Alan Abel \u201951E<\/strong><\/h3>\nA legend in the world of percussion, Abel performed in the Philadelphia Orchestra from 1959 to 1997 and taught at Temple University from 1973 to 2019.<\/p>\n
His inventions, used worldwide, include triangles and a bass drum stand that allowed the instrument to be sus-pended with rubber bands. \u201cHe was a builder of instruments,\u201d the Philadelphia Inquirer<\/em> wrote. \u201cHis particular take on the orchestral triangle was so successful that it became used in orchestras all over.\u201d<\/p>\nAbel is considered one of the most important percussion educators of the second half of the 20th century. Philadelphia Orchestra timpanist Don Liuzzi told the Inquirer<\/em> that more than a third of notable American orchestras include a percussionist who studied with Abel or with one of his students.<\/p>\nThe Indiana native discovered drums as a young child, often joking that \u201cmy mother was a singer\/pianist and my dad was a carpenter, so I combined the two.\u201d While attending the Eastman School of Music, he performed as a part-time member of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and, after graduating, spent two years in the US Air Force Band stationed in Geneva, New York.<\/p>\n
After retiring, Abel continued to play frequently with the Philadelphia Orchestra and held annual workshops at Temple that attracted students from around the world.<\/p>\n
A member of the Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame, he died in April in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania. He was 91. Survivors include his wife of 68 years, Janet, and three children.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/3″ css=”.vc_custom_1611331308761{padding-top: 50px !important;padding-left: 50px !important;}”][vc_single_image image=”24682″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” mkd_css_animation=””][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”grid” text_align=”left” css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”50px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”grid” text_align=”left” css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column][vc_row_inner row_type=”row” type=”full_width” use_row_as_full_screen_section_slide=”no” text_align=”left” css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column_inner width=”2\/3″][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n
David Bernstein \u201963<\/strong><\/h3>\nThe New York Times called him an \u201cex-calculus teacher, lifelong political radical, and multitalented theater worker.\u201d But there was much more to Bernstein, who died at 78 in Queens, New York, in May.<\/p>\n
An early member of the national organization Students for a Democratic Society, Bernstein was arrested and jailed in 1965 for participating in the first draft board sit-in protest of the Vietnam War. He continued his activism in support of workers throughout his life.<\/p>\n
After retiring from the University of Minnesota, where he served as a grant writer and taught in the theater arts and dance department, Bernstein and his wife of 42 years, Paula Rabinowitz, moved in 2016 to New York City, where he worked with the Long Island City Community Boathouse, a volunteer collective dedicated to providing the public with access to New York City rivers through free kayaking. Bernstein wrote grants, fixed equipment, and instructed people on how to kayak.<\/p>\n
Rabinowitz called him \u201ca solitary man\u201d who biked, kayaked, fished, and solved crossword puzzles and math problems. A teacher, actor, director, and producer, he founded and built several theaters in Michigan. \u201cA homebody, he had the misfortune to marry a wandering woman with whom, during just the past year, he traveled to Portugal, Spain, Hawaii, and Cuba,\u201d his wife said. \u201cAfter 42 years of love and struggle together, I am at a loss.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/3″ css=”.vc_custom_1611331308761{padding-top: 50px !important;padding-left: 50px !important;}”][vc_single_image image=”24742″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” mkd_css_animation=””][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”grid” text_align=”left” css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”50px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”grid” text_align=”left” css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column][vc_row_inner row_type=”row” type=”full_width” use_row_as_full_screen_section_slide=”no” text_align=”left” css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column_inner width=”2\/3″][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n
Alan Finder \u201969<\/strong><\/h3>\nFor nearly three decades, Finder reported on or oversaw coverage of New York City government, education, sports, and other news for the New York Times<\/em>. He served as reporter, bureau chief, editor\u2014and mentor.<\/p>\n\u201cHe was,\u201d the Times<\/em> said, \u201can unflappable eye in the storm of daily newspapering.\u201d<\/p>\nFormer colleague Scott Fallon spoke for many journalists when he tweeted after Finder\u2019s death: \u201cHe handled my stories with a trademark \u2018don\u2019t-worry-kid-I\u2019ve-been-here-a-million-times\u2019 demeanor. Alan was an all-world human being. I\u2019m devastated.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Brooklyn native earned a bachelor\u2019s degree in history from Rochester and a master\u2019s in American studies from Yale before embarking on his newspaper career. He loved music, cooking, and books, but journalism was his passion.<\/p>\n
Finder retired in 2011 but was working part time as an editor for a few publications before his death in March in Ridgewood, New Jersey. He was 72.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/3″ css=”.vc_custom_1611331308761{padding-top: 50px !important;padding-left: 50px !important;}”][vc_single_image image=”24872″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” mkd_css_animation=””][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”grid” text_align=”left” css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”50px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”grid” text_align=”left” css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column][vc_row_inner row_type=”row” type=”full_width” use_row_as_full_screen_section_slide=”no” text_align=”left” css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column_inner width=”2\/3″][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n
James Hughston \u201957E<\/strong><\/h3>\nAfter graduating from the Eastman School of Music, where he majored in bassoon, the South Carolina native earned his master\u2019s from Northern Illinois University and worked as a music teacher in Illinois for six years. He then took a similar position with the public school system in Johnstown, New York, working as an elementary music and school band teacher until his retirement. He also served as organist of the Amsterdam United Methodist Church for 42 years and was a member of the Guild of Organists.<\/p>\n
Hughston died in April in Schenectady. He was 84. Survivors include his husband, James Vallee, and two children.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/3″ css=”.vc_custom_1611331308761{padding-top: 50px !important;padding-left: 50px !important;}”][vc_single_image image=”24812″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” mkd_css_animation=””][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”grid” text_align=”left” css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”50px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”grid” text_align=”left” css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column][vc_row_inner row_type=”row” type=”full_width” use_row_as_full_screen_section_slide=”no” text_align=”left” css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column_inner width=”2\/3″][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n
William Pursell \u201952E, \u201953E (MM) \u201995E (DMA)<\/strong><\/h3>\nPursell was touring as a jazz and R&B musician in 1960 when country singer Eddy Arnold heard him play and suggested he move to Nashville, the capital of country music. It was life-changing advice.<\/p>\n
Pursell made Nashville his home and achieved great success as a recording session pianist, performing with stars such as Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash, and Willie Nelson. His piano performance of the 1963 song \u201cOur Winter Love\u201d reached No. 9 on the Billboard<\/em> Hot 100, while the full-length album of the same name peaked at No. 15 on Billboard<\/em>.<\/p>\nPursell earned two Grammy Award nominations\u2014 for his performance on Ken Medema\u2019s 1974 album, Listen<\/em>, and for his 1978 arrangement of \u201cWe Three Kings\u201d for a National Geographic album. He taught at Belmont University\u2019s School of Music in Nashville from 1980 to 2017. He died in Nashville in September. He was 94.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/3″ css=”.vc_custom_1611331308761{padding-top: 50px !important;padding-left: 50px !important;}”][vc_single_image image=”24822″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” mkd_css_animation=””][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”grid” text_align=”left” css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”50px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”grid” text_align=”left” css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column][vc_row_inner row_type=”row” type=”full_width” use_row_as_full_screen_section_slide=”no” text_align=”left” css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column_inner width=”2\/3″][vc_column_text]<\/p>\nJerome Spector \u201962<\/strong><\/h3>\nWhether at work, at play, or at home, Spector was a man of long commitments. He owned a candle-making business for 30 years, attended weekly card games with the same friends for 40 years, and was married to his wife, Paula, for 50 years.<\/p>\n
Spector started making candles while living on a commune in Vermont in the 1960s. Eventually, he started a business, Big Dipper Candles. He worked from his home in Chester, New York, and sold the homemade products\u2014 sometimes shaped like sushi rolls or matzoh balls\u2014 at craft shows up and down the East Coast. He also supplied Jewish community centers and synagogues around the world with distinctive and elegant Hanukkah candles.<\/p>\n
In his spare time, he tended to gardens at his home and synagogue, volunteered at a soup kitchen, and started a program to supply low-income children with snacks at school they couldn\u2019t otherwise afford.<\/p>\n
Spector died in April in Warwick, New York. He was 79.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/3″ css=”.vc_custom_1611331308761{padding-top: 50px !important;padding-left: 50px !important;}”][vc_single_image image=”24922″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” mkd_css_animation=””][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”grid” text_align=”left” css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”50px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”grid” text_align=”left” css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column][vc_row_inner row_type=”row” type=”full_width” use_row_as_full_screen_section_slide=”no” text_align=”left” css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column_inner width=”2\/3″][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n