ABOUT THE ORCHESTRA

MISSION STATEMENT

On this page you will find information about our roots in, and involvement in, the Merrimack Valley community: a brief history, Merrimack Valley Philharmonic Endowment Fund the Nicholas Van Slyck Scholarship (meet our 2014 winner) Music Director George Monseur, Lawrence Cultural Alliance membership, Massachusetts Cultural Council support and local cultural council grants, the Merrimack Valley Philharmonic Society which guides the orchestra's operations.

A BRIEF HISTORY

Nicholas Van Slyck was a composer and pianist, director and founder of the New School of Music in Cambridge. He was the conductor of the Merrimack Valley Philharmonic from 1967 to 1982. He died in 1983 and in his memory the MVPS has each year since 1984 presented a scholarship to an outstanding high school senior from the Merrimack Valley who is making music his or her life's vocation. The cover letter to students and application for the 2014 scholarship are now available here in PDF form. The application is due by April 15, 2014.

Cover letter

Application

The photo shows Hope Aubrey, the 2014Van Slyck Scholarship winner. Please click her name to read a bio.

Mr Monseur has been Music Director of the Merrimack Valley Philharmonic since 1983. His pursuance of excellence has raised the Philharmonic to new and greater heights. He is dedicated to the education of our young people by offerng them opportunities to solo with an orchestral accompaniment. The Merrimack Valley Philharmonic Society is proud and honored to celebrate his 30th season as our Music Director.

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The MVPO is funded in part by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency that supports public programs in the arts, humanities, and sciences.

Meetings of the Merrimack Valley Philharmonic Society Board of Directors are open to the public and you are welcome to attend. The Board meets the third Tuesday of the month from 7 PM to 9 PM. If you are interested in attending a meeting or becoming a board member, please email MVPO President for information, agenda, directions, parking, etc.

Beverly W. Abegg, Operations Manager
Ms Abegg retired from her position as Accountant and Office Manager for three trust and investment partnerships and a law firm. She is President of the Mu Phi Epsilon Boston Alumni Chapter, a professional music fraternity and is the Treasurer of their Foundation Board. She has Bachelor and Master degrees in Music from Boston University and in Business from University of Massachusetts at Lowell. Formerly a music teacher in the Westford school system, she also taught clarinet and piano privately. She is operations Manager of the MVPO and a member of the Grants Committee.

Francis E. Dolfe, Jr.
Mr. Dolfe is a retired Certified Public Accountant. He graduated from Bentley University with a B.S. in Accounting and Suffolk University with a MBA. Prior to starting his own accounting and tax practice in 1994, he was Director of Finance for the Federal Medicare Program in the New England Region for 23 years. Before that he spent 11 years as an accountant and auditor for two Boston CPA firms and the US Department of Labor’s national audit bureau. He currently serves as Treasurer.

Paul Dunlap
Mr. Dunlap is a graduate of Boston College, where he majored in English and history. After serving two years in the U.S. Army, he attended Boston University for a year of graduate study. He worked in Newcastle, Maine and in Barre, Ma. as a secondary school teacher. He spent the next thirty-four years as an English and social studies teacher in the Andover public schools. During this time he received two masters degrees from Salem State College. After retirement he spent six years in the Georgetown school system working as a substitute teacher and as an aide in the special education department. In recent years he has been a docent at the Gardner Museum and also the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Currently he is a docent at the Peabody Museum in Salem and Symphony Hall in Boston. He is eager to start the new year by being a member of the board of the Merrimack Valley Philharmonic Orchestra.

Margaret Dunlap
Peggy Dunlap graduated from Northeastern University and taught elementary school in the Pentucket Regional School System for twenty-eight years. Upon retirement she worked part-time as a literacy tutor for children in kindergarten through second grade. She has lived with my husband, Paul, in West Newbury for the past forty years. They are the parents of three adult children and grandparents of five children. She has always enjoyed the creative arts and has spent many hours quilting, knitting and painting. She played the clarinet in high school and college band and orchestra. When moving to the north shore She began playing clarinet with the Tri-Town Symphony Orchestra. They have been season ticket holders to the MVPO for several years and are looking forward to further supporting the orchestra by participation with the Board of Directors.

Phyllis L. Forsyth
Mrs. Forsyth was a member of the North Shore Philharmonic Orchestra until relocating to the Merrimack Valley when she became a Charter member of the MVPO and later served as Principal Second Violin until her retirement in May, 2006. She has played with area chamber groups and served the MVPO as Personnel Manager for 15 years. She is a graduate of the Fay School, Boston, with as Associate's degree in Medical Technology. She served as medical secretary in Liberty Mutual's Rehabilitation Center in Boston and later in the Cerebral Palsy Training Center in Lawrence and finally for a group of orthopedic surgeons.

Bonnie Glazier
Bonnie Glazier graduated with an Associate degree in Business Sciences/Executive division from Champlain College. She worked as an Executive Assistant in nursing homes, home health agencies, and manufacturing companies and recently retired from Watts Water Technologies, Inc. in North Andover. Music has always been an important part of her life and enjoys playing and listening to most types of music. She studied piano and organ and served as organist of her home church during high school. Over the years, she continued to serve churches as organist and served as substitute organist in numerous churches in Vermont and Massachusetts. She now sings with the Groveland Congregational Church choir.

Bruce Guttman, Librarian (Ex Officio)
Bruce Guttman has been a member of the MVPO since 1984, when he joined as bass trombone. Bruce has been the "chief cook and bottle washer" in the low brass section, playing trombone, bass trombone, and even tuba when we needed it. Bruce also created the Merrimack Valley Ragtime Orchestra, a Theater Orchestra of 12 pieces for a car show at the Crane Estate, as well as coordinating the brass for the silent auctions in December. Bruce is a Chemical Engineer and has a lot of experience in Electronic Manufacturing. He lives in Londonderry, NH with his wife, two dogs, two cats, and a cockatiel.

Janice High

Diane Lafond,
Diane Lafond graduated from Salem State College, Salem, MA with a BA in Biology and minors in Chemistry and Music. During job moves from Medical Technologist, to Stay at Home Mom, to Elementary School Librarian, she has always played violin. She played in several North Shore orchestras before joining the MVPO in 1985. She is a past president of the MVPO board and served as music librarian for 10 years.

Brooke LaMonica, Personnel Manager
Brooke LaMonica graduated from the University of Michigan in 1983 with a BSE in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, minor in Music. She received her Masters of Education from University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH in 2001. As a native of Oak Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago her early music years began with piano instruction as well as violin and theory instruction. While in high school, Brooke studied violin with Edgar Muenzer of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Angelo Rico of Roosevelt University. She also played with the Chicago Civic Symphony and attended summer camp at Interlochen Arts Academy. Brooke currently is the principal 2nd violinist of MVPO and plays violin with the NH Philharmonic. She also teaches strings and piano in her Atkinson, NH home studio and plays with varied string chamber groups for weddings and other occasions. As a Special Education Teacher, Brooke has taught in the Timberlane Regional School District for 12 years. She is the president of a parent group which supports music and the arts called Timberlane Music Association.

Francesca Mellin
A member of the MVPO violin section, Francesca Mellin holds a BA in French and International Relations from Boston University and a Masters of Education from Salem State University. She is the Head Librarian at The Pike School in Andover, Massachusetts. While in high school, she studied with Asya Meshberg and played with the Norwalk (CT) Youth Symphony and Opera New England. In addition to playing with the MVPO, Francesca plays in pit orchestras for area musical theater productions.

George Monseur, music director and conductor, (Ex officio)

Marjorie Nelson, Concertmaster (Ex officio)
Mrs. Nelson is concertmaster of the MVPO and teaches strings for the Timberlane School District in Plaistow, New Hampshire. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Music Education from Lebanon Valley College and a Masters in Music Education from Boston Conservatory of Music. Mrs. Nelson won the 2001 New Hampshire String Teacher of the Year Award given by the New Hampshire American String Teachers Association. She is a member of both the Program Committee and the Personnel Committee .

Robert F. O'Koniewski II, Esq., President
Mr. O'Koniewski, a Lawrence resident, earned his BA from Georgetown University and Juris Doctor from Suffolk University Law School. He has served as a lawyer in research and general counsel positions, his own law office, and since 2000 with the Massachusetts State Automobile Dealers Association, now as its executive vice president. Since 2001 he has been active in community affairs in Lawrence, now serving on the Board of Directors of the Merrimack Valley Asian Center and as volunteer coach in youth baseball and basketball programs. Mr. O'Koniewski has enjoyed the MVPS performances over the years and more recently has been a past season sponsor. His son, Thomas, is a budding violinist at Lawrence's Community Day Charter Public School. Mr. O'Koniewski is interested in spreading the Old and New World charms of "classical" music amongst today's youth and has made a habit of bringing youths to the MVPS performances.

Jennifer Onello
Jennifer Onello began studying violin in the Binghamton, NY area under the late Marianne Wallenberg. In her scholastic years, Jennifer broadened her experiences by participating in the Binghamton Jr. Orchestra and Binghamton Youth Symphony Orchestra. Later, she played in her college orchestra at the Rochester Institute of Technology along with auxiliary members from the Eastman School of Music. Jennifer graduated with a B.S. degree in Packaging Science and went on to work as an engineer in the military, food science, and medical technology sectors of industry. Jennifer has performed with the MVPO since 1998 and is now a stay-at-home mom. She enjoys sharing her love of the arts with her family. As a member of the orchestra’s violin section, Jennifer also enjoys performing chamber music, as well as participating in various community theater productions, whenever possible. This is Jennifer’s second year on the Board of Directors, serving as Publicity Chair. She also serves as an Advisory Council member at Hampstead Academy in Hampstead, New Hampshire.

Donna E. Rossi
Ms. Rossi is a lifelong resident of the Merrimack Valley. Her career has been as a Certified Orthodontic assistant for Dr. Milton J. Meyers in Lawrence and Dr. Thomas Leonard in North Andover. She is a private voice student of Allen Combs who is a Phillips Academy faculty member and the Music Director and Conductor of The Andover Choral Society. She joined The Andover Choral Society three years ago and soon joined the Board . Her official title on the ACS Board is Ticket Chairman, however, due to her enthusiasm, she is involved with almost every aspect of the group.

Diane B.Tiezzi
Ms. Tiezzi received a Bachelor of Science degree in Music Education from the University of Vermont. Diane taught music in Connecticut and Massachusetts before she and her family moved to the Merrimac Valley. In January 1980 she joined the MVPO as a violinist and continues to be a dedicated member. The last 20 years of her public school teaching career was in Portsmouth, NH from which she retired in 2004. The following fall she joined the Portsmouth Music Arts Center where she currently teaches violin privately.
Ms. Tiezzi has been on the MVPO Board of Directors since 2003 and presently is on the Program Committee, Chair of the Scholarship Committee and serves as Secretary.

James R. Warner, Sr.
Now retired, Rod Warner was trained as a chemical engineer at Purdue University. After serving in the US Air Force, Mr. Wagner worked for companies in the rubber industry for 43 years. His musical experience began young as his mother was an organist and pianist. He himself has sung in glee clubs and church choirs since 1949. He enjoys almost all types of music except the Rock types. Besides the classics his favorites are the 30's through the 50's (Big Bands, Combos, Vocals, etc).

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