BrewsterConnections - Brewster Academy

HooplaHooplaThat’s Entertainment!Tom Rossi ’86:Composer, Producer, Songwriter,and InstrumentalistMatt Hooopes with Class of 1988 members (l-r) Julie Kaplan Solomon, Barb Mathews Hamblett, Sage Daly Wirth, andCourtney Crane Munroe on the Winnipesaukee Belle cruise during Reunion weekend.Upon reading the article about GriffinGuess ‘98 and his return to Brewsterwith wife and model Marisa Miller andmusician Cas Haley in the most recentBrewsterConnections, I was reminded ofother young alums who are involved inthe entertainment world. While maybenot as well-known as Griffin is today,a number of our alumni are actors,writers, filmmakers, and producers.Still others are involved in the musicindustry, playing and writing their ownmusic, or promoting music on their ownradio shows or through their own recordcompanies.After contacting the following membersof the entertainment industry I wasimpressed with their involvement,dedication, and talent. Each of thesealums represents a separate genre ofentertainment, and yet bringing themtogether helped me understand andappreciate all that is involved in thisMatt Hoopes was a faculty memberfrom 1975 to 1996. During this timehe and his journalism studentsfounded The Brewster Browser, theOutcroppings literary magazine,and the BAPA (Brewster AcademyPhoto/Address) book. Since his“retirement” from the classroomin 1996, Hoopes has worked as theYoung Alumni Correspondent fromhis hilltop banana farm on theisland of Eleuthera, The Bahamas,helping to keep the alumniconnection alive. In each issue hebrings life-after-Brewster stories tothe pages of his Hoopla column.varied, competitive field. I hope it doesthe same for you!As always, I’d love to hear from youabout what other areas you’d beinterested in reading about involvingour large family of alums. If you havesuggestions for me or know of otheralums who have interesting tales to tell,please contact me:e-mail: islesman@batelnet.bsvoicemail: 603-544-2222fax: 1-242-335-0535mail-forwarding to The Bahamas:Hoopes, Private Mail Box # 100411 Walnut StreetGreen Cove Springs, FL 32043It should have been obvious to all TomRossi’s ’86 classmates and teachersthat he was going to follow his musicaldreams, leading a life of ongoingstudy of the worldwide expression oftraditional and regional music.Tom had a way of misleading all. Thosewho knew Tom during his Brewsteryears usually missed his seriousmusical intent when confronted withhis whirlwind enthusiasm for just aboutanything poetic or artistic. He wouldfocus laser-like on today’s investigationof whatever, only to spin away the nextday to a far more pressing investigation.Tom also buffered his intellectual questswith antics bordering on the zany anda lightning sense of humor that oftenwon him a smile from the dean anda ticket out of trouble. His yearbookphoto captured all of this: a picture ofTom playing his guitar, wearing onlyhis impish smile, and not a stitch ofclothing!I lost touch with Tom many years agobut often received questions on hiswhereabouts from his many friends.Now having just heard from him andlearned what he’s been doing thesemany years, I can understand whythe silence. A very busy Tom has beentraveling and studying worldwide,constantly interweaving music and life.Tom described his instruments, travels,studies, and recent work for me. Still awhirlwind of action, he follows his creedof continuing to reach for fulfillmentand joy. As his classmates read this, I’msure they’re realizing how Tom misledthem along the way into doubting thathe would actually follow and reach hismusical dreams.“I just got married onSeptember 14, 2007, tothe lovely Jordana CheToback, now referred toas wife, Mrs. Rossi, orSchtoonkle.”“As a multi-instrumentalist, I play theguitar, piano, clarinet, Western andbansuri flutes, kalimba and m’bira(South African thumb pianos,) amodified kora (which is a 26-stringedself-designed and built expandedversion of the traditional two-stringWest African harp-lute), and manytypes of hand percussions; djembe,djoun djoun, congas, bata, kutiro, surdu,kpanlogo, darbuka, and frame drums. Iam also a singer!“I lived seven months in Ghana andTogo, West Africa, two months inCuba, six weeks in Salvador, Bahia,Brazil, and made three two-weekspiritual expeditions to Turkey. All ofthese adventures, with the exceptionof Turkey, were to study and play thetraditional music of the local region.“I’ve studied three semesters at BerkleeCollege of Music in Boston. I make myliving composing for soundtracks andniche market record labels, producingand engineering other music projects inmy basement Pro Tools recording studioin Park Slope, Brooklyn.“I just got married on September 14,2007, to the lovely Jordana Che Toback,now referred to as wife, Mrs. Rossi, orSchtoonkle. We’re definitely planning afew offspring ... coming to a theater nearyou. Jordana is a choreographer anddirector. She danced in the Mark MorrisDance group for seven years. Togetherwe have created an off-Broadway, sexy,urban dance spectacle.”Tom Rossi can be reached at tomrossi@verizon.net. •36 BrewsterConnections • Summer 2008• www.brewsteracademy.org •37