March 21, 2025

We mourn the loss of our beloved alumni and faculty who have passed on in recent months. We encourage you to learn more about these members of our community.

Steven Norrell, Classical Bass Trombone Faculty Emeritus

Classical Bass Trombone Faculty Emeritus Steven “Steve” Norrell, of Mount Laurel, New Jersey passed away on March 4, 2025, at the age of 68.

Steve taught at MSM for 33 years until his retirement in 2021. He joined our Brass faculty as a Bass Trombone instructor in 1988 and subsequently taught in the Orchestral Performance Program following its launch 1993.

Steve was appointed to the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in 1981 and continued as a tenured member of the orchestra until 2019. Prior orchestral appointments included the Phoenix Symphony and Baltimore Symphony. Steve earned both his Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from the Juilliard School, where his principal instructor was Donald Harwood. Other prominent teachers include Philip Jameson, Charles Vernon, and Arnold Jacobs. 

In 2017, Steve presented a recital in honor of his 30-year tenure at MSM. At that time, he shared this as part of his bio for the program:

Since joining the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in 1981, Steve Norrell has played on six Grammy award-winning recordings with Maestro James Levine and well over 100 live telecasts. Other conductors have included Leonard Bernstein, Herbert von Karajan, Carlos Kleiber, Sir Georg Solti, and Ricardo Muti. Mr. Norrell has performed on 211 consecutive Ring Cycle opera performances, beginning in 1981, including 100 performances of Die Walküre. He has also toured and performed with the New York Philharmonic and performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Click here to read Steve’s full obituary.

Constance “Connie” Ahlin (BM ’74, MM ’77), Classical Cello

Cellist and arts administrator Constance “Connie” Ahlin (BM ’74, MM ’77), of New York, New York, passed away on November 23, 2024, at the age of 72. Born in Los Angeles in 1952, she grew up in Chappaqua, New York and studied with Ardyth Alton for both her degrees at Manhattan School of Music. Connie excelled in her professional endeavors, which included her work with Columbia Artists Agency in managing and promoting classical musicians, guest-conducting the Nutley (NJ) Symphony Orchestra, as an Artistic Assistant at Opera Philadelphia, as well as at the law firm of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen, & Katz. Her hobbies included travel, reading, and decades of volunteer work at the Bronx Zoo.

Click here to read Connie’s full obituary.

George A. Kaye, Jr. (BM ’97), Jazz Bass

Music educator and vocalist George Kaye (BM ’97) of Northampton, Massachusetts, passed away on February 10, 2025, at the age of 73. Born in 1951, Kaye was a self-taught musician who began playing bass in high school, learning from jazz albums. In the mid-1970s, he performed in Albany with saxophonist Nick Brignola before moving to New York City to work as a freelance musician. He earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz & Commercial Music from the Manhattan School of Music in 1997 and relocated to Brattleboro, Vermont, in 2001. In 2015, Kaye obtained a Master of Music degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in Jazz Composition & Arranging. He served on the board of directors for the Northampton Jazz Festival from 2018 to 2021 and continued as an advisor afterward. Kaye helped cultivate the western Massachusetts jazz scene by bringing musicians from New York City and beyond to the Pioneer Valley. His colleagues remember him as a deeply caring individual who mentored young musicians and was always eager to connect with new community members.

Click here to read George’s full obituary.

Deborah “Debbie” Lifton (MM ’00), Classical Voice

Music educator and vocalist Deborah “Debbie” Lifton (MM ’00) of West Hartford, Connecticut, passed away on January 5, 2025, at the age of 48. Born in 1976 in Manhasset, New York, she took to art song, opera, and musical theatre, attending summer programs for young singers at the Eastman School of Music and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute. She earned her undergraduate degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Michigan and Master of Music degree from Manhattan School of Music. Debbie immediately embarked on a 25-year teaching career at institutions such as New York University, Ithaca College, Western Connecticut State University, and the Hartt School at the University of Hartford, serving as the latter’s Vocal Division Director. Debbie strove to teach “the whole person,” and her loved ones are proud to note that those students who began as her biggest “problem children” frequently were transformed into her biggest fans. Passionately devoted to art song, Debbie won the 2007 Joy in Singing competition and performed a sold-out recital at Merkin Hall.

Click here to read Debbie’s full obituary.

Eric Wicks (’57), Classical Violin

Violinist Eric Wicks (’57) of Chicago, Illinois, passed away on October 28, 2024, at the age of 89. Born in Brooklyn, New York in 1934, Wicks began violin studies at age five with Alfred Troemel (who was also his teacher for his collegiate studies at Manhattan School of Music). He attended the High School of Music and Art and was Concertmaster of the Bridgeport Symphony Orchestra while attending MSM, joining the NBC Opera Orchestra following his MSM Diploma. During his service in the U.S. Army, Wicks was concertmaster and soloist of the United States Military Academy Orchestra at West Point. Following his service, he played with the Radio City Music Hall Orchestra, the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra, and as assistant concertmaster of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra while teaching at the Peabody Conservatory of Music. In 1968, Wicks joined the violin section of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra by invitation from Music Director Jean Martinon. He retired in 2006 and received the Theodore Thomas Medallion for Distinguished Service.

Click here to read Eric’s full obituary.