Recent Graduates

A full listing of departmental alumni is available.

2012 Graduates

Samantha Jones completed a Master of Music in Ethnomusicology at Boston University in 2012. She graduated from the University of Connecticut in May 2010, where she earned a BA in Music with Honors magna cum laude and a BA in Cognitive Science magna cum laude. Samantha’s current research focus is on groove, phenomenology, and embodiment in Irish traditional music and dance. She has presented papers for the American Conference for Irish Studies and the Northeast Chapter of the Society for Ethnomusicology. Samantha held the Senior ESL Writing Fellowship at Boston University’s Educational Resource Center and was a tutor at Boston University’s Arts & Sciences Writing Center.
Roxanne Roca completed an MM in Historical Musicology at Boston University in 2012. A native of Rehoboth, MA, she graduated from Rhode Island College in 2009 with a BA in Music, focusing on classical and jazz vocal performance. Her research interests include musical theater, children’s music, and Japanese composer Nobuo Uematsu. She also works as an actress and vocalist for children’s organizations around Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
Andrew ShryockAndrew Shryock completed a PhD in Historical Musicology at Boston University in 2012. His dissertation examines the efforts of George Frideric Handel and his librettists to appeal to and transfix the imagination of oratorio audiences in the mid-1740s.

2011 Graduates

Max DeCurtins completed an MM in Historical Musicology at Boston University in 2011. He came to BU from the ever-temperate climate of his hometown, Menlo Park, California, and completed his thesis Aspects of Bach Reception in Israel under the supervision of Joshua Rifkin and Jeremy Yudkin. His paper “Changing Contexts for Bach Reception in Israel” was given at the Fall 2011 meeting of the New England Chapter of the American Musicological Society and his paper “Historical Narratives: Bach Reception and Period Performance in Israel” was given at the 2011 Annual Meeting by the Israel Musicological Society.

Prior to his studies at Boston University, Max studied at the University of California at Santa Barbara, graduating in 2007 with bachelor’s degrees in Music and Linguistics, and still pines for the majestic views of the Pacific and aromas of eucalyptus and ocean breeze that define Santa Barbara’s particular terroir. Max has also attended the Conductors Institute at Bard College, has conducted at the Colburn School in Los Angeles, and remains keenly interested in conducting, music in education and journalism, and music & technology. Max’s research was inspired by a trip to Israel and focuses on the transmission, reception, and perception of the music of J.S. Bach in pre-modern and modern Israel. Max celebrates March 21st like a federal holiday and composes fugue subjects & expositions like some people do the New York Times crossword or Sudoku.
Stefano GrazianoStefano Graziano completed a PhD in Historical Musicology in 2011. A native of Italy, he completed his dissertation From Language to Music: Mapping the History of the Italian Lute Vocabulary in 2011, under the supervision of Victor Coelho. He received a Graduate Research Abroad Fellowship (GRAF) award in 2010 to fund dissertation research in Italy. His paper “La Terza Via” was given at the Winter 2009 meeting of the New England Chapter of the American Musicologal Society.

Prior to his studies in the United States, Stefano studied at the University of Perugia and the Conservatory Francesco Morlacchi (Perugia). He holds a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Guitar and Jazz History from Berklee College of Music, a Master of Arts in Musicology from the University of Utah, a Master of Music in Early Music Performance from the Longy School of Music.
Laurence Spezzano completed a Bachelor of Arts in Music specializing in Musicology in 2011. Originally from Central Islip, New York, Laurence found the transition to Boston and its Red Sox fans difficult to say the least. Laurence’s research interests include German late romanticism, historical and contemporary theatrical trends, and studies in musical maturity. In addition to his work in Musicology, Laurence has composed art songs, chamber music, and solo piano music under the direction of Martin Amlin and Samuel Headrick.

Laurence’s terminal project “Exploring the Links Between the Ave Maria…virgo serena of Josquin Des Prez and Johannes Regis” was supervised by Joshua Rifkin. His research project “Examining Productions of Wagner’s Parsifal through the Twentieth Century” was the recipient of an Undergraduate Research Opportunities (UROP) grant and supervised by Thomas Peattie. His research has been presented in the BU UROP Symposium, in a lecture to the BU Musicology & Ethnomusicology departmental lecture, and at the National Conference of Undergraduate Research.