League of American Orchestras Announces New Appointments to Board of Directors

Alan Mason, Jennifer Mondie, Trine Sorensen, and Alan D. Valentine have been appointed to the League of American Orchestras' Board of Directors. The League is a membership organization comprised of more than 2,000 orchestras and individuals from across North America. The four new board members were elected by League members during the organization's annual meeting in June. Each will serve three-year terms.

Alan Mason currently serves as a member of the Santa Rosa Symphony Board and as the President of the Board of the Association of California Symphony Orchestras. He is Managing Director and Head of Americas Portfolio Engineering for BlackRock's ETF and Index Investments (EII) business. Mason earned a BA degree in music from Baylor University in 1983, summa cum laude; an MA degree in musicology from the University of Louisville in 1989, with honors; and an MA degree in ethnomusicology from University of California Berkeley in 1991. Mason played oboe and English horn with the Waco and Louisville Symphony orchestras.

Jennifer Mondie has been a violist with the National Symphony Orchestra since 1995, and was formerly a violist with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra. Mondie is Chairman of the National Symphony Orchestra Committee and former Member-at-Large, ICSOM Governing Board. She attended Northwestern University's School of Music from 1990-1992, studying under Peter Slowik, and in 1995 completed a Bachelor of Music degree, with a major in viola performance, studying under Heidi Castleman at the Cleveland Institute of Music. She was a fellowship recipient at the Aspen Music Festival in 1991 and assistant principal viola of the National Repertory Orchestra in 1992.

Trine Sorensen serves on a number of governing and advisory boards in the performing arts, including the San Francisco Symphony, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Global Council, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Music at Menlo, Stanford University Advisory Council for Stanford Live, and the Northwestern University Music Advisory Board. She is a former Accenture Consultant who specialized in change management and systems and organizational redesign for North American clients. She has held positions in hospital administration overseeing a number of areas such as research, accreditation, and strategic and financial evaluation of new and existing programs. Sorensen holds a B.S. from the University of Washington.

Alan D. Valentine joined the Nashville Symphony as its President and CEO in June 1998. He currently serves on the Steering Committee for Nashville's Agenda and is a former member of the boards of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (Nashville Chapter) and the Nashville Arts Coalition, among others. A longtime member of the League of American Orchestras, Valentine has served at various times as chairman of his Managers Meeting Group. He is a former member of the Managers Media Committee, and he has served on a number of other League committees throughout his career. Valentine is a graduate of the University of Houston.
Additionally, five people have been elected to ex-officio roles:

• Gary Ginstling, National Symphony Orchestra, Washington, DC (Orchestra Executive Director)
• Sara Mummey, Lafayette Symphony Orchestra, Lafayette, IN (Orchestra Executive Director)
• Heather Clarke, Idaho State-Civic Symphony, Pocatello, ID (Orchestra Executive Director)
• Megen Balda, Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies, St. Paul, MN (Youth Orchestra Division)
• Tiffany Ammerman, Marshall Symphony League, Marshall, TX (Volunteer Council)

The Board's officers were reelected, with Helen Shaffer now serving as Secretary. These elected officers include:

• Douglas Hagerman, Chair
• Melanie Clarke, Co-Vice Chair
• Steven C. Parrish, Co-Vice Chair
• Burton Alter, Treasurer
• Helen Shaffer, Secretary (newly appointed)

Helen Shaffer serves on the Houston Symphony League's Board of Governors, among several other cultural and academic affiliations. Presently a Member at Large, she has served on the Executive Board as Vice President of Volunteers and Vice President of Development. She is a Past President of the League of American Orchestras' Volunteer Council, the Texas Association for Symphony Orchestras, and the Association of American Major Symphony Orchestra Volunteers. A Member of the University of Houston's Board of Visitors and a Trustee at the Houston Grand Opera, Shaffer earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the College Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati and has sung with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Atlanta's Robert Shaw Chorus.

The League of American Orchestras leads, supports, and champions America's orchestras and the vitality of the music they perform. Its diverse membership of more than 2,000 organizations and individuals across North America runs the gamut from world-renowned orchestras to community groups, from summer festivals to student and youth ensembles, from conservatories to libraries, from businesses serving orchestras to individuals who love symphonic music. The only national organization dedicated solely to the orchestral experience, the League is a nexus of knowledge and innovation, advocacy, and leadership advancement. Its conferences and events, award-winning Symphony magazine, website, and other publications inform people around the world about orchestral activity and developments. Founded in 1942 and chartered by Congress in 1962, the League links a national network of thousands of instrumentalists, conductors, managers and administrators, board members, volunteers, and business partners. Visit americanorchestras.org.