Artistic Staff, Administration & Board Members
Artistic Staff
Kyle Knox
Music Director & Youth Orchestra Conductor
Michelle Kaebisch
Executive Director & Philharmonia Orchestra Conductor
Christine Mata Eckel
Concert Orchestra Conductor
Geri Nolden
Sinfonietta Conductor
Steve Kurr
Opus One Conductor
Karl Lavine
Chamber Music Program Director
Vicki Peterson Jenks
Percussion Ensemble Director
Jenny DeRoche Christian
Harp Ensemble Director
Josh Biere
Brass Choirs Director
Danielle Breisach
Flute Choir Director
Victoria Rockman
Flute Choir Director
Marc Fink
Lalita Honors Woodwind Quintet Coach
Administrative Staff
Ria Hodgson
Music Makers Director
Michelle Kaebisch
Executive Director
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Charles McLimans
Director of Philanthropy
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Yanzelmalee Rivera
Operations Director
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Roger Seaver
Director of Facilities
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Andrew Briddell
Director of Community Partnerships
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Joseph Greer
Operations Assistant and Librarian
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Jake Penner
Marketing & Communications Director
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Maggie Schenk
Membership Coordinator
Simrin Sandhu
Program Coordinator
Palmer Papson
Social Media & Digital Content Coordinator
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Eric Prudent
Director of Individual Giving
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Breanne Born
Administrative Assistant
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Catherine Chlystek
Membership Coordinator
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2026-2027 Board of Directors
Officers
Javier Garay, President
Mary Gerbig, Immediate Past President
Kathy Schell, 1st Vice-President
Tim Christian, Vice-President
Cymbre Van Fossen, Treasurer
Nick Mischler, Secretary
Directors
Nate Boebel
Tyler Brovelli
Kaiping Chen
Steven Ewer
Amanda (Mandi) Gausewitz
Lisa Hoffman
Jay Hutchinson
Jessica Knutson
Mark Lydon
Didier Mandelbrot
Erica Ostendorf Mullins
Joey Norris
Bonnie Sommers-Olson
Bill Rosholt
John Walker
Ron Zerofsky
Life Trustees
Michael George
Cyrena Pondrom
Andrée Valley
Coe Williams
Richard W. Wolf
Charlotte Woods
Bruce Matthews
Music Director – Emeritus
James Smith
Lifetime Ambassador
Diane Ballweg
WYSO Ex-Officio
Lisa Kjentvet – Director of Education and Community Engagement, Madison Symphony Orchestra
Chris Gleason – Arts and Creativity Consultant, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
Designate – Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra
Diana Popowycz – Director, Suzuki Strings of Madison
Dan Cavanagh – Director, UW-Madison Mead Witter School of Music
Laurie Fellenz – Wisconsin School Music Association
Advisors
Sally Davis
Randall Dimond
Renée Farley
Marc Fink
Al Fish
Christopher Frautschi
Graham Fuguitt
Dick Hammerstrom
Beth Larson
Deepika Rajesh
Lynn Stathas
Richard Zellner
WYSO Foundation
The WYSO Foundation is a separate 501c3, established in 1999 for the purpose of accepting and managing gifts, bequests of property and the income realized for the sole benefit of the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras.
2026-2027 Officers
Graham Fuguitt, President
Christopher Rich, President-Elect
Cymbre Van Fossen, Treasurer
Michelle Kaebisch, Secretary
2026-2027 Advisors and Trustees
Rich Arnesen, Trustee
Angela Batterman, Trustee
Susan Collins, Trustee
Jeff Femrite, Trustee
Mandi Gausewitz, Trustee
Phillip Knutson, Trustee
Linda Leikness, Trustee
Diane Mayland, Trustee
Mona Muldowney, Trustee
Javier Garay, WYSO Board President
Charles McLimans, WYSO Director of Philanthropy
Please contact Michelle Kaebisch, Secretary of the WYSO Foundation Board of Trustees, for more information.