The Musicians of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra Builds Management Team

The Musicians of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra, the not-for-profit organization known as MOSSO, have engaged a management team to assist them in producing live classical music concerts for Greater Springfield and Western Massachusetts.

MOSSO Chair Beth Welty (who will serve as MOSSO's interim librarian) announced that Douglas C. Evans, former CEO at The Bushnell in Hartford, will serve as management consultant. Mark G. Auerbach, an area public relations consultant who was the Marketing Director of The Springfield Symphony Orchestra from 1982-1985, will serve as public relations and marketing consultant. Northampton and Hartford-based development specialist, Nancy Wheeler of WheelerConnect, will work with MOSSO as a Major Gifts consultant. And Gregory Jones, who has worked in concert production with groups from Simon & Garfunkel to Bob Dylan, will coordinate productions. Welty also added that Sarah Sutherland, a MOSSO horn player with a mathematics and statistics degree, will be MOSSO's Finance Director, and Lauren Winter, MOSSO's principal horn player, will coordinate box-office operations and personnel. Matthew Anderson, who holds a bachelor's degree in composition from the Hartt School and an MBA from the University of Hartford, will work in production.

"With a successful concert last fall in Symphony Hall, chamber music performances in Westfield and Longmeadow, and the upcoming MOSSO's Virtuosos concert in Symphony Hall on March 26, we are building our performance schedule," says Welty, who added that MOSSO will return to Symphony Hall in June with a tribute to the late, great Broadway composer and lyricist, Stephen Sondheim . "We are planning to announce a robust season for the summer and 2022-23. With a management team in place, a strategic plan, and development efforts, we are now poised to bring live classical music to our audiences."

The MOSSO Management Team includes:

Douglas C. Evans (Management Consultant), former CEO of The Bushnell Performing Arts Center in Hartford, has been a leader in the international cultural sector for more than three decades. He is responsible for Hartford's Bushnell Center for the Arts being one of the top touring presenters in the United States, and served as the CEO of The Stamford Center for the Arts. Evans is known for raising hundreds of millions of dollars for the cultural and education sector. A producer and presenter of over 100 Broadway musicals and plays, he produced the national tours of Tommy, Chess, Company, Raisin' Cane starring Jasmine Guy, and the Off Broadway blockbuster production of Frankenstein starring Hunter Foster, Christiane Noll, Mandy Bruno, and Steve Blanchard. He holds the honor of being the longest-running guest on a radio show: over thirty years on "The Talk of Connecticut" every Friday, broadcast over numerous stations in the Northeast.

Mark G. Auerbach (Marketing and Public Relations), principal of a public relations company since 1987, has had a wide range of clients, including the Capitol Steps, Dramatic Health's "Game Changers in Medicine" podcast series, 88.5fm/WFCR (now New England Public Media), and many more. Mark was the Marketing Director of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra from 1982-85, and held marketing positions with Wolf Trap, Houston Ticket Center, StageWest, and Greater Miami Opera. He studied arts administration at American University and the Yale School of Drama.

Nancy Wheeler (Major Gifts Consultant), founder and President of WheelerConnect in Northampton and Hartford, spent sixteen years in leadership roles at MetroHartford Alliance before founding WheelerConnect. She was the founding Executive Director of Dance Connecticut, former Director of Development at Hartford Ballet, and prior to that, a Development Executive with Connecticut Public Broadcasting and WGBY Public Television.

Gregory Jones (Production) has handled production coordination and event design throughout New England for over thirty years. Among the many artists that Gregory has worked alongside are notable stars like Simon and Garfunkel, Bob Dylan, Phillip Glass, Brian Wilson, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, James Taylor, and hundreds more. Mr. Jones collaborated with Mark Auerbach on a series of productions for New England Public Radio: Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion, Sonny Rollins, Jane Goodall, David Sedaris, Scott Simon and the Cape Verdean national treasure Cesária Évora.

Sarah Sutherland (Finance Director) is a Boston-based freelance musician and the Third Horn of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra. She is the hornist of the Back Bay Brass Quintet and currently teaches at Powers School of Music and Wellesley Public Schools, as well as privately. Sarah has performed with many ensembles in the Northeast, including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops Orchestra, Canadian Opera Company, Portland Symphony Orchestra, Cape Symphony, Boston Lyric Opera and Boston Modern Orchestra Project. She attended Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester and New England Conservatory, where she received degrees in Music, Mathematics and Statistics.

Lauren Winter (Personnel Manager and Box-Office Manager) plays principal horn for the Springfield Symphony Orchestra and Portland Symphony Orchestra. She is also Third Horn with the Boston Ballet Orchestra and former Principal Horn of Symphony New Hampshire. She has also performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, Boston Pops, Rhode Island Philharmonic, Boston Lyric Opera, Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, and Emmanuel Music. Prior to moving to New England, Lauren held positions with the Canton Symphony Orchestra and the Cleveland Opera Orchestra.

Beth Welty (Interim Librarian) received her bachelor's and master's degrees in violin performance from Indiana University, where she was a student of Yuval Yaron. She has performed with numerous groups in the Boston area, including the Bach, Beethoven and Brahms Society, the Handel and Haydn Society, and the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra. She has performed abroad with various organizations, including a tour of Italy with the Chorus of Westerly and of South Africa with the London Chamber Players. She toured Spain as concertmaster of the Massachusetts Symphony. In 2014, she traveled to Switzerland to perform a solo recital, and in 2015 did a five-concert tour of England with the Aryaloka String Quartet. Beth is Assistant Principal Second Violin with the Springfield Symphony Orchestra, and has served as Concertmaster of the Nashua Chamber Orchestra since 2005.

Matthew Anderson (Production), is a Longmeadow native who has always had a passion for classical music and the effects it can have on a community. He holds a Bachelor of Music in composition from The Hartt School, and an MBA from the University of Hartford. While at the Hartt School, he organized charitable fundraisers, held recording sessions, and produced a number of live concerts. Matthew's expertise includes logistics, process documentation and improvement, and relationship management. He is eager to bring his expertise to the MOSSO organization as they develop their future.

MOSSO is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, which is not a subsidiary of nor affiliated with the Springfield Symphony Orchestra Inc. MOSSO was organized by the musicians in 2021 to produce and perform concerts in Greater Springfield and Western Massachusetts. To date, MOSSO has presented pop-up concerts throughout the area, performances with local ensembles, including the Springfield Jazz and Roots Festival, a full orchestral performance with Maestro Kevin Rhodes in Springfield's Symphony Hall, and the recent series of chamber music concerts in Longmeadow and Westfield. For further information about MOSSO's programs, including the March 26 performance of MOSSO's Virtuosos, visit MOSSO at SpringfieldSymphonyMusicians.com, or find MOSSO on Facebook at Facebook.com/mossomusicians

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