BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Dr. Andrew Bluhm has been involved with the LSO for over 15 years in many capacities. He began his involvement with the orchestra as a trumpet player and continues in that role currently. Andrew has been a member of the LSO Artistic Committee for many years, chairing that group during times that the orchestra was without a music director. He has also served on two Music Director selection committees. During all this time, he regularly attended board meetings, and has served as an at large board member for the past year. Andrew also founded the Saturday Morning Brass Project, a group of professional and accomplished amateur brass musicians in Northern VA who perform at various venues in the area.
Andrew is an oral and maxillofacial surgeon by profession. He and his two business partners have run a successful private practice, Loudoun Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, for the past 30 years. In addition, he has been co-director of the Greater Loudoun Study Club, an organization providing continuing education to area dentists for the past 20 years.
For Andrew, music is a true passion, and he is very grateful for the opportunity to be part of the Loudoun Symphony Association. He will do all in his power to support the further growth of the organization, so that everyone in Loudoun County can experience the joy of the music we make.
Dr. Andrew Bluhm
President
Michelle Rippey studied flute performance through high school at the North Carolina School of the Arts, during her summers at the Brevard Music Center and holds a Bachelor of Music in Flute Performance and a Master of Education.
Ms. Rippey performs regularly with the Loudoun Symphony Orchestra, the Pro Art Chamber Orchestra (PACO) of Greater Washington D.C., and as a freelance musician throughout the Potomac region. She is the flute instructor and director of the Flute Ensemble at Frederick Community College, maintains a private flute studio, and enjoys assisting youth programs as an adjudicator for youth contests, a mentor for youth orchestra, and by providing sectional coaching, clinics, and master classes for young flutists for schools throughout the Potomac region.
In her spare time Ms. Rippey enjoys hiking and biking with her husband, and spending time with their 5 daughters, their parents, and their two German Shepherd dogs.
Michelle Rippey
Vice President
Brett’s day job is working with scientific nonprofits on both their administration and meetings. As a member of several boards of directors, he is hopeful that his experience can be useful to the Loudoun Symphony. Brett is also a volunteer board member for several community based nonprofits with the goals of growing community through sports and the arts.
Brett’s appreciation for the arts increased when his then-young daughter began ballet classes at three years old. She danced through her childhood and eventually became a professional ballerina. This experience resulted in a long-standing appreciation for the arts and how it can bring people together and be a positive force in the community.
Brett Burk
Treasurer
Flutist Ashley Bowen-Sanchez is an active freelance musician in the D.C. Metropolitan area. Currently, Ashley is a member of the Loudoun Symphony Orchestra and Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Greater Washington (PACO). She began her flute studies with Wendy Webb Kumer, then continued with George Pope, Mary Kay Robinson, and Walfrid Kujala. Ashley holds degrees in flute performance from the University of Akron (B.M.) and Northwestern University (M.M.).
Ashley Bowen-Sanchez
LSO Player Representative
Rick’s involvement and admiration for LSO and LSYO began when his youngest son joined the LSYO as a cellist nearly 20 years ago, the LSYO was significantly smaller then! Growth of the arts and engaging the community that the LSO/LSYO serves inspired Rick to join the Board.
Rick works to expand and increase corporate partnerships with LSO/LSYO and enjoys introducing the symphony to new audience members.
Rick Boyd
Thomas Gardner is a Northern Virginia native who began playing the violin at the age of ten in the Manassas City Public Schools. He quickly knew that making music and playing the violin was what he wanted to do for his future. In high school, Thomas was a member of the Northern Virginia Youth Symphony Orchestra (now known as the American Youth Philharmonic) and was a member of the National Symphony Orchestra’s Youth Fellowship Program. He has attended Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas; Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia; and George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Education and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Religion. He is currently pursuing his Master of Divinity degree from Reformed Theological Seminary. In addition to playing with several local orchestras, Thomas has been the first violinist of the Haase String Quartet, the Associate Concertmaster of the Tysons McLean Orchestra, and is now enjoying serving as the Principal Second Violinist of the Loudoun Symphony. Thomas has been a full time strings teacher at both the middle school and high school level since 2002. He currently teaches strings at Mercer Middle School. Thomas serves as a Ruling Elder at Potomac Hills Presbyterian Church where he is also the Music Director. Thomas enjoys spending time with his wife, Claire, and their four children, riding his motorcycle, and reading.
Thomas Gardner
LSO Player Representative
Maryann Keith is the Chief Operating Officer and a financial advisor at Beden Wealth Management. With nearly 20 years of experience in the financial industry, Maryann is passionate about helping her clients achieve their financial and philanthropic goals. Maryann's journey began in music, starting piano lessons at age 5 and flute lessons at age 9. She earned a bachelor's degree in music from Rice University and a master's degree in music from the Peabody Conservatory at Johns Hopkins. Although she occasionally freelances in the greater DC area, Maryann finds joy in being an audience member and supporter of the arts. Residing in Reston, VA with her husband Boris, Maryann enjoys practicing yoga and participating in triathlons.
Maryann Keith
Betty has been involved in the world of finance since 1979. Prior to this, she graduated with an M.A. in English at Trinity University of Texas and taught English for 10 years. She chose to make a career change after completing an MBA at California State University in San Bernardino, California. She worked as a stockbroker
with a large national firm until her husband’s military career led to multiple duty tours in U.S. locations and eventually a three-year stint in Germany.
Upon her husband’s retirement, she resumed her career in finance, working with an independent firm as a financial planner for the next twenty-one years. Her work involved designing and executing successful long-term financial plans. In addition to working with over 400 clients, she took time to teach seminars at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C., and served as an occasional substitute radio show anchor and TV guest.
Since retiring, Betty has joined with a small team of like-minded arts enthusiasts (Citizens for the Arts in Eastern Loudoun) to promote the development of a county funded performance and visual arts venue for Loudoun County. She is also an active supporter of various performance groups and community charities.
Betty O'Lear
Catherine Palusci has been a violist with the Loudoun Symphony since 1999, with a five-year hiatus to Texas. She has served as a Board Member and Player Representative for the last several years.
She began strings in the public school orchestra system in Texas, on violin and viola, and has made viola her main instrument for the last 37 years. After receiving her associate’s degree at Brookhaven Dallas, she always stayed active in the music community and played with different area ensembles. While in Texas, she performed with the Allen Philharmonic for six seasons, was part of the pilot strings program in McKinney ISD, and privately taught viola and violin before returning to Virginia.
In addition to performing with the Loudoun Symphony, Catherine has also played viola in the ProArte Chamber Orchestra of Greater Washington DC, and the DC Strings Workshop. She has always been a part of her churches’ worship teams and now enjoys occasionally being a part of small ensembles at her current church, Chrisitan Fellowship Church.
Catherine happily calls Ashburn her home, where she maintained a private viola and violin studio for 15 years. She also enjoys providing sectional instruction for young string players of various levels throughout Loudoun County schools. Catherine enjoys teaching new students, while making music fun and memorable, hopefully something to be treasured for a lifetime.
Among her favorite company is her husband JP, and young adult children, Gabriel and Daniela, travelling together, savoring new foods, and making memories.
Catherine Palusci
LSO Player Representative
Mary Riddell has been the Principal Oboist of the LSO since 2021 after becoming a regular substitute musician in 2019. She has been serving the local musical community as an oboe teacher for 11 years and has been a resident of Loudoun County for 3 years. Beyond the LSO, she has been the second oboist of the Washington Chamber Orchestra for 10 years and freelances with many orchestras, including the Cleveland Orchestra, widely regarded as one of the top orchestras in the world. She holds a BM from Northwestern University and a MM from the Cleveland Institute of Music where she studied with members of the Chicago Symphony and Cleveland Orchestras, respectively. Mary also has 6 years of experience in the service industry, as well as 3 years of management experience, during which her team consistently outperformed other teams in her region in productivity and sales. She now uses these skills to run her own business and hopes to make a positive impact on the legacy of the Loudoun Symphony Orchestra.
Mary Riddell
LSO Player Representative
Karen Shoupe’s love of music goes back to her birth in Ohio and the influence of her mother, a concert pianist who attended Julliard School of Music. Karen began playing piano at a very early age and graduated from the University of Michigan with a major in Musicology and a minor in Piano Performance. After graduating from The Ohio State University College of Law, she worked as an attorney for the Screen Actors Guild in New York City. Karen joined the Loudoun Symphony Board of Directors in 2024. She has been married for over forty years, has two grown children, one grown stepchild and two wonderful grandchildren. Her hobbies include yoga, pickleball, various crafts, reading and, of course, playing piano.
Karen Shoupe
Secretary
As a longtime Loudoun County Resident and business owner for over 35 years, Ed recognizes the tremendous benefit the arts bring to the county. He and his family have enjoyed the Loudoun Symphony concerts and have been impressed by the caliber of the musicians and performances throughout the years. While he does not play an instrument, Ed is eager to play a role in the future success of the symphony by contributing his expertise in other areas.
Ed has served on local financial industry Boards, as well as on several strategic, financial, and organizational committees of an International Industry Association, and also served as president of a business condominium association for over 10 years. He was President of Sterling Financial Partners, which he founded over three decades ago, before joining W3 Wealth Management as a Principal.
Before his financial career, Ed graduated from the Culinary Institute of America and Florida International University. He remains passionate about cooking, and is also an avid golfer who will always accept an invitation to play a Top 100 Golf Course!
Ed Skelly
Raelene Wagoner has been a First Violinist of the LSO for over 20 years and has served as a Board member of the Loudoun Symphony for the past four years.
Wagoner is Vice President, Talent Management at Unison. She has over 25 years of experience in technology firms as an HR executive, consulting delivery leader, and engineer. She has led the HR components of several mergers and acquisitions, as well as international experience in Latin America, Europe and Asia. Before joining CVP, Raelene spent 7 years as the HR executive in Mantas, a software company, and over 12 years at SRA International as a consulting delivery leader.
Raelene holds a BS in Computer Science and a Music minor from the College of William and Mary. Raelene is a Trustee on the William and Mary Foundation and former Board member of the William and Mary Career Center Employer Advisory Board.
Raelene Wagoner
A fifth- generation native Northern Virginian, Colleen spent twenty years as a technical systems engineer selling and installing network software for federal agencies. She has taken the sales, marketing, and strategy skills she honed in the for-profit world and enjoys applying them as a volunteer for a wide range of Loudoun organizations, including Friends of Loudoun Mental Health, Loudoun Volunteer Caregivers, Veterans Moving Forward, and the Loudoun Chamber of Commerce. She has a particular passion for supporting local youth and has served as a judge for the Virginia DECA program for ten years and also the Loudoun Chamber’s Young Entrepreneur Academy for middle- and high-school students. She is a longtime Loudoun Symphony fan and hopes to focus her efforts in supporting the Loudoun Symphony Youth Orchestra program.
Colleen Lovelace
PRESIDENT EMERITUS
HONORARY BOARD
Ara Bagdasarian, Chairman
Don O’Brien, Teresa Yancey Crane, Elizabeth Ellers, Shye Gilad, Jackie Gosses, Eugene Gulland, Tom Jewell, Hon. Joe and Bobby May, William May, Hon. Robert Sevila, and Thomas and Priscilla Toth.