David Newman,’77, and Kevin Friedly, ’77

After graduation from Howe, Dave entered Butler with the idea of being a Piano major. After all, he had been playing piano since he was 7. Then reality hit. He ran into a lot of people who could really play. Change of plans: A major in Music Education ended with his getting a B.S. 

He and Kevin have been perform-ing since 1977in various vocal groups. The Foundation was the first group and provided a sideline for Dave‟s musical talents. After college came Clarian, a rock group in which he was a lead singer. He performed commercials, wrote songs, all the while trying to be a performer. Kevin, graduated from Purdue, and he were street performers in New Orleans (in the days before permits were required.) They sang and played on riverboats and in restaurants. The off-and-on trips to the Big Easy went on for five years. Then, reality, struck again when they were in a pup tent in a state park--in 1988 their New Orleans abode at $7 a night. They were figuring their taxes and realized it was time to get a real job. 

Dave finished his master‟s and by chance happened to run into Bill Chris-toff, one of Dave‟s former Howe music teachers and then head of the Music Department of Northwest High School. NHS had an opening for a choral direc-tor. Then, things happened, Dave later became head of the department from 1988 to 1996. By that time he had acquired his administrator‟s license and was assigned as assistant principal. In 2000 he was appointed as vice-principal at George Washington High School. Then came 5 1/2 years at School 19, Douglas Middle School, then for the last four years principal of School 70, an IPS magnet school for Visual and Performing Arts. This fall he returns to the classroom as vocal music teacher at School 108. 

He was choir director of Hope Unit-ed Presbyterian Church, Plainfield for 15 years, and in 2009 became a co-director with Tom Lewis, former Howe music department head, at Downey Avenue Christian Church. 

Dave says, “At Howe, I “found my niche” in the music department.” Apparently so, in his senior year he was in seven music classes. 

 At Purdue, Kevin majored in Phys-ics and “more or less in Theatre.” He estimates he was in 12-16 shows, most-ly comedies, during his four years at West Lafayette. 

After college he has held a succession of jobs, ranging from being a technical writer for an ad agency, helping develop projects for a medical imaging company, training cardiologists to use the system, working on video graphic cards for AT&T, to helping develop a tracking system for ESPN auto races with Sam Hurt and Gary Rankin. 

One day, while visiting Broad Ripple High School, he happened to mention he had a Physics major. On the spot he became a teacher at Broad Ripple “for a couple of weeks” but ended up staying a year. During that year at BRHS he also directed four plays, including “A Streetcar Named Desire.” 

Presently he's working for McGraw-Hill to develop tests and protocols for instructional programs for physics and math for the Persian Gulf Emirate of Qatar, a job that takes him to the Middle East. He‟s still deeply involved with some of his old high school friends--Mark Day and Steve Spicklemire--in Silicon Prairie Ventures, a small software company. 

Asked if he had trouble in focusing on a job, he replied, “Too many interesting things out there to say no to.” 

For some 30 years he has been involved with Dave Newman in various music groups; first, Clarian and, more recently, Audio Diner. Then there‟s their 20-year-long run with lead roles in “Pump Boys and Dinettes,” a country musical revue thats played Civic a number of times (supposedly for a Farewell Engagement in 2009.) 

Active in the Alumni Association, he's the man to help Carol Yeager, 57, keep the database of names and ad-dresses well tuned. His daughter Colleen was graduated this spring from the IPS Performing Arts Magnet at Broad Ripple. (She was one of this year's Association Scholarship winners.) 

He says his years at Howe provided great times and pleasant memories. 

As for the future he says, “I think some day I‟ll be back in the classroom. A PhD in math/physics might be in order.”