(NEWARK, NJ) -- The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra welcomes seven new members and three returning members to its Board of Trustees. Charged with establishing policies that assist in the successful implementation of the NJSO’s mission and vision, the board comprises members who are among the most in-demand institutional leaders across the state. Individual members are among the Garden State’s most significant philanthropists, and corporate members hold key leadership positions in industries such as banking, medical, communications, technology and utilities.

The NJSO has a unique legacy of having musicians sit on the board and its committees as full voting members. This season, NJSO cellist Sarah Seiver and Principal Bassoon Robert Wagner return to the board, joining Principal Second Violin Francine Storck, clarinetist Andrew Lamy, Assistant Concertmaster Adriana Rosin and bassoonist Mark Timmerman as NJSO trustees.

New trustees include: Thomas Comiskey, New Jersey Regional President of M&T Bank; Philippa Girling, Senior Vice President, Chief Risk Officer of Investors Bank; Teri Lawver, Global Commercial Strategy Leader for the Cardiovascular & Metabolism (CVM) Therapeutic Area, Global Commercial Strategy Organization at Janssen Research & Development, LLC; Martin Melilli, Regional Vice President at TD Bank; Kei Sasaki, Regional Chief Investment Officer for the Northeast region of Wells Fargo Private Bank; Susan Shiff, Senior Vice President and Head of the Center for Observational and Real-World Evidence at Merck; Peter Webster, Resident Managing Director of Aon NJ. Carmen Corrales, a retired partner at Cleary Gottlieb, returns to the NJSO board.

NJSO Board of Trustees Co-Chairs Linda Bowden and David Huber say: “These new trustees bring diverse business, philanthropic and community experience to the NJSO Board of Trustees. We are thrilled to welcome them to a thriving board that is dedicated to the NJSO’s mission to connect with the people and diverse communities of New Jersey through the power of live music to inspire, entertain and educate.”

Read bios for the new NJSO trustees at www.njsymphony.org/2018board.

NEW JERSEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Named “a vital, artistically significant musical organization” by The Wall Street Journal, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra embodies that vitality through its statewide presence and critically acclaimed performances, education partnerships and unparalleled access to music and the Orchestra’s superb musicians.

Music Director Xian Zhang—a “dynamic podium presence” The New York Times has praised for her “technical abilities, musicianship and maturity”—continues her acclaimed leadership of the NJSO. The Orchestra presents classical, pops and family programs, as well as outdoor summer concerts and special events. Embracing its legacy as a statewide orchestra, the NJSO is the resident orchestra of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark and regularly performs at State Theatre New Jersey in New Brunswick, Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, Richardson Auditorium in Princeton, Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown and bergenPAC in Englewood. Partnerships with New Jersey arts organizations, universities and civic organizations remain a key element of the Orchestra’s statewide identity.

In addition to its lauded artistic programming, the NJSO presents a suite of education and community engagement programs that promote meaningful, lifelong engagement with live music. Programs include school-time Concerts for Young People; NJSO Youth Orchestras family of student ensembles, currently led by José Luis Domínguez; and El Sistema-inspired NJSO CHAMPS (Character, Achievement and Music Project). NJSO musicians annually perform original chamber music programs at community events in a variety of settings statewide through the NJSO Community Partners Program.

For more information about the NJSO, visit www.njsymphony.org  

PHOTO BY FRED STUCKER