Gerald J. Dolan,
Music Director and Conductor of the Wind Ensemble
Gerald Dolan joined NYSO in 1995 as Music Director, and has brought to the orchestra the leadership and musicianship that has caused significant growth in both the students and the organization. Mr. Dolan is presently the Director of Bands for the Ipswich Public Schools where he teaches the concert band, jazz ensemble, jazz improvisation classes, and computer music composition classes. In 2002, Mr. Dolan was awarded the prestigious Lowell Mason Award, presented by the Massachusetts Music Educators Association to a music educator in Massachusetts who has demonstrated outstanding leadership in music education and has made important contributions to music and music education. In 2003, Gerald Dolan was awarded one of the “George Olmsted, Jr. Class of 1924” prizes for excellence in secondary school teaching” from Williams College; seniors from Williams College nominate a secondary school teacher that made a difference in their life.
Trudy Larson, Executive Director
Trudy Larson, Executive Director and founder of NYSO, is a private Suzuki violin and viola teacher in North Andover, MA.
In
2001, Trudy Larson was awarded the Massachusetts “Private String Teacher of the Year” by the Massachusetts American String Teachers-National
String Orchestra Association, an honor which recognizes exemplary dedication and commitment to string education outside of the schools.
Mrs.
Larson is the founder and director of “Summer Strings,” a summer chamber music camp for string players begun in 1996. Since 1998,
she has been involved in a pilot string-teaching program in a school in Lawrence. Under the auspices of the Northshore Youth Symphony
Orchestra, she has been instrumental in organizing and fundraising for the Lawrence Youth String Ensemble.
Walter Pavasaris, Conductor of Symphony Orchestra
Dr. Walter Pavasaris joined NYSO in 2000 as the conductor of Symphony Orchestra. Dr. Pavasaris graduated from Hartt College of Music, earned an M.M. in String Instruments from the University of Michigan and his Ed.D. from Boston University. He is currently the Coordinator of Fine and Performing Arts in the Lexington Public Schools. Dr. Pavasaris continues to be active as an adjudicator, clinician and guest conductor throughout New England. As a conductor, he has had the distinct privilege of having conducted festival orchestras in all four districts of Massachusetts. In 1992, and from 1999-2001 he was the guest conductor of the United States Youth Ensemble String Orchestra during their European tour. In 1992 Dr. Pavasaris was the recipient of the Paul Smith "Conductor of the Year Award" from MICCA, and in 1996 the Massachusetts Educators Association acknowledged his many contributions to music and music education by bestowing on him the Lowell Mason Award. Currently, he serves on the faculty of The Boston Conservatory where he teaches String Methods; he is also the conductor of the Arlington Philharmonic Orchestra.
Sandra
Doneski, NYSO Chorale Conductor
Sandra Doneski has had the pleasure of teaching music to students in Kindergarten through graduate
school and conducting choral ensembles of varying ages and voicings. She is currently Assistant Professor of Music at
Gordon College, where she teaches courses in music education methods, supervises student teachers and conducts the Gordon College
Children’s Choir. She founded the Children’s Choir in 2000 to give children in the community an opportunity to grow as musicians
and music education majors an opportunity to develop as teachers and conductors. Sandra has also served on the faculty of the New
England Conservatory Preparatory School, where she was Associate Conductor of the Children’s Choir Program. Under her guidance,
NEC implemented choral programs for early elementary and middle school students that focused on vocal pedagogy and building musicianship. She is a graduate of Gordon College and received her Master’s and Ph.D. in Music Education from The Hartt School, University of Hartford. Dr. Doneski’s research interests include the development of children’s and adolescents’ singing skills, music classroom pedagogy,
the acquisition of aural understanding and its relationship to music literacy, and curriculum development and assessment in music
education.
Walter O’Keefe, Conductor of Intermezzo Orchestra
Walter “Randy” O’Keefe joined the NYSO staff in 2004
as the director for Intermezzo Orchestra. Mr. O’Keefe has been the Music Department Head and Director of Bands for the Masconomet
Regional School District since 1990. During his tenure at Masconomet, his jazz ensembles and concert bands have won several
state and regional awards and traveled extensively. He earned a BA in Music Education from Ohio University in 1982 and his MM
in Trumpet Performance from the University of Notre Dame in 1987 with additional studies in Music Education at the Hartt School of
Music. Mr. O’Keefe has been the principal trumpet of the Melrose Symphony Orchestra since 2001 and recently retired after twenty
years as the principal trumpet and featured soloist for the 567th Air National Guard Concert Band of the Northeast. At the state
and district level, Mr. O’Keefe has served as a trumpet adjudicator for Northeast Junior District, the Ensemble Manager for the Massachusetts
All State Jazz Ensemble and the Concert Chairperson for the Massachusetts All State Music Festival.
Abigail Haynes, Overture String Ensemble Conductor
Abigail Haynes is a graduate of Gordon College in Massachusetts. She holds the Bachelor of Music in vocal performance. While at Gordon she was a member of the Gordon Symphony Orchestra and played violin in the Gordon Chamber Music Program led by James Buswell and Carol Ou. Her solo debut as a violinist was with the Salem Philharmonic Orchestra in 2001. She has been teaching violin and voice lessons privately since her time at Gordon. She was raised as a Suzuki violin student and is currently studying in a long term Suzuki teacher training program at the Hartt School of Music. Abigail has also sung with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus for the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood's Ozawa Hall, Symphony Hall in Boston, and New England Conservatory's Jordan Hall. She was a soprano soloist in the Lubbock Chorale performance of Handel's Messiah in 2004 and performed a voice recital with her husband Matthew for the community of Lubbock, Texas in 2006. She currently lives in Amesbury.
A graduate in violin performance from Gordon College, she joined
NYSO for the second semester of the 2007-2008 season. Sarah has won numerous scholarships and awards for her musical accomplishments,
has been a member of many symphony orchestras, and was a featured soloist in the Music in the Mountains Fall Festival concert series
in Northern California. Sarah has performed in distinctive venues, including Boston's Symphony Hall. She studied with
James Buswell and has been twice featured as a soloist with the Gordon College Symphony Orchestra. Now as an alumna, she plays
with the Gordon Symphony Orchestra as a mentor in addition to performing in a variety of orchestras in the Boston area. Sarah maintains
an active private teaching studio, and in her spare time, enjoys reading, writing, singing in church choir, and running.
Marissa Scarano has been performing and teaching for more than 20 years. Marissa is credentialed through the Royal Conservatory of Music (Canada) and the Suzuki Association of America. Marissa has
traveled all over America employing her talent in contemporary genres and has spent time in Nashville as a studio musician. An important part of her commitment is to express her love of music through teaching a new generation of musicians.
Trisha Craig is a founding member of the Sonrisa Trio, and as a soloist, has performed in
recitals throughout New England. Ms. Craig is regularly featured as a recitalist at the First Baptist Church in Hampton Falls,
NH, and has been a featured performer at the Mount Washington (NH) Hotel and in the Arts Nights summer concert series in Kennebunk,
ME. Ms. Craig holds the Bachelor of Music from Ithaca College in Ithaca, NY, and the Master of Music from Longy School of Music
in Cambridge, MA. She won the annual Longy Honors Competition in the spring of 2005.
Trisha Craig is currently the owner and
director of Music Makers in Hampton, NH, where she teaches some of the area’s top young flutists. She is also a faculty member
at Johnson (VT) State College, where she teaches flute.
Miss Osgood is a musician, flautist, and teacher who lives and works in the North Shore area. She completed her undergraduate studies in music education at Gordon College in Wenham, where she performed with several ensembles, including the Gordon College Symphony Orchestra, Wind Symphony, Flute Quartet, and College Choir. She recently earned a Master of Education, with a concentration in teaching and learning in the arts, from Lesley University. Miss Osgood is a music educator in the Marblehead Public Schools, where she teaches music to students in kindergarten through grade 3. In addition to maintaining her own studio she continues to play flute in a small ensemble of colleagues from Marblehead and at her church in Hampton Falls, NH, where she also directs the Children’s Choir.
Joining the NYSO staff in 2002, Nalani Fujiwara comes to us as an outstanding clarinet teacher and performer. Ms. Fujiwara is a graduate of the University of Hawaii, with a Bachelor's in Music. She is also a freelance musician in the North Shore Area – playing musicals in Salem, Gloucester, Ipswich and Annisquam, as well as performing with several area orchestras. Currently, Ms. Fujiwara holds a position as Elementary Woodwind Specialist and Band Director in Salem, MA. She also teaches a clarinet choir at Ipswich High School and teaches many private clarinet students.
Robert J. Bradshaw earned his Master of Music Degree in Composition, Bachelor of Music Degree in Theory/Composition
and Performance Certificate in Trumpet from the University of South Carolina. In addition to composing, he is a member of the
Cape Ann Symphony, teaches composition master classes at all levels of education, and is currently Visiting Lecturer at Salem State
College. Mr. Bradshaw had been commissioned to compose works for many professional ensembles, schools and organizations, and
written works for orchestra, wind ensemble, jazz band, marching band, chorus, musical, opera, ballet and various chamber ensembles. Since
1997, Robert J. Bradshaw has composed numerous pieces for NYSO.
His music has been described as “contemporary work that is accessible to a variety of audiences” and is frequently performed around the world from America to Europe and Asia. Recent commissions and awards include the 2005 Manchester Music Festival Composition Competition, 26th Annual Pappoutsakis Flute Competition, New England Musical Heritage Initiative/New England String Ensemble and the American String Teachers Association with NSOA. He is member of Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI), Society of Composers Inc., National Association of Composers, American Music Center and American Composers Forum.
Marcia Lier is the founding teacher
of Community Strings, now in its tenth year. She is a Suzuki trained teacher and teaches at both the Community Day Charter School
in Lawrence and Esperanza School for Girls in Lawrence. She has formerly worked with World Relief, done resettlement work with
Vietnamese and Cambodian families and directed a Youth Center and Community Group home.