Speakers and Performers
Kai Ryssdal
Kai Ryssdal is the host and senior editor of Marketplace, the most widely heard program on business and the economy – radio or television, commercial or public broadcasting – in the country. Kai speaks regularly with CEO’s of Fortune 500 companies, start-up entrepreneurs, small business...
Edwin Torres
Edwin Torres joined Grantmakers in the Arts as president & CEO in October 2017. He most recently served as deputy commissioner of cultural affairs for New York City. Prior to joining the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, he was a program officer with The Rockefeller Foundation. He prior...
Mara Walker
Mara is the chief operating officer for Americans for the Arts and is responsible for the overall performance of the organization, working to ensure its resources are used effectively to accomplish the organization’s complex strategic plan. Prior to that role, Mara developed targeted programming...
Stanford Thompson
Stanford Thompson is a musician and educator who serves as the Founder and Executive Director of Play On, Philly! and Founding Board Chairman of El Sistema USA, bringing music education to students in underserved areas throughout Philadelphia and beyond. Recognized as a TED Fellow in 2017,...
Susan Howlett
Susan Howlett has been raising money joyfully for over 40 years, as a trustee, development director, executive director, and consultant to thousands of nonprofits nationwide. Author of the acclaimed book, Boards on Fire: Inspiring Leaders to Raise Money Joyfully, Susan has been core...
Ann Meier Baker
Ann Meier Baker was appointed the director of music & opera at the National Endowment for the Arts in January 2015. She oversees the NEA’s grantmaking in music and opera and manages the NEA Jazz Masters Fellowships. Previously, Baker served as president and CEO of Chorus America, where she...
Larry Bomback
Larry Bomback is Senior Vice President of Administration at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Prior to this appointment, he was Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer at DataArts. Other past roles include Director of Finance and Operations at OPERA America and...
Liam Bonner
Liam Bonner joined the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir as executive director in January of 2019. He was previously manager, annual giving groups with the Houston Symphony where he merged the mission and vision of the organization with the philanthropic goals of patrons and donors. In his current...
Mimi Bornstein
Mimi Bornstein is a choral director, song leader, pianist, workshop and worship leader, singer, and composer with a belief that when we sing we change who we are, and when we change who we are we change the world. Embracing the healing and transformational elements of mu-sic and the powerful...
Charles C. Brown
Charles C. Brown, a singer, choir director, composer, vocal arranger, choreographer, coach, and minister, was born and raised in New Haven, Connecticut, "where I learned early on that my behavior and value on Yale University campus (as a non-student local) was vastly different than in the hood...
Emily Crile
Emily Crile thoroughly enjoys serving as a choral conductor and music educator for all levels, children through adult, throughout the Denver metro area. As the Associate Director of the Colorado Children’s Chorale, she directs Apprentice Choir and Transitions. Emily assists with Tour Choir which...
Tad Czyzewski
Prior to joining the Choral Arts Society of Washington, Tad served as the business and development director of the Washington Revels, a cultural institution in the greater Washington area that is dedicated to reviving and celebrating cultural traditions through music, dance, storytelling, and...
Michael Davis
Michael Davis, assistant artistic director (2002), is originally from northeast Arkansas. His work as a conductor and musician includes an eclectic background of nearly 40 years of professional performing experience in genres from bluegrass, jazz, popular, and western-swing to the standard...
Deborah DeSantis
Deborah DeSantis has been instrumental in the growth and success of the Colorado Children’s Chorale since 1983, and was appointed artistic director in 1999. She directs the tour choir, regularly conducts performances throughout metropolitan Denver and has led numerous tours, nationally and...
David B. Devan
David B. Devan joined Opera Philadelphia in January 2006 and was appointed general director of the company in 2011. Since his arrival, David has worked closely with the board and administration on strategic planning initiatives and building partnerships within the community and the opera world...
Patrick Dupré Quigley
Patrick Dupré Quigley, conductor, is the Founder and Artistic Director of Seraphic Fire, and is a regular guest conductor with the nation’s top orchestras. Recent guest conducting highlights include the Mozart Requiem with The Cleveland Orchestra, Ligeti and Bach with the San Francisco Symphony...
Joshua Fishbein
Joshua Fishbein (b. 1984) composes and arranges vocal and instrumental music, with special emphasis on choral music. He has won awards from The American Prize, the American Choral Directors Association, the American Composers Forum, BMI, the Cantate Chamber Singers, the Cerddorion Vocal Ensemble...
Grant Gershon
Hailed for his adventurous and bold artistic leadership, Grant Gershon is currently in his 18th season as Artistic Director of the Los Angeles Master Chorale and is also the Resident Conductor at LA Opera. The Los Angeles Times has said the Master Chorale "has become the most exciting chorus in...
Erin Guinup
Erin Guinup’s pursuit of creative, uplifting, and service-oriented work has been the driving force behind her varied musical vocation. She is a conductor, soprano, voice teacher, author, corporate voice specialist, and professional speaker. Erin is the founding executive and artistic director of...
Lisa Husseini
Lisa Husseini is a conservatory-trained musician and experienced arts administrator who is passionate about empowering individuals and organizations in the arts to thrive.
As CEO of iCadenza, Lisa has coached thousands of artists, educators, and entrepreneurs in achieving artistically...
Joshua Jacobson
Joshua R. Jacobson, one of the foremost authorities on Jewish choral music, is Emeritus Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at Northeastern University and is Visiting Professor and Senior Consultant in the School of Jewish Music at Hebrew College. He is also founder and artistic...
Kevin Koelbl
Kevin is a senior-level production executive with more than 40 years of experience in the entertainment industry, and twelve years specifically in the professional choral environment. Kevin started his career as a vocalist and his performances have taken him around the world and to many varied...
Mary Langsdorf
Mary C. Langsdorf is the founding board president of the Orange County Women’s Chorus in Orange County, California, and hosted the first planning meeting for the group in 1997. She incorporated the chorus, obtained nonprofit tax status, developed the board, and facilitated the transition from...
Katy Lushman
Katy Lushman is a musician, educator, entrepreneur, and arts advocate in Denver, Colorado.
In 2018, Katy founded the Denver Choir League, a non-auditioned community choir geared toward millennials that partners with bars, restaurants, and local businesses for rehearsals and...
