Inductees

Marty Ashby

Marty is an arts administrator, producer, musician, consultant and motivational-speaker who uses music as his lens to view the planet. He began performing at age eight with his family in their home town of Baldwinsville. The “Ashby Family,” one of Central New York’s most in-demand Society Bands in the ’70’s, provided a strong musical base for all three of the Ashby boys. Graduating from Baker High in 3 years, Marty attended the Ithaca College music program on scholarship at age 16. During his undergraduate years, he began producing jazz festivals and started honing the skills he would need to excel in the jazz world. When he moved to NYC after graduation, he began selling subscriptions to the New York Philharmonic; soon he began climbing the ladder of management in the system, and he discovered the inequities among the orchestra, opera, ballet, and those of the jazz industry; he was impelled to present jazz in the manner of the other performing arts. Marty spent the next five years working for a variety of performing arts organizations such as the Cleveland Orchestra, the Ohio Ballet, and the Pittsburgh Symphony, learning their techniques concerning marketing, consumer-relation data base management, promotion, presenting, fund-raising, all which he would later apply to his work with jazz. In 1987, Marty left the Pittsburgh Symphony and joined the Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild and set out to create a jazz Subscription Series. He is now the Executive Producer of MCG Jazz. The Pittsburgh-based company is a multi-disciplined center for arts and learning. Over the 38 years there, Marty has produced over 3,500 concerts, 70+ recordings, and a series of educational DVD’s, including five GRAMMY Award winners. MCG Jazz has grown into one of the most successful jazz programs in the world.

Sally Dayger

Sally is best known as an educator who taught elementary school and secondary math for 35 years in the Baldwinsville School District. She also taught math at SUNY Oswego, supervised student teachers for Oswego and worked in administration in a number of capacities for the Baldwinsville School District in addition to serving as a hearing officer for OCM BOCES. Sally is a long-time supporter of the visual and performing arts in Baldwinsville and in all of Central New York. She is the founder of The Baldwinsville Community Hall of Fame for Visual and Performing Arts, into which she is being inducted this evening. Sally was well-known as costume director for local companies including Theatre 90, Baker High School and the Baldwinsville Theatre Guild. Many of the costumes she provided were created in her home sewing room. In addition to her active roles in costuming, as a member of the Baldwinsville Board of Education, Sally vigorously supported the Baldwinsville art and music programs at all levels. A former Baldwinsville Woman of the Year, Sally for many years served as the co-chairperson and treasurer of the local Symphony Guild, as well as being member of the Pac-B Board of Directors. Sally has served the community as a member of the Community Council, the Baldwinsville Zoning Board of Appeals (Chair), McHarrie’s Legacy (Treasurer), the Women’s Garden Club (President, Secretary and Treasurer), The Board of Directors of the Methodist Church and as the Coordinator of the Friends of the Arts Baldwinsville Food Pantry. 

Rick Edinger

Rick (he/they) is a proud, queer AAPI music supervisor, conductor, arranger, vocal coach, and pianist. He serves as the Area Chair for the Acting/Music Theater program and Associate Professor of Music Theater at Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama. Rick began his quest of music in the Baldwinsville School District inspired by the teachers and leaders of the various ensembles there. These included Ray, Durgee, and Baker High choruses; vocal jazz groups “Tone Colors” and “Silk & Satin;” orchestra; private lessons in voice, piano, and cello; five years in Syracuse Children’s Chorus; Boy Soprano for the Syracuse Symphony; and Theatre Guild’s musicals. The skill Rick gleamed through these undertakings provided all the necessities for the success that brightens his professionalism today. Rick moved to Cleveland after his junior year at Baker. Soon after college, Broadway ensued, acting in Sondheim’s Pacific Overtures, plus a role in producing the 75th tribute to Sondheim. Rick’s recent projects span from regional theater to Broadway. Some of them include these: The Unlimited Unauthorized Hunter S. Thompson Musical at La Jolla Playhouse; Trading Places at Alliance Theatre & Pre-Broadway Workshop; The Brass Teapot, the NAMT FESTIVAL 2024. A strong advocate for the development of new works, Rick plays a large role as a member of the Board of Directors of the National Alliance for Musical Theater’s (NAMT) annual endeavors. For NAMT’s annual Festival of New Musicals, he has served as consultant on several new plays: Wonder Boy, Maya, Hart Island, The River is Me, and Interstate. Rick’s accomplishments attest to the strong roots that began in the Baldwinsville School District, whence he credits the fine-tuned skills he uses today.

Stu Hosler (1929-2025)

The man whom everyone knew as “Stu” began his journey through life in the Baldwinsville School District, where he acted in his first show at the age of eight and never stopped loving it. A sports enthusiast, he played three sports in high school, and his baseball team played three years with no losses, earning a photo in the Cooperstown Hall of Fame. The proud graduate of Syracuse University, ESF, in 1952, Stu joined with his father as Partner in the Hosler Agency, where he continued until his retirement. Beyond the office, Stu found joy in a diverse number of hobbies. His youthful passion for stamp collecting lasted a lifetime, and he enjoyed wood-working, fly fishing, golf, and singing in his spare time. But a love of nature took him to a job at a chinchilla farm in California for one year after his college graduation, and, being an avid bird watcher and butterfly enthusiast, he was a twenty-year winter volunteer at Corkscrew Audubon Swamp Sanctuary in Naples, Florida. His main interest in life, however, was theatre; he served as President of the Baldwinsville Theatre Guild, where he acted in fourteen shows and directed two shows. His final performance there was a cameo part in The Music Man. Participation in civic groups won him much gratitude and recognition. A founding member of the Baldwinsville Rotary Club and life-long member; Man of the Year in Baldwinsville in 1974; President of the ESF Alumni Association; an active Choir member of the University United Methodist Church of Syracuse—these exemplify Stu’s dedication and honors. The breadth of Stu’s interests and accomplishments portrays the depth of his spirit and amazing life.

Steve Neff

Steve graduated from Baker High in 1985 and went on to Ithaca College to pursue a degree in music education and saxophone performance. In the summer of 1987, Steve decided to transfer to Berklee College of Music in Boston to further his study with some of the best jazz teachers and saxophone players in the world. While at Berklee, Steve studied with Bill Pierce, George Garzone and Joe Viola. Steve was among the best players in the world, including Warren Hill, Donny McCaslin, Seamus Blake, Mark Turner, Roy Hargrove, Danilo Perez and many others. After Berklee he also studied with Jerry Bergonzi and Charlie Banacos. Following college, Steve played professionally in the New England area with several of the region’s top bands for the next twenty years. In 2002, Steve started teaching the saxophone to students, and in a few short years, he grew his lesson studio to over 70 students a week. In 2007, Steve began working on a website for himself and created the world’s first saxophone video lesson subscription website. Since 2007, Steve has written 16 books on jazz improvisation, created over 600 video lessons, and has written hundreds of saxophone-related reviews and articles on his website at www.neffmusic.com. Neffmusic is known as one of the top websites to visit when looking for saxophone-related materials. He has influenced millions of saxophone players around the world. 

Rosemary Nesbitt (1924-2009)

Rosemary was born October 12, 1924 in Baldwinsville, where she attended school and graduated from Baldwinsville Academy in 1942. In that same year, then Rosemary Sinnett, founded the Baldwinsville Theatre Guild, which still thrives 82 years later. Earning a master’s degree in theater with a minor in English from Syracuse University, she went on to receive a fellowship to study Shakespeare in England, and achieved a “Highest Honor” award there. Upon her return, Rosemary began teaching at Wells College in Aurora, where she remained for three years. She then returned to SU to teach in the theater department for 28 years, where she rose to the rank of Distinguished Teaching Professor. She then began a long career for which she is most remembered in Oswego—her public service and volunteerism. SUNY Oswego named her director of the Oswego Children’s Theater, and during the 20 years there she authored 15 children’s plays plus a book called “The Great Rope,” which has become part of fourth-grade curriculum in several states. In 1982, Mrs. Nesbitt founded the H. Lee White Marine Museum, at which she became the director for many years. She also served as Chairman of the Board of the Port Authority of Oswego for 3 years, being the first woman to hold the position. In 1994 she received the Woman of the Year Amelia Earhart Award, and she was honored by the Oswego Salvation Army with the Service Above Self Award for her service to the community. The city of Oswego erected a monument in her honor in Breitbeck Park that lauds her many services, calling her “community leader, city historian, educator, story-teller, visionary, author, thespian, patriot, museum founder, dedicated volunteer, and devoted wife, mother and grandmother. The volunteer made America. Thank you from the residents of the city of Oswego dedicated May, 1999.” 

Cynthia Wells

Cynthia taught visual arts education in the Baldwinsville Central School District for a total of thirty-four years, retiring in 2005. After receiving her BA in Elementary Education & Art at SUNY Fredonia and her MS in Art Education at Syracuse University, her early tenure found her at Ray Middle School and Durgee Junior High School. An adjunct at Syracuse University, she taught undergraduate and graduate courses there for fifteen years. After retiring she supervised art education students from SUNY New Paltz and the College of Saint Rose. During her career in Baldwinsville she worked on various curriculum development committees, and at Durgee she was part of many more committees, even ski club. Cynthia had the opportunity to be involved in New York State Education programs doing consulting work and creating curriculum for several projects. Her involvement in professional organizations earned her many accolades such as State President of the NYSATA (New York State Art Teachers Association) in 1989-90, co-coordinating an annual state Conference for ten years, and participating in many other committees. She received NYSATA Outstanding Service Award, NYSATA Region 3 Art Educator of the Year, and several others. Cynthia now spends time creating and exhibiting her own art in many different mediums, such as printmaking, painting, collage, pottery, and quilting. Additionally, she belongs to local Art Associations. .

Robert G. “Bob” Whitman (1913-2001)

Bob Whitman was the first band director at Baker High School. During the 1950’s and 1960’s he built the band up from the small ensemble he had inherited in 1949, at Baldwinsville Academy on Elizabeth Street. He exposed students to a wide variety of band music, and encouraged them to stick with music through high school and beyond. Through his musicianship and enthusiasm, the versatile concert and marching bands grew to over 80 members. As director of music for the District, he helped select and develop a talented young music staff, many of whom made their careers here. Born in Cortland County in 1913, Bob played sax and clarinet in many New York State jazz and dance bands, including those of Spiegle Willcox, Larry Harrington, and Lyman Waite. He went to the Crane School of Music at Potsdam Normal School, where he led the Varsity Dance Band in Potsdam. After college, the depression was still on; Bob taught music in one-room rural schools, then spent two years as an instrumental teacher in Morris, Otsego County. He enlisted in the Army Air Forces in 1942. After stints in glider pilot and radio schools, he was transferred to a military band unit that spent 1945 serving in Italy. The G.I. Bill funded his master’s degree at Syracuse University and then he taught instrumental music at Monticello in Sullivan County. Paul Benedict, his former Morris principal, lured him to Baldwinsville in 1949. After his retirement from Baldwinsville in 1973, Bob returned to teaching elementary instrumental music. He substitute-taught all through his seventies, and he played clarinet with the Baldwinsville Community Band. Bob died in Baldwinsville in 2001. 

Cathy Strong

Cathy, a former choreographer for eleven years at Baker High School, emerged from high school as a Rockette, a USO performer, and even as the “Most Talented” candidate in the Miss Massachusetts Pageant. For several years, she choreographed and acted in area theater programs, including Salt City Playhouse, the Talent Company, and the Springfield, MA dinner theatre. Cathy also played the lead roles of Lola in Damn Yankees, Nellie in George M, Adelaide in Guys and Dolls, to name a few.  She joined the Baker High School musical staff in 1994, and for 11 years of service, she choreographed hits such as Anything Goes, Oklahoma, Guys & Dolls, Into the Woods, and Secret Garden all to perfection.  Cathy also helped several Baker High School students to prepare dance routines for their college auditions. When she retired as choreographer, she continued sharing her talent at the Oasis Senior Center, where she taught seniors to tap dance.

Garrett August Heater

Garrett began whetting this ambition for the world of drama as he performed in musicals at Baker High School, Crazy for You being a favorite.  He honed his skills at Syracuse University and Hunter College in New York City, where he was awarded the Vera Mowry Roberts Fellowship.  Presently, Garrett teaches Visual Arts and Music in Oswego, New York.  In his early career as a teacher in Harlem, he was named a Teacher of Tomorrow by the NYC Department of Education.  He is co-founder and artistic director of The Covey Theater Company and producing artistic director of New York City-based Chelsea Opera.  An award-winning playwright, he is the recipient of 15  Syracuse Area Live Theater (SALT) awards.  His original play, Puccini will make its NYC debut in April, 2024. Three of his plays have been produced at the New York’s International Fringe Festival: Lizzie Borden Took An Axe, Playing God, and Lincoln’s Blood.

Jennifer Scott Miceli, PhD

Jennifer, a Baker High graduate, excelled in Chorus, Band, and Orchestra ensembles. Her experiences at The Hartt School and Eastman School of Music prepared for the following outstanding achievements: Long Island University Professor of Music, Department Chair, Director of Music Education, and recipient of the David Newton Award for Excellence in Teaching; clinician, lecturer, adjudicator, and guest conductor; Huntington Choral Society, Music Director; Belle Voci Intergenerational Choral Society (501c3), Founding Director; Sound Vocal Jazz, Founding Director, author of Skill Building Sequences for Choral Ensembles (UPA, 2015); as well as domestic and international appearances as a chorister and a flutist.

Jon J. Barden

Jon, who taught Drama, Public Speaking and English at Baker High School for 30 years, began, along with Cindy Smith and Norm Wanzer, the production of musicals at Baker. During his long, 30-year stint in the Baldwinsville Theatre Guild, he both acted in or directed more than 30 productions. Jon was responsible for developing the Baldwinsville Theater Guild scholarship for students at Baker High School. After a short hiatus in retirement, Jon returned to playing a strong role in the productions at Theatre Guild for ten more years.

Phill Sterling

Phill began his career in 1974 in Liverpool teaching band and directing the marching band. In 1976, he came to Baldwinsville where he taught music in all elementary, middle, and junior high school buildings for more than 34 years. He served as Administrator of the High School Marching Band for eight of those years, retiring in 2010. He was Minister of Music at Christ Community UMC, serving from 1982 until 2012.  Highlights during his long career include hosting the first Field Band Competition at MacArthur Stadium in 1974; founding the Baldwinsville Community Band in 1979; composing music for the musical, Speakeasy, in 1990; and receiving Baldwinsville’s Man of the Year award in 1994.  Phill also directed select music groups in Onondaga and Oswego counties, including Syracuse City Schools, Oswego county All County bands, as well as arranging music for several school bands and choruses. He continues today as organist at Grace Episcopal Church in Baldwinsville and accompanies soloists and school choruses.

Richard “Dick” J. Simiele (posthumously)

Richard J. Simiele who taught at Ray Middle School for 26 years, started the middle school musicals program. During this time, he developed 26 one-act musicals, unique to the Baldwinsville community. He produced all of these at no cost to the district, believing that he was gifting both the students and their parents. The shows involved teachers, staff, and parents, as both behind-the-scenes helpers and actors, making it truly a total school community experience. Dick also performed with the Stan Colella and the Mario DeSantis Orchestras for almost 50 years, playing saxophone, clarinet and flute. Before coming to Baldwinsville, he taught instrumental music in the Cato-Meridian School District. Dick also was an adjudicator for the New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA) for most of his teaching career.

Mike Conway

Mike Conway, an art teacher, taught at Reynolds Elementary in the Baldwinsville School District for 40 years. His dedication to nurturing young artistic minds left a lasting impact on the community. Mike’s legacy extends beyond the classroom. Since his retirement in 2016, he has continued an artistic presence in the area through volunteer projects in the community, the Baldwinsville Library and at St. Augustine’s Church. The murals at the four corners exemplify still more of Mike’s artistry. Mike enjoys teaching adult art classes at Canton Woods Senior Center and substituting in Baldwinsville elementary schools in art, music, physical education, and in the schools’ libraries. Mike still pursues his favorite art areas: illustration and painting. His recent contribution to the community was developing a mural in the children’s section of the Baldwinsville Library depicting the theme of the Erie Canal.

Evelyn (Batchelor) Mercer
(1935-2020)

Evelyn received a BS and MS degree in Music Education, summacum laude, from the Crane Department of Music at SUNY Potsdam. After two years as the high school choral teacher in Williamson Central Schools, she took a position as the choral director of Baldwinsville Central School’s new high school in 1959. While living in Baldwinsville, Evelyn served for many years as the church organist and choir director at Grace Episcopal Church and at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church. She was a frequent rehearsal accompanist and pianist for the Baldwinsville Theater Guild. Following three years of teaching at the high school, Evelyn established a piano teaching studio in her home and continued to teach piano until 2005. She also accompanied hundreds of students auditioning for Conference All-State as well as some of the most notable professionals in Central New York, including John Oberbrunner and George Coble.

Evelyn dedicated many years of service to the Baldwinsville community. She served as a member of the Baldwinsville School Board for 16 years. She was its Vice-President in 1969-70 and President in 1985-86 and was a devoted advocate for the visual and performing arts programs. She was recognized for her service by receiving the William Krentel Award for outstanding board service by the Onondaga Madison School Boards Assn. Evelyn also served as one of the original members of the Baldwinsville Architectural Review Board. In 1971 she was honored as “Woman of the Year” by the Baldwinsville Volunteer Committee.

Frank Cammuso

Frank, the Undergraduate Program Coordinator and Illustration Professor of Practice at Syracuse University, displayed his talent for comics writing when he created his own comics for the Baker High School newspaper called “Balderdash & Ballyhoo.” Later he went on to become an award-winning political cartoonist for the Post Standard newspaper in Syracuse, and his cartoons have been reprinted in the New York Times, the Washington Post, USA Today, and Newsweek. Frank has authored and illustrated several fiction works, as well; they include these: The Misadventures of Salem Hyde, a graphic novel series for Amulet Books; Knights of the Lunch Table from Graphic/Scholastic; and he also self-published his own graphic novel, Max Hamm Fairy Tale Detective, for which he received an Eisner Nomination. Frank’s fiction and satire have appeared on National Public Radio, in the New Yorker, and in the New York Times. He is also the Chief Creative Officer for AHOY Comics.

Gina Lamparella 

Gina began demonstrating her talent as a singer and an actress when she played lead roles in Baker High productions of Oklahoma, Fiddler on the Roof, and Hello, Dolly! She continued her education at Syracuse University, and began pursuing her career in New York City, where she played leading roles in Fiddler on the Roof(Tzeitel), Imaginary Friends (Mary’s imaginary friends, Jane Eyre (Blanche Ingram), She also was an understudy for several shows: Caroline, or Change; The Phantom of the Opera; A Little Night Music; Dirty Rotten Scoundrels; Gypsy, starring Bernadette Peters; Les Miserables. Gina’s TV appearances include Master of None, All My Children, As the World Turns, and Guiding Light. In addition to her acting credits, Gina has been busy as a theatre director in international companies. In Italy, she directed Monologhi della Vagina; in New York City My Life as a Professional Pancreas at The Network 2012 One-Act Festival; at the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival both.

James Kryshak

James graduated from Baker High in 2001, having realized several musical successes performing leading roles in Guys and Dolls, Oliver, Secret Garden and Into the Woods. He studied for his Bachelor of Arts at Elmhurst College in Chicago, and then for his Masters Degree in Opera Performance, he studied at the University of Wisconsin, where he received the Distinguished Voice Excellence Fellowship. As a winner in national auditions for the Metropolitan Opera, James sang on the stage of the Met as a national semi-finalist in February 2009. Many grants and accolades later, he has sung for prestigious opera companies, including Lyric Opera of Chicago, Vienna State Opera, Opera de Lyon, Deutsche Opera Berlin, Teatro Nacional de Sao Carlos, San Francisco Opera Company, Glyndebourne Opera, Birmingham(UK), Wolf Trap Opera, and the Cleveland Symphony and Concertgebouw Amsterdam. James made his professional debut in 2008 in Mozart’s DON GIOVANNI. His roles are too numerous to mention, but Opera News has hailed his voice as “crystalline,” saying that James is quickly becoming known for his vocal finesse, as well as his stagecraft.

Jay Ashby 

Jay graduated from Baker High in 1981. We remember him as the lead in THE MUSIC MAN, a performance that gave great promise of a talented musician in the making. As evidence of his excellence in his field, Jay has won five Grammy awards as a producer, in addition to several nominations for arranging and engineering. He has performed, toured, and recorded with some of the most renowned jazz artists in the industry for the last twenty-five years. His collaboration with jazz icons such as Paul Simon and Paquito D’Rivera attest to his exceptional talent and his status as one of the most highly-regarded performers and arrangers working in the field today. Jay Ashby is currently the Director of Division of Jazz Studies, and also the Associate Professor of Jazz Studies, Composition, and Trombone at Oberlin Conservatory in Ohio.

Norm Wanzer 

Norm has been a mainstay in the field of music in Baldwinsville since he arrived in 1968, having graduated from the Eastman School of Music. From the time that he began as the band director at Baker High School, then at Ray Middle School and at Durgee Junior high, until his retirement in 2001, Norm has been instrumental in the development of programs that have won both him and the Baldwinsville School District appreciation and recognition. He was responsible for the creation of the Marching Band as a field band, and then part of the NYS Field Band Conference. He also began the Music Theory and History program at Baker High School, and he was part of the artistic team that restarted the musical theatre at the high school and created the program at the junior high. Each year, beginning in 1969, Mr. Wanzer (“Wanz” to his students), took his bands to the NYSSMA Major Organization Festival for evaluation by musicians. He challenged himself equally by performing regularly in up to six ensembles at a time, playing these instruments: flute (his principal instrument ), clarinet, saxophone, bassoon (his major instrument at Eastman), trombone, euphonium, string bass. He played the Mozart Bassoon Concerto with the Onondaga Civic Symphony, and he conducted All County bands and community bands throughout Central New York. Mr. Wanzer’s retirement concert featured alumni music educators, professional performers, devoted amateurs, and multi-Grammy- winning musicians, all of whom credit him with their inspiration, discipline, and love of music.