2005 Inductees – Capitol Arts Complex

Amy Bartell

Artist/Activist Amy is a nationally known visual artist and activist. She is committed to using her talent to provide images that bring social issues to light. Amy was born in Rome, graduated from RFA and lives now in Syracuse. She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from theState University of New York at Oswego.

Many artists do not achieve in a lifetime, the recognition Amy Bartell has achieved at a young age. Her artwork is currently in the permanent collections of organizations which include Trump Towers, Savran Bank, Price Waterhouse and SUNY New York. Many individuals are avid collectors of her work. Amy utilizes a variety of medium for her original pieces including hand-made paper, pastels, acrylics and water colors. Her works are frequently recognizable because of her use of vivid color and bold strokes. The Mural Project has brought much attention recently to Amy’s work. The project began in 1996 when the Women’s Commission at the University of New Hampshire solicited her to reproduce one of her original works of art as a mural to celebrate Woman Suffrage. The final mural which was created in the student union, measured nine feet by thirteen feet and took about two weeks to complete. During the two week period, Amy had many opportunities to speak with student groups and provide workshops. The “hands-on” experience with youth, lead her to determine to re-create the experience with other university groups. Thus, the Mural Project was born and continues today having covered many different subjects and aspects of human awareness. It has taken place in the states of Washington, Minnesota, Maryland, Connecticut, New Hampshire and California; as well as many locations throughout New York State. The Mural Project has also been adopted by not-for-profit organizations including AIDS Community Resources, Rape Crisis Center, Central New York Food Bank and an inner city Syracuse nursing home. AE Originals (aeoriginals.com) is the business organization, owned and operated by Amy and her partner Michelle Brisson. The business provides many different forms of Amy’s creations including posters, postcards and note cards which are distributed through museums, galleries and catalogs. Distribution points include the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C, The Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, the National Women’s History Museum in Seneca Falls and Liberty Museum in Philadelphia.

Michael Burkard

Poet and Author Michael Paul Burkard has written nine books of poetry and is currently at work on a new poetry book, “THE GREEN IN THE SUN”, as well as at work on a book of short fiction and essays. Michael was born (1947) and raised in Rome, and returned to live in Rome in the 1980s.

Tom Foster

Theatrical Director/Designer If you, your parents or your children attended Staley Junior High School, chances are very good Tom Foster was your art teacher. And if you have attended a performance at the Rome Community Theater, chances are very good that Tom Foster sold you a ticket at the box office and that his name appeared on the production program in at least one major category. Tom Foster was born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.

He is a graduate of the Massachusetts College of Art with post graduate study in theater and art education at Syracuse University and The State University of New York at Oswego. Tom’s first teaching assignment was at the West Springfield Massachusetts Junior High School where he taught art for one year in 1956. He then taught the army something about art as he served Uncle Sam from 1957 to 1959. Following his service career, Tom came to Rome and started a very long tenure as an art teacher at Staley Junior High (from 1959 to 1989). During that time, he was named Outstanding Young Educator by the Rome Jaycees. He also received The Saul Lazovik Service to the Arts Award and was honored by the City of Rome for his contribution to the arts. When he retired from Staley, the Board of Education honored him by naming the school auditorium Foster Hall. During his years at Staley, Tom also taught a ninth grade class in theater and served as Director of the Staley Music Theater for more than twenty-five years. It was sometime in the early (Foster continued) 1960’s that Tom first volunteered at Rome Community Theater. He believes his first assignment was helping to design and build a stage set. Since that time, he has been involved in just about every aspect of theatrical production both on and off stage. In the past few seasons he has directed “Meet Me In St. Louis”, “Little Me”, “State Fair”, “Babes In Toyland”, “Tapestry”, “The Pied Piper” and “Silk Stockings”. In addition to directing, Tom has served as costume designer, set designer, scenic painter and producer for well over one hundred RCT productions. Additionally, Tom has used his many talents to direct and produce several benefit performances for the Capitol Theatre, the Rome United Way and the Rome Heart Fund. Tom currently serves as a member of the Rome Community Theater’s board of directors and was elected board president on seven separate occasions. He is the recipient of numerous Henry Awards. Henry Awards are given each year for outstanding production and acting accomplishments as determined by a group of RCT season ticket holders. Continuing his service to the arts and to Rome, Tom organized and served as director for the Voices of Rome. He has also served as a volunteer in many capacities at the Rome Art and Community Center, the Rome Art Association and the Capitol Theatre.

James McDermid

Sculptor As an artist and educator, Jim McDermid has lived in Rome for almost fifty years. He is best known as a sculptor and has taught that art to students at Mohawk Valley Community College, Munson Williams Proctor Arts Institute, Kirkland College and the Rome Art and Community Center.

John Hayes O’Neill

Dance Master The John Hayes O’Neill Studio of Dance has been an institution in Rome for nearly eighty years. It was founded by Mr. O’Neill in the early 1930s. John Hayes O’Neill began teaching dance in 1917 at the age of sixteen. In addition to his love for dance, John Hayes O’Neill is best remembered for his skills in mentoring young performers and his support for community activities.

Jack Palmer

Musician Jack Palmer was born in Rome in 1913. He spent much of his professional life in New York City and traveling throughout the United States. He returned to Rome where he performed locally for many years before his death in the year 2000.

Maria Russo

Dramatic Soprano Maria Russo is known throughout Europe, Asia, North and South America. Her performance last May as Brunnhilde in Wagner’s Ring Cycle was featured in a front page story of the New York Times. Maria Russo, a Rome native

and graduate of RFA, began her musical studies at Nazareth College (BS in Music Theory) and completed her Master of Vocal Performance at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. She attended the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia for further intensive operatic training and performance practice. As a participant in the Merola Apprentice Program at the San Francisco Opera, she made her debut as Rosalinde in “Die Fledermaus” [The Bat], and, a selected student at the Aspen Festival, she was cast as Brünnhilde in the famous “Ride of the Valkyres”. Thus began her early flirtation with the music of Richard Wagner. Her voice teachers were Elizabeth Fischer, Nancy Williams and Eva Illes and she coached extensively with Ettore Campogaliani in Italy. As first place winner of the East and West Artists competition, she was awarded a debut recital in Carnegie Hall which earned a glowing review from the New York Times. Miss Russo, given a grant by the Sullivan Foundation in NYC to attend competitions, was awarded first prize in the prestigious German Radio Music Competition in Munich. As a result, she made radio recordings with the Radio Orchestras of Munich, Berlin, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, and Hamburg. She then became a member of the ensemble at the Stuttgart State Opera in Germany. Her stay there was followed by four years at the State Theater in Linz, Austria and, for the following nine years, she sang as a member of the Vienna State Opera and Vienna Volksoper with constant and diverse guest appearances throughout Europe, Asia, and North and South America. One of many highlights was at the Stuttgart State Opera where Maria Russo sang “Alceste” in the Robert Wilson production of Gluck’s opera of the same name. She was voted “best new female artist” in the German opera magazine “Opernwelt” [OperaWorld] for her portrayal as Elektra’s sister in the John Dew production of “Elektra”. She brought her first Empress to life in Basel in a production of “Woman without a Shadow” (Kaiserin in “Frau Ohne Schatten”). Miss Russo has been heard as Abigaille in “Nabucco” in countless countries and dozens of theaters and she has often been (Russo continued) heard as another favorite Verdi heroine: “Aida” (Taipei, Bergen, St. Gallen, and in Syracuse, NY). She has sung favorite Puccini roles like Giorgetta, Tosca and Turandot at the Zurich Opera, in Dresden and at the Vienna Volksoper. A noted Wagner and Strauss specialist, Miss Russo has appeared as a guest artist with major opera companies including those of Trieste and Bologna, the Bavarian State Opera-Munich, Stuttgart, Hamburg, Mannheim, Hannover, Zurich, Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires and Teatro Teresa Carrena in Caracas as the heroines Elsa, Irene, Brünnhilde, Isolde, Elektra, Chrysothemis, and the Empress. Maria Russo was “Marie” in the famous Willy Decker production of “Wozzeck” in Bologna and a celebrated Tosca in Bregenz In 2003, Maria Russo’s debut at the glorious Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires as Senta in “The Flying Dutchman,” under the baton of Charles DuToit, was a sensation. Maria Russo recently made history singing “Brünnhilde,” the epitome of operatic soprano roles, at the celebrated Teatro Amazonas in Brazil’s very first “Ring Cycle.” On May 5, 2005, the New York Times front page story entitled “Adventures in Opera: A ‘Ring’ in the Rain Forest” wrote about it saying… “… the two complete stagings of the [Ring] cycle, which is scheduled to conclude on May 19, mark the first time that Wagner’s most renowned and challenging work has been produced and performed in Brazil. The significance of the event has thus attracted opera devotees not just from Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, but also from Europe and North America.” The production will move to São Paulo and Maria Russo’s “Ho jo to ho” will be heard ringing throughout that theater. Maria Russo has sung with international conductors such as Daniel Barenboim, Donald Runnicles, Peter Schneider, Christoph von Dohnányi, Danielle Gatti, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Michael Gielen, Charles DuToit, and Gerd Albrecht.

Harold Bell Wright

Author Harold Bell Wright was born in the house of his grandfather William B. Wright in Rome’s Wright Settlement in 1872. Battling persistent illness, laborious jobs, and the loss of his mother, Wright found solace in his deep religious beliefs and his love Harold of literature.