30th Reunion

Welcome – Ethan Herschenfeld

Toast to Our Class—Dan Dougherty

Pre-Covid19 Survey Results—Andy Freed

H90 Cabaret

Susan Levine
Time—Susan Levine

Evelyn Chen
Etude in D# minor, Op. 8, No. 12--Alexander Scriabin
“Etincelles” (sparks), Op. 36, No. 6--Moritz Moszkowski

In Memoriam: A Moment to Remember our Classmates
The H90 Virtual Choir – Directed and Produced by Oscar Alcantara

Asher Alcantara, Oscar Alcantara , Fred Carret, Rebecca Conant, Bruce Condit, Melissa Feliciano, Nina Feliciano, Abigail Gertner, Henry Hsia, Karen Isble, Ben Karney, Pamela Ling, Sue Keller, Alyn Kelley, Jane Kirk, Susan Legro, Diana Nygren, Maeve O'Connor, Fritz Onion, Elizabeth Pearce, David Priest, Arthur Rishi, Laurie Spira-Savett, Larissa Stillman, Sarah Strasser, Lena Strayhorn, Stacey Street, Roger Travis , Norman Whitmire, Jr.

My Shepherd Will Supply My Need—Virgil Thomson

Sara Melson
Bird on a Wire--Leonard Cohen

Dan Murphy
My Friends (That I'll Never Know)—Dan Murphy

Chris Bentley
Just Yet—Chris Bentley

The H90 Harvard Angels—Directed and Produced by Graham Edwards

Adam Fratto, Bryan Greene, David Nozick, Fred Carret, George Cassidy, Graham Edwards, Jeff Bray, Sara Melson, Susan Levine

Angel from Montgomery--John Prine

Tarot Card Reading—David Coale

The After Party: Class “Meet Up” on Discord

Introductions

Dan Dougherty (toast)

Dan Dougherty leads Cristo Rey New York High School in East Harlem. Educating our children at home during the pandemic has driven many of us to drink, so who better to lead us in a toast than an educator.

Andy Freed (survey)

Andy Freed is a classmate from Kirkland House who proudly placed out of the QRR and then never touched a calculator for four year of college, so he’s a natural to present the survey results.

Susan Levine

Susan is a singer-songwriter, music therapist and mom. She performs and records both as a solo artist and as one half of Americana duo, The Lied To's, with partner Doug Kwartler. She has recorded 4 cd's -- 2 of her own and 2 with The Lied To's. The Lied To's were slated to release their 3rd cd this very weekend (Fri May 29th at The Burren in Somerville), but plans got waylaid by Covid-19. Susan lives in Newburyport, MA with her two boys, her cat and her brand new rescue dog, April.

Evelyn Chen

Many of you knew Evelyn as "Shu-Ching" while at Harvard. She began using her middle name "Evelyn" professionally when she released her first solo CD. Currently teaching at Teachers College, Columbia University, Evelyn and her cellist husband, Brinton Smith, recently released their second CD together titled Exiles in Paradise: Emigre Composers in Hollywood.

Oscar and the Virtual Choir

The 29 performers in our next segment have never sung together before and some have never even met. They represent many of the major vocal groups on campus, and are currently spread out across four continents, but have joined together using Dropbox and Gmail and iMovie to collaborate on this virtual performance of Virgil Thomson's 'My Shepherd Will Supply My Need'. The piece was a favorite of Peter Gomes, and was performed by the University Choir at the Reverend's memorial service at Mem Church. We think it's a beautiful and fitting way to honor the memory of our beloved class-mates who have passed on.

Sara Melson

Sara Melson writes songs about faith & hope despite the odds, love, lessons learned, and the fleeting preciousness of life. Look for her new EP, "Wild & Precious Life", coming June 19th on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you listen to music.

Dan Murphy

Dan performs his solo music under the name Daniel Waterhouse. Today's selection, "My Friends (That I'll Never Know,)" can be found on his debut record "Feng Shui Croquet"

Chris Bentley

Chris released a full-length music album in 2017 called “Grand Design” which he self-produced and performed. He released a single called “Just Call Me” with a music video in 2018. Today he is performing what will be his new single called “Just Yet”, planning for release in two weeks.

After graduation, Chris set out to be a musician and song writer. He has not given up that dream and hopes to release a new album by the beginning of 2021. Currently a financial advisor with Morgan Stanley, he sees the creativity in music as similar to what he uses in his profession. Music and orchestration have been and will always be a key part of his life.

Graham Edwards and the Harvard Angels

I was struggling a bit with how to describe this next collaboration, so I recruited classmate John Malone to help me out...”

David Coale (tarot card)

David Coale, of Canaday Hall and Leverett House, is the only person in the world certified in Civil Appellate Law by the State Bar of Texas and as a Tarot Card Master by the World Metaphysical Association.

Toast to the Harvard Radcliffe Class of 1990

DANIEL DOUGHERTY · SUNDAY, MAY 31, 2020

Delivered by Dan Dougherty ’90 on May 30, 2020 on the occasion of the class’s 30th reunion.

As we gather today, looking at our computer screens, I’m sure we feel a little disappointed, even more so now that we've had to restart the Zoom call, although that adds to the comedy and seems fitting for a group of 50-something-year-olds. We wish we could be together, looking at each other’s faces - wrinkled as they may be, aged as they may be, but still never more beautiful. But the disappointment we feel for not being in person, pales in light of the sickness and death the pandemic has caused, and the financial strain people feel. It’s prevalent here in New York where the numbers affected are so high. When I go to work on 106th Street in Harlem, there’s a food line that stretches around the block and up the avenue every time the kitchen is open for food pickup.

The issues of violence that have been in the news the last several weeks remind us that racial injustice continues to be a blight on our country. Earlier today, outside my window, there was a protest that closed the FDR Drive for a little while and marched past my building chanting, “Hands up. Don't shoot.” And out that same window, there are going to be cheers at 7:00 PM, because every night in New York and all around the country, people cheer for the essential workers who are fighting the pandemic.

Clearly the arc of history is not bending fast enough toward justice. Most of us came into this world in the turbulent year of 1968, so maybe we were made for these troubled times. So given the circumstances, rather than focus on our disappointment, let’s reach for gratitude instead - gratitude that inspires commitment to something better.

Let’s be grateful for the foundation of life – health, home, food, family, faith, and the occasional beverage.

Let’s be grateful that our age and experience have smoothed a few of our rough edges, sharpened our wit, increased our wisdom and deepened our compassion for others.

Let’s be grateful for the people, especially our classmates, who have stepped up during the pandemic – the health care workers who have been treating COVID19, the grocers and truckers and everyone else who has kept the world running.

Let’s be grateful for the people, especially our classmates, who act with justice and inspire the same in others.

Let’s be grateful for those who have worked to bring us together over the last few months and especially today – Lily Gillespie, our Harvard Alumni Association liaison who helped make the best of the situation, and the selfless reunion committee led by our very generous class leaders, Beth Pegg Frates, Mark Solakian, Diana Cheren Nygren (Happy Birthday, Diana!), Laurie Spira-Savett and Jenn Brumage Tombaugh. All they got for their effort was an endless stream of emails and even longer debate about which online platform would provide the best remote reunion experience. That clearly didn’t go well! Who knew the reunion committee meetings in Cambridge were as close as we would get to a reunion? Nevertheless, I think today will turn out terrifically.

Most of all - Let’s be grateful for the Class of 1990:

For the good fortune that brought us together in 1986.

For the friendships that began in college, and have endured for the 30 years since our graduation. Clearly, it has not felt that long. But when we look at our kids, some of whom are now through Harvard themselves, we know time has passed.

Let’s be grateful for the positive contributions each member of the class has made to their chosen field, and the generous commitment each one has made to the causes that are close to their heart.

Please raise your glass – whether it is a red solo cup, a fancy tumbler or a champagne flute – and let’s toast the Harvard Radcliffe Class of 1990:

May the bonds that unite us grow ever stronger and more meaningful, and may the enduring quality of our bonds be surpassed only by the strength of our commitment to contribute meaningfully to the betterment of our communities and the lives of our brothers and sisters.

To the Harvard Radcliffe Class of 1990!