Class Notes

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Xavi Soto Burgos, '20, just made his Broadway debut in the hit musical, Mamma Mia! which is currently playing at the Winter Garden Theatre. At William & Mary, Xavi participated in the W&M Choir and studied voice with Phaedra McNorton and Mary Eason Fletcher. He also appeared in the W&M Theatre's productions of The Addams Family and A Chorus Line.

Mary Worrill, '22, just started a position at Capitol Music Group, a record label under Universal Music Group in Nashville! She is now a Project Manager in the Marketing department.

Ayush Joshi

Ayush Joshi, '20, has spent the past 5 years or so working as a professional musician in Columbia, SC! My main "job" is as a music director at a local church. When I am not doing that, I am busy working as a music director and pianist at Trustus Theatre (www.trustus.org) - where I have had the opportunity to work on Sweeney Todd, Dandelion: an Original Musical, Ain't Misbehavin', and currently Aida. Aside from that my time is spent on many other one off gigs - parties, weddings, funerals, playing jazz or other types of music in bars and restaurants, the occasional arranging gig, a few teaching opportunities, session work, and a handful of different original music projects - namely my band with my friends "FAQ". We just recently put out an EP - see link below. I've been heavily involved with the local jazz scene as well, and have gotten to work a lot with "Cola Jazz" (www.colajazz.com) and had the opportunity to play at the Dizzy Gillespie Jazz Festival!

William Joyner, '84, is a semi-retired opera singer. He is Associate Professor of Vocal Studies at the University of North Texas College of Music (since 2014).

Chris Varvaro, '21, recently had the opportunity to Officially Remix the legendary track from 2000, "Dancing Queen" by The A*Teens, which was featured in "Venom: The Last Dance." Working with Universal Music Group, Sony Pictures, Marvel, & The A*Teens was an incredible experience.

Leon Bly, '66, after 12 years of research and writing my two-volume book "A History of the Music for Wind Band" was published last year by Lit Verlag. The book may be purchased in both printed and electronic form. Bly is past president of the World Association for Symphonic Bands & Ensembles (WASBE).

Olivia Lucas, '08, after graduating from W&M in 2008, I spent a year teaching English in Ingolstadt, Germany, on a Fulbright. I then spent the next several years earning a PhD in music at Harvard University, graduating in 2016. Since then, I've pursued an academic career: teaching music theory and popular music courses, and publishing about metal music, and sometimes other topics as well. (My academic interest in metal music can actually be traced all the way back to my 2006 Monroe project on Finnish heavy metal!) I taught briefly at the University of Iowa, then spent 2 years at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington (Aotearoa New Zealand). Since 2019, I've been Assistant Professor of Music Theory at Louisiana State University. In 2024, I received the Society for Music Theory's Emerging Scholar Award for my article "Performing Analysis, Performing Metal: Meshuggah, Edvard Hansson, and the Analytical Light Show." It was my experiences with professors at W&M that made me want to become one, and I remain grateful for their influence and mentorship!

Laurie McManus, '04, recently presented a lecture at the Library of Congress in March as part of the American Musicological Society's Library of Congress lecture series. More info can be found here. Laurie is Associate Professor and Coordinator of Music Literature at Shenandoah Conservatory.

Leonidas Lagrimas, '01, currently serves as Assistant Professor of Piano and Piano Pedagogy at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, NC. His duties include teaching Applied Piano and coordinating the Class Piano curriculum for all music majors. His career balances performance with pedagogy and he has served as a presenter at numerous local, state, and national conferences for Music Teachers National Association, National Conference of Keyboard Pedagogy, NafME, and the College Music Society. As always, Leonidas remains grateful for his undergraduate experiences at William and Mary that allowed to pursue music study while nurturing interests in many other academic and extracurricular areas.

Megan Grady, '11, After completing her studies at William & Mary under the tutelage of Patti Carlson, Megan attended the Florida State University College of Music, where she earned her Master of Music in Clarinet Performance. Since graduation, she has worked at several institutions of higher education across a range of fields from alumni relations to music and admission. She currently serves as the Music Recruitment Coordinator and Assistant Director of Admission at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, WA. Megan credits her experience as music assistant at William & Mary as the nexus for the beginning of her career in music admission. Outside of the office, Megan is an active performer and pedagogue. She performs with the Olympia Symphony Orchestra and Seattle Wind Symphony, while maintaining a small studio of clarinet and piano students in the greater Tacoma-Seattle area. She has been a featured performer with the Pacific Lutheran University Wind Ensemble during their international tour in 2017, as well as the Washington Wind Symphony. She can be found online at megangrady.com or on Instagram as @pnwclarinetist. (9/13/18)

Bryan Wright, '05, Pianist and musicologist Bryan S. Wright (B.A.: W&M, '05 / Ph.D.: University of Pittsburgh, '16) has been nominated for a Grammy Award by the Recording Academy for his liner notes accompanying the 3-CD set "The Complete Piano Works of Scott Joplin" played by pianist Richard Dowling (Rivermont Records). Scott Joplin (b. 1867/d. 1917) was an American composer, notable for his many piano rags, waltzes, marches, and for his two operas. Wright and Dowling co-produced the new recording in celebration of this year's 150th anniversary of Scott Joplin's birth. This is the second Grammy nomination for Wright's Rivermont label. The 2018 Grammy Award winners will be announced at a televised ceremony from New York's Madison Square Garden on January 28, 2018. (11/30/17)

Laura Ettabbakh, is a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State currently stationed at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, South Korea. As a Public Diplomacy-coned officer, her interests include facilitating international educational and cultural exchange programs. After graduating from William and Mary, Laura spent two years living in Spain as part of a Fulbright research grant to study music as a tool for social integration among North African immigrants in southern Spain. She holds an M.A. in Arts Management from American University and spent seven years working in the arts in Washington, D.C. prior to joining the Foreign Service. Laura has worked as Participant Coordinator of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Box Office Manager of GALA Hispanic Theatre, Artistic Administrator of The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, and Operations Manager for Classical Movements, an international tour agency for professional choirs and orchestras. She credits William and Mary with fostering and expanding her interests in language, exploration, cross-cultural communication, and the arts. (9/2/2017)

Daniel Maxey, '02 has accepted an appointment as Chief of Staff to President Laurie Nichols at the University of Wyoming. (8/19/2017)

Christy Lynn Wilson, '91 had accepted a job as the Director of Marketing and PR at the College of Coastal Georgia. She is loving living on the beautiful St. Simons Island and is so excited about the new position. Christy hopes all of her W&M friends, especially the InterVarsity are doing well and would love to get back to Williamsburg for a visit! (7/25/2017)