Garth Fagan, Brother Wease highlight Rochester Music Hall of Fame Class of 2023 

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A Tony-award winning choreographer, a radio talk show host, and a pro baseball organist are among this year’s inductees into the Rochester Music Hall of Fame, the organization announced Monday.

Garth Fagan, Brother Wease, and Rochester Red Wings organist Fred Costello were named to the hall’s eclectic Class of 2023 along with reggae band The Majestics, R&B singer-songwriter Charlene Keys, and the late concert producer and metal guitarist Sebastian Marino.

“No category — rock, jazz, classical composers, theater, R&B, folk — no group represents more than about 17 percent of our inductees,” Rochester Music Hall of Fame President Jack Whittier said in announcing the inductees . “So when you come to our induction ceremony, you are going to get a vast array of music.

The current class is not only stylistically diverse, but also hail from a variety of professional disciplines.

Jamaican-born Garth Fagan created his eponymous Rochester dance group in 1970. Fagan became a household name in the dance world with his choreography for the hit Broadway musical “The Lion King.”

Arguably the best-known radio personality in Rochester history, Brother Wease, aka Alan Levin, has been on the air for almost 40 years. Powered by the success of his program “Brother Wease Morning Circus,” Wease in 2021 became the first disc jockey from Rochester to be inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame.

Fred Costello, the beloved organist of the Rochester Red Wings baseball team and jazz musician, is the longest-running sports organist in America.

   Rochester native and R&B singer-songwriter Charlene Keys, aka Tweet, is known for her own collaboration with hip-hop icon Missy Elliot, as well as backing vocal contributions to Whitney Houston and Madonna. But Tweet’s biggest impact came with her hit song “Oops (Oh My),” which reached No. 1 on the Billboard R&B charts, and No. 7 on the 2002 Billboard Top 100.

Reggae band The Majestics also has longevity on the Rochester scene. Three of the original members — keyboardist-guitarist Ron Stackman, bassist Jim Schwarz, and drummer Lou LaVilla — have played music together since 1973, when they formed Bahama Mama. They went on to form The Majestics, perhaps best known for their live and recorded collaborations with reggae legend Lee “Scratch” Perry.

Rounding out the class is the late Sebastian Marino, a songwriter and lead guitarist best known for his work in the heavy metal bands Anvil and Overkill in the 1990s. He went on to become a prominent concert producer through his company Audio Images Sound & Lighting, whose resume included the Rochester International Jazz Festival. Marino died unexpectedly in January.

The 2023 Rochester Music Hall of Fame induction ceremony takes place April 30, at 7 p.m., at Eastman Theatre’s Kodak Hall. Tickets are available now at rochestermusic.org.

Daniel J. Kushner is CITY's arts editor. He can be reached at [email protected].