Recent Passings:
Martin Tobias, M&A '49
Martin “Marty” Tobias, a celebrated artist and beloved family man, passed away on July 29, 2024, at St. Luke’s Hospital in Meridian, Idaho, at the age of 92. Born in the Bronx, NY, on January 7, 1932, to Meyer and Esther (Levinson) Tobias, Marty’s remarkable artistic talent was evident from an early age. Marty honed his skills at the High School of Music and Art and pursued further studies at Cooper Union when he returned from serving in the Korean War. He ventured into being a full-time Artist in 1977. Marty’s entrepreneurial spirit led him to the NY Art Expo and other national and community art shows. Marty was deeply involved in the Riverside community, participating in events and supporting the Riverside Art Museum (RAM), Riverside City of Commerce, and the City of Riverside. His pen-and-ink drawings, paintings and etchings left a lasting imprint on the Inland Empire, capturing the essence of the region and beyond. One of his most proud shows was his Retrospective Art Show at RAM in 2012, with his works ranging from 1950 – 2012.
Joanne Novod Schechter, M&A '58
Joanne Novod Schechter of Forest Hills and Old Chatham, New York died at home peacefully on August 20, 2024. A life-long New Yorker, Joanne graduated from The High School for Music & Art and City College where she met her beloved husband, Loren Schechter. They would be fortunate to have a 53-year loving marriage before Loren’s death in 2016. Joanne had a keen eye for design and was a member of the Forest Hills Gardens Architecture Committee and an avid collector of Bakelite.
Owen Coleman, M&A '55
Owen Coleman passed away on July 27, 2024. Owen’s journey was shaped by the nurturing embrace of his upbringing in a home steeped in culture and art, guided by his parents Bella and Adolph with his sister Michelle. From a young age, their love kindled his artistic spirit, leading him on a path of creativity and inspiration. His educational pursuits at the Arts Students League, NYC’s High School of Music and Art, and Parsons School of Design paved the way for a remarkable career in graphic design. He co-founded Owen Coleman & Associates, marking the genesis of a series of groundbreaking branding ventures. Alongside his beloved wife Ellen, Owen sculpted a legacy of shared dreams and triumphs, expanding his vision into a global network of branding companies. His collaborations with leading conglomerates and iconic brands left an indelible mark on the world stage working with Snapple, Diet Coke, Tylenol, Kotex, Green Giant, Pillsbury Dough Boy, Tropicana and more.
Charles Heckheimer, Retired Faculty
Charles Lionel Heckheimer was born on February 14,1930 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and was the son of Albert Heckheimer and Beatrice Lipchutz. He had an older sister Shirley. As a young boy he studied the violin. As a teen, he attended Philadelphia’s prestigious Central High School where he switched to studying the French horn with Ward Fern of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Upon graduating from high school he was awarded a full scholarship to the Juilliard School in NYC, studying French horn under James Chambers of the New York Philharmonic. During the summer of 1953, Charles worked as a nature counselor at Camp Tevya in New Hampshire where he met Estelle Fishman, the camp nurse. They had a secret and whirlwind romance and married the following September. Together they had two children, Louis and Anne.
After receiving his master’s degree, he started his thirty year music teaching career working for the New York City Board of Education, first teaching at Riverdale Junior High School 141 followed by Brandeis High School in Manhattan. The highlight of his music teaching career was from 1977-1992, when he became a faculty member of the instrumental music department at the High School of Music and Art and later Fiorello H. LaGuardia, High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts. It was at LaGuardia that he created and developed the school’s Instrument Repair Workshop. When Charles celebrated his 90th birthday, the LaGuardia Alumni & Friends organization dedicated and placed a plaque in the Workshop to honor his many years of involvement with the school culminating in the creation of this workshop. At LaGuardia, Charles was best known for his strict command of the classroom, quick wit, colorful neckties, and distinctive handmade belt buckles. To this day his students express their gratitude and recall how he changed their lives for the better; many have become very successful performing artists and musicians.
A longer version of his obituary can be viewed here: https://plattmemorial.com/obituaries/charles-heckheimer
Richard Klein, Retired Faculty
We mourn the passing of Richard Klein, founding Principal of Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts. He was a visionary leader of this premier public high school in New York City and also was head of public schools of the arts in Miami and Washington, D.C. Richard played a critical role in arts education, benefitting not just the thousands of students who attended his schools, but the communities they called home throughout their lifetimes. We honor his contribution and pay our respects to Rhoda, his wife of 70 years, and his family.
Bella Tabak Feldman, M&A '46
Bella Feldman passed away May 6, 2024. She was 94 years old. Bella Tabak was born in 1930 in New York City, to a family of working-class Jewish immigrants from Poland and grew up in the Bronx. She attended The High School of Music & Art and graduated in 1946. Feldman is known for pioneering the use of glass with steel. Her work has affinities with Surrealism, Post-Minimalism and the Feminist Art movement. Feldman has won numerous awards for her work, and her sculpture is featured in private and museum collections, including the Fine Arts Museum of Scan Francisco, the di Rosa Preserve, Napa, CA, and the Palm Springs Desert Museum. Feldman was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts’ Individual Artists award in 1986, received Distinguished Artist Awards from Kala Art Institute, Berkeley, CA (2004), and Women’s Caucus for Art(2005). A fifty-year survey of her work took place at the Richmond Art Center in 2013.
Barbara Erde Mandell, M&A '52
Barbara Jean Mandell passed peacefully at her home in West Stockbridge, MA, on April 17, 2024. She was 89. Barbara was born in Oil City, PA, and grew up on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. She was a graduate of the High School of Music & Art and Hunter College. After a career teaching in the New York City public school system, Barbara retired to her beloved Berkshires where she resided for over forty years. Her home away from home was Tanglewood, where she volunteered as an archivist and delighted in attending concerts of the BSO, chamber ensembles and student orchestras. Barbara had an encyclopedic knowledge of classical music and the uncanny ability to at the drop of a hat sing any number from the Great American Songbook. A voluminous reader, she volunteered to make audio recordings of books for the blind.
Ronald Burns, M&A '59
Ronald Burns passed away on April 24, 2024 in Copenhagen. Originally from New York City, Ronald Burns grew up in an environment that nurtured his artistic talents. He attended the High School of Music & Art and graduated in 1959. He gained recognition for his supernatural subject matter, inspired by the Surrealist movement spanning the period between 1924 and World War II. Following his education at the School of Visual Arts, he relocated to Denmark in 1965. There, he quickly became associated with the artistic community centered around Galerie Passepartout, showcasing his deeply symbolic, distinctive works in 1966. Most recently his work was displayed in the exhibition “Nordic Utopia? African Americans in the 20th Century” at the Nordic National Museum.
Casey Benjamin, LaG '96
Casey Benjamin died on March 30 in Maryland. He was 45. Casey Benjamin was born in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, New York, where he learned to play saxophone at the age of 8. He went on to study music at the Harlem School of the Arts and Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music and Art, performing with local jazz crews, New York mainstays like Arto Lindsay, and, later, Robert Glasper, with whom he collaborated in the late 1990s before joining the first iteration of Robert Glasper Experiment in 2004. He also formed the funk outfit Heavy with Nicole Guiland in the 2000s. As well as performing live solo shows, Benjamin built a formidable list of collaborators, on record and on the road, in jazz, rap, and R&B, as well as further afield; in interviews, he alluded to working with Kendrick Lamar, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Nas, and Arcade Fire.
Barbara Kahan, M&A '58
Barbara Kahan (nee Kusher) passed away on March 29, 2024 at the age of 82. She attended the High School of Music and Art and graduated in 1958. Barbara was a loving and devoted daughter, wife, mother, grandmother, and friend. She enjoyed a varied and interesting career and made many new friends when she moved to Mercy Ridge in 2017. With her beloved husband of 60 years, Gerald (Jerry) Kahan, she enjoyed a full and wonderful life filled with family, friends, domestic and international travel, music, ballroom dance, plus loads of fun, laughter, and love. She will be greatly missed by her family and many friends.