Season Finale 2017: A Look Back at Bravo's 30th Season
MISSION—Bravo! Vail enriches people's lives through the power of music by:
VALUES—Bravo! Vail Music Festival:
In 1987, founding executive director John Giovando and founding artistic director Ida Kavafian established Bravo! Vail as public 501 (c) 3 Colorado non-profit corporation. Since then, Bravo! Vail has evolved from a small three-concert chamber music series to an international music festival with dozens of performances throughout the Vail valley, and summer home to the world’s greatest musicians and orchestras. Bravo! Vail has proven to be an economic driver in Vail while enhancing the quality of life for residents and visitors alike.
The first orchestras to be added to Bravo! Vail’s music series were the National Repertory Orchestra and the Colorado Springs Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1989,the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra brought national recognition to Bravo! Vail with a summer residency that lasted for 19 years. In 1995, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra joined what would eventually become an international roster of orchestras.
Eugenia Zukerman joined Bravo! Vail as artistic director in 1998. The following year, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra was added to the orchestral line-up. With a clear vision to become the most renowned orchestral festival in the country, Bravo! Vail celebrated the arrival of the New York Philharmonic in 2003 and The Philadelphia Orchestra four years later which solidified the current festival format of top-tier resident orchestras interwoven with a world class chamber music series.
In 2011, pianist Anne-Marie McDermott became the third artistic director in Bravo! Vail’s history. Ms. McDermott brings fresh perspective and a return to Bravo! Vail’s chamber music roots, working tirelessly to assemble exceptional music-making that includes an eclectic combination of classical favorites and new works, a great deal of fun, and an environment that is inclusive, friendly and accessible to all audiences.
London’s acclaimed Academy of St Martin in the Fields, led by virtuoso violinist Joshua Bell was added to the orchestral roster in 2016, making Bravo! Vail a four-orchestra festival. The Academy was both the first international and the first chamber orchestra residency in Bravo’s history.
Executive Director Jennifer Teisinger joined Bravo! Vail in January of 2016. Previously, Ms. Teisinger had executive director of the Sun Valley Summer Symphony, the largest privately funded free-admission orchestra in America, for nine years.
Through extraordinary performances, dedicated leadership, and generous support from the community, Bravo! Vail has grown from a handful of attendees to one of the world’s premier music festivals. During the summer months, Bravo! Vail touches the lives of thousands of people, both residents and seasonal visitors who come to the area specifically to hear great music in the natural beauty of the majestic Rocky Mountains.
Jennifer Teisinger joined Bravo! Vail Music Festival as Executive Director in January of 2016. Prior to her role at Bravo! Vail, Jennifer was executive director of the Sun Valley Summer Symphony.
Pianist Anne-Marie McDermott is a consummate artist who balances a versatile career as a soloist and collaborator. She performs over 100 concerts a year in a combination of solo recitals, concerti and chamber music.
Jennifer Teisinger joined Bravo! Vail Music Festival as Executive Director in January of 2016. Prior to her role at Bravo! Vail, Jennifer was executive director of the Sun Valley Summer Symphony, the largest privately funded free-admission orchestra in America, for nine years.
Prior to her role at Sun Valley, Teisinger served as executive director of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (Washington) and managed the San Francisco Symphony’s illustrious youth orchestra. She previously held various positions with the San Jose Symphony.
Together with Bravo! Vail’s Artistic Director Anne-Marie McDermott, Teisinger has launched a New Works Project to premier five new pieces of music in the 2017 season in celebration of Bravo’s 30th season. This project is the foundation for a commitment to commission at least one new piece of music every year. Additional 30th season initiatives include an expansion of Bravo’s education program offerings and a planned giving initiative.
Accomplishments at the Sun Valley Summer Symphony include working with the Board to raise $5 million in a capital campaign, surpassing its goal by $2 million. Teisinger then represented the Symphony’s interest in the design and construction of the world-class Sun Valley Pavilion, which was built primarily for the Symphony’s use. During her tenure at the Sun Valley Summer Symphony the budget increased by 45 percent increase, she established a solid endowment and a planned giving program, and oversaw dramatic growth in the organization’s education programs. A strong believer in new works and commissions, Teisinger steered seven world premieres of orchestral and chamber works.
Music education has been a major focus for Teisinger throughout her career. She ran the education programs at the San Jose Symphony and then managed the internationally recognized San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra. She put this experience to work in Sun Valley by elevating the reputation of the organization’s School of Music and Summer Music Workshops. Teisinger spearheaded the innovative three-year partnership with the genre-defying trio Time for Three, called Project Tf3. Complete with its own fundraising campaign, Project Tf3 commissioned the trio to write a new orchestral work annually for three years, and to work with local music students and schools.
Teisinger has a bachelor’s degree in music from the University of North Texas, Denton, and a master’s degree in music from the Rice University Shepherd School of Music in Houston. She has served on the youth orchestra division board of the League of American Orchestras as well as on the boards of the San Jose Youth Symphony and the Pioneer Montessori School in Ketchum, Idaho. She and her husband, Chris Gripkey, are the parents of two daughters. She enjoys a mountain lifestyle, including exercising, hiking, cross-country skiing, snowboarding, and dancing.
Pianist Anne-Marie McDermott is a consummate artist who balances a versatile career as a soloist and collaborator. She performs over 100 concerts a year in a combination of solo recitals, concerti and chamber music. Her repertoire choices are eclectic, spanning from Bach and Haydn to Prokofiev and Scriabin to Kernis, Hartke, Tower and Wuorinen.
With over 50 concerti in her repertoire, Ms. McDermott has performed with many leading orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra, Dallas Symphony, Columbus Symphony, Seattle Symphony, National Symphony, Houston Symphony, Colorado Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Moscow Virtuosi, Hong Kong Philharmonic, San Diego Symphony, New Jersey Symphony and Baltimore Symphony among others. Ms. McDermott has toured with the Australian Chamber Orchestra and the Moscow Virtuosi.
In the recent seasons, Ms. McDermott performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic, North Carolina Symphony, Charlotte Symphony, Huntsville Symphony, Alabama Symphony, San Diego Symphony, the Oregon Mozart Players, and the New Century Chamber Orchestra.
Recital engagements have included the 92nd Street Y, Alice Tully Hall, Town Hall, The Schubert Club, Kennedy Center, as well as universities across the country. Anne-Marie McDermott has curated and performed in a number of intense projects including: the Complete Prokofiev Piano Sonatas and Chamber Music, a Three Concert Series of Shostakovich Chamber Music, as well as a recital series of Haydn and Beethoven Piano Sonatas. Most recently, she commissioned works of Charles Wuorinen and Clarice Assad which were premiered in May 2009 at Town Hall, in conjunction with Bach’s Goldberg Variations.
As a soloist, Ms. McDermott has recorded the complete Prokofiev Piano Sonatas, Bach English Suites and Partitas (which was named Gramophone Magazine’s Editor’s Choice), and most recently, Gershwin Complete Works for Piano and Orchestra with the Dallas Symphony and Justin Brown.
In addition to her many achievements and association with Bravo! Vail, McDermott is also Artistic Director of two other festivals; The Ocean Reef Chamber Music Festival in the Florida Keys and The Avila Chamber Music Celebration in Curaçao, off the coast of Venezuela.
As a chamber music performer, Anne-Marie McDermott was named an artist member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in 1995 and performs and tours extensively with them each season. She also continues a long standing collaboration with the highly acclaimed violinist, Nadja Salerno Sonnenberg. As a duo, they have released a CD titled “Live” on the NSS label and plan to release the Complete Brahms Violin and Piano Sonatas in the future. Ms. McDermott is also a member of the renowned piano quartet, Opus One, with colleagues Ida Kavafian, Steven Tenenbom and Peter Wiley.
She continues to perform each season with her sisters, Maureen McDermott and Kerry McDermott in the McDermott Trio. Ms. McDermott has also released an all Schumann CD with violist, Paul Neubauer, as well as the Complete Chamber Music of Debussy with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.
Ms. McDermott studied at the Manhattan School of Music with Dalmo Carra, Constance Keene and John Browning. She was a winner of the Young Concert Artists auditions and was awarded an Avery Fisher Career Grant.
In addition to her duties at Bravo! Vail, Anne-Marie McDermott regularly performs at Festivals across the United States including Spoleto, Mainly Mozart, Sante Fe, La Jolla Summerfest, Mostly Mozart, Newport, Caramoor, Chamber Music Northwest, Aspen, Music from Angelfire, and the Festival Casals in Puerto Rico, among others.
Administration & Finance
Monica White, Vice President of Finance and Human Resources
MWhite@BravoVail.org
Monica White joined Bravo! Vail in 2016. Monica received a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Penn State and is an active CPA. After spending over ten years in public accounting, she moved to the non-profit world of accounting. Monica currently serves on the Listen Foundation and Red Ribbon Project boards. She enjoys skiing, rafting, reading, and being outside. Monica lives with her husband Dan and daughter Sage.
Irene Emma, Finance and Administrative Director
IEmma@BravoVail.org
Irene Emma joined the Bravo! Vail Finance team in 1999. Having moved to Vail in 1996, her background includes positions at the United Nations in New York, Reebok Sports Club/NY, and in the contract management and revenue cycle for the Vail Valley Medical Center. She received her master’s degree in environmental management from San Francisco State University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin in German and French languages. Originally from Switzerland, she enjoys the outdoor mountain lifestyle of the Vail area with her husband, young son, and their dog Hershey.
Carol Schimmer, Executive Assistant
CSchimmer@BravoVail.org
Carol Schimmer joined Bravo! Vail in August, 2017. Prior to Bravo!, she was an Executive Assistant at the Shaw Cancer Center, at Resort Technology Partners, and at Vail Resorts. Carol began her career in the resort hotel business, learning all aspects of front and back office operations until ultimately directing and managing special events, which included multiple musical programs. She is a graduate of Virginia Tech, spent her hotel years in upstate New York, and moved to the Vail Valley in 1991. She lives in Eagle Vail and spends her free time walking, cycling, skiing, gardening, and attending musical events as much as possible.
Heidi Young, Front Office Manager
HYoung@BravoVail.org
Heidi Young joined Bravo! Vail in February of 2015 as a Box Office Associate. In March the Front Office Manager position opened up and Heidi enthusiastically accepted the position while still assisting in ticket sales.
Heidi moved to Vail in 1989 from Mountainview, California, where she worked as a Corporate Travel Agent. Heidi and her husband Bret raised their son and daughter here in Vail. The Young family loves the mountains and outdoors. Hiking, Nordic skiing, and downhill skiing are their favorite activities. Heidi and Bret reside in West Vail with Happy, their giant Malamute puppy.
Jacqueline Taylor, Director of Artistic Planning
JTaylor@BravoVail.org
Jacqueline Taylor discovered her passion for classical music administration starting in 1983 while working as the Orchestra Manager for the Pre-College Division of The Juilliard School, where she studied trumpet. She eventually became the Managing Director of Performing Arts at the 92nd Street Y, under the tutelage of her mentor, Omus Hirshbein, followed by six years as the Executive Director of The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. In 2002 she and Omus founded and ran the concert series, Free for All at Town Hall. Since joining Bravo! Vail in 2010, her son now plays the horn, her husband rides a Pinarello bicycle, and she is a giant fan of 6 pm concerts.
Development
Jason Denhart
JDenhart@BravoVail.org
Jason joined Bravo! Vail in April 2018. Prior to this, he served as the executive director for the Merwin Conservancy on the island of Maui, Hawaii. Prior to moving to Maui, he spent 19 years in the Vail Valley and served in multiple positions in the Vail nonprofit community, including a prior stint at Bravo! Vail from 2002 to 2008. His Vail nonprofit leadership experience includes his role as development and special events officer at The Heuga Center for Multiple Sclerosis (now Can Do Multiple Sclerosis); associate director of development at the Bravo! Vail Music Festival; senior director of development at the Vail Valley Foundation; and director of development and communications for the Eagle Valley Land Trust.
Lynn Martin, Individual & Corporate Giving Manager
LMartin@BravoVail.org
Lynn Martin moved to the Vail Valley after graduating from the University of Colorado, Boulder and joined the Bravo! Vail Development Team in January 2017. With a proven track record of exceptional customer service in media and finance, she is excited to apply her experience to the non-profit world while spending her summers listening to exquisite music. Lynn resides in Vail with her husband Webb who both enjoy skiing, hiking, rafting and travel.
Beth Pantzer, Database Manager
BPantzer@BravoVail.org
Beth Pantzer joined Bravo! Vail in November 2012. Originally from Central New York, she first moved to the Vail Valley in 2011 to serve as an AmeriCorps*VISTA with the Eagle River Youth Coalition. Before moving to the Valley, she worked as a journalist at various newspapers across the country both in sports and news departments. Beth graduated from Castleton State College in Vermont with a degree in Communications-Journalism and received a Master's degree in Nonprofit Management from Denver’s Regis University. In her spare time, Beth enjoys running, biking, hiking, and triathlons, as well as traveling and photography.
Melissa Meyers, Development & Events Manager
MMeyers@BravoVail.org
Melissa joined the Bravo! Vail staff in January 2016. A music lover from a young age, she pursued a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from Belmont University in Nashville, TN. Melissa then completed her Master of Arts and Master of Business Administration in Arts Administration at the University of Cincinnati, College - Conservatory of Music (CCM). Previously, Melissa held arts administration and development internships with the Nashville Opera, the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, the Linton Chamber Music Series, and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Outside of work, Melissa enjoys skiing, hiking, and playing with dogs.
Marketing & Sales
Ronda Helton, Interim VP of Marketing
RHelton@BravoVail.org
Ronda Helton has more than 20 years of experience as a marketing and communication professional in nonprofits and in the arts and culture industry. She joined Arts Consulting Group’s Nashville office in 2015 as Vice President to expand its Earned Revenue Enhancement practice. Her areas of expertise include strategic marketing, branding, pricing strategies, media, and public relations. Helton previously served as Vice President of Marketing and Communication at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center (TPAC) and War Memorial Auditorium. At TPAC, she led intra-departmental efforts to develop innovative pricing strategies that resulted in one of the organization’s most successful years with almost 360,000 tickets sold and $20 million in total ticket sales. Helton also helped achieve record-breaking ticket sales levels at War Memorial Auditorium.
Nancy Stevens, Sales Manager
NStevens@BravoVail.org
Nancy Stevens joined the Bravo team in 2002 as the seasonal box office manager, complementing her winter employment as a Vail Village ski school supervisor. Nancy transitioned to a year round Sales Manager position with Bravo! in 2015, maintains her passion for skiing as a part-time instructor. Nancy has been known to remember exactly where ski school clients sit at the Amphitheater. She moved to Vail in 1975 after receiving a bachelor's degree in History and German from East Carolina University. She teaches Spin classes in the early mornings at the Cascade Club and volunteers for Vail Rec District running races throughout the summers. Nancy's three children, McKenzie, Jonny, and Maddie, have all worked in the Bravo! box office. Nancy's loyal ticketing staff has graduated into marketing, development, and office manager positions within the Bravo! Vail organization. Now an empty-nester, Nancy resides in West Vail with her husband Jerry. In her spare time, Nancy enjoys squash, pickleball, skiing, and hiking.
Carly West, Senior Marketing Manager
CWest@BravoVail.org
Carly West joined the Bravo! Vail team in January 2012 as Marketing Associate. Carly moved to the Vail Valley after graduating from the University of Colorado in Boulder with a degree in Business Marketing. Previously interning for the Vail Valley Foundation, and Untraditional Marketing to promote the Teva (GoPro) Mountain Games, Carly developed a passion for the non-profit sector, and event marketing. Carly has nurtured her passion for the arts after coming on board with Bravo! Vail, and thrives in the unique culture of the Bravo! staff. Carly resides in Eagle and enjoys the outdoor lifestyle with her ever-patient husband, busy little son, and senior dog, Khumbu.
Anna Janes, Sales & Marketing Associate
AJanes@BravoVail.org
Anna joined Bravo! Vail as a Box Office Associate in early 2016. Originally from Sonoma County in Northern California, she moved to Colorado to complete a degree in International Relations at the University of Colorado. Anna then lived and worked in England, Austria, and Japan before returning to Colorado. She enjoys travel, music, art, and design and she speaks German, French, and some
Japanese.
Katie Cassin, Marketing Coordinator
KCassin@BravoVail.org
Katie joined Bravo! Vail as a Marketing Coordinator in January 2018. A native to Colorado, she graduated from the University of Colorado, Boulder then lived and worked in Australia and New Zealand before moving the the Vail Valley in 2015. During her time here, she has developed a strong passion for the non profit sector and is excited to be a part of an organization that fosters music education and promotes community engagement.
Operations & Education
Elli Varas, Director of Operations
EVaras@BravoVail.org
Elli Varas began working with Festival in 2008. Prior to her time in Vail, she served as the Director of Operations for the Capitol Theater in Macon, Georgia. Elli holds a Masters degree in Arts Administration from Florida State University's College of Music, and a Bachelor of Music Performance degree from the University of Denver, Lamont School of Music. Although her academic and professional background is centered around classical music, she is a big fan of traditional bluegrass, and loves playing the five-string banjo. Elli lives just outside of Boulder, CO with her son and their two crazy dogs. 
Keelin Davis, Education Manager
KDavis@BravoVail.org
Keelin Davis joined the Bravo! Team in June 2015. Before moving to Vail, she taught middle school orchestra in upstate New York and directed educational and community events for Cornell University’s Music Department in her hometown of Ithaca, NY. Keelin holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Violin Performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music. She still performs around the country and especially enjoys creating new projects with musicians and performers here in the Vail Valley.
David Judd, Director of Technology
DJudd@BravoVail.org
David Judd has been with Bravo! Vail since 2013. Previously, David worked as Bravo! Vail’s Implementation Specialist to Tessitura for Ticketing and Fundraising and in the implementation of N-Scan, Tessitura's Ticket Scanning product. David spent 8+ years as a Tessitura Implementation Specialist working with more than 50 different arts organizations. Before working with Tessitura, David spent 7 years with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, ending his tenure there as Information Systems Manager. David describes himself as a "recovering CPA", having graduated with a degree in Accounting from Harding University and spending the first 8 years of his career in various accounting and finance roles. David lives in the suburbs of St. Louis, MO with his wife. He has two grown children, one old cat, and his pug, Bugsi. When David is in Vail, he is likely to be with Bugsi cruising around town. When not working, David enjoys playing golf, camping, riding his motorcycle, and singing.
Bravo! Vail was proud to receive the 2015 Vail Valley Partnership award for Best Place to Work!
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