Alumni in the Arts

Fine Arts
Letters
Film
Stage
Music

MIKE SCOTT ’77

Artist-in-Residence, 2011-12

Mike is currently a partner and compensation/HRIS manager at J. Walter Thompson Advertising Agency in New York City. He is also a painter and visual artist, whose abstract and minimalistic work has been exhibited at galleries in NYC, France, and Switzerland. Mike received his Bachelor of Arts from Hamilton College in 1981; he studied at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine, and then received his M.F.A. from Hunter College in 1983. Mike also has legacy ties to Haverford – his late father was Laurence Scott ’45, and his stepmother is Jane Parker Scott. Mike has been selected as an artist-in-residence at The Haverford School for the 2011-12 school year.

DAN WALSH ’78

Artist-in-Residence, 2011-12
Dan is a painter and visual artist. His work is characterized by its minimalist and abstract representations and explores the relationship between art and architectural space and the relationship between the viewer and the artwork. Many of his pieces are brightly colored acrylic on canvas paintings that are hung low to the ground and filled with imperfect geometric shapes.

Dan attended the Philadelphia College of Art (now University of the Arts) and Hunter College. He is well-respected in the NYC art community. He has had nearly 30 solo exhibitions and has shown his work at some of the most prestigious galleries and museums in the U.S. and Europe, including PS1 Contemporary Art Center, Musée d’Art Moderne et Contemporain in Geneva, the Indianapolis Museum of Art, and The Royal Academy in London. Dan is represented by the Paula Cooper Gallery, the first art gallery to open in New York’s SoHo district, and Paolo Curti in Milan.

JENNIFER FINNEY BOYLAN ’76

After graduating from Wesleyan University in 1980, Jennifer moved to New York to work as a magazine and book editor. She then earned her master’s degree at Johns Hopkins, teaching there and later at Colby, where she serves as professor of creative writing and American literature and co-chair of the English Department. Jennifer recently returned to The Haverford School as an “In the Arena” speaker, where she spoke about her writing and her experiences as a transgender woman.

ANDREW HUBSCH ’83

Andrew is the president of Oliver House Publishing Company. Oliver House specializes in publishing books on regional interest, memoirs, and American history. He is also a freelance writer and graphic designer. He was the editor of a number of monthly magazines in the U.S. and England before entering the Manhattan publishing world to handle history, current affairs, and cultural studies for Barnes & Noble. There, Andrew produced annual sales of more than $50 million and managed 18 New York Times No. 1 bestsellers.

Andrew is writing Merion Mercies: the New World Saga, a historical fiction series that illuminates 400 years of successive American history. Andrew received a B.A. in communication arts from Villanova University in 1987.

RICH HOFFMANN ’92

Rich is a filmmaker and the founder and creative director of Coyopa Productions. Coyopa Productions’ mission is to create films that passionately address social ills, sparking viewers to emotionally connect with the subject matter and reconsider their own positions. Coyopa has produced more than 100 short and long form promotional films, commercials, and independent projects.

Rich graduated from NYU Tisch in 1996 with a B.F.A. in film studies. He has received three fellowships from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, and his films, including, Fridays at the Farm, have won numerous awards at international festivals. Rich’s feature film debut, Invisible Mountains, won Best Feature at the 2003 DV Film Festival and a 2005 PCA Media Arts Fellowship.

PEARCE BUNTING ’77

Pearce is an award-winning actor who has appeared in numerous film, television, and stage productions in Philadelphia and NYC, and has had featured roles in a number of television series, including Law and Order: SVU, Young Americans, and Homicide: Life on the Street, and he spent two years traveling the world as a host of Travelers on the Discovery Channel.

Pearce was a member of the original cast of the musical "Mamma Mia!" on Broadway and is a recurring character on HBO’s Boardwalk Empire. He was awarded a Barrymore Award for Outstanding Leading Actor in a Play in 1995 for his performance in "Road" at the Wilma Theater. He received his M.F.A from the Yale School of Drama in 1988.

STUART AMBROSE ’96

Artist-in-Residence, 2011-12
Stu has had a diverse and exciting performing career, featuring appearances on prime time television, Broadway national tours, and headlining concerts at the Hollywood Bowl. Stuart’s TV credits include The Closer, I’m in the Band, and daytime dramas General Hospital, As the World Turns, and Guiding Light. His stage credits include Reprise Theatre’s 2010 critically acclaimed production of "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" (Miles Gloriosus); "Camelot" (Lionel/Lancelot), starring Michael York; and the Beast in "Beauty and the Beast" at the Phoenix Theatre in Arizona, among many others. Stu has also recorded and produced his own solo album, Making It Through.

He is a graduate of Emory University, a former member of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves, and he is a commissioned officer in the Coast Guard Reserve. He was deployed to the Middle East in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

ALAN STEPANSKY ’78

Alan is a professor and head of the Cello Department at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, and serves on the cello faculty at the Manhattan School of Music. He is a frequent lecturer at the Juilliard School and is a faculty member and artist-in-residence for the Music Academy of the West music festival in Santa Barbara, Calif. Following a distinguished orchestral career performing with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and serving as principal cellist of the Boston Pops and associate principal cellist of the New York Philharmonic, he regularly appears in concert as a soloist, chamber musician, and principal cellist.

As a recording artist, Alan has appeared on the albums of such diverse artists as David Byrne, David Bowie, Natalie Merchant, Shawn Colvin, and Lou Reed, and served as principal cellist for many notable film score recordings, including Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, and Kinsey.

After graduating from Haverford, Alan attended the Curtis Institute of Music, the University of Pennsylvania, and Harvard University, where he graduated with the Horblit Prize for outstanding musical accomplishments.

JAMES LAVINO ’91

Artist-in-Residence, 2011-12
James is an award-winning composer best known for his choral music and his music for film and television. He scored the HBO documentary Which Way Home, and he also wrote songs for the groundbreaking Disney animated show The Book of Pooh. James’ choral and concert music has been performed across Europe and throughout the U.S., and he has also created music and sound effects for several advertising agencies and stage productions.

James studied music at the Juilliard School, where he was a composition student of Behzad Ranjbaran. He later studied in London with Paul Patterson of the Royal Academy of Music. James also holds a master’s degree in English from Yale.

GEOFF McDONALD ’03

Geoffrey was recently appointed conductor of the Philadelphia Young Artists’ Orchestra, and is music director of the Columbia University Bach Society, and assistant conductor for the American Symphony Orchestra, the New Amsterdam Singers, and the Gotham Chamber Opera.

Geoff studied piano, cello, and voice from an early age. He earned his bachelor of arts in musicology summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa from Princeton in 2007. He also holds a master's in orchestral conducting from Mannes College. Geoff maintains a busy performing schedule in the indie-rock band, Miracles of Modern Science, and composes incidental music for stage and film productions.