James
Smith, WYSO Music Director & Youth Orchestra Conductor,
is on the facultyof the UW-Madison School of Music where he is Director
of Orchestras andConductor of the University Opera. A graduate of Southern Methodist Universityand the Cleveland
Institute of Music and the recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship for advanced
study in London, England, Mr. Smith began his career as a clarinetist. He
performed with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and the Miami Philharmonic and
appeared as a soloist, performing Copland’s Clarinet Concerto with the
Empire Sinfonietta, under the baton of Aaron Copland himself. Prior to his
appointment at UW-Madison, Mr. Smith taught at the State University of New
York –Fredonia, where he co-founded a faculty-student chamber orchestra.
He has enjoyed his position with WYSO for 22 years. Photo by Katrin Talbot.
Thomas
Buchhauser, WYSO Associate Music
Director & Philharmonia Orchestra Conductor,holds
graduate and undergraduate degrees from UW-Madison and retired in 1999 after
33 years as Director of Orchestras for Memorial High School and Jefferson
Middle School. Mr. Buchhauser has been chairman of the Wisconsin Honors Music
Project and has received Distinguished Service Awards from the Wisconsin Music
Educators Conference, Madison Metropolitan School District and the Wisconsin
String Teachers Association. In 1993 the National School Orchestra Association
elected him Director of the Year. He received the first Rabin Youth Arts Award
in March 2001. This is Mr. Buchhauser’s 24th season with WYSO.
Christine
Mata Eckel, Concert Orchestra Conductor,
is a native of Fairfield, CT, where her own youth symphony experience culminated with a performance at New York City’s Carnegie
Hall. She holds both a Master’s degree and a Bachelor’s degree
with distinction in music education from UW-Madison. During her studies, Ms.
Eckel performed and studied at music festivals in Switzerland, Italy and in
the United States. While attending UW-Madison, she earned numerous scholarships
and awards including the Steenbock Scholarship in Music. Ms. Eckel has served
as conductor of the Concert Orchestra since 2000 and served as woodwind sectional
coach for WYSO prior to her appointment as conductor. She teaches at two Madison
area schools, plays in a local woodwind quintet, and maintains a private clarinet
studio.
Mark
Leiser, Sinfonietta Conductor, earned a Bachelor’s
degree in musiceducation
from UW-Stevens Point and has taught string music in both the U.S. and Canada.
In the past, he served as an orchestra director in Medicine Hat, Alberta,
Beaver Dam Unified School District and the Madison Metropolitan School District.
Mr. Leiser is currently the director of the middle and high school orchestras
in the Watertown Unified School District. In addition to his teaching duties,
Mr. Leiser has been active as a conductor for musical theater, the Watertown
Area Chamber Orchestra, and the Beaver Dam Area Orchestra. He is the first
conductor of WYSO’s Sinfonietta, established in 1993.
Karen Atz, Harp Program Director
Dan Brice, Brass Choir Director
Vicki Peterson Jenks, Percussion Ensemble Director
Karl Lavine, Chamber Music Director
Marie Ruetten, Executive Director, joined WYSO's
administrative staff in 2004. A native of northern Michigan, she obtained
masters degrees in music education and music performance (conducting) from
Michigan State University. She spent 14 years teaching band at educational
levels from elementary school to undergraduate students. She spent the last
six of these years as Director of Bands at Muskego High School and the last
five as Music Coordinator for the Muskego-Norway School District (in addition
to teaching), and at the same time, earned a Master of Business Administration.
Before coming to WYSO, Marie managed an educational publication line for Hal
Leonard Corporation, a major publisher of print music. She is an active bassoonist
and guest conductor.
Mary Dwyer, Development Director, brings her many years of experiencein financial management and nonprofit work to WYSO. For the past nine years, she was Director of Administration and Finance for FSM Labs, a software company where she started as the first employee and saw the company through major growth and eventual sale to a larger Silicon Valley company. While living in New Mexico, Mary was one of the founders and board president of a K-8 charter school (Cottonwood Valley Charter School) that serves 170 students. She also helped to start a statewide support organization for New Mexico charter schools and served on the board of that organization. Other experience includes Fiscal Analyst and Grants Manager for a large social-service nonprofit in Santa Cruz, CA, and legislative aide for a lobbying firm in Albany NY. She brings all this experience, and that of being mom to two wonderful daughters (ages 11 and 13) to the position of Development Director.
Joseph Bernstein, Operations Manager, received his Music Performance masters degree in percussion from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is an active performer with the rock band El Valiente, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, and the Madison School of Ballet. He also toured with the Celtic rock group "The Kissers" for six years. Joe teaches Jazz History, History of Pop/Rock and Music Theory at Madison Area Technical College. In addition, Joe has been teaching a private percussion studio since 2000 and umpiring baseball since 2007.
Nicole Sparacino, Communications Manager, is back on the scen
e in Madison after a two year stint in upstate New York, where she obtained her masters degree in Museum Studies from the Cooperstown Graduate Program. Nicole has conducted exhibition research and marketing for The Theatre Museum in New York City, The New York State Historical Association, The Milwaukee Public Museum, and the Wisconsin Historical Museum. Although she hasn't played in a formal ensemble since her days as a pianist in the acclaimed Nathan Hale High School Orchestra, she does occasionally appear with her family band "The Sparrows," an experimental quartet that performs low-fi covers of classic rock songs.
