Music and dance figures

Music and dance figures

Leona Wood, 86; painter, teacher and dancer who co-founded the Aman Folk Ensemble (Feb. 7)

Natalia Bessmertnova, 66; Soviet-era prima ballerina who danced with the Bolshoi Ballet for decades (Feb. 19)

Dorothy Stone, 49, award-winning composer and virtuoso flutist who in 1981 co-founded the new-music ensemble the California EAR Unit (March 7)

Henry Brant, 94; leading figure in modern music who was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 2002 (April 26)

Sallie Wilson, 76; leading dancer for the American Ballet Theatre and protege of choreographer Antony Tudor (April 27)

Lola Montes, 90; renowned Spanish dancer who headed an L.A.-based dance company (May 16)

Siegmund Nissel, 86; violinist who escaped Nazi persecution and became a founding member of the Amadeus String Quartet (May 21)

Edgar Vincent, 90; longtime press representative and right-hand man to Placido Domingo and a host of other opera stars (June 26)

Leonard Pennario, 83; concert pianist and bestselling recording artist (June 27)

Daihachi Oguchi, 84; master Japanese drummer who led the spread of the art of taiko drumming to the United States and throughout Japan (June 27)

Irina Baronova, 89; part of a trio of Russian-born dancers dubbed the “Baby Ballerinas” (June 28)

Thomas Nee, 87; former UC San Diego music professor was conductor of the La Jolla Symphony for 31 seasons (July 7)

Norman Dello Joio, 95; Pulitzer Prize- and Emmy Award-winning composer (July 24)

Nicola Rescigno, 92; co-founder of Dallas Opera who was also one of Maria Callas’ favorite conductors (Aug. 4)

Alexander Slobodyanik, 65; Ukrainian-born pianist who performed across the United States (Aug. 10)

Patrick Flynn, 72; music director of the Riverside County Philharmonic for 19 years (Sept. 10)

Marion Scott, 86; dancer, choreographer and teacher (Oct. 5)

Gerald Arpino, 85; dancer, choreographer and co-founder of the Joffrey Ballet who oversaw its move to Chicago (Oct. 29)

Mario Maya, 71; Gypsy flamenco dancer who gave the form a modern twist (Sept. 27)

Rosella Hightower, 88; American Indian ballet dancer who founded the Centre de Danse Classique in Cannes, France (Nov. 3)

Richard Hickox, 60; British maestro who led orchestras around the world (Nov. 23)

Mitchell Lurie, 86; world-renowned clarinetist who taught for many years at USC (Nov. 24)

Richard Van Allan, 73; British bass-baritone who was a commanding presence on the world’s opera stages (Dec. 4)

Olga Lepeshinskaya, 92; prima ballerina with Bolshoi ballet for three decades (Dec. 20)

Eartha Kitt, 81; singer whose saucy rendition of “Santa Baby” became a holiday music classic was a self-proclaimed “sex kitten” (Dec. 25)