Alumni

Jim D'Addario began his career as a professional musician and working with his father and brother in the string manufacturing industry. In 1973 they formed J. D'Addario and Company. Jim is President of D'Addario which is one of the world's leading manufacturers of guitar and bowed instrument strings. D'Addario and Company also manufactures Evans drumheads, Planet Waves guitar accessories and several other musical products and is North American importer of Vandoren reeds, mouthpieces and accessories. The company over which Jim presides now employs over 600 people. Jim has received the Small Business Association's Entrepreneur of the Year Award. His company has been given the N.Y. State Environmental Excellence Award, the Certificate of Congressional Recognition and is a member of the L.I. Forum for Technology and Leadership Initiative Action. Jim and his wife Janet have three children.

Herbert A. Deutsch earned a second Bachelor's and Master's from The Manhattan School of Music. A pioneer in electronic and multimedia composition, he collaborated with Robert Moog in 1964 on the design of the first Moog Synthesizer (a collaboration noted by The History Channel in 2000 and in the 2002 Grammy Awards Publication). In 1965 he gave the first live concert performance on the Moog at Town Hall and the first synthesizer ensemble concert at the Museum of Modern Art in 1969. Herb is the author of three books and over 40 published articles on electronic and computer music, and co-founder of the L.I. Composers Alliance. He is Professor Emeritus of Music at Hofstra University, where he was twice Department Chairman and taught for 41 years. He founded Hofstra's Jazz Band, Electronic Music and Recording Studios and Music Merchandising Program. He is the recipient of numerous "Meet The Composer" and ASCAP Awards. He has also received both Hofstra's Award for Alumni Achievement and Estabrook Distinguished Alumni Awards.

Nancy Deutsch studied piano at The Juilliard Prep Division before attending Hofstra, where she graduated with Music Department Honors. Active for many years as a piano teacher on Long Island, she performs regularly as pianist at the Milleridge Inn and is director of The Milleridge Singers. Active in the New York State School Music Association, she is State Chairperson for Piano and serves as a piano adjudicator. Nancy is heard frequently as an accompanist and has performed on many L.I. Composers Alliance concerts including the Inaugural Concert at South Huntington Library in 1972 , the Twentieth Anniversary Concert in 1992 and the Twenty-fifth Anniversary Concert in 1997. She can be heard on the 4-Tay CD Woman in Darkness. Nancy resides with her husband, composer Herbert Deutsch, in Massapequa Park.

Naomi Drucker, clarinetist and co-director of the American Chamber Ensemble, has performed, recorded and toured with the New York Philharmonic. She has concertized in Japan, Great Britain, Russia, Sweden, France, Canada and Argentina. Naomi has performed regionally with the Nassau Symphony, Massapequa Symphony, Long Island Baroque Ensemble, Long Island Symphony and West Islip Orchestra. She frequently performs at Carnegie's Weill Hall and has performed and recorded with her husband, Stanley Drucker, Principal Clarinetist of the New York Philharmonic. Her work can be heard on Elysium Records, 4-Tay Records, Cala Records and Soundspells Records. She is an Adjunct Professor of Clarinet and Ensemble Music at Hofstra and is the recipient of Hofstra's Estabrook Distinguished Alumni Award.

Neil J.Gillis is currently Vice President of A&R and Advertising at Warner/Chappell Music. After his graduation, he studied composition and orchestration with Bob Brookmeyer and Manny Albam in the BMI Jazz Studies Program. He joined Warner/Chappell in 1990 after working six years with BMI. In 1993 he became Vice President of Copyright in Warner's Los Angeles office. He moved to his current position in New York in January, 2001. Neil has taught Music Business classes at UCLA, wrote a popular column on the music business for The Performing Songwriter and has lectured widely on aspects of the music industry. He continues to perform and compose and lives on Long Island with his wife, Donna and their three children.

Sonia (Gezairlian) Grib, Artistic Director of the Long Island Baroque Ensemble, has been a leader in the movement to bring Early Music into public awareness. As a harpsichordist and scholar, she has helped foster a grant from the Kosciuszko Foundation to uncover literature from the Polish heritage of the 15th and 16th centuries. Her other research has promoted concerts of music from Mexico, Sweden, Czechoslovakia and listings from the library of Thomas Jefferson. Sonia's guidance of the Long Island Baroque Ensemble has enabled them to receive recognition by the National Endowment for the Arts. She has received Hofstra's Estabrook Distinguished Alumni Award and is an Adjunct Professor of Music Theory and History at Hofstra.

Charles Puricelli holds an M.S. In Special Education and a Professional Diploma in Educational Administration. He is currently the Coordinator of the Arts in the Freeport School District, where he had been first Director of Bands and later District Director of Instrumental Music. Charley is President of the Nassau Music Educator's Association (NMEA) and a member of N.Y State School Music Association (NYSSMA) serving on and chairing many committees. He has been active in both NYSCAME and the BOCES Arts in Education Committee. Throughout his career, he has remained a performing musician and is currently developing a project on rhythm and electronic music with Dejaview Productions.

Laura (Kaplow) Whitmore, a graduate of Hofstra's Music Merchandising Program went on to earn an MBA in Marketing in 1999. She is currently the Marketing Services Manager for Korg, USA. Laura is also Editor of ProView Magazine and handles all of the print and advertising productions for Korg Keyboards, Marshall Amplifiers and Vox Amplifiers. Laura and her husband, Lee, their two children and a miniature schnauzer, live in Northport.