Baptist Church, and National Presbyterian Church.

Carmen Denia (M.A.R. religion & literature ’19) hails from sunny Singapore, where she graduated, with a concentration in classics, as part of the first class of Yale-NUS College. At the ISM, she focuses on medieval art history and poetry, especially Dante’s Divina Commedia. She also enjoys bridging the gap between the seemingly esoteric and the everyday, and has presented and published on connections between theology or philosophy and food, pop music, children’s television, and humor. Her larger project is to understand better how these human expressions work together with faith for human flourishing and in the pursuit of virtue—a short question that would take a lifetime to answer! Outside of class, Carmen spends her free time on dance, conversation, correspondence, and cats.

Christian Detisch (M.Div. ’20) comes to Yale from Washington, DC where he was working in digital strategy for an environmental nonprofit. He received an M.F.A. in poetry from Virginia Commonwealth University, and is interested in the intersections of religion and literature, social movements and the church’s place within them, and medicine and theology.

Emily Donato (M.M. voice ’19) is a soprano from Brooklyn, NY and is pursuing her M.M. as a member of the Yale Voxtet. Ms. Donato earned her B.A. in music from Bard College where she performed as a soloist with the American Symphony Orchestra and was a winner of the Bard College Concerto Competition. On the operatic stage Emily has performed the roles of Pamina in The Magic Flute, Miss Wordsworth in Britten’s Albert Herring, Eurydice in Gluck’s Orfeo ed Eurydice, a nun in Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites and Gretel in Humperdink’s Hansel and Gretel. Emily was a member of the Brooklyn Youth Chorus for ten years where she was a treble soloist at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. Emily comes from a musical family and has a passion for sacred music of all kinds.

Caryne Eskridge (M.Div. ’21) (pronouns: she/her or they/them) joins the ISM having spent the past three years as the Marcia Brady Tucker Curatorial Fellow in American Decorative Arts at the Yale University Art Gallery. Caryne’s training in the material culture field, including a master’s from the Winterthur Program in American Material Culture, shapes the questions that she hopes to explore while at YDS and the ISM. One of Caryne’s main areas of interest examines the embodied and sensorial experiences of objects and spaces, in contexts that are sacred, mundane, or somewhere in between. Caryne is seeking ordination in the United Church of Christ and is affiliated with the Andover Newton Seminary at Yale community.

Sarah Fox (M.A.R. religion & music ’19) writes, “I am originally from Russellville, Kentucky and served as the music director/organist at Trinity Episcopal Church in Russellville for ten years. I attended Western Kentucky University as an undergraduate, receiving degrees in history and music. I then moved to Birmingham, United Kingdom, where I studied choral conducting as a Fulbright Postgraduate Scholar at the University of Birmingham. I also completed independent research regarding the intersections between music and adverse childhood experiences. My current research interests include music’s role in building spiritual identity, the connection between religious traditions/identities and cross-cultural relationships, and the use of music as a tool for internationally-focused peace and reconciliation efforts. I love to take walks in nature, read and write poetry, and cook.”

Benjamin Gee (M.A.R. religion & literature ’20) writes, “I graduated in May 2018 from Washington and Lee University, where I studied English, history, and medieval & renaissance studies with particular emphasis on early modern English literature; at the ISM, I aim to examine the resonances of post-Reformation intra-Christian division within period dramas, focusing especially on the works of Shakespeare and his contemporaries. I am excited and grateful to be at a place with so brazenly interdisciplinary an environment, to grow as a student of history and literature alongside such inquisitive peers and faculty!”

Berit Goetz (M.A.R. religion & music ’20) is a songwriter, musician, and specialist in worship and pastoral care for young adults. Her scholarship centers on theology and ideology in music; the resources of “secular” artworks for spiritual formation; and the relationship between text, witness, and sound. She was previously Artist in Residence at Messiah Episcopal Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, and before that directed an interdenominational campus ministry at Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design, where she developed creative ministry curricula engaging the resources of scripture and the arts for theological reflection. A native of St. Paul, Minnesota, she earned her B.A. cum laude in music history, theory and composition, with a double-major in comparative literature, at Brown University.

Phoenix Gonzalez (M.A.R. religion & music ’20) hails from Miami, FL and is pursuing a master’s in liturgical studies. The interdisciplinarity and performativity of the field are a natural fit for her prior experiences and interests, which include medieval theater, musical theater, and technology. She joins the ISM after having performed in New York musicals and independent films, as well as having worked as a product manager at several tech startups at the intersection of film, media, journalism, and politics. Before that, she could be found pursuing her B.A. in religion at Princeton, performing across campus in almost every theater group, studying medieval morality and mystery plays, and directing two of the latter in and around the Princeton University Chapel. She hopes to bring her varied experiences to bear on further study of medieval theater and other Roman Catholic ritual performances in the Middle Ages, both intra- and extra-liturgical. She says that “If this sounds like academic gobbledygook, talk to [me] about clowning.”

Hannah Goodwillie (M.M. choral conducting ’19) is a choral conductor, singer, and occasional choral composer from Watertown, MA. She holds a B.A. in music and mathematics from Amherst College, where she also worked for a year after graduation as assistant choral director and teaching assistant in music theory before coming to Yale. She is particularly interested in early music and the music of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, as well as Jewish music in all its forms. When not in rehearsal, she can often be found knitting.

Harrison Hintzsche (M.M. voice ’20) is a recitalist, concert singer, and ensemble musician from DeKalb, Illinois. He has enjoyed various musical adventures, singing choral music in an empty grain bin, jazz standards with his father in a local tapas restaurant, and Schubert lieder in London’s Wigmore Hall. He received a Bachelor of Music degree in vocal performance from St. Olaf College, where he sang and toured with the St. Olaf Choir under Dr. Anton Armstrong. Since graduating, he worked as an arts administrator at St. Olaf and as a freelance musician in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, where he sang with various vocal ensembles such as the VocalEssence Ensemble Singers and the Minnesota Chorale. Harrison enjoys drinking coffee and craft beer, looking at maps, and visiting lighthouses.

Chun Fung (Andrew) Hon (M.M.A. choral conducting ’19) is originally from Hong Kong. Previously, he served as the choir director at St. John’s UCC – Newport, KY and taught music at primary and secondary levels in Hong Kong. Hon received his B.A. in music from UC Berkeley and M.M. in choral conducting from the University of Cincinnati. He also received a postgraduate diploma in education from Hong Kong Baptist University. Hon currently serves as the principal assistant conductor of Camerata, the assistant conductor of Yale Glee Club, and a section leader at St. Thomas’s Episcopal Church, New Haven.

Rob Hopkirk (M.A.R. religion & literature ’20) grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and graduated from Harvard College this past spring with a degree in comparative religion & English literature. Outside of the classroom, his passion for arts education led him to work for the past several years as an art museum guide and a K-6 theater instructor in the Boston area. In the classroom, his interests have broadly lain with those writers who have sought to weed through the competing legacies of the Reformation, both theological and artistic, in order to articulate their own visions of God in the world—from Aemelia Lanyer and her women-centered Passion narrative in the seventeenth century to Hilary Mantel and her probing, postsecular reimagining of Thomas Cromwell’s career in the twenty first. He looks forward to growing alongside his ISM colleagues as he both narrows his chronological focus and expands his interdisciplinary horizons.

Gabe Kepler (M.Div. ’21) is a recent graduate from Life Pacific College with a B.A. in transformational ministry. His primary passion and calling reside in pursuing international ministry, thus far having traveled to ten different nations and conducted various types of mission work, teaching and local outreach. Along with his passion for the nations is a love for music and worship, as he himself is a drummer of sixteen years and has served in worship ministry since the age of ten. As of now he has taught workshops on percussion and worship in Mexico, Malaysia, and Japan, and plans to continue to use his love for music and time at the ISM to equip him better for ministering cross-culturally.

Daniel Kim (M.A.R. liturgical studies ’20) writes, “born in the US and raised in South Korea, I grew up in a Korean Presbyterian church in which I played various instruments for the worship services. Even after I moved back to the US in 2010, my interest and commitment to church music grew. I studied choral music and philosophy, politics, and law at University of Southern California and worked for Korean Central United Methodist Church as a music director for the past four years. During my studies here at the ISM, I hope to deepen my theological and historical knowledge of Christian worship as well as developing as a young scholar with an interdisciplinary mind.”

Chase Loomer (M.M. organ ’20) is a first-year M.M student at the ISM studying organ with Martin Jean. Originally from Charlotte, NC, Chase completed a B.M in organ performance at the Eastman School of Music in 2018, where he was a student of David Higgs. In the future, he hopes to continue his work as a church musician, build a performing career, and, eventually, teach organ at the college level. Chase’s other interests include jazz piano, weightlifting, and biking.

Adrienne Lotto (M.M. voice ’20) is the first year soprano of the Voxtet. She earned a B.F.A. in vocal performance with a minor in creative writing from Carnegie Mellon University in 2015. Her interest in early music led her to a job singing with the Governor’s Musick, the resident baroque ensemble of Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia, where she worked before coming to Yale. Outside of singing, Adrienne enjoys reading, writing poetry, and practicing the baroque guitar, which she began learning last year.

Allison McClain-Merrill (M.A.R. religion & music ’19) writes, “I am delighted to be a part of YDS and the ISM and look forward to my studies in the religion and the arts/music concentration. Singing was my gateway to broader musical study, leading to interests in choral studies, music history, music education, and church music. The interdisciplinary study approach resonates with me in light of all these connected interests. My husband and I come from Jacksonville, Florida as graduates of Jacksonville University. We are so thankful to be a part of the ISM community!”

Ashley Mulcahy (M.M. voice ’19) is a mezzo-soprano earning her M.M. in voice as part of the Voxtet. Ashley is particularly interested in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century repertoire and spent the last two years in Chicago studying with early music specialist Ellen Hargis. In Chicago she was a frequent chorister with groups such as The Newberry Consort, Music of the Baroque, and Church of the Ascension. She was also a Young Artist at the 2017 Boston Early Music Festival. Prior to moving to Chicago, Ashley earned undergraduate degrees in vocal performance and Italian from the University of Michigan, where she studied with Carmen Pelton.

Skyler Neberman (M.A.R. liturgical studies ’20) was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska, and received his Bachelor of Arts in theology and philosophy from Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, where he made undergraduate publications with New Liturgical Movement and Mallorn: Journal of the Tolkien Society. His interests broadly cover the intersections of liturgical theology and Gregorian chant, and the liturgy as a liminal point where the sacred emerges upon the world through the arts and works of the people of God. He is also interested in the work of chant restoration done by the International Association for Studies of Gregorian Chant, and has restored three antiphons for the Nuptial Mass from 11th century sources, which were first sung at his own wedding Mass. At leisure, he enjoys brewing mead, painting, and writing poetry and fiction.

Sarah Noble (M.M. choral conducting ’20) is from the Detroit area in the Great Lakes state of Michigan. She earned her bachelor of music degree with a concentration in vocal music education from Wayne State University, summa cum laude and with departmental honors. She is certified to teach music K–12 and English 6–12, demonstrating her passion for cross-curricular and interdisciplinary study and pedagogy, specifically within the realms of music, literature, and the performance arts. During her undergraduate study, Sarah was involved in the creation of a grant-funded project titled “Dividing the Kingdoms: Interdisciplinary Methods for Teaching King Lear to Undergraduates.” For this project, she created lesson plans, group projects, activities, worksheets, and discussion questions for the service learning portion of the project curriculum and piloted them in a local middle school classroom. Sarah enjoys teaching, making music of all kinds, traveling, and performing in musical theatre productions.

Andrew Ogletree (M.Div. ’21) writes, “I am a first-year MDiv student at Berkeley Divinity School and YDS and am delighted to be part of the ISM. I come to Yale after thirteen years in the art and antique world, ten years of which were spent at Sotheby’s in furiniture and decorative arts and three years of which were spent at Mallett & Son. I started my own dealing and consultancy business called Wingham & Co., with a focus on eighteenth- and nineteenth-century English furniture as well as fine art. I am an amateur singer and have enjoyed singing from an early age as a treble boy to singing in various choirs throughout my life. I co-founded a men’s a capella group in my undergraduate days at the University of St Andrews, Scotland, called ‘The Other Guys’. I love architecture, especially the architecture and design of interiors. Academically, I am looking forward to exploring everything from sacred literature, art, architecture, music, and liturgy to ethics and pastoral care.”

Oscar Osicki (M.M. choral conducting ’20) writes, “I have come from England —I did my undergraduate degree in music at Trinity College, Cambridge, where I also sang with the college choir for three years, under Stephen Layton. I enjoy film, music, fine arts, literature, cooking, eating, drinking, fighting, exercising, and producing videos.”

Xiaoli (Shirley) Pan (M.A.R. religion & visual arts ’20) was born in Shanghai but grew up close to Philadelphia. She attended New York University for her undergrad where she majored in Art History and completed a senior thesis on medieval pietà sculptures from the fourteenth and fifteenth century. Her research interests include medieval and Renaissance devotional sculpture, particularly from the Mosan and Rhineland regions of Northern Europe, and their associated popular lay devotional practices. 

Jacob Reed (M.M. organ ’19) was born in Oxford, England, and raised in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He recently became the first student ever to receive a simultaneous B.A./M.A. in music theory and history from Yale University (double-major in mathematics), studying harpsichord with Arthur Haas and organ with Thomas Murray. The 2017–18 organ scholar at Grace Church in Manhattan, he has given recitals across the United States, Europe, and Canada. Jacob has also performed frequently as a soloist, accompanist, and chamber musician on piano, harpsichord, and viola da gamba. Since matriculating at Yale, he has been a member of the Yale Temperament Viol Consort, instrumentalist and vocalist for the Yale Collegium Musicum, and harpsichordist for the Yale Baroque Opera Project.

Paul Olive-Reese is entering his senior year with grace and thankfulness. A candidate for ordination in the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania, Paul serves as a consultant to the evangelism initiatives team of the Episcopal Church under The Rev. Canon Stephanie Spellers. Upcoming work includes research on goodness in the age of social media, a residency with the Episcopal Asia-America ministries consultation in Honolulu, Hawaii, and an Episcopal Revival in the Diocese of Western Massachusetts.

Sean Rodan (M.Div. ’21) is a 2017 graduate of Harvard College, where he received a B.A. in music. As a composer he has written pieces for chorus and chamber ensemble, and has led several undergraduate theater productions and orchestra concerts as a conductor, including the Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera Ruddigore and the Handel oratorio Alexander’s Feast. After college, he spent a year cultivating his Tenrikyo faith, becoming a lay minister and engaging in mission work at the Tenrikyo diocese in Los Angeles. At Yale, Sean is primarily interested in studying Christian theology, examining how it has influenced the development of Tenrikyo theology and how the theologies can continue to inform each other today.

Sarah Rodeo (M.A.R. religion & music ’19) writes, “I am working on a master’s in religion and music through the ISM part-time, as I am currently the full-time Music Director at St. Francis Catholic, New Britain, CT, implementing a very traditional Catholic sacred music program. I hold a B.A. in music from Vassar College and have tremendous love for liturgy (namely the Tridentine Rite and many Eastern Catholic Rites) and medieval and Renaissance music, art, and architecture.”

Hopewell Rogers (M.A.R. religion & literature ’20) comes to the ISM from Yale College where, as an English major, she focused on literature emerging from individual and communal experiences of violence. At Yale, she continues this work of “unearthing unconventional (but potentially therapeutic!) forms of narrative that come more or less naturally to survivors of violence but have not yet been explored or embraced by the field of clinical psychology.” Outside the classroom, she tries to put these principles into practice as a clinical staff member in a neuroscience lab doing mental health histories and trauma intake interviews, and as a childcare provider for Connecticut’s foster system. You can often find her exploring the woods around New Haven, baking, petting dogs, and daydreaming about cabin-building. When school’s out, she splits her time between central Baltimore and rural Florida. (Ask her why manatees are the best aquatic mammals.)

Hannah Sachs (M.Div. ’20) is an applied theatre artist and director from Virginia. She studied directing, religion, and social change at Smith College and has recently returned from a year teaching and directing in the Czech Republic as a Fulbright scholar. She has been blessed to serve and learn from many marginalized communities including Syrian refugees, sex trafficking survivors, and people experiencing homelessness. Hannah is passionate about academically exploring historical and contemporary connections between faith and the arts, as well as specifically using her theatrical skills within diverse ministry contexts.

Corey Shotwell (M.M.A. voice ‘20) is a tenor in the Voxtet. A native of West Michigan, he received his B.M. from Western Michigan University and then his M.M. from the Cleveland Institute of Music where he collaborated with faculty and students in the historical performance practice program at Case Western Reserve University. He has been a Young Artist Apprentice with Apollo’s Fire, the Cleveland Baroque Orchestra, and the Boston Early Music Festival. Recent concert engagements include performances with the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, The Newberry Consort, Haymarket Opera Company, The Thirteen, and Quire Cleveland. He is also a member of the National Association of the Teachers of Singing and was an instructor of voice at the Cleveland Institute of Music, the College of Wooster, and Cleveland State University. When not indulging in music-related activities, he enjoys hiking, petting cats, and brewing coffee.

David Simon (D.M.A. organ ’23) was born in Toronto and first studied music at St. Michael’s Cathedral Choir School. His interests in sacred choral and organ music have led him to study at Yale where he completed the M.M. in organ performance and is now working towards the D.M.A.

Alexandra (Barylski) Stott (M.Div. ’21) writes, “I am the managing editor for the Marginalia Review of Books, a poet, and educator.  My poems explore the exuberance and exhaustion of the body, gendered desire, and flesh’s material forms in a digitally dematerialized world. My work has been featured at the University of Arizona Poetry Center blog and the Poetry Foundation. This summer, I was a Peter Taylor Fellow for Afaa Weaver’s Spiritual Writing Workshop with Kenyon Review. I am a certified yoga instructor, and I am learning martial arts to continue walking my physical and spiritual path.”

Bailey Sullivan (M.A.R. religion & visual arts ’20) was born and raised on the Connecticut shoreline. A graduate of Southern Connecticut State University, she received a Bachelor of Arts in Art History and was a member of the Honors College program. Pursuing a master of arts degree in religion and visual arts at Yale, Bailey is particularly interested in medieval art and material culture. Her research is currently centered on questions of gender performance and imagined movement in Northern European, late-medieval manuscripts.

Aaron Tan (M.M. organ ’20) is a Canadian organist, engineer, and pianist. He currently serves as organ scholar at Church of the Resurrection, New York City, and as chapel organist and co-director for the Berkeley Divinity School. Previously he served as Organ Scholar at St. John’s Episcopal Church, Detroit, Michigan, Artist in residence at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Detroit, and assistant organist at Christ Church Cranbrook, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. As a scientist, Aaron holds a Ph.D. in materials science from the University of Michigan and worked there as a postdoctoral researcher after earning his degree, studying polymer thin films. More information about Aaron’s musical interests and activities can be found at www.AaronTan.org.

Anna Thurston is beginning her final year with the ISM as a joint degree candidate at Yale Divinity School (M.A.R. religion & visual arts ’19) and at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies (M.E.M. ‘19). With a background working in modern art and science museums, her research centers around the intersection of visual art, religious ritual, and human relationships with the natural world. From this triangulation she evaluates art making practices and shared eco-theological narratives across world religions. Prior to coming to Yale, Anna received a B.A. from Brigham Young University in humanities, art history, and Italian. She is currently investigating the visualization of land during colonial transitions, religious conceptions of trash and material waste, and the role of the maternal body with the natural environment. In her spare time, Anna revels in her rebranding of Yale Divinity School’s recycling and composting program into “reincarnation” and “resurrection” bins, respectively.

Daniel Tucker (M.M. choral conducting ’20) graduated summa cum laude in 2018 from Western Michigan University with a bachelor of music degree in choral music education and a bachelor of arts degree in comparative religion. While at Western Michigan, he studied choral conducting with Dr. Kimberly Dunn Adams, organ with Dr. Karl Schrock, and piano and harpsichord with Dr. Silvia Roederer. As a comparative religion student, he received the university’s highest honor—the Presidential Scholar Award—and his capstone project focused on the recitation of the Qur’an as a form of sacred music. Daniel has previously served as a singer, choir director, and organist at various churches, and currently serves as cantor and assistant choirmaster at St. Ambrose and St. Mary parishes in North Branford and New Haven, CT.

Edward Vogel (M.M. voice ’19) is a master of music candidate and the second-year baritone in the Voxtet. A native of Orange, Connecticut, he grew up singing with the Trinity Choir of Men and Boys in New Haven, which fostered his love of music and singing. He describes his musical interests as “incredibly diverse, with a particular love for German and British art song, as well as folk music from America and the British Isles.” Edward completed his undergraduate degree in 2017 at the University of Notre Dame, where in addition to his music studies he earned a bachelor of business administration focusing in marketing and consumer behavior.

David von Behren (M.M. organ ’19) is the first organist to receive the Cleveland Institute of Music’s prestigious Darius Milhaud Award.  David is pursuing his master of music degree at Yale, studying organ Dr. Martin Jean and improvisation with Jeff Brillhart. Under the tutelage of Todd Wilson, David is a graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music in Cleveland, Ohio, holding a bachelor of music degree in organ performance and music theory (double degree).  Having performed with the CIM Orchestra at Kulas Hall and Severance Hall, David was named one of The Diapason’s “20 Under 30” Class of 2016.  Awarded the 2018 Mary Baker Prize in organ accompanying, David currently serves as organ scholar at Trinity Church on the Green in New Haven, Connecticut under the direction of Walden Moore, working with the Trinity Choir of Men and Boys and Choir of Men and Girls; prior to his appointment, David served four years as organ scholar at Plymouth Church UCC in Shaker Heights, Ohio.  David continues to concertize as a solo recitalist throughout the United States and Europe.

A native of Dayton, Ohio, Grant Wareham (M.M. organ ’20) is currently pursuing his master of music degree with Thomas Murray at Yale. He also serves as organ scholar at Christ Church.  Grant began organ studies with Jerry Taylor in 2007. He recently earned his B.Mus. with Ken Cowan (M.M. ’99, A.D. ’00) at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, graduating cum laude and with distinction in research and creative work. While at Rice, Grant served as the inaugural Moseley Memorial Organ Scholar and assistant organist at St Thomas’ Episcopal Church in Houston, and as associate organist at Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church, where he worked with music director Dr. Brady Knapp and artist-in-residence and organist Ken Cowan. Winner of both the irst and Audience Prizes at the Albert Schweitzer Organ Competition in Hartford, CT in 2017, Grant was also a featured performer at the 62nd annual convention of the Organ Historical Society in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Rosemary Williams (M.A.R. liturgical studies ’19) is a scholar and musician whose interests focus on the intersections between liturgy and music. In her undergraduate studies at James Madison University, Rosemary was awarded dual degrees in music performance (clarinet) and interdisciplinary religion, served as music minister at Canterbury Episcopal Campus Ministry, and performed in the orchestra for numerous student opera productions. Rosemary holds professional memberships in Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, Theta Alpha Kappa, and Phi Sigma Tau; and has studied clarinet under the tutelage of Dr. Janice Minor, Dr. Anastasia Christofakis, and Dr. Sarunas Jankauskas.

A Connecticut local, Karolina Wojteczko (M.M. voice ’20) has been singing in New Haven area churches since shortly after immigrating to the U.S. at age 12 from the small town of Dabrowa Bialostocka, Poland. She is a cantor at Saint Thomas More Chapel at Yale and at Saint Theresa’s and Saint Catherine’s churches in Trumbull, CT. She holds a B.A. in Vocal Performance from Western Connecticut State University and has taught music at Saint Mary-Saint Michael Elementary School in Derby, CT. Karolina enjoys spending time with her family and friends. She also enjoys traveling, great food, and fine wine.

Madeleine Woodworth (M.M. choral conducting ’20) hails from Oak Park, Illinois, and comes to Yale by way of the Eastman School of Music where she graduated with a bachelor of music in organ performance in the studio of Nathan J. Laube. She has sung, conducted and played in many contexts across the country including concert, competition, workshop, and church settings. She is a member of the international music fraternity, Sigma Alpha Iota, as well as the Association of Anglican Musicians, the American Guild of Organists where she serves on chapter boards, the Organ Historical Society, and the American Choral Directors Association. Outside of coursework, she serves as the minister of music at Trinity Lutheran Church in Milford, CT.

Laura Worden (M.A.R. religion & visual arts ’19) is originally from Sacramento, California. She graduated from Pepperdine University with a bachelor of arts in both art history and art and she is currently pursuing a master of arts in religion, visual arts, and material culture at Yale. Her research examines objects, spaces, and performances of the post-9/11 conflict in the United States. Currently, she is exploring the ritualized and materialized manifestations of security at the U.S. borders and entryways, namely the U.S. airport checkpoint and the Transportation Security Agency. Challenging the dichotomy between sacred and secular spaces, this research examines visual culture’s relation to identity, power, mobility, and terror. Additionally, Laura is also interested in visual representations of individual and communal memory within U.S. Latinx communities as well as the art and interaction of religious groups in medieval Iberia.

Other students: Meg Cutting (M.A.R. religion & visual arts ’20), Jack Dewey (M.A.R. religion & literature ’19), Haitham Haidar (M.M.A. voice ’19), Thomas Ingui (M.M. organ ’19), Ryan Kennedy (D.M.A. organ ’24), He Li (M.A.R. religion & visual arts ’19), Wonhee Lim (M.Div. ’19), Camille Rabbat (M.A.R. liturgical studies ’19), Hans-Jacob Schmidt (M.A.R. religion & visual arts ’19), Emily Wing (M.A.R. religion & visual arts ’19), Sze-Long (Aaron) Wong (M.A.R. liturgical studies ’19)

  • Evanna Lai, Emily Donato, Adrienne Lotto, Paul Olive-Reese, Karolina Wojtezcko, Haitham Haidar. Photo by Stephen Gamboa-Díaz.
  • Harrison Hintszche, Corey Shotwell, Haitham Haidar, Ashley Mulcahey, Ned Vogel, Evanna Lai, Maggie Burk. Photo by Stephen Gamboa-Díaz.
  • Sean Rodan, Oscar Osicki, Sarah Noble, Hannah Goodwillie, Joy Wang. Photo by Stephen Gamboa-Díaz.
  • Jazz combo at the 2018 ISM Opening Picnic. Photo by Stephen Gamboa-Díaz.
  • Nazeer Bacchus, Hopewell Rogers, Gabriella Costa, Caryne Eskridge, Bailey Sullivan, Laura Worden. Photo by Stephen Gamboa-Díaz.
  • Teresa Berger, Rachel (and Stella) Parkes, Laurie Ongley. Photo by Stephen Gamboa-Díaz.
  • Ben Gee, Jack Dewey, Xiaoli (Shirley) Pan, Carmen Denia, Peerawat Chiaranunt. Photo by Stephen Gamboa-Díaz.
  • Rosemary Williams, Emily Wing, Allison Merrill. Photo by Stephen Gamboa-Díaz.
  • Paul Olive-Reese, Diana Chou, David Simon. Photo by Stephen Gamboa-Díaz.
  • Eben Graves, Ray Vogel, Betsy Vogel, Peg Owen, Martin Jean. Photo by Stephen Gamboa-Díaz.
  • Christian Detisch and guest, Teresa Berger, Ashley Mulcahey, Sarah Fox, Harrison Hintszche, Jerrick Cavagnaro, Chase Loomer. Photo by Stephen Gamboa-Díaz.
  • Guests, Karolina Wojteczko, Radek Wojteczko, Ben Gee, Rob Hopkirk, Diana Chou, Peerawat Chiaranunt. Photo by Stephen Gamboa-Díaz.
  • Maggie Burk, Maggie Brooks, Sarah Nobel, Daniel Tucker. Photo by Stephen Gamboa-Díaz.
  • Stephen Gamboa-Diaz, Jacqueline Campoli, Laura Adam, Stella Parkes. Photo by Stephen Gamboa-Díaz.
  • Hannah Goodwillie, Joy Wang, Laurie Ongley, Sally Hansen, Stephanie Burrette, Laura Traverse. Photo by Stephen Gamboa-Díaz.
  • Sean Rodan, Aaron Tan, Tom Colley, James Taylor, Daniel Kim, Madeleine Woodworth. Photo by Stephen Gamboa-Díaz.
  • Anne Rowthorn, Tom Murray, Joe Dzeda, Jeffery Rowthorn. Photo by Stephen Gamboa-Díaz.
  • Maggie Burk, Walden Moore, Jerrick Cavagnaro. Photo by Stephen Gamboa-Díaz.
  • Laura Adam, Stella Parkes, Rachel Parkes. Photo by Stephen Gamboa-Díaz.
  • Melissa Maier, Jacqueline Campoli, Steve Ongley. Photo by Stephen Gamboa-Díaz.
  • Bailey Sullivan, Gabriella Costa, Andrew Ogletree, Adrienne Lotto, Örgü Dalgíç, Caryne Eskridge. Photo by Stephen Gamboa-Díaz.
  • Ryan Kennedy, Oscar Osicki, Gabe Kepler, Sean Rodan, Rob Hopkirk, Kiaoli Shirley Pan, Sarah Noble. Photo by Stephen Gamboa-Díaz.
  • Daniel Kim, Grant Wareham, Chase Loomer, Meg Cutting, Jerrick Cavagnaro, Aaron Tan. Photo by Stephen Gamboa-Díaz.
  • Corey Shotwell, James Taylor, Martin Jean, Christian Wiman, Thomas Cooley. Photo by Stephen Gamboa-Díaz.
  • Phoenix Gonzalez, Maggi Dawn, Berit Goetz. Photo by Stephen Gamboa-Díaz.
  • Mariana Torrens Arias, Ireri Chávez-Bárcenas, Markus Rathey, Danielle Annett. Photo by Stephen Gamboa-Díaz.
  • Photo by Stephen Gamboa-Díaz.
  • Harrison Hintzsche, Karolina Wojteczko, Skyler Neberman, Kelsey Seymour, Ashon Crawley, Eben Graves. Photo by Stephen Gamboa-Díaz.
  • The incoming ISM class stop for a group photo in the Christ Church courtyard. Photo by Sally Hansen.
  • Students sing “O God, Beyond All Praising” as part of Prof. Peter Hawkins’ presentation for orientation. Photo by Sally Hansen.