Board Member Biographies
Executive Board
Dan Lovy / President
Dan is an engineer by training and profession. He is a veteran of numerous high-tech startups, and his focus is on maneuvering the challenges of small organizations, building a solid team, and developing a friendly and welcoming atmosphere among colleagues. Through many years of experience has held a variety of positions, such as founder, CTO, leader and engineer for a multitude of start-up companies including EDC (Education Development Center), Spinnaker Software, Learningways, Yoyodyne Entertainment, Yahoo and PermissionTV.
Stephen Moore / Vice President
Stephen is a musical performer, composer, and has been a corporate leader in Fortune 500 companies, as well as start-up companies domestically and internationally including Logickeyboard, Verizon and Contour Design. He is also an Adjunct Professor in Economics at Endicott College and on the Board of Directors of the Chorus North Shore which has a rich history of over 70 years. Stephen looks forward to helping the orchestra connect ever stronger bonds with the greater Ipswich community, and hopes to engage with and collaborate with the business community of Ipswich and Cape Ann.
Mark Avenmarg / Treasurer
Mark is a retired technical writer and natural foods retailer, Mark is also a keen sailor, and is active in the Ipswich Junior Sailing program as an accountant. Mark has been with the Orchestra since 2017, serving as Treasurer for most of that time, and supporting the orchestra on various fronts including as a piano player. Mark occasionally has the privilege of performing with the Orchestra.
Board
Thomas Palance / Artistic Director >
Chris Florio / Assistant Artistic Director >
Donna Riccardi / Director of Development
Donna brings more than ten years of fundraising, event planning, and volunteer management experience to her role in the orchestra. She formerly worked in the Development Office of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and later served as the President of the BSO’s Volunteer Association, overseeing all volunteer-led fundraising, educational, and support operations. After living in Boston for many years, she now enjoys exploring and photographing her North Shore home.
Eileen Yarrison / Principal flute Soloist/ Educational Outreach Director
Eileen was the first flutist to earn a DMA at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and holds degrees from Pennsylvania State University, and the University of New Hampshire. She conducts the Me2/Boston Flute Choir, the world's only classical music organization created for individuals with mental illnesses and the people who support them. Eileen also plays with Triage, a contemporary woodwind trio, and Killeeshil, a Boston-based Irish band.
Julie Stückenschneider Meneghini / Principal Clarinet/Communications Team
Julie loves participating in projects that bridge the gap between the concert stage and audience. She enthusiastically supports The Orchestra’s mission of artistic collaboration and will eagerly talk with anyone about the power of music to connect, heal, erase divisions, and sing a song of hope. Julie also plays clarinets with the Improbable Beasts, Plymouth Philharmonic, Symphony by the Sea, and coaches chamber music for Northeast Massachusetts Youth Orchestras.
Karen McConomy / Principal Viola/Personnel Manager/ Educational Outreach Team
Karen is a well-educated performer who studied at the Julliard and Eastman Schools of Music, The Royal Conservatory in the Netherlands, and Georgetown University. In addition to her management position in the orchestra, she regularly appears with the Vista Philharmonic Orchestra and Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Boston, and is principal violist with Symphony by the Sea, and Lowell Chamber Orchestra. She is a founding member of the Fin de Siecle Quartet, a period instrument string quartet that performs works from the 18th and 19th centuries. Karen is the founder of the White Spire Concert Series based in Hamilton, MA that brings local history to the concert stage.
Joan Wilking / Director of Communications
Joan has had a long career as an art director, graphic designer and writer. She founded her own award winning design firm, Cartouche, and worked as creative director for Doerr Associaties in Winchester MA. She has been designing and overseeing the Orchestra’s marketing communications since 2012. She also serves as a founding member of the board of the Ipswich Art Association and is committed to maintaining a link between music and the other arts. Over the years she has helped facilitate collaborations between artists, writers, poets and the Orchestra for their multimedia events.
G. Paul Naeger / Composer in Residence
Greg is the recipient of the orchestra’s B. Aline Blanchard Composer’s Chair. In addition to composing for and conducting his compositions with the orchestra, he is also the founder of the North Shore Ringers, a youth handbell choir that served the Cape Ann region. Greg is currently the Music Director of The Washington Street Baptist Church in Lynn, MA, and Composer in Residence for The Essex Elementary School. His original works have been performed in concert halls across the United States and Europe, including New York's Weill Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall, and Boston's famed Jordan Hall. His expansive catalog includes symphonic, chamber, solo and choral works as well as numerous original works and arrangements for handbell choir.