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ECMS Board of Directors
The ECMS Board of Directors is a group of volunteers who are passionate both about chamber music and the importance of live music for our Humboldt County community.
Does this sound like you? Let's get in touch! admin@eurekachambermusic.org
Tom Stone | Artistic Director
Tom Stone was a founding member of the Cypress String Quartet and performed thousands of concerts throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America. Praised by Gramophone for “artistry of uncommon insight and cohesion,” and by the NY Times for “tender, deeply expressive” interpretations, they recorded over 15 albums and are heard regularly on hundreds of radio stations throughout the world. He has also served as artistic director of the Centrum Chamber Music Festival, Vice President of Strategic Initiatives for Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and Chorale, treasurer of InterMusic SF, and board member of Chamber Music America. Dedicated to mentoring and training the next generation of exceptionally talented musicians, Tom has mentored the prize winners of the Banff international String Quartet Competition and was a visiting artist at Harvard, MIT, Stanford and other elite universities. Recently he formed Trio Duende with award winning musicians Awadagin Pratt and Sophie Shao.
Dr. Ed Olsgard | Board Chair
Shown here teaching his dog Charlie to read, Ed is a retired family doctor who served generations of Humboldters in his 43 years of practice. He is a lover of art music, some of whose earliest memories are of playing his father's '78's. Hearing Mahler's First Symphony on the radio was an "unbelievable transformation of what I believed music could be" he recalls. After trying the violin in grade school and the tuba in high school, his conscience got the better of his enthusiasm as a performer but he remains an active and engaged listener.
Elizabeth Morrison | Vice Chair
Elizabeth Morrison is a writer, educator, cellist and lifelong lover of chamber music. When she lived in Eureka during the 90s, she attended the Eureka Chamber Music Series from its inception. Many concerts- the Australian String Quartet, the Pacifica Quartet, the Cypress Quartet- still glow in memory. She also treasures the times when she and her late husband Ralph Morrison played piano trios with ECMS founder Pearl Micheli. Returning to Eureka in 2019 after twenty years in the Bay Area, she is thrilled to find ECMS still going strong. She is honored to be on the board, where she writes program notes and gives a pre-concert talk before each concert through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Cal Poly Humboldt. Please join the talks at the Live&Local Interest Group the Monday before each concert weekend.
George Ponnay | Treasurer
I attended my first ECMS concert with my mother in 2009 and became an instant fan. The music was world class and just wonderful. Shortly thereafter, I offered to help founder Pearl Micheli photograph the concerts and there began a wonderful journey that now has resulted in my becoming the Board's Treasurer. Since my career is in banking, it was a logical progression and I look forward to and am excited to help the ECMS progress towards a brilliant future with my fellow Board Members.
Dr. Luther Cobb | Board Member
I first started playing piano around age five when my older brother Carl started lessons with the piano teacher next door, in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. I got a high school diploma in piano performance after 12 years of private study. When I went to college for Chemistry, I still chose to study as a private student with one of the faculty, and bought a piano to put in my dorm room at Michigan State. When I decided in 1997 to leave the Stanford faculty and move to Humboldt County, I brought the Bosendorfer Imperial concert grand piano formerly owned by Richard Britt, an attending surgeon at Stanford in Neurosurgery and dear friend. I think music, especially live performance, is one of the great joys, both intellectually and spiritually, of existence. I feel lucky to participate as an occasional performer and enthusiastic audience member, and am grateful for the opportunity to support this wonderful organization that brings this great quality of performance to our community.
Julie Fulkerson | Board Member
As a young child, our home was so small, I grew up under our Steinway hearing my parents play every day. Music, more than anything, transports me, even when sheltered at home where I play every day. I will be in the audience as soon as possible and can't wait for the series to resume! I love to play, but not practice, and will play with anyone, anytime, anywhere. Now, I play sonatas, duets, trios, and quartets nearly every day of the week in my garage. I'll be back soon to violin with the Eureka Symphony and Camerata Musica.
Maggee VanSpeybroeck | Board Member
Maggee VanSpeybroeck is a Humboldt County native and has been attending the Eureka Chamber Music Series since its very first concert, during which, at age 6, she fell asleep in the front row and got a wink from the violist of the Australian String Quartet. Maggee’s musical education continued at the University of Kansas and the Eastman School of Music, where she received her master’s degrees in Musicology and Ethnomusicology. From 2013 through 2016, She was Executive Director for the Cypress Performing Arts Association in San Francisco. Maggee pursued her MBA at Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, where she focused on business strategy and brand marketing.
Dr. John VanSpeybroeck | Board Member
John VanSpeybroeck is a retired surgeon who practiced in Humboldt County for over 35 years, retiring in 2016. He and his wife, Nancy (also a retired physician), have been long-time supporters of the arts including theater and music, especially the Eureka Symphony Orchestra and ECMS. He has been a member of the Board of Directors of ECMS since its inception in 2019 and became president of the board in September, 2020. His relationship with Pearl and Robert Micheli, founders of CMS, goes back over thirty years when his two daughters, Katie and Maggee, were students of Pearl's in piano and voice. He looks forward to helping preserve and evolve ECMS which he considers a community treasure.
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