May is a time of celebration on campus. We recognized Setnor's graduating students and presented a number of awards at our annual Awards Convocation on April 25 and will have a hooding ceremony for our master's students on May 11 prior to the VPA Convocation that same evening. We also recognized and celebrated the work of Joe Riposo, who is retiring after twenty-eight years as Director of Jazz Studies. Prof. Riposo received both the Bachelor of Music '56 and Master of Science '69 degrees from Setnor. He honed his craft as a professional performer in New York City following his studies and returned to Central New York to raise a family and work for the Liverpool Central School District for thirty-one years as a music teacher and administrator. He joined the faculty of the Setnor School of Music upon retirement and has been instrumental in shaping jazz studies for a generation of Setnor students. Through all of this time, he continued being a world-class performer and ensemble conductor, sharing the stage with many luminaries of modern jazz history. He is also a published composer, author of music education instructional materials that span all levels of students, and is a researcher on "hemisphericity" or the lateralization of brain function as it pertains to the process of jazz improvisation. We wish Joe and the class of 2013 great success in the next stages of life!

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