Rachelle Mendez (Theatre ’94) is the new Head of Unscripted at Hyphenate Media Group. Hyphenate COO Eva Longoria said, “I’ve been impressed by Rachelle’s vast knowledge of the unscripted business since meeting her, and I am thrilled to have her here at Hyphenate. The elegance with which approaches a subject matter is second to none—she just knows how to crack a format, tell authentic stories and deliver to audiences again and again.”
Isabella Byrd (Theatre ’05) received two 2024 Tony Award nominations: Best Lighting Design of a Musical for Cabaret and Best Lighting Design of a Play for An Enemy of the People. Check out her interview in Playbill.
Walter Smith III (Instrumental ’98) will release his new album, three of us are from Houston and Reuben is not, on September 27. The album features Jason Moran (Instrumental ’93) and Eric Harland (Instrumental ’94).
Alexandria DeWalt (Instrumental ’17) performed at the Newport Jazz Festival. Check out this feature story, and listen to Alexandria talk about her experience. Alexandria is an Assistant Professor at Berklee College of Music.
The Jalen Baker Jazz Quintet will perform at Alta Arts in Houston on September 5. Get your tickets to see Jalen Baker (Instrumental ’13) on vibraphone, Paul Cornish (Instrumental ’14) on piano, and Alexandria DeWalt (Instrumental ’17) on flute.
Three alumni were honored by the prestigious national YoungArts program and performed at 2024 YoungArts Week in Miami. Watch performances by Mar Bradley (Creative Writing ’23) – Short Story, Sofia Fontenot (Creative Writing ’24) – Play or Script Writing, and Olivia Gonzales (Vocal ’23) – Classical Soprano.
Avalon Hogans (Creative Writing ’22) was a 2023-2024 Freedmen’s Town Research Fellow at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston. Watch her spoken word poem “A Story of Freedom,” commissioned by the Houston Rockets.
Diego McKenna Borrero (Dance ’20) recently joined the company of Syracuse City Ballet.
Rachelle Mendez (Theatre ’94)
Isabella Byrd (Theatre ’05)
Alexandria DeWalt (Instrumental ’17)
On view now through August 31
MIXXXTAPE
An exhibition of artwork by HSPVA Visual Arts alumni from the class of 1993
MECA East End
333 S. Jensen Drive
Featuring Brian Carlson, Nena Carroll, E. Hey Chov, Jose Dennis, Heather K. Dority, Josh Foster, Matthew Juarez, Lauren Kelly, Carlos Martinez, Anna Rather, Kiko Thomas, Anna Wen, and Lee Wilson
The James Francies Trio featuring James Francies (Instrumental ’13), Burniss Travis (Instrumental ’05), and Jeremy Dutton (Instrumental ’12) will perform at the Houston Jazz Festival at Miller Outdoor Theatre on September 14.
Wayne Wilson (Theatre ’01) is the associate show director, comedic content designer, and a performer in Cirque du Soleil’s new country-themed show, Songblazers. Check out this Houston Chronicle feature.
Chandler Dean (Theatre ’14) writes a regular McSweeney’s column, “How to Write Every Speech You’ll Ever Need to Give in Your Life.” Installments include “How to Nail Your High School Graduation Speech Even If You’re Not That Popular.”
Gregory McDaniel (Vocal ’05) was named the New Jersey Symphony 2024-2025 Colton Conducting Fellow.
Laura Gutierrez (Dance ’05) premiered In Tarps I Trust, commissioned by DiverseWorks, inspired by her father’s work as a billboard painter. Read about it in Arts and Culture Texas Magazine.
Chris Dave (Instrumental ’90), Robert Glasper (Instrumental ’97), and Jason Moran (Instrumental ’93) were featured on the Houston Chronicle‘s list of “12 Houston artists honoring Black music heritage.” Seven HSPVA Instrumental Music alumni also received shout-outs: Jalen Baker (’13), Jeremy Dutton (’12), James Francies (’13), Eric Harland (’94), Kendrick Scott (’98), Sebastian Whittaker (’85), and Jamire Williams (’02).
Jason Hainsworth (Instrumental ’92) is the Executive Director of the Roots, Jazz, and American Music (RJAM) program at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. His quintet recently performed at Vics Las Vegas. Listen to this interview with Jason about his career.
Roderick George (Dance ’03) was awarded the Jacob’s Pillow Men Dancers Award.
Wayne Wilson (Theatre ’01)
Laura Gutierrez (Dance ’05)
Chris Dave (Instrumental ’90)
Jennafer Newberry (Vocal ’04) made her Broadway debut as the standby for Glinda in Wicked after starring in the national tour.
Lindsey Alvarez (Instrumental ’01) was nominated for a 2024 Emmy for Outstanding Sound Mixing For A Comedy Or Drama Series (Half-Hour) and Animation for her work on Only Murders in the Building. Lindsey is a two-time Emmy winner for sound mixing on Only Murders in the Building and Daisy Jones & The Six.
Hannah Jones (Vocal ’18) will make her Seattle Opera debut in October. Hannah will play Jennie Jackson, one of the founding members of the Fisk Jubilee Singers, in a new opera, Jubilee. Hannah completed her master’s degree in Vocal Performance at the Manhattan School of Music in May. She is a 2024-2025 fellow in the Metropolitan Opera’s prestigious Lindemann Young Artist Development Program. Watch Hannah in this CBS Sunday Morning special about Opera for Peace.
O’Neill Haynes (Vocal ’06), aka Sapphira Cristál, was the runner-up on RuPaul’s Drag Race, season 16. Sapphira’s Cristál Ball Tour recently stopped in Houston, and O’Neill visited campus during teacher in-service to share how HSPVA impacted his life.
Jarvis B. Manning, Jr. (Vocal ’05) performed in the West Coast premiere of Fat Ham at the Geffen Playhouse.
Judith Franklin (Vocal ’98) recently appeared in the Broadway revival of The Wiz.
Stephen Hudson (Vocal ’03) is a teaching artist at Houston Grand Opera. Check out this interview about his work at HGO.
Jennafer Newberry (Vocal ’04)
Lindsey Alvarez (Instrumental ’01)
Hannah Jones (Vocal ’18)
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