A graduate with a degree in stage management from University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Robby Mantegna interned with Cirque du Soleil before production managing and producing shows and events for theme parks such as Busch Gardens and SeaWorld. Currently, he is based in Miami and manages the production of Carnival Corporation’s original entertainment content airing on digital platforms and broadcast networks such as ABC and NBC, featuring the company’s global destinations and leading cruise brands.

NAME: Robby Mantegna

DISCIPLINE: Stage Design and Production

CLASS YEAR: 2005

CURRENT GIG: Manager of Media Production for Global Experience & Innovation at Carnival Corporation

Best Lesson Learned at BSA: Getting to learn, create, and work together with talented classmates of different backgrounds, from all over the Baltimore area, was a great lesson in listening to, understanding, and appreciating other perspectives.

Most awkward BSA moment: Tripping and falling down the main lobby spiral stairs.

Funniest BSA memory: This isn’t funny per se, but I have a very vivid memory of lighting an onstage dance/music video-type performance of Britney Spears’ Stronger in the Ballroom for Lighting Design class.

Proudest Moment: It’s so hard to pick just one, but whenever I work on a large entertainment project — be it a show, theme park event, television series — it’s always deeply gratifying when the work finally premieres and is enjoyed by audiences/guests/viewers.  It’s a privilege to collaborate with so many talented creative partners and I’m truly lucky to have a career doing what I love.

An Oscar and Golden Globe-nominated film professional, Ramsey Naito has worked on a number of animated films as a production manager, producer, and executive producer. Her credits include South Park, The Rugrats Movie, and The Boss Baby, among many others. 

NAME: Ramsey Ann Naito

DISCIPLINE: Visual Arts

CLASS YEAR: 1988

CURRENT GIG: President of Nickelodeon Animation

Best Lesson Learned at BSA: Stay inspired. And when the inspiration is gone, move on.

Most Awkward BSA Moment: I wasn’t a terrible student, but I was late to school everyday. One day Mr. Kent (the former Visual Arts Department Head) came to our small class of maybe 12 students, sat next to my easel as I was drawing a still life, and asked me … “How are we going to get you to school on time? You’ve been late to school 30 days in a row and this is ridiculous. It’s embarrassing, don’t you think?” I said, “Well yes it is, I’m very, very embarrassed.” So to make light of the situation, I gleefully suggested we create a contract that states from this day forward I will not be late or else! He took my pencil and wrote up the contract, had me sign it and thanked the class who had witnessed our conversation … this was pure agony. He taped it on his door and then the very next day I was late of course and waited for my room. You see, Mr. Kent had this power, he had this ability to look at you and make you cry, which is what happened. Later that afternoon, Mr. Kent calmly entered my studio class … his eyes were fixed on me like a tiger … and I started to cry. He then told me that he had included fine print in our contract that allowed one more day of lateness, handed me a tissue, and left. I was never late again.

Funniest BSA memory: Watching hambone Ricky Davis sing Secret Lovers to Keesha Bond … and Keesha then jumping in as if … those were fun times.

Proudest Moment: Passing my juried show senior year.

After graduating from the Berklee College of Music, Warren Wolf became a regular on the international jazz scene, performing with touring with Bobby Watson’s Live and Learn Sextet, Christian McBride & Inside Straight, and with his own group of young musicians, Wolfpack, among others. He’s also made multiple recordings as both a leader and a sideman.

NAME: Warren Edward Wolf Jr.

DISCIPLINE: Music

CLASS: 1997

CURRENT GIG: WOLFPACK, SFJAZZ Collective

Best Lesson Learned at BSA: The best lesson I learned was from my percussion teacher John Locke of the BSO, “Be serious about your craft, practice and you’ll be the best.”

Awkward Moment: Probably singing with the BSA choir and the BSO in a joint concert. A piece that we rehearsed over and over during morning rehearsals totally fell flat the night of the concert because we were all amazed at how perfect the BSO was playing. The choir fell behind an entire measure/bar during the piece.

Another Moment: Freshman year (1993) all of my male friends said that they were going to wear a suit and tie to the yearly Beaux-Arts dance. Needless to say, I was the only person who had on a suit and tie. I was so uncomfortable the entire night.

Proudest Moment: I have to name four:

1) Being accepted into BSA in 1993.

2) Receiving a standing ovation from my classmates after playing Toccata & Fugue in D- during the Wednesday afternoon recitals.

3) Though we didn’t date or barely knew each other in BSA, I am proud to say I noticed my wife, Heather Brooke Malone-Wolf, during those early years.

4) Graduating in the spring of 1997.

After graduating from Berklee College of Music, Chris Vazquez ’03 moved to Los Angeles to pursue his dreams of becoming a professional musician. Since then, Vazquez has played guitar for artists such as Air Supply, Lou Gramm (Foreigner), Terri Nunn (Berlin), Mickey Thomas (Starship), Anthony Evans, Leona Lewis, and Kenny Lattimore. He also co-created both Sound Life Music Academy, which provides in-home music lessons taught by working musicians, and the Los Angeles Session Group, which helps record labels and management companies connect with musicians and songwriters.

NAME: Chris Vazquez

DISCIPLINE: Music (Guitar)

CLASS YEAR: 2003

CURRENT GIG: Guitarist for Andre Cymone, owner of SoundLife Music Academy, and co-founder of Los Angeles Session Group

Best Lesson: The best lesson I learned was the year directly after I graduated. Dr. Ford asked me to come back to perform at Expressions [BSA’s annual fundraiser] with fellow alumni. We did a few jazz standards. At that time I was a freshman at Berklee. The band was led by Dontae Winslow. Needless to say I was beyond nervous. Those nerves showed up in rehearsal, and I pretty much froze. Dontae brought me aside and said, “Either you play, or you don’t. There is nothing in between.” That line stuck with me. The lesson was that if you prepared, then it was all inside of you and just waiting to come out. That night I played my heart out and will never forget the lesson.

Most Awkward Moment: One day I forgot that we had a jazz band performance and I did not bring the right clothes. Dr. Ford had made it perfectly clear that we were to be dressed in suits. I drove home to my Dad’s house, but the only clothes there were his. So I took a suit about four sizes to big and had to play the whole show in it. I’ve never shown up to a gig without the proper clothes since.

Proudest Moment(s): There’s three. Holding my twin girls for the first time. Seeing my music school sell out the venue for our semi-annual student showcase. Performing “Juke Box Hero” with a full symphony orchestra behind Lou Gramm of Foreigner.

Tiffany Boone stars in Showtime’s hit television series The Chi, created and executive produced by Lena Waithe. She portrays the role of Jerrika, a wise young woman navigating her career and relationship. Previously, Boone co-starred opposite Kevin Bacon in Fox’s The Following. In 2013, Boone co-starred in Beautiful Creatures alongside Jeremy Irons, Viola Davis, and Emma Thompson. In 2011, she co-starred in Joseph Kahn’s film Detention with Josh Hutcherson. On television, Boone’s credits include roles on Southland, Grey’s Anatomy, Perception, Once Upon a Time, and Complications. Read The Baltimore Sun’s profile of Boone. 

NAME: Tiffany Boone

DISCIPLINE: Theatre

CLASS YEAR: 2005

CURRENT GIG: Showtime’s The Chi

Best Lesson Learned at BSA:  Donald Hicken told us on our first day that if we could live without being an actor, we should do it. I think it is true of being an artist of any kind. It is not an easy life I have chosen but so far I have been incapable of living fully and happily without it. When I am acting, I feel I am fulfilling my purpose. When I no longer feel that way, I will thank the craft for what it has given me and walk away.

Most Awkward BSA Moment:  I fell down the staircase in the lobby once. Highly embarrassing.

Funniest BSA Memory:  I fell down the staircase in the lobby once. Also, highly entertaining.

Meagan Adele Lopez’s marketing career has spanned three countries. After graduating from the University of Southern California, Meagan worked as a casting associate in Los Angeles for three years before transitioning into social media marketing. She co-founded socialkaty in Chicago and then moved to London to work in brand management, supporting clients such as Fox, Amazon Instant Video, entertainmentOne, CocaCola, Wal-Mart, and MasterCard. In her current role as global digital business director for The New York Times, she oversees all digital campaign activities supporting international sales for the advertising business.

NAME: Meagan Adele Lopez

DISCIPLINE: Theatre

CLASS YEAR: 2000

CURRENT GIG: Global Digital Business Director at The New York Times; based in Paris, France

Best Lesson Learned at BSA: Community is everything. They will support you; nurture you; love you when no one will and tell you when you are out of line. My theatre ensemble and I are still very close. We all get together every Christmas come rain/shine/pregnancies/out of town – you name it. I feel so blessed to have a family like them that have known me since I was a teenager, and who I have been through so much together. We still have the same jokes, remember the weird moments at BSA, and laugh as if it all happened yesterday. But most importantly, we have grown together, and that’s incredible.

Second thing is to give whatever I do my all. You never know how long it will last, where it will get you, but integrity and hard work are everything.

Most Awkward BSA Moment: Jessica Asch, Jo Ann Martin, and I all got picked for one song to sing as solos and as a trio for Musical Theatre Night. We couldn’t hit the notes, and as we were trying to sing about getting pregnant, “having it all” as women—we weren’t selling it either. So, we got cut. We still laugh about the entire thing every Christmas.

Funniest BSA Memory: I just have so many memories of sitting in front of the class, doing my best to be as serious as possible—whether it be learning how to sigh, acting out water (yes, WATER) in Wind in the Willows, or becoming some kind of animal—and not being able to contain my giggles. One time, I conducted an entire scene facing away from the class because I was laughing so hard the entire time. I turned around, and the ensemble’s face was streaming with tears they were laughing so hard as well.

Veronica Dunlap serves as director of strategic initiatives for the National Network for Safe Communities (NNSC). NNSC is an internationally recognized action research center at John Jay College of Criminal Justice that provides proven, evidence-based, life-saving violence reduction strategies to dozens of communities across America and beyond. Veronica is passionate about giving back to her community, and founded “The Initiative” – a project aimed at restoring the civil rights of people with criminal convictions with ultimate goal of allowing those people to sit on juries. She is also the recipient of the 2016 Heroine of Excellence Award for her work in community advocacy. She is a proud graduate of George Washington University where she received her B.A. in international affairs, cum laude, and Fordham University School of Law where she received her J.D. and M.B.A. in finance. 

NAME: Veronica “Shelley” Dunlap

DISCIPLINE: Dance

CLASS YEAR: 1995

CURRENT GIG: Lawyer & Social Justice Warrior 😉

Best lesson learned at BSA:  When you look beyond appearances, status, etc., you can meet truly wonderful human beings and lifelong friends.

Most awkward BSA moment: Seeing the cast list for our final Expressions as seniors lined up outside the small studio and realizing that I had snagged a principal role, while my closest friends were cast in the corps de ballet…awkward :-/

Funniest BSA memory:  As a TWIG, I played a guard standing at the entrance to Candy Land in The Nutcracker. The lights on stage were so hot and my costume was so stuffy that I began to nod off into my own “candy land” of sleep. The last thing I heard before slumping to the floor for an oh-so-brief nap was the voice of Norma Pera from behind the curtain whisper-shouting, “Shelley, you’d better not fall asleep out there!” The rest is history! 🙂

President and co-founder of Ovation Communication, Kerri Garbis has trained hundreds of executives internationally on presentation skills, storytelling for business, etiquette, and emotional intelligence. She is a Business Etiquette Expert, certified by The Emily Post Institute, and an Emotional Intelligence Expert, certified by The Hay Group. A professional actress since childhood, she has starred in productions of Evita, Singin’ In The Rain, and The Lady With All the Answers (a one-woman play about Ann Landers), to name a few. You may also have seen her catching a pass from a New England Patriot, singing a Christmas carol, or complaining of bloating in a television commercial. She is a member of Actors’ Equity Association.

NAME: Kerri Garbis

DISCIPLINE: Theatre

CLASS YEAR:1989

CURRENT GIG: President & Co-founder of Ovation Communication. And proudly still a working actor!

Best Lesson Learned at BSA: Art is the great equalizer. I learned not everyone thinks like me or comes from a similar background, yet each of us has a story to share.

Most Awkward BSA Moment: Through BSA I got some very cool opportunities to perform at events outside the school. One time, I was asked to sing somewhere and, for whatever reason, Donald Hicken, the head of Theatre Department, drove me to the event. I was a cocky and inexperienced performer and just arrived at the event without my sheet music for the accompanist. (I assumed he’d have my music. He did not.) Donald had to drive me to my house so I could rummage through my bedroom to find the music. I returned to the gig in shame. Trust me, I have never done that again.

Funniest BSA Memory: Another time I was singing with the chorus at a large dinner event that was hosted outside of school. Unfortunately a young tenor, named Kerry, got sick during the performance and threw-up right in the middle of a song on the stage. We all held it together and finish strong that night. The next day at school the word had gotten out that “Kerry threw-up on stage.” I was asked about it all day long. I was so relieved it wasn’t me, and more than happy to explain it was boy Kerry.

Caitlin Brown is an interior designer and social media director who has been helping brands shine since her graduation from the University of Cincinnati in 2012. In her current role as a social media director and staff writer for TheEveryGirl.com, she oversees the company’s Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter accounts, and writes about design, fashion, and travel. 

NAME: Caitlin Brown

DISCIPLINE: Theatre

CLASS YEAR: 2008

CURRENT GIG: Social media director at TheEverygirl.com

Best Lesson Learned at BSA: Empathy. It’s served me everyday in my career and in my relationships.

Funniest BSA Memory: Every single day with my theater ensemble was full of funny memories. I can barely separate them into specific instances because my time at BSA was the epitome of joy that spanned over four years. Before every performance, our theater ensemble would sing Ain’t No Mountain High Enough backstage, and I will always remember smiling so much that my face physically hurt before the curtain went up.

Most awkward BSA moment: High school is kind of like one big awkward moment, right? I probably still have multiple awkward moments per day, but there was one day right after sophomore scene night, when a senior came up to me to give me a compliment on my performance. I got so incredibly nervous that I just didn’t say anything back. I was totally mute. He eventually just walked away and I could never bring myself to make eye contact again after that.

Proudest Moment: Hands down, performing in London with my ensemble thanks to our international exchange program.

After graduating from Harvard University with a degree in government, Li-Wen Kang entered the world of business. After working as the associate director of the Macquarie Bank and a vice president for Legg Mason, Kang joined Merrill Lynch as a financial advisor in 2011. Kang is also an active member of the Baltimore community, serving on the board of BSA and Shriver Hall Concert Series.

NAME: Li-Wen Kang

DISCIPLINE: Music

CLASS YEAR: 1988

CURRENT GIG: Senior Financial Advisor at Merrill Lynch

Best Lesson Learned at BSA: Perserverance.

Most Awkward BSA Moment: Too many to count, since I didn’t fully understand everything happening until the end of sophomore year.

Funniest BSA Memory: Trying to argue my way out of taking Mr. Tabegna’s French class with Joe Antenson. Afterall, English IS my second language.

Proudest Moment: My wife and our boys.

eanna Herman Wenderoth received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia and continued her education at University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), where she received her doctoral degree in 2005. She did her pre-doctoral internship and post-doctoral fellowship at the Kennedy Krieger Institute and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in child clinical and pediatric psychology. She has a special interest in pediatric psychology and applied behavior analysis. 

NAME: Leanna Herman Wenderoth

DISCIPLINE: Dance

CLASS YEAR: 1989

CURRENT GIG: Pediatric Psychologist; Faculty, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Johns Hopkins Medical School; Outpatient Coordinator, Pediatric Psychology Consultation Service at Kennedy Krieger Institute

Best Lesson Learned at BSA: One lesson? There are so many. I think the best lesson I learned was how to be flexible and resilient – not physically (as important as that was for dance) but psychologically. I found myself getting frustrated with what I couldn’t do far more often than I would have liked. But even when I didn’t reach a personal “goal,” I was able to pick myself back up (thanks to the excellent teachers and my fellow classmates) and move onto the next goal.

Most Awkward BSA Moment: Awkward is hard to remember – maybe because it’s safer to block those out from our high school memories! I stayed pretty low on the radar, and tried desperately to avoid awkward moments. I’m sure I have friends who can recall awkward memories about me (and I have no doubt there are some!), but I just can’t recall them.  Maybe that’s a testament to “acceptance” at BSA, and forgiveness for those awkward teen moments!

Funniest BSA memory: I don’t have one specific, but can say that ballet class with Sylvester Campbell often encompassed many, many funny memories! His penchant for teasing, using food–nonsensically–to describe how our feet/legs/actions were wrong, e.g., “that foot looks like a grilled cheese with one bite,” often made us laugh.

Proudest Moment: As a junior, Sylvester Campbell took me to NYC to perform The Flower Festival pas de deux with him at a theater in Brooklyn. Learning, and performing this Bournonville piece, was such an exciting opportunity, but being picked and offered to do so for an audience outside of the school and Baltimore proper was additionally thrilling.

Brian Mainolfi is a graduate of New York University and an animator who has worked at Walt Disney, Dreamworks, Warner Bros., and Sony. He has drawn movies such as Pocahontas, Mulan, and Tarzan, and TV shows such as The Simpsons, American Dad!, and The Boondocks.

NAME:  Brian Mainolfi

DISCIPLINE: Visual Arts

CLASS YEAR:  1989

CURRENT GIG:  Director on a new animated series for Netflix

Best Lesson Learned at BSA: My senior year, I did very well. My art teachers loved my work, and I felt very confident going into my Senior Review. However, Mr. Kent and the other art teachers just tore me apart. They heaped criticism on each and every piece, and explained how it could’ve been better; how it could’ve said more. And I was transformed. I was also a little mad — how come they hadn’t told me all this 4 months ago, when I could have redrawn the pieces? But I understood – don’t settle for what comes first. Keep improving, keep asking – how can this be better? Even now, as I go to direct a section of a script, I ask – what can I do to improve it? How can I bring more than what is already there?

Most Awkward Moment at BSA: Artists aren’t naturally outgoing, but I wanted to dance at my Senior Prom. I arraigned secret lessons with a seasoned dancer, but alas – at prom, I probably still looked like a human version of wind-up chattering teeth.

Funniest BSA Memory:  Our painting teacher usually played the radio during class, and one time the song Stand By Me started playing and one person started singing, “dah dah DUM DUM…” and when the lyrics started, the entire class began singing along. We painted and sung the entire song, and when it was done – that was it – we never sung along to another song, and no moment was ever so perfect.

Proudest Moment: I am proud to have attended the school, and to have met such wonderful, lifelong friends. While there have been many wonderful moments, such as having my design chosen for the (short lived) mural in the basement, I think the thing I was most proud of, is being able to have designed esteemed Visual Arts Head Stephen Kent into an episode of the animated show, American Dad – where he would be viewed by millions around the world. He was so instrumental to my artistic growth, it was the least I could do to repay his support.

After graduating from F.I.T. with a degree in fashion/apparel design, Danté Anthony Baylor became a wardrobe assistant for the acclaimed Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, going on to also hold roles for the Royal Ballet at the Royal Opera House and his current position as resident costume designer for the Central School of Ballet in London. 

NAME: Danté Anthony Baylor

DISCIPLINE: Stage Design and Production

CLASS YEAR: 2003

CURRENT GIG: Resident Costume Designer and Wardrobe Supervisor for BALLET CENTRAL/Central School of Ballet

Best Lesson Learned at BSA: Norah Worthington always said that when you are nearing opening night “[Finished product] is beautiful.” My understanding from this is, we must remember not to obsess about the details when we are near the end of production time. As long as there is something functional to present to the stage, we must know when to stop, the show must always go on.

Funniest BSA memory: Tech Nutcracker! Anna Dean, Class of 2002, suggested and organised a video filming of the stage design and production students performing various roles from our famous version of The Nutcracker. We presented the video to the school to uproar and applause. That is still one of my life-favorite BSA memories.

Proudest Moment: Being presented with a merit scholarship from BSA at my graduation. At the time, a student was chosen from each department to recieve their scholarship at the graduation ceremony. I was fortunate to be chosen to represent the entire Theatre Department. That was a great feeling to have all my family and friends witness my reward for four years of hard work and dedication.

Nathan W. Bailey is a Los Angeles-based assistant art director and set designer for film and television and a member of the Art Directors Guild, IATSE local 800. Nathan holds a BA in Film from Emerson College and an MFA in Production Design from AFI Conservatory. Notable projects include art directing Hold Up and Denial for Beyoncé’s visual album Lemonade, assistant art directing on season six of American Horror Story, the pilot episodes of CBS’s S.W.A.T. and Amazon’s Jack Ryan, parts of Westworld season two and Hawaii 5-0 season nine, and the upcoming Amazon feature film Bliss. Nathan also recently set designed on season one of The Morning Show, one of Apple TV+’s flagship shows. Between larger studio projects, Nathan has production designed commercials for clients such as the NBA, Hugo Boss, and MTV.

NAME: Nathan W. Bailey

DISCIPLINE: Stage Design and Production

CLASS YEAR: 2003

CURRENT GIG: Assistant Art Director on HBO’s Perry Mason

Best Lesson Learned at BSA: To have confidence in myself as an artist and designer.

Most Awkward BSA Moment: Thinking I was a good dancer at prom.

Funniest BSA Memory: Performing in The Tech Nutcracker, a short video of the tech students’ own hilariously uncoordinated rendition of The Nutcracker. 

Proudest Moment: Seeing my first fully designed and built set come to life for our senior play, Eugène Ionesco’s The Bald Soprano.

A conductor, performer, and composer, Scott AuCoin has sang under such batons as Marin Alsop, Matthew Halls, Christoph Eschenbach, and Helmuth Rilling and has written works for all types of ensembles. Most recently, Scott wrote Ken’s Story, which was performed by the world renowned Kronos Quartet.

NAME: Scott AuCoin

DISCIPLINE: Music, vocal performance

CLASS YEAR: 2010

CURRENT GIG: Choir Director at Marriotts Ridge High School, Howard County, MD

Best Lesson Learned at BSA: Relationships are everything!

Most Awkward BSA Moment: Crawling under the ballroom stage for Opera Scenes.

Funniest BSA Memory: When I dressed up as Dr. Hardy for Halloween and led chorus.

Proudest Moment: An evening concert my senior year that featured all of my own compositions.

Upon earning a BFA in dance from Julliard, Kamille Upshaw has been dancing everywhere from the Metropolitan Opera House at the Lincoln Center to the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company to onstage at the BET awards with Alicia Keys. She just finished up her role with Hamilton on Broadway and currently is in the ensemble for Mean Girls on Broadway.

NAME: Kamille L. Upshaw

DISCIPLINE: Dance

CLASS YEAR: 2007

CURRENT GIG: Mean Girls on Broadway

Best Lesson Learned at BSA: To always be ok with the person you are! It was such a safe space to explore and grow into beautiful artist.

Most Awkward Moment at BSA: Hmmm if I had to think of an awkward moment it definitely would have been the time it decided to RAIN on the stage as we were performing Pas de Quatre! So awkward but we made it work like true professionals.

Proudest Moment: Being the first graduating dance class to start the tradition of choreographing our own piece for the Spring Concert. Not only did we create something awesome but we left a little bit of a legacy. As you can see I’m very proud!

Funniest BSA memory: My funniest BSA memory was when I did my senior spring concert and during the performance of Pas de Quattre it started to RAIN ONSTAGE! It was the best performance story of my high school years.

LeNaya Hezel received her undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland, College Park, and her master’s degree from the George Washington University. In her current role as the director of the Veterans Office for Georgetown University, she helps veterans, active duty service members, spouses, and dependents meet their educational goals.

NAME: LeNaya Hezel

DISCIPLINE: Music, vocal performance

CLASS YEAR: 2002

CURRENT GIG: Georgetown University Veterans Office Director

Best Lesson Learned at BSA: There are infinite ways to measure success. Instead of comparing successes against each other, BSA celebrates the diversity of successes to foster a community of shared talent and engagement.

Funniest BSA Memory: In Mrs. Turner’s class, somehow we could turn a lesson plan of pre-calc to include an episode of Survivor.

Most Awkward Moment at BSA: I cannot think of one single moment — as I’m sure there were many, but I recall looking back in year book photos and wondering, “who let me out the house wearing that odd arrangement of clothing.”

Proudest Moment: Graduation. I honestly didn’t think I would get there due to many challenges I faced outside of the classroom that impacted my world inside of the classroom. While I had to overcome many of these challenges with my own determination and perseverance, I also had so many members of the BSA community supporting me every step of the way. It was proud moment for everyone who had a hand in getting me to walk across that stage with a diploma in hand.

Violist Nadia Sirota’s varied career spans solo performances, chamber music, and broadcasting. In addition to performing with acclaimed orchestras around the world and releasing four albums of commissioned music, Sirota’s Peabody Award-winning podcast profiles some of the most interesting musical thinkers living today.

NAME: Nadia Sirota

DISCIPLINE: Music, viola

CLASS YEAR: 2000

CURRENT GIG: Soloist, violist in yMusic, host and producer of the Meet the Composer podcast

Best Lesson Learned at BSA: At Baltimore School for the Arts, I learned that authenticity is absolutely the most important, communicative tool you have on stage. When a performer means it, you know it. The faculty and students at BSA breathe this fact day in and day out. Authenticity is so much more vital than technique, as, while technique important, it’s way easier to teach and pick up.

Most awkward BSA moment: I’m sure I had a billion of these. It was high school! But some how my brain’s edited most of that stuff out. I remember BSA for wonderful, inspiring classmates, stimulating classes, and triumphant performances.

Funniest BSA memory: Every day at BSA was full of joy, from impromptu pre-homeroom hymn singing to actors exercising their clown training in science class. I remember nothing so much as a whole schoolful of students who were happy to be in school. I don’t think that happens all too often.

Proudest Moment: I remember our performance of Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms kind of changing my life. The whole music department was on stage making this incredible work of art in real time and it just devastated me. I was ruined for any other career! (Thank goodness!)

San Francisco-based mixed media and furniture artist William Rhodes explores iconographic imagery and how it can change meaning in different cultural contexts. His work has gained a following and was selected to be included in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

NAME: William Rhodes

DISCIPLINE: Visual Arts

CLASS YEAR: 1985

CURRENT GIG: Artist and Art Educator

Best Lesson Learned at BSA: Through hard work and discipline you can obtain your dreams in life.

Most awkward BSA moment: Dancing on stage and and almost falling off at the Beaux Art ball.

Proudest Moment: Having my art work chosen for the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Kennard Henson entered our TWIGS program in late elementary, having never danced ballet before. Upon graduating from TWIGS in eighth grade, he was offered a full scholarship by the School of American Ballet. He’s now a dancer with the New York City Ballet. 

NAME: Kennard Henson

DISCIPLINE: Dance

CLASS YEAR: Twigs Class of 2013

CURRENT GIG: Dancer with the New York City Ballet

Best Lesson Learned at BSA: You have to be willing to learn just as much as your teacher is willing to teach you.

Most Awkward BSA Moment: Showing up to my ballet audition in oversized basketball shorts, a white t-shirt, and no ballet shoes while everyone else was in actual ballet attire, neat hair, socks, and a tucked-in shirt. Obviously I had no experience and was very intimidated by the others.

Funniest BSA memory: One time when I was performing the role of Fritz in The Nutcracker, I slipped and fell. I jumped up so fast and kept going. It wasn’t funny back then, but I laugh looking back at it now.

Proudest Moment: Officially graduating from the TWIGS program.

After graduating from MICA, Todd Harvey honed his obsession with all things art-ish by working at a small set-design firm and for the Smithsonian Institute as a graphic designer and multimedia specialist. Then, in 2000, he cofounded Mission Media … a scrappy little start-up “creative agency” that had the lofty goal of being a boutique Internet and marketing firm where clients came first. Mission Media is now now a Digital and Design firm with a fine-tuned collection of talented hooligans! They designed this website, after all.

NAME: Todd James Harvey

DISCIPLINE: Visual Arts

CLASS YEAR: 1994

CURRENT GIG: Founder/Creative Director – Mission

Best Lesson Learned at BSA: Always peek behind the curtain.

Most Awkward BSA Moment: Consistently being mistaken for a dance major. I’ve always just assumed it was because of the way I walked. Maybe. Maybe not.

Funniest BSA memory: “Someone’s been urinating on the radiators.”

Proudest Moment: Being accepted.