Eight musicians were honored as the first ever inductees to the Old Rochester Regional Music Hall of Fame. They include touring musicians, recording artists, educators and a music therapist from various decades and classes at Old Rochester. Each artist embraced a distinct and meaningful path to a career in music. Here are their stories:

Wayne Ferreira, class of 1970 — studio musician and touring drummer

Rochester resident Wayne Ferreira’s professional music career began at just 15 years old when he started playing drums in rock and roll bands.

“I would always relate to the drums more than anything else in any type of music. That’s what I heard. That’s what my attention went right to,” said Ferreira.

He spent his nights playing covers of British Invasion bands at high school dances and nightclubs, while participating in the Old Rochester chorus during the day.

Following high school graduation, Ferreira performed around the world as a full-time touring musician in places such as Key West, Nova Scotia and northern New England. 

He played and recorded with various bands and musicians, including Silverado, Easy Living, the Butch McCarthy Band, Person to Person and legendary singer Marianne Faithfull.

Ferreira even got the opportunity to perform at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York.

“It was great every night. In fact, they asked us to stay another week,” he said of the gig. “There were so many famous people coming in and out of that club constantly that we recognized from sports and everything. It was unbelievable.”

Ferreira was diagnosed with lung complications in 2000 that would eventually be attributed to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

He continued to perform in the early 2000s by “packing [his] jowls” with black cherry menthol cough drops so he could breathe during his sets. However, his condition continued to worsen and required a double lung transplant in 2014.

His resilience was evident, as he recovered from the operation, regained mobility and was able to continue playing the drums.

“It was very, very difficult but I made it through,” he said.

Hannah Clark Moore, class of 1975 — music educator

Marion-born and based music educator Hannah Clark Moore was first taught to play flute and trombone at Sippican Elementary School by Jarvis Medeiros in the 1960s.

“I was a Sippican School and Old Rochester Regional graduate and really committed to public education my whole life,” she said.

When she was a student at Old Rochester throughout the early 70s, band director Gary Thomas helped her foster a life-long love for music, in addition to expanding her musical horizons.

“He really provided us with that big safe environment, constantly throwing new things at us, constantly challenging [us] with different things,” she said of Thomas.

She returned to the Old Rochester district in 1993, originally working as a maternity substitute before assuming the role of full time instrumental music instructor at Sippican School, where she is still teaching.

“I didn’t know that I would like elementary school and I just adored it,” she said.

When she first began the job, she took the time to also pursue another masters degree from Boston University, this time studying education. Previously, she earned a masters degree in performance from the university.

“Over the next few years, I was teaching here all day, driving to Boston at night and trying to keep my four children sane. It was a busy time, but it all worked out,” Moore said.

Moore loves “watching kids light up when they connect to the whole creative magic of music.”

“It’s a wonderful combination of psychomotor skills, decoding, listening and them responding to that feedback,” she said of teaching students about music skills.

Orlando Pandolfi, class of 1976 — music educator and performer

Music educator and professional horn player Orlando Pandolfi began his music career as a sophomore at Old Rochester Regional High School.

Around five nights a week, Pandolfi would perform with jazz bands at various nightclubs while focusing on sports during the day.

His father, John Pandolfi, was a “larger than life music figure” in the Tri-Town. He founded the Tri-County Symphonic Band and opened the Symphony Music Shop out of his home in Marion in 1962.

Following graduation from Old Rochester, Pandolfi attended Berklee School of Music before taking a short hiatus from his education and working as a substitute music teacher at Old Hammondtown School.

“I was never a music education major, I was more of an accidental teacher. All my training has been toward performance,” he said.

Following his time at Old Hammondtown, Pandolfi attended The Julliard School where he earned an orchestral performance bachelors and masters degree.

“They had a great faculty and my teacher was in the New York Philharmonic,” he said, adding that the Julliard Orchestra is “one of the best young orchestras anybody could ever play in.”

Pandolfi performed at over 350 concerts throughout the United States, Europe and Asia with ensembles such as the Nova Filarmonia Portuguesa in Lisbon and the Orchestra Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome. Domestically, Pandolfi has performed with numerous orchestras including the Oregon Symphony, New Haven Symphony and the Gotham City Wind Quintet.

He currently serves as the Director of Music at St. Paul’s School in Concord, New Hampshire where he lives with his wife.

Daniel Lomba, Jr., class of 1979 — economics professor and musician

Marion musician and Professor of Economics Daniel Lomba, Jr. was posthumously honored as an inductee to the music hall of fame, following his passing in February 2025 due to complications with ALS.

Lomba was a lifelong musician and professor at various universities, including Bridgewater State University where he was a department chair and tenured professor.

His first performance on guitar was at the Old Rochester Regional High School talent show, where he performed alongside his cousin Wendy Gilbert and won the competition.

Following his graduation from Old Rochester in 1979, Lomba briefly attended Berklee College of Music before devoting his education to economics. He went on to earn his PhD in economics from Northeastern University.

“He was just a gifted person as far as his knowledge of economics [and] his ability to play all different types of music,” said Lomba’s cousin Zack Rezendes.

Lomba and Rezendes played together in various projects, including Beluga Band, Avenue X and Soul On The Edge, in addition to Lomba performing with live acts such as Jammin’: A Tribute to Bob Marley and Funk Side Up in the 2010s.

“He played all different types of music. He wasn’t limited to one style,” said Rezendes.

Lomba was diagnosed with ALS in 2018, which gradually impaired his motor functions and made it difficult to perform live. However, he continued to record at home, playing his bass at a slow tempo and using recording software to bring it up to regular tempo.

“He was a person to look up to,” said Rezendes.

Rebecca Correia, class of 1999 — singer-songwriter

Rochester and Leiper’s Fork, Tennessee-based musician Rebecca Correia has written hundreds of songs throughout her career in music, all beginning in sixth grade as a student at Old Rochester Regional Junior High.

She grew up in a musical family where her passion was encouraged from a young age, especially by her older cousin Amy Correira who was also a songwriter.

“It was really inspiring for me to see and to know that was something that was possible,” said Correia.

During her time at Old Rochester, she found a “safe haven” in the music room where she was taught by directors Jim Farmer and Steve Rogers.

“I spent a lot of time with Mr. Rogers, and it’s been awesome because he’s a lifelong friend and is always just supporting me,” said Correia.

While still in high school, Correia and her family founded the Bennett Farm Concert, which became a beloved Rochester tradition that brings together an international program of artists.

She received a degree in music education from the University of Hartford’s Hartt School of Music and moved to the Nashville area around 2007.

Correia earned two International Portuguese Music Awards for Best Music Video in 2014 for her song “Oh Nashville” and Best Pop Performance in 2019 for her song “Solid Ground.”

In 2024, she released a fan-funded project titled “Flying” which consists of five songs and collaborations with artists such as Shy Carter, Lillie Mae and Butch Walker.

“It’s great to say, ‘Wow, I really have done all this stuff. I really did take this gift and carry it on and I’ve helped people and they’ve helped me,” Correia said.

Marcus Monteiro, class of 2000 Inductee — saxophonist

For Marion saxophonist Marcus Monteiro, his musical awakening began in the late 1990s New Bedford live music scene during his days at Old Rochester Regional High School.

“We all started in New Bedford, finding a jam session there. A long while back, I was 15 or 16, and finding like-minded young people starting bands from that period of time and then being recommended for other gigs,” he said.

In these early days, Monteiro experimented with “really crazy, whacky stuff,” diving into musical experimentation and learning from older jazz musicians at the Verdean Veterans Memorial Hall.

However, his first memories of musical experimentation started with teacher Patty Richard at Sippican School who taught Monteiro improvisation.

“She kind of put the bug in my ear [that] you can make stuff up and it’s okay,” he said.

In his professional career, Monteiro has traveled to Cape Verde, Guatemala, Panama, Indonesia, Canada and countless locations throughout the United States to share his saxophone stylings with the world.

He has performed with acclaimed artists such as The O’Jays, The Rebirth Brass Band, George Clinton, Tavares and Cirque du Soleil.

Monteiro’s 2017 album “Another Part of Me” charted in the Billboard Top 50 Jazz albums for numerous weeks.

Currently based in Marion and living with his family, Monteiro continues to tour as a professional musician, in addition to teaching private lessons to a wide-range of students.

“I’m always coming back here because I love this community so much,” he said of the Tri-town.

Rosemary Williams, class of 2011 — music therapist

Rosemary Williams of Mattapoisett first found her love for music when she was in fourth grade at Old Hammondtown School and auditioned for the jazz band. She then went on to perform as the pianist and vibraphonist every year until the end of high school.

She stated, ”We only won gold. We rarely won silver,” at the competitions they attended.

Taught by Ellis and Jim Farmer during her time at Old Rochester Regional Junior High and High School, Williams said the instructors had a “great impact on my musical career.”

Williams discovered music therapy during her sophomore year at Berklee School of Music, when her mother was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer and was offered music therapy as part of her treatment.

She is now a social worker at Old Rochester, a board certified music therapist and a neurological music therapist who works with patients in need of assistance in restoring mobility and community skills, in addition to helping children who have developmental needs.

Williams has worked with the People Acting in Community Endeavors in New Bedford and received grants to offer music therapy groups for free.

“That was one of the greatest moments in my practice to just be able to offer free services to community members,” said Williams.

She thanks her mother, her husband Alex and her three children, Kymani, Kaimari and Kamila, in addition to her father who passed away this year.

“He [didn’t] get to see me be inducted, but he was obviously very proud of me. This is just even more of a reason to just keep his memory alive,” she said.

Stan Ellis, retired 2010 — educator inductee

Before his retirement in 2010, Mattapoisett music educator Stan Ellis brought life to the Old Rochester Regional band programs.

“We had gold medals pretty much every year,” he said.

At Old Hammondtown School, he conducted the concert and jazz bands and co-conducted the orchestra with Jean West. All groups won gold medals at the Massachusetts Instrumental and Choral Conductors Association competition.

“I was building a jazz band that became the example of elementary jazz bands in the state,” said Ellis.

The elementary school jazz band performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. in 1998, in addition to demonstrating their abilities in front of an audience at Berklee.

“Now this is a fourth, fifth and sixth grade jazz band, and they were becoming the talk of the town,” said Ellis.

He also conducted the Old Rochester Regional High School jazz band and jazz combo for seven years, winning numerous gold medals.

“Being a professional musician, my belief was a little bit different from everybody else’s. I believe that [the students] should get out there and play and do what they could to get in front of a live audience, and they did a great job,” he said.

Ellis taught in the district for three decades before his retirement.

He stated that he “didn’t believe it” when he was informed about his induction to the hall of fame.

“I think it’s incredible and it sort of puts a period on the end of the paragraph to my teaching in public education,” said Ellis.