Thank you for helping to make Roxbury Latin’s fourth annual Giving Day a resounding success. With your help, we raised more than $695,000 for the Annual Fund—including $150,000 in challenge money from generous alumni and trustee donors—with 1,258 gifts, in 24 hours. Every dollar raised yesterday will go directly toward supporting our students, faculty, and distinctive mission. Your generous support—in dollars and in words of love for teachers, advisors, friends, classmates, coaches, mentors, family, and friends—went above and beyond our expectations for the day. Your gifts will preserve the school’s core values, while ensuring that students are equipped to lead and serve, taught by a talented, passionate, and dedicated faculty, who are committed to the boys in their care. For your excitement, for your generosity—for your love of, and belief in, this school—we are deeply grateful. Thank you for marching forth with us this Exelauno Day.
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Roxbury Latin Presents “Catch Me If You Can”
Roxbury Latin and the Winsor School presented this year’s winter musical production—the 2011 Broadway hit Catch Me If You Can—on Friday, February 25, and Saturday, February 26, in RL’s Smith Theater.
The story is about skilled con artist and imposter, Frank Abagnale Jr., who worked fraudulently as a doctor, a lawyer, and a co-pilot for Pan Am—all before his eighteenth birthday. A master of deception, he was also a brilliant forger, whose skill gave him his first real claim to fame: At the age of 17, Frank became a wildly successful bank robber, sought ceaselessly by FBI Agent Carl Hanratty, who makes it his primary mission to capture Frank and bring him to justice. But Frank always proves himself one step ahead.
Roxbury Latin’s production of the play—written by Terrence McNally, with music by Marc Shaiman—included a cast and crew of nearly 40 students. Under the superb direction of John Ambrosino, musical direction of Rob Opdycke, and choreography of John Crampton, the company avidly tackled a challenging script and score, and delighted audiences two nights in a row.
Watch a brief highlight video of the play, care of Mr. Miller.
View photos of the production, care of Mr. Pojman.
Read the program, which includes a complete list of the production’s cast and crew, and notes from the director.
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Careers in Art History, and the Multivalence of Art: A Panel Hall With Three Experts
“In your art classes, and in this space, we often focus on art from the perspective of the artist—what someone creates, and why, and how,” began Headmaster Brennan in Hall on February 15. “Between the artist and the viewer, however, there is often a complex tapestry of activity, informed, shaped, and stewarded by experts such as those on our stage this morning.”
The morning’s panel of Hall speakers included three professionals who earned degrees in art history and have since taken that skill and passion in various directions. From the Smith Theater stage, Myles Garbarini ’13, Sue McCrory, and Paul Provost ’83 shared their experiences, trajectories, and insights with students and faculty.
Myles majored in art history at Yale after graduating from Roxbury Latin, focusing his thesis on the multidimensionality in Mikhail Vrubel’s paintings and ceramics. He conducted his primary research in Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia, and this work earned him Yale’s Goodyear Fine Arts Award for excellence in his senior thesis. Until recently, Myles applied his passion and talent for art and learning as a technical art historian and research coordinator in the Scientific Research Department of Sotheby’s—the famed marketplace and auction house for fine art and luxury items. In that role, Myles coordinated analytical examinations of artworks worldwide, and executed technical imaging and infrared photography of artworks, resolving disputes about authenticity and condition. In Hall he spoke about that work through the example of a famed Botticelli painting that he and his colleagues worked on, revealing what they found in the painting’s centuries-old layers.
Dr. Sue McCrory—Roxbury Latin’s inspiring teacher of history, Art History, and Technology & Art—gained experience as an academic and historian in several different facets prior to arriving at RL. After earning her bachelor’s degree at Duke and her doctorate in History of Art and Architecture at Harvard, Dr. McCrory served as a teaching fellow at Harvard; as a historical guide in Rome, leading visitors through the Vatican Museums and Basilica of St. Peter; on the curatorial team of Harvard’s Fogg Art Museum; and as a consultant designing highly-specialized art-focused tours from Philadelphia to the Netherlands. In Hall she discussed some of the joys and challenges of pursuing a higher degree—both generally and in art history; what an advanced degree means experientially; and the variety of roles and opportunities available to an art historian.
Paul Provost—RL Class of 1983 and a member of the Board of Trustees—has more than 25 years’ experience in museums, businesses, and foundations. In 2019 he was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Art Bridges, an arts foundation with net assets of $1.5 billion and a mission to expand access to American Art across the country. Prior to this role, Paul served more than two decades in various management and executive roles at Christie’s—the premier American art auction enterprise. As Deputy Chairman at Christie’s, Paul served as an art world ambassador and lead negotiator for high-value art-related transactions and financial services. He has also been closely involved with World War II Holocaust and Restitution matters and other cultural property claims. He has lectured widely on art as an asset and international art market dynamics—topics on which he expanded in detail during the Hall, and in response to students’ questions afterward in Dr. McCrory’s AP Art History class as a guest later that afternoon. The focus of Paul’s portion of the presentation was multivalence—the value of artworks in various contexts. He walked students and faculty through this concept using the example of the 1863 Winslow Homer painting Home, Sweet Home, which Paul shepharded from the home of a private collector in New Jersey, through auction at Christie’s, to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., where it now lives. Paul earned his bachelor’s degree from Middlebury; his master’s in art history from Williams and the Clark Art Institute; and his doctorate in History of Art from Princeton.
The three art historians stressed for students the importance of paying attention to what you’re good at, and what you gravitate toward; the importance of visual literacy—of looking closely and decoding images; and, finally, the importance of following your passions, even when the trajectory ahead isn’t clear.
Watch the entirety of the panelists’ Hall on art and art history.
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RL Places Third in Annual Graves Kelsey Tournament
On February 12, Roxbury Latin’s wrestlers headed to Thayer Academy to compete in this winter’s Graves Kelsey Tournament—the Independent School League wrestling championships, named for long-time and legendary coaches Bert Kelsey of Roxbury Latin, and Gibby Graves of Buckingham Browne & Nichols.
Earning a highly respectable third place finish overall in a field of 13 teams, Roxbury Latin’s wrestlers exhibited dedication and toughness in a collective effort, with the following wrestlers placing in their respective weight classes:
1st place: Navid Hodjat (V)
2nd place: Benji Macharia (IV), Justin Lim (IV)
3rd place: Declan Bligh (V), Aydin Hodjat (III)
4th place: Dovany Estimphile (III), Justin Shaw (II), Nick Consigli (III)
5th place: Noah Abdur Rahim (IV), George Humphrey (I), Krystian Reese (II)
6th place: Alejandro Rincon (III)Rounding out the RL team were tournament representatives Aidan Gibbons (II) and Thomas Savage (II).
The Graves-Kelsey Tournament was named in honor of Gibby Graves and Bert Kelsey in 1966. Bert was Roxbury Latin’s wrestling coach from 1937 to 1966, earning 24 winning seasons and numerous individual championships. A master of English and debate, his energy and good nature endeared him to hundreds of students. Gibby Graves was a long-time coach at Buckingham Browne and Nichols and was a pioneer in developing the league tournament. Roxbury Latin has earned the title of Graves Kelsey Champion 20 times since 1966.
Twelve members of RL’s wrestling team went on to compete at the New England Championships, including Navid Hodjat, Benji Macharia, Noah Abdur Rahim, Declan Bligh, Dovany Estimphile, Justin Shaw, Justin Lim, Aydin Hodjat, Nick Consigli, George Humphrey, Krystian Reese, and Aidan Gibbons. The team finished sixth in New England out of 39 teams. Three of RL’s wrestlers—Navid Hodjat, Benji Macharia, and Justin Lim—qualified to complete at the National Tournament at Lehigh University.
Perhaps most impressive, the team also went on to earn the ISL Wrestling Sportsmanship Award, an honor they also received in 2019-2020.
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The French Family Band Brings Country Music to Smith Theater
“Country music just sounds better when a family sings it,” began Headmaster Brennan in Hall on February 11. “That’s where it all began: mothers, fathers, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, all huddled together, picking and singing on a porch in the twilight. Camille and Stuie French—now settled with their family in Nashville—have been making music together for nearly 25 years, oceans away from their childhood worlds of New Zealand and Australia where they both fell in love with and mastered country music.”
This year’s Berman Visiting Artists—joining RL’s students, faculty, and staff not only for a rousing morning performance in the Smith Theater, but also in master classes, workshops, and jam sessions throughout the afternoon—are The French Family Band, made up of singers and guitarists Camille, Stuie, and 15-year-old Sonny French. In a special mid-morning Hall, the group performed a number of songs and styles—from Johnny Cash to poignant, original songs about family and growing up, including Not Too Young and Little Years. Camille even performed a traditional song and dance from her native Maori roots, to the crowd’s delight.
As a duo, Camille and Stuie have earned three Australian Golden Guitar Awards––the equivalent to America’s CMAs—namely, in 2013, an award for Best Alternative Country Album of the Year and, in 2017, Stuie received Best Instrumental Album honors for Axe to Swing. Two of the pair’s original songs––Gone for All Money and Pretty Katalina––were featured on the popular Australian television drama A Place to Call Home. Stuie’s skill led to high-profile sideman gigs with Australia’s top touring artists, and to touring and jamming with his idol Merle Haggard on his Australian tour as a member of the opening band. And Nashville noticed. The Grammy-winning Time Jumpers invited Stuie and Camille to sit in on the group’s 3rd & Lindsley residency.
The group not only performs impressive renditions of others’ songs, but they have met much acclaim by writing their own. Camille and Stuie are parents to three children, and their high school son, Sonny, has been the musical force that transformed a successful duo into The French Family Band. Sonny began singing at age three, and even then he could sing on pitch, his mother recalls. By the time he was six or seven, he was singing harmony. Since then, Sonny has picked up the guitar as well, inspired by some of his favorite country artists Merle Haggard, Buck Owens, George Jones, and Glen Campbell. The industry has taken note: USA Gibson Guitars invited Sonny to be part of an international mix of promising young musicians dubbed the Gibson Generation Group.
On stage at RL, Camille, Stuie, and Sonny were joined by drummer Gregg Stocki and bassist Joe Reed who, between them, have played with international music stars from Willie Nelson to Keb Mo, Sheryl Crow to Johnny Cash, Beck to Merle Haggard.
In 2005, Ethan Berman ’79 and his wife, Fiona Hollands, established—in honor of Ethan’s mother—the Claire Berman Artist in Residence Fund. This endowed fund brings to the school annually a distinguished figure or figures in the arts. Since 2006, the school has been honored to welcome actors—such as Christopher Lloyd in Death of a Salesman, Tovah Feldshuh, and the troupe of The American Shakespeare Center; as well as poet laureate Billy Collins; jazz artist John Pizzarelli; the rock-and-roll performers of Beatlemania Now; singer/songwriter Livingston Taylor; and renowned jazz singer Jane Monheit. We were lucky to have with us in Hall both Claire Berman and her daughter, Eve.
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RL’s Debate Team is on a Hot Streak!
This season of virtual debate tournaments has been a busy—and successful!—one for Roxbury Latin’s debaters. At the Loomis Chaffee Debate Tournament, held on January 23, RL boys earned a number of individual and team awards, including the Best School Award. Contributing to that first place effort were Raj Saha (IV), Jayden Phan (III), Dennis Jin (III) and Theo Coben (III) of the Novice Team, and Teddy Glaeser (I), Ethan Dhadly (II), David Albrechtskirchinger (II), and Carter Crowley (II) of the Advanced Team. Carter and David earned third place in the two-person advanced competition, and the Novice Team earned first place team in their own division with a perfect score of 6-0. Receiving individual awards in the Novice division were Jayden and Theo earning first place in the two-person events, and Dennis and Raj earning second place in the same. Theo earned second place speaker in the Novice division overall, and Jayden earned third. It was an exceptional showing for RL’s Novice Debate Team.
At the annual Kingswood-Oxford Debate Tournament on February 6, Roxbury Latin brought home the Googins Cup for the seventh year in a row! Earning that first place award were Jamie Drachman (II), Vishnu Emani (I), David Sullivan (I), and Ethan Dhadly (II). Vishnu earned first place in Persuasive Speaking, and David placed in three ways—first in Interpretive Reading, tied for second in Impromptu Speaking, and as the tournament’s third place Overall Speaker. Vishnu’s first place persuasive speech addressed encroachment on personal data by tech companies. David’s first place interpretive reading was from Colum McCann’s Let the Great World Spin. Thanks to their team efforts, and the leadership of Mr. Thomsen, the Googins Cup remains safe and secure in the Farnham Room for another year!
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Dr. Brian Purnell Is This Year’s Smith Visiting Scholar
On January 20, Dr. Brian Purnell delivered one of two Halls that he will give this year, as Roxbury Latin’s 2021-2022 Smith Visiting Scholar. “Most of you will remember Dr. Purnell from his riveting and impassioned Zoom-Hall last February titled ‘The Fierce Urgency of Now’ which explored his personal journey with Civil Rights Movement history,” Headmaster Brennan introduced. “We were so enamored of Dr. Purnell and his work that we invited him to join us for an entire semester, as our Smith Scholar, to teach an elective titled History of the Civil Rights Movement. We are grateful that he took us up on our invitation. Those of you who will have him as your teacher this winter and spring can expect an enlightening and meaningful exploration.”
Dr. Purnell’s Hall address on Thursday was titled “Education of a Patriot,” and through it he described his own experiences of growing up in an immigrant, military family; how he always imagined he would go into military service—a dream defeated by his asthma; and how his education—discovering the power of studying, understanding, and then teaching history—changed that trajectory for him, as he imagined other ways in which he could proudly serve and support his country.
“I began college feeling lost,” Dr. Purnell shared. “I was not the person I had thought I would be, and I didn’t see a way to become him. I didn’t know what to do. I floundered academically. Midway through my first semester, I was failing one class and barely passing another. I improved, but my grades were mediocre. History saved me. When I took required history and literature courses, I signed up for anything that said, “American.” And I loved it. I could spend hours reading about the United States. I thrived in class discussions. In military history courses, I studied about common soldiers, people like my father and uncle: the shoeless, frostbitten militiamen at Valley Forge; the runaway slaves who served in the Union Army; the Marines who raised the flag at Iwo Jima; the grunts and POWs in Vietnam. In Native American history, I learned about the horrors of colonialism. In African American and women’s history courses, I learned about painful contradictions in my nation’s past, but also its powerful promise of liberty and equity. I began thinking that being an historian could be a way to be a patriot.”
“Being a patriot does not come from a uniform, or self-righteousness, or martyrdom,” he concluded. “Devotion to one’s country is not only, or even best, measured in what you give up, but what you invest in; it does not come from what we tear down, but what we build up. America has a lot of problems, but we can solve them if we learn from our past mistakes, and work toward our future with intelligence, patience, and care… Patriotism does not belong to one political party, or one type of person. It doesn’t come from a uniform or a gun or anger or yelling or saying who we are against. It comes from saying what we are for. I hope you will live your patriotism in ways that make sense to you, and in ways that build up our country into a place that is just, equitable, and good. America’s future depends on those kinds of patriots.”
Read the entirety of Dr. Purnell’s Hall address “Education of a Patriot.”
Dr. Purnell is the Geoffrey Canada Professor of Africana Studies and History at Bowdoin College. His courses focus on topics of U.S. history, Africana studies, and urban studies. A life-long New Yorker, Dr. Purnell has focused much of his research, teaching, and writing on race relations—as well as related laws and urban development—throughout the boroughs of New York City. He has also taught and written extensively, however, about the place of racism in both the North and the South throughout our country’s history. Dr. Purnell earned his undergraduate degree from Fordham University and both his master’s and PhD in history from New York University.
Fifteen years ago, the late Robert Smith—RL Class of 1958—and his wife, Salua, established the Robert P. Smith International Fellowship so that Roxbury Latin could bring visiting scholars to campus each year, enhancing our curricula with their insightful perspectives on our increasingly complex world. Over the years, these scholars have educated us on such topics as economic globalization in Africa; modernization in China, India, and the Middle East; Latin American literature; the legacy of World War I; climate change and its far-reaching effects; borders, both physical and philosophical; and, most-recently, the nuances of race and gender, with Dr. Zine Magubane, professor of sociology at Boston College. We are grateful to Mr. and Mrs. Smith for their generosity and for enabling our greater understanding of these critical global issues.
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Remembering Steve Ward, Beloved Teacher, Coach, and Friend
On the morning of January 19, legendary and long-time faculty member Steve Ward died—peacefully, and at home—after a long illness. Beginning when he was hired in 1976, Steve had a significant impact on the lives of countless Roxbury Latin boys. When Steve retired in 2014, he was appropriately celebrated for his distinctive and effective style as a teacher of history, highly successful varsity wrestling coach, lighthearted coach of junior varsity baseball, devoted advisor, and fair-minded Dean of Students.
Over nearly four decades, Mr. Ward—like the bards of old—found stories to be the best way to teach any important ideas or values. An inveterate storyteller, and a master weaver of seemingly disparate references (often involving baseball or Yogi Berra!), Mr. Ward made his classes meaningful and memorable. While the usual business of history was attended to, his courses were never about names, places, and dates, but the forces that shaped the events, and the patterns of institutions, governments, and people that were evident time and time again. Mr. Ward’s classes were popular for all the right reasons: they engaged the learner, gave him a chance to experience historical concepts first hand, and expected him to go away with lessons that would inform his life. In his years at RL, Mr. Ward taught U.S. History, Western Civ, and wonderfully wrought electives on America at War and Contemporary America. Mr. Ward’s students, like his athletes, always felt he was rooting for them, giving them the benefit of the doubt, helping to find some reasonableness and even humor in what others might construe as a serious, even dire situation.
For thirteen years, Mr. Ward served as Dean of Students. Outside the classroom, however, Mr. Ward’s most famous contributions to the life of the school were as a coach. He worked effectively as junior varsity baseball coach, as assistant coach for the varsity baseball team, and for many years as a football coach. Most famously, however, Mr. Ward was for 36 years the head coach of the varsity wrestling team. The statistics only begin to tell the tale, but they are remarkable. He was the second winningest coach among the New England Independent School Wrestling Association coaches with 393 career victories. In one 12-year span, RL went 132-7-1—that’s a 94.2 winning percentage. Along the way his teams won twelve Graves-Kelsey Tournaments and ten ISL titles. His colleagues in the sport recognized him in two prominent ways by naming him the recipient of the coveted Neil Buckley Service Award in 2011 (presented each year at the National Prep Wrestling Tournament to one individual from the over 200 schools represented). This followed on the heels of Mr. Ward’s 2009 induction into the Massachusetts chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. In recognition of the esteem in which Coach Ward was held by his brothers in the ISL, they commissioned a special plaque in his honor. Anyone who wrestled for Mr. Ward knows that that privilege was simply a continuation of the classroom in which each boy was treated with respect and affection. A remarkable motivator, Mr. Ward was impressively able to make what is by nature an individual sport a team sport. The loyalty he engendered among his wrestlers one for another was a logical extension of the values and attitudes that he, himself, modeled.
As Headmaster Kerry Brennan read at Steve’s retirement in 2014, “Schools are better for the characters who populate them; faculties are built on the likes of Mr. Ward. For all that you have meant in some way to each one of us, and especially for your virtually unrivaled service to the school (only ten masters in the history of Roxbury Latin have offered longer service!), we say, ‘Well done, oh good and faithful servant. Thank you and Godspeed.’”
Steve will be greatly missed by many. The Roxbury Latin community offers its condolences to his wife, Pat Rogers; his daughter, Barrett; granddaughter, Ophelia; his brothers and other relatives. The Roxbury Latin community—along with Steve’s family and friends—celebrated Steve’s life in a memorial service held in the McNay Palaistra on April 10. You can view the entirety of the service here.
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Winter Art Exhibit Featuring the Work of Brian Buckley
On the evening of January 13, more than 200 members of the Roxbury Latin community—students, alumni, faculty, parents, and friends—helped to celebrate the opening of this year’s winter art exhibit, featuring the work of veteran faculty member and long-time Arts Department Chair Brian Buckley.
Having served for 36 years on the Roxbury Latin faculty, Mr. Buckley is retiring. He has led the Arts Department for 33 years and has positively affected thousands of RL students over nearly four decades. In honor of his talent and dedication, and in celebration of his retirement, RL is hosting Brian Buckley: A Retrospective—an exhibit of Mr. Buckley’s artwork from 1977 through 2021.
View pictures from the opening reception, and of the artwork itself. The exhibit will be available for viewing from January 13 to February 15. The Great Hall exhibit is open to the public Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Please call 617-477-6326 for viewing access.
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Danny Morris ’86 of I Have a Dream Foundation Helps Honor MLK Jr.
On January 13, Roxbury Latin welcomed back Danny Morris, Class of 1986, who delivered a rousing, personal, and powerful address at the school’s annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemoration Hall. Danny serves as Director of National Programs for the I Have a Dream Foundation, an organization based in New York City and working to ensure that all children have the opportunity to pursue higher education and fulfill their potential. The foundation’s name is, of course, derived from Dr. King’s famous speech delivered during the March on Washington in 1963. In his role, Danny oversees the effective delivery of support and services to the network of the foundation’s affiliates.
In his introduction, Headmaster Brennan began, “We pause to recognize the contributions of Dr. Martin Luther King and to consider anew the principles of justice, equality, and brotherhood—principles he pursued ardently and about which he spoke eloquently. The prejudices and hatred that Dr. King worked so hard to eradicate remain in too many heads and hearts, even as laws and social policy have been advanced that protect and affirm the rights of all Americans. In these recent years, many headlines have focused on high profile cases involving race, violence, discrimination, activism, and, thankfully in many cases, hope.” Before the morning’s keynote address, members of Class I—Nolan Walsh and Alejandro Denis—delivered readings from Micah 6 and from Dr. King’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail, punctuated by the singing of Wake Now My Senses and Lift E’vry Voice and Sing.
In his remarks, Danny encouraged students and adults to consider, “What if…?” Calling to mind the possibilities of the science fiction “multiverse”—the concept of parallel and divergent timelines—he walked through the story of Mahalia Jackson, who urged Dr. King to go off-script that day in Washington, D.C., resulting in the delivery of his I Have a Dream speech; of Eugene Lang, founder of the I Have a Dream Foundation, seeded by an impulse when he promised to help fund college tuition for a room full of middle schoolers; and of Danny’s own experience at Roxbury Latin—often fraught with racism and discrimination:
“Adults whom I considered my mentors at the Elma Lewis School of Fine Arts in Roxbury [where I was heavily involved outside of school]… consistently told me that too many people had fought, sacrificed, and died so that I could have an opportunity to attend Roxbury Latin and that I had an obligation to move past the racism that I experienced and contribute to the community. They told me that when I graduated and went to college I was expected to create, build, serve, and contribute to the community. And that message took hold. By junior year, I joined the Glee Club and Small Group, performed in plays and musicals with our sisters from Dana Hall. I went to Yale and took the mindset of creating community, building community, contributing to community, and serving the community with me. If I had not done those things, my life might look very different today.”
In addition to being a talented and prolific musician and performer during his years as a student, Danny “served as a role model, tutor, and guide for younger Black students as they made the difficult transition from public and parochial schools to the rigors of Roxbury Latin,” Mr. Brennan recalled. “He was courageous and stood up to people and prejudices that were contrary to his values and precocious sense of self. This latter investment of his time, talent, and energy turned out to be indicative of his life’s calling.”
That calling was to serve and support young people from under-resourced communities, by providing the tools and resources they need to achieve their dreams of going on to and graduating from college—a career Danny has been committed to for three decades. He began that work with Teach for America as a kindergarten teacher in Inglewood, California, and continued it most recently as the Director of Educational Initiatives at United Way NYC, where he was responsible for creating an arts initiative that included a city-wide essay contest and annual talent showcase at the Public Theater as well as at the world-famous Apollo Theater.