June Hillelson:

A flute and piccolo student at Merrywood, June pursued a career in medicine and is now an internal medicine physician.  She still plays the flute, is an avid giant panda supporter and has published several medical articles.

Mark Leder:

A French horn student and teacher at Merrywood, Mark has been a singer with the New Haven Chorale, the Yale Russian Chorus, and the Hartford Chorale.  He received his PhD in English from Yale University in 1977 and went on to complete his law degree at UConn in 1985.  He worked as a personal injury attorney from 1985-2003 and most recently was an adjunct English instructor at CCSU.

Jacob Litoff:

A violin student at Merrywood, he went on to attend/join Greenwood, Tanglewood Youth Orchestra, Kneisel Hall, and Meadowmount.  He received his Bachelor’s degree in Music from Boston University in 1981.  Thereafter, he joined the Springfield Symphony, the Vermont Symphony, the New Bedford Symphony, and others.  Unfortunately, epilepsy interfered with his career but he was still able to teach at the Boston Conservatory extension program and studied the Suzuki method in Japan.  He taught at Robinsons Music in Westborough, MA and has gone on to teach privately.  In 2002 he joined the Charles River Sinfonietta (www.charlesriversinfonietta.com) and continues to play with them to this day.  Jacob is also extremely interested in macrobiotics and wrote a cookbook on the topic My Macrobiotic Cookbook.

Tom Michelmore:

A violin student at Merrywood, Tom graduated from Amherst College in 1976, completed his MBA at Cornell in 1977, and became a CPA in 1983.  Meanwhile, he continued his music studies with Harry Glickman and played second violin with the Great Neck Symphony.

Joel Russell:

A clarinet student and teacher at Merrywood, Joel is now a semi-retired land conservation lawyer after almost 40 years of practice.  He has two grown sons and on grandson.  For over 20 years, he has been married to Mari Gottdiener, whom he met at Merrywood in 1965.  They now happily live in Northamptom, MA.

Ruth Gottlieb Ryave:

A cello student and teacher at Merrywood, Ruth earned her Bachelor’s degree in Music with honors at Brandeis University in 1973.  She then went to medical school at Boston University, receiving her MD.  She maintained a private practice as an adult and child psychiatrist.  She was also on the faculty of the Yale Child Study Center.  She met her husband Steven while climbing (and summiting!) Mount Kilimanjaro.  A blended family, they have seven children.  She was a former Board Member of Greenwood Music Camp, the New Haven Chorale, and Yale Hillel.  She is a current Board Member of the Academy of Vocal Arts and Nashirah, Jewish Chorale of Greater Philadelphia.   Ruth remains “passionate about classical music and supporting the arts.”  “My summers at Merrywood were among the happiest of my teens and twenties and some of my favorite memories and it still speaks to my heart.  What a gift.”

Samuel Visner:

A clarinet student at Merrywood, Samuel pursued a career in aerospace technology.  He was a technical fellow at Aerospace Corporation, Chief of SIGNALS Intelligence Programs, NSA, and VP/GM of cybersecurity at Computer Sciences Corp.  Currently he is the Chair of the Board of Directors of Space Information Sharing and Analysis Center.  He resides in Washington, DC. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/SamuelVisner/)

David Vogel:

Both a violin and viola student and teacher at Merrywood, David currently plays with the Central Wisconsin Symphony Orchestra.  A physician, he is also an adjunct assistant professor at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

Eric Wen:

A violin student and teacher at Merrywood, he currently plays the piano as well.  He has worked as an Adjunct Professor at the Curtis Institute since 1999, semi-retiring to England with his wife in 2023.  Eric continues to teach two online courses for Curtis.  Publications include Structurally Sound (Dover, 2017), Graphic Music Analysis (Roman & Littlefield, 2020), and Single and Combined Species Counterpoint (Routledge, forthcoming).

Barbara Chaffe:
https://www.sanfranciscoballetorchestra.org/barbara-chaffe-principal-flute/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RfEXqCp5dk

Steven Doane:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Doane

Ellen Bender:
www.ellenbender.com

Lynn Binstock:
https://www.operabase.com/lynn-binstock-a29505/archives/performances/en

Deborah Borda:
https://theviolinchannel.com/deborah-borda-launches-bordaarts-and-joins-intermusica-agency/