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Board and StaffClick on name to view bio. |
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OfficersFred Johnson, President Board of DirectorsFred Johnson, Board Chair Sustaining Members |
StaffVanessa Gardner, General Management Elizabeth Whitfield, Ticket Sales, Barbara Hughey, Financial and Facilities Management Rebecca Hawkins, Grant-writing Claudia Stumpf, Communications Susan H. Griffith, Program Booklet Diane Sperandio, Videography Maureen Sullivan, Cary Hall House Management |
Board of Directors, Officers |
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Fred Johnson, President and Board ChairFred is a semi-retired business executive with a long career in both the entertainment and publishing industries. He held senior management positions in both educational media start-up The Center for Humanities (founder and president), and Sundance Publishing (president). He also worked for a number of years as an independent consultant to clients including CBS Records, Times Mirror, Time-Life, Scholastic, Jim Henson Associates, Cherry Lane Music, Silver Burdett Ginn, Harcourt, Scott Foresman, Lorimar Video, Saddleback Publishing, and Kids Discover. He currently serves on the board of directors of California-based educational publisher Evan-Moor. His pro bono work has included projects for the Rockefeller Foundation and the Association of Educational Publishers, and board service with the Boston Center for the Arts. In addition to chairing the Lexington Symphony board, current pro bono work includes service on the Lexington Center Committee (an agency of local government), and governance of Follen (Unitarian-Universalist) Church. Fred grew up in Somerville (MA), earned his bachelor’s degree at Harvard College, and master’s degree at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He lived for many years in New York City and suburban Connecticut but now makes his home in Lexington. |
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Richard Fields, Vice President Richard is sole proprietor of Richard S. Fields Associates LLC, is a consultant specializing in consumer products. He has worked as Chief Strategic Officer of Unique Settings, a New York-based company, and has participated on Advisory Boards of three other companies. His work involves marketing to retail establishments in varying channels of distribution and requires extensive domestic and international travel. He is involved in Lexington’s Follen Church, BSSC athletic organizations, and has served as Vice President of Lexington Symphony since 2008. Past affiliations include the Massachusetts Committee for Children and Youth and the National Committee for Prevention of Child Abuse. He is married to Kathryn Fields, owner of Crafty Yankee in Lexington, MA, and together they have raised one daughter and are proud grandparents of twins. |
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Susan Griffith, Treasurer Born & raised in the Philadelphia area, Susan started playing cello in the third grade. She received her BA from Cornell University in 1980, majoring in Economics and Music, and her MM in Cello Performance from the Hartt School (Univ. of Hartford) in 1996. She worked as Personal Assistant to David Finckel (Emerson String Quartet) and Wu Han (piano) from 1996-97. Susan relocated to Boston in 1997 to work for the Celebrity Series. Susan joined the Lexington Symphony as a cellist in 2000. She has served on the Board of Directors, and as Treasurer of the Symphony, since 2003. In addition, Susan does the layout of all of the Symphony’s printed programs. She lives in Arlington with her husband Philip and sons Carlos & Christopher. |
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George Gagliardi, ClerkGeorge is the Clerk of the Lexington Symphony Board of Directors, and has been a Board member since 2008. He is the founder and Principal of Coromandel Wealth Management in Lexington, MA, a financial planning and investment advisory firm. George has a broad background in business, and in management and technology consulting, having worked in senior management roles for a broad range of companies, including one that he co-founded and ran as CEO. He is also experienced working on non-profit boards as both an officer and board member, having served on the board of the Yale Science & Engineering Association for 29 years, including terms as President and Treasurer. He also served as a Board member of the Yale Club of Boston, managed First Parish in Concord’s Annual Appeal, and is a member of the Lexington Bicycle Advisory Committee. A graduate of Yale University and Babson College (MBA), George resides in Lexington with his two sons. |
Board Members |
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Peter CharigPeter joined the Lexington Symphony Board in 2010, and has performed with the symphony as principal trombonist since 2004. In addition to performing as a freelance artist with numerous ensembles throughout the northeast, Peter has been the Exhibition Manager and Orchestra Manager for the Boston Early Music Festival (BEMF) since 2007. The Boston Early Music Festival is America’s preeminent presenter of historically informed performance, introducing national and international early music ensembles to Boston during a season concert series and a week-long biennial Festival. As BEMF’s Exhibition Manager, Peter directs and oversees the implementation of the Exhibition/Trade-show component of the Festival, enlisting period instrument builders, music conservatories, and other early music organizations from around the world. As BEMF’s Orchestra Manager, Peter acts as artist liaison, music librarian, and on-site assistant for BEMF’s self-directed orchestral and operatic productions. Additionally, Peter has represented BEMF at early music conferences world-wide, including the Berkeley Early Music Festival in California, the Greenwich Early Music Festival & Exhibition in England, and the Festival Oudemuziek (Utrecht Early Music Festival, Utrecht, The Netherlands). |
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Barbara Ciampa Barbara is Lexington Symphony’s archivist. She is semi-retired from a fifty-year career in human services specializing in medical/geriatric practice. She has a Master’s Degree from Simmons School of Social Work and recently chaired the League of Women Voters Senior Issues Forum. A resident of Lexington for five decades, she currently serves as vice president of the Board of Directors of Minuteman Senior Services and The NonProfit Net Inc. Additional volunteer commitments include membership in the town’s Human Services Committee and the Lexington Historical Society’s Program and Events Committee as well as the Cronin Lecture Series. On Patriots Day in 2008, Barbara received Lexington’s Minuteman Cane in recognition of her varied volunteer commitments. While serving as Chairman of the Lexington Council for the Arts, the Massachusetts Cultural Council in 2009 honored Barbara with the Leadership Circle Award for significant contribution in promoting arts and culture in the community. |
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Sandra GasbarroSandra is a graduate of The Lincoln School, the only all girls Quaker school in the US. She has a degree in education from Wheelock College in Boston and taught third grade in the Johnston, Rhode Island public schools and fifth grade at The Langley School, a small private school in McLean, Virginia. In her years as wife and mother, she served as President of the PTL and Board member of the Rocky Hill School, President of the Alumnae Association and Board Member of The Lincoln School, and Board member of the Rhode Island Chapter of the American Red Cross. She has also volunteered at Rhode Island Hospital, Boston Children’s Hospital, Kent County Hospital, and Miriam Hospital. She has been a Lexington resident since 2005 and presently volunteers at the Lahey Clinic and Lexington Historical Society in addition to serving on the Board of the Lexington Symphony, a position she has held since 2008. She is a very proud mother and grandmother and especially loves to travel to faraway places with her family. |
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William KirkleyAs Principal Clarinet, Bill is a founding member and a current member of the Board of Directors of the Lexington Symphony. He has been a featured soloist twice for the orchestra. Bill is also the Principal Clarinetist for the Cape Ann Symphony, Boston Musica Viva, and the Gordon Symphony. Additionally, he is a member of the Orchestra of Indian Hill, and is a substitute clarinetist for the Boston Symphony and Boston Pops. He has taught on the music faculties of UMASS Boston, Harvard University and Brandeis University. He is currently on the music faculty of Gordon College. |
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Patricia ManhardPatti joined the Lexington Symphony board in June 2011. An educator with long tenure at both secondary and college levels, she holds degrees in World History and Russian Studies from Syracuse, Political Theory from the University of Virginia and is working on a combine degree at Oxford. Recently retired after 30 years on the faculty of Brookline High School, she brings to the board substantial volunteer experience with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, as Chair of the Junior Council of the BSO and Overseer of the BSO in the 1980’s. She was also National Chair of all Orchestra Junior Councils as a Board member of Amsov, ( American Symphony Orchestra Volunteer’s Association). She has served on the Board of the Council of the the Museum of Fine Arts and most recently Director of Sustainer’s for the Junior League of Boston. Married to math professor Warren (Biff) and mother of two sons, author/illustrator Christopher Bing, and Peter, she is a longtime resident of Lexington. |
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Epp SoninEpp has taught piano for 30 years in NY and Boston. In 1985, she founded the Lexington Music School and has since led the school in providing quality piano classes for children, private instruction by awarding-winning music faculty, and community outreach in the way of benefit concerts, scholarships, mentorship, and inspiration to musicians and music appreciators. Epp remains an active performer and frequent soloist with orchestras and choruses in oratorios, masses and cantatas, most recently with the Lexington Symphony and the Boston Landmarks Orchestra. She has given recitals in major cities in the US, Canada and Europe, has premiered new works at Lincoln Center, MIT, Harvard, Tufts and UMASS-Lowell and performed in numerous Boston-area operas. She is a member of the Cantata Singers. Her performances have been heard on radio and recordings. She was soloist with the Vancouver Symphony and with the Estonian State Symphony in a gala celebrating Estonia’s newly re-established independence. |
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Marlene StoneMarlene has been a Lexington resident since 2004 and is a very active volunteer in local Lexington organizations. In addition to her work as a Board member of Lexington Symphony, she serves on the Board of the Merriam Hill Association, was past President of the Lexington High School PTSA, and is a lay minister for Follen Church, where she is on the Parish Council Board. She has been in charge of many fundraising activities, including at Follen Church and at Lexington Symphony and has set record sales at these events. She is a full-time working mother of a college student who graduated from Lexington High School in 2010. Marlene has worked in industry as a recruiter/human resources director for over 30 years for companies including Digital Equipment Corporation (now Hewlett Packard), Fidelity Investments, Millipore, Novartis, and smaller start-ups in biotech and high technology. She is presently the recruiter for one of the top 25 fastest growing defense contractors in the country, Oasis Systems, Inc., located on Hartwell Avenue in Lexington. Marlene loves classical music and started playing piano at 6 years old. She went to many Broadway productions in her childhood and grew up near New York City. Marlene has a Bachelor’s degree from Brandeis University, a Master’s degree in social work from Smith College and a Master’s in business from Clark University. |
Sustaining MembersOur Sustaining Members are people who have consistently provided significant organizational support to Lexington Symphony. They have a special role within our organization as voting members and are appointed by the Board. We are extremely grateful for their dedication to the orchestra and its mission. |
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Dan FennDan moved to Lexington in l949 and has been active in many areas of the town’s life. A former member of the School Committee and of the Board of Selectmen, he was the founding president of the Lexington Education Foundation, Vice Chair of the Cary Memorial Library Foundation, and founder of the Fund for Lexington. Currently he is a Board Member of the Munroe Center for the Arts, active at First Parish, a member of the Lexington Minute Men Company, a Town Meeting Member and on the Board of the Council on Aging, among other activities. Professionally, he was the Founding Director of the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum, a member of President Kennedy’s staff in the White House from 1961 to 1963, a Commissioner and Vice Chairman of the US Tariff Commission and a teacher at a number of universities. Currently he is Adjunct Lecturer in Executive Programs at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. |
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Christina Gamota Christina Gamota was born in Eastern Europe, raised in Western Europe and educated in Argentina. A self-termed “homemaker and professional volunteer,” she has lived in Lexington for 24 years and has been on the boards of University of Michigan Art Museum, National Heritage Museum, Lexington Historical Society, and Lexington Field & Garden Club. She is interested in people of all ages and enjoys helping others. She has been an active participant in the International Host Family program at the University of Michigan and at MIT, and has also worked with pre-school children at Langley School, a private school in McLean, VA. She has participated in many community fundraisers as chair/co-chair, benefiting University of Michigan Museum of Art, Lexington Field & Garden Club, Morning Study Group, Lexington Historical Society, Lexington Symphony, and Munroe Center for the Arts. Also interested in community beautification, she organized and has been responsible for the maintenance of Emery Park (Depot Square) in Lexington. Her interest in design, which she showcases in the decor of her own home, has made her home the subject of three national magazine articles, house tours, and garden tours. She is also interested in entertainment and her table settings have been published in Table Decor (2006). As a wife and mother, Christina has been always active and has participated in many school-related organizations. Christina is founder and member of the Lexington Symphony Concert Fund Partnership, which was established in 2007 and has graciously hosted many fundraisers for the Lexington Symphony’s outreach and other programs in her elegant home. |
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Annette MooresI have been asked to communicate my experience volunteering for the Lexington Symphony.
Bob, my husband and I were close friends of Hisao Watanabe, the founder of the Lexington Symphony. It was through Hisao that I became involved as a supporter and volunteer in 1995. It was at a time when all that was needed was a few hours and a willingness to do anything for the performance. That I had; the readiness to serve. So for many years, I worked behind-the-scenes doing all sorts of jobs including ticket sales, set-up and refreshments and even transportation and storage of the 40 or so music stands. Whatever was needed! By volunteering for the Lexington Symphony, I was able to see the dream became a reality. I have had the opportunity over the past fifteen years to connect with the many wonderful performers, supporters and volunteers as well as the local arts community in a very real and tangible way. In addition, I was able to work side by side with Bob, my husband of 53 years. Bob had always been a real enthusiast of classical music and sharing this passion of his was truly a blessing. It was with sadness that Bob and I had to limit our volunteering efforts when he became too ill to continue but he still enjoyed attending the performances until his death last June. It’s very inspiring to be involved in a new adventure late in life, especially involving the gift of music. It has been amazing to see Lexington Symphony grow from that first concert in the National Heritage Museum with just a few hundred family and friends, to an award winning orchestra with many collaborative events and over seven hundred loyal fans per performance. I am truly thankful to have shared in it. |
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Elsa O. Sullivan Elsa Sullivan is a longtime supporter of the Lexington Symphony and has sponsored many of the orchestra’s endeavors including a performance of the Amy Beach Piano Concerto in 2005. In her early years, she studied piano with Edith Gault and voice with John Kenneth Bainbridge, and says, “Those were the two people that made me understand that if you have a talent, you should use it.” Elsa was awarded a scholarship to Juilliard in her high school years and was also selected to participate in concerts by talented youth in New York City. Ever quick on her feet, she performed regularly on a radio call-in show on WCLV in Montgomery, Alabama, where she would arrive at work and sing solos, live and impromptu, from a list of songs requested by callers. Not long after moving to Lexington over 50 years ago, the Town Celebrations Committee asked her to write the libretto for a musical to celebrate the town’s 250th anniversary, “They Nobly Dared.” Elsa not only wrote the libretto, which can be found in Lexington’s Cary Library, but was actively involved in the production. The performance, with its cast of 268 players, was held April 19th, 1963, and excerpts were performed at the 1964 New York World’s Fair. Elsa continued her musical pursuits and was invited to sing Kurt Weill songs in supper clubs all around Boston. An active fundraiser for the National Heritage Museum’s Seeds of Liberty exhibit, Munroe Center for the Arts and Lexington Symphony, Elsa has been involved with numerous town institutions, including the Chamber of Commerce, Council of Aging, National Heritage Museum, Lexington Historical Society, First Parish Church, and Lexington Field and Garden Club. As a docent at Lexington’s Munroe Tavern for 26 years, she trained many guides and wrote the book Time in the Tavern about the Munroe family. In 2005, Elsa was selected as recipient of the White Tricorn Hat for her commitment to the town. She is presently working on a book about Anna Smith Munroe, the wife of the tavern-keeper. |
Staff
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Vanessa GardnerGeneral Manager, Vanessa Gardner is an active freelancer and arts administrator in the Greater Boston Area. Since graduating from the Boston Conservatory with honors in 2003, Vanessa has performed with ensembles throughout New England including the New Bedford Symphony, Boston Landmarks Orchestra, the Vermont Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Ballet Orchestra. Most recently, Vanessa performed Minkus’s La Bayadere and Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker with the Boston Ballet. She also received high acclaim from the Boston Phoenix and the Boston Musical Intelligencer for her recent performance of Borodin’s Symphony No. 2 and Wagner’s Dawn and Siegfried’s Rhine Journey with the Longwood Symphony Orchestra.
In addition to her busy freelance schedule and duties with the LS, Vanessa works full time in the Concerts Office at MIT where she manages four student ensembles and oversees concert preparations and logistics for performances by students, faculty and guest artists-in-residence. As the first General Manager for the Lexington Symphony, Vanessa oversees the day-to-day operations of the orchestra with special attention to marketing and publicity. Vanessa has served as personnel manager for Symphony by the Sea (Marblehead, MA) and the Longwood Symphony Orchestra where she also serves on the Board of Directors. Highlights from recent years as an arts administrator include a tour with the MIT Concert Choir to Lausanne, Switzerland (2006) and a tour to London with the Longwood Symphony Orchestra (2008). In her quite limited spare time, Vanessa enjoys swimming and exploring the realms of gluten-free cooking, baking and eating. |
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