South Bend Symphony Orchestra Announces New Board of Directors Appointment of Lamberti as Board President

The South Bend Symphony Orchestra today announced the appointments of Donna P. Lamberti as President of the Board, Dr. Marvin V. Curtis as Vice President, and Dr. Breighan Boeskool as Secretary. In addition, Dr. Susan Ohmer and Dr. Mark H. Ross joined the Board as Directors. John Seidl will remain as the Symphony’s Treasurer.

Lamberti has been actively involved with the Symphony for over 20 years as a patron and Board member. As Executive Vice President at Christian Brothers Services she brings a wealth of experience, including 30 years of experience as a CPA in accounting and non-profit leadership roles. As President, she follows John Axelberg, CEO of South Bend-based General Stamping & Metalworks.

“I am honored and humbled to serve as next year’s President during South Bend Symphony Orchestra’s 90th anniversary season. Music has such a profound influence on our community life,” Lamberti added.

As Dean Emeritus of the Raclin School of the Arts at Indiana University South Bend, Dr. Curtis, a long-time Board member, was instrumental in creating and building the Symphony’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration concerts and will continue chairing the Symphony’s Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion Committee.

Dr. Boeskool joins the Board as Secretary. Her extensive training in music theory and data visualization are a perfect fit for a 21st Century symphony. Having served on the Symphony’s Finance Committee throughout the 2021-22 Season, Dr. Boeskool will have expanded oversight over the Symphony’s committees in her new role.

“We are thrilled to welcome and elevate these community leaders to the Board and grateful for their ongoing commitment to the Symphony’s mission. Their diverse backgrounds, history of service, and professional accomplishments are the leadership qualities we need,” wrote Justus Zimmerman, the Symphony’s Executive Director. “As we embark on our 90th Season, the caliber of this organization, from the music to the Board, has only increased, and I couldn’t be more excited to work with our new officers and directors.”

To learn more about the 90th Anniversary 2022-23 Season, visit www.southbendsymphony.org

SUBSCRIPTIONS/ TICKETS

Subscriptions

Discounts, priority seating, and other exclusive benefits are available to season subscribers. Subscribe at www.southbendsymphony.org or by phone at (574) 232-6343.

Tickets – Please note, single tickets are ONLY available directly from the venue.

Single tickets are on sale to the public on August 16, 2022.

Single ticket prices start at $19 with discounts available to students with a valid ID.

Single tickets are available at through the Morris Box Office, open Tuesday – Friday, Noon to 5 p.m., by phone at (574) 235-9190 or online at morriscenter.org.

DeBartolo Performing Arts Center Ticket Office, open Monday – Friday, Noon to 6 p.m., by phone (574) 631-2800 or online at www.performingarts.nd.edu.

Dates, programs, and venues are subject to change.  

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About Donna P. Lamberti

Donna Lamberti has been involved with the South Bend Symphony Orchestra, both as a patron and member of the board of directors and executive committee, for over 20 years. Donna presently is Executive Vice President at Christian Brothers Services, a non-profit organization administering cooperative programs in the area of health, retirement, property/casualty, technology, school management and consulting services to Catholic Church organizations.  She also serves as board president of Indiana Trust Wealth Management and is proud to be part of the YWCA of North Central Indiana Women of Vision.  She is a former member of the St. Joseph Community Foundation Board of Directors and Arts Everywhere Committee.

About Marvin V. Curtis 

Dean Emeritus and Professor Emeritus of the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts at Indiana University South Bend. He the first African-American composer commissioned to write a choral work for a Presidential Inauguration. In 1993, prior to the administration of the oath of office to Vice President Albert Gore, Jr, City on the Hill premiered with The Philander Smith Collegiate Choir of Little Rock, Arkansas and The United States Marine Band at the Inaugural Ceremonies for President William Jefferson Clinton. The choral work is located in the Clinton Library and numerous archives around the country. It is part of The Smithsonian Institute’s National African American Project Archives.

 A native of Chicago, Illinois, his degrees are from North Park University (BM), The Presbyterian School of Christian Education (MA) and his doctorate from The University of the Pacific in Music Education (EdD). He did additional studies at Westminster Choir College, The Juilliard School of Music, and was a Ford Foundation Fellow studying in West Africa at the University of Ghana at Lagon.

As a composer and conductor, he has received numerous commissions from colleges and churches including the 100th anniversary anthem for Morris Brown College in Atlanta, the Inauguration Anthem for the creation of Clark Atlanta University, and the 125th anniversary of North Park University in Chicago. He composed music for the documentary A Road to Hope, which earned him the Bronze Award for best Original Song by the Prestige Film Festival. In 2021, he served as lead composer on the documentary Then, Now, and Always…The St. Joseph River Story produced by WNIT Public Television. He co-wrote music for the recent theatrical production A Place to be Somebody: The Story of Charles Gordone with Delshawn Taylor as part of the Bicentennial Celebration of Indiana.

He serves as conductor of The South Bend Symphonic Choir of South Bend a community choir that performed a 90-minute concert at The White House on December 21, 2009. He has served over 50 plus years as a church musician and is currently Director of Music at St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church in South Bend. He has led community choirs, facilitated workshops on choral music and African American music/education, is published in scholarly journals, and served as guest conductor for choral festivals around the country.

Dr. Curtis is a member of the Board of Trustees of North Park University, his Alma Mater. Additional Board membership include The St. Joseph County Library, The Fischoff National Chamber Music Association, South Bend Symphony Orchestra, South Bend Downtown Rotary, Venus, Arts, and Parks for The City of South Bend. He served for 12 years as the National Scholarship Chair for the National Association of Negro Musicians.

His honors include The South Bend Hall of Fame, The Drum Major Award from the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Foundation, The University of North Carolina’s Board of Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching, The Roland Carter Living Legends Award from the Hampton Minister’s Conference for his music, and The African American Award from the History Museum of South Bend.

About Dr. Breighan Boeskool

Breighan Boeskool is the Assistant Director of Analytics for the University of Notre Dame’s Investment Office. She holds Ph.D. and M.M. in Music Theory from the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music. Her dissertation is entitled, “Harmonic Refraction, Structural Thresholds, and the Chromatic Prism: A Neo-Riemannian Transformational and Geometrical Approach to the Music of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.” She is a proud Alumna of Saint Mary’s College, where she received a B.B.A. in Finance, in addition to a B.S. in Music. She sings with the South Bend Chamber Singers, where she also serves as Treasurer of the Board; chairs the Investment Committee for the Society for Music Theory; and is a cantor and violinist at St. Anthony de Padua Catholic Church.

 

About Dr. Mark H. Ross

Mark H. Ross is a Senior Research Scientist at the Notre Dame Turbomachinery Laboratory (NDTL) where he leads fundamental research efforts in the Front-Stage Core Compressor (FSCC) and Advanced Noise Control Fan (ANCF) facilities. He serves as a technical advisor to NDTL project teams on test engineering, experimental methods, and data analysis.

Dr. Ross holds a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Notre Dame (2014). His doctoral research focused on developing a physics-based approach to circumferential groove casing treatment design for transonic axial compressors. Dr. Ross’ research interests include casing treatment technologies for aerodynamic, aeromechanical, and aeroacoustic applications in compressors. He is also interested in aerodynamic and aeromechanical impacts of distorted inflows on fans and compressors, reacting flows, and novel control technologies for noise reduction from vehicles and propulsors.

About Dr. Susan Ohmer
Before her retirement in May 2022, Susan Ohmer taught at the University of Notre Dame since 1998 after earning her doctorate in Cinema Studies from New York University and serving as a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan (1997-1998). As an administrator at Notre Dame, she served as a Provost’s Fellow (2007-2009), as Assistant Provost (2009-2010), Interim Director of the Hesburgh Libraries (2010-2011) and from 2011-2013 led Digital ND, a campus-wide initiative to streamline and strengthen digital work at Notre Dame. Her professional service includes serving as a board member and officer of the Society for Cinema and Media Studies (2003-2006) and as co-editor of the journal The Moving Image (2012-2019). She has also served on the Boards of Directors of the South Bend Museum of Art and of WNIT, the public broadcasting station, where she chaired the Board from 2015-2020.

About the South Bend Symphony Orchestra 

Celebrating the 90th Season, the South Bend Symphony Orchestra is the region’s only professional orchestra and is committed to engaging the community in all it does. In addition to being recognized by the National Endowment for the Arts and other state and local arts funding organizations, the South Bend Symphony Orchestra is the recipient of the Community Foundation of St. Joseph County’s Leighton Award for Nonprofit Excellence, which recognizes the best-run nonprofit organization in St. Joseph County, Indiana.