Discussion Panel

James Nickel has been the Assistant Principal Horn of Dallas Symphony since 1999. Previously, he served as Associate Principal Horn with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Nickel has been featured as a soloist with the Florida Orchestra, the Southeast Iowa Symphony Orchestra, and the New England Conservatory Symphony Orchestra. In the summers, Mr. Nickel is a member of Music in the Mountains in Durango, Colorado.

As a member of the Dallas Symphony, Mr. Nickel serves on the Orchestra Committee as the ICSOM delegate since 2003. He also serves on the Healthcare Committee, and is the Chairman of the Local Internet Oversight Committee. Outside of the symphony, he serves on the Governing Boad of ICSOM as a Member-at-Large.

Mr. Nickel received his B.M. from the New England Conservatory of Music. He is a native of St.Petersburg, Florida, but now lives in Dallas with his wife Julianna and their daughter Kathryn.

Beth Meyers is an active violist in the field of contemporary music. She is a founding member of the flute/viola/harp trio, "janus", and is committed to broadening the trio repertoire. In addition to her work with janus, Beth is an active soloist and chamber musician within and without of the field of contemporary music. Beth has worked with composers and artists including Meredith Monk, Bill Irwin, Theo Bleckman, Pierre Boulez, Harrison Birtwistle, Helmut Lachenmann, Martin Bresnik, and Steve Reich. A 2001 premiere of Steve Reich’s The Desert Music included Beth in both the premiere performance at Columbia’s Miller Theater as well as the Canteloupe recording. Beth was also a member of Alarm Will Sound for the U.S. premier of Harrison Birtwistle’s Theseus Game at Miller Theater (2003).

As an orchestral violist, Beth has played with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra, Heidelberg Opera Orchestra, Richmond Symphony, Syracuse Symphony, Erie Philharmonic, National Repertory Orchestra, Aspen Festival Orchestra, and the Lucerne Festival Academy. She has performed with ensembles including Anti-Social Music, the Theater of a Two-Headed Calf, Trollstilt, Ensemble Pampelmousse, the Audobon String Quaret, the Axis String Quartet, and the SEM Ensemble.

Beth's study of improvisation has found her at venues such as The Knitting Factory working with artists including Ralph Alessi, Kokayi, and Mark Helias. In 2000, she collaborated with jazz pianist and vocalist, Anna Johnson for her album One More Time In The Air (Oasis). Currently, she is violist and vocalist of "The Reasons", a hip New York band led by vocalist and guitarist, Clare Muldaur Manchon and featuring violinist Olivier Monchon and guitarist Lionel Loueke.

Beth is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music where, under the direction of George Taylor and John Graham, she received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. She currently lives in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and enjoys teaching pilates and the History of Jazz as part of her well-rounded free-lance career.

Matthew Fritz is currently a first-year master’s student at the Eastman School of Music, pursuing a degree in Orchestral Conducting under the direction of Neil Varon. A native of Scottsdale, Arizona, Matthew completed his Bachelor’s degree in Violin Performance at Arizona State University in May of 2005. He studied conducting privately with Robert Moody (currently music director, Winston-Salem Symphony) and has guest conducted with the Phoenix Symphony Guild Youth Orchestra. While just at the beginning of his conducting experiences, Matthew has had the opportunity to conduct concerts with the Mendoza Symphony in Argentina as well as work with the Rochester Philharmonic through their summer workshop.

Douglas Fisher joined the Columbus Symphony Orchestra as Second Bassoon in September, 1984 after receiving his Bachelor of Music with Distinction and the Performer's Certificate from the Eastman School of Music. During his final two years at Eastman, he was a per service member of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra under David Zinman and spent summers performing with the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina and Italy, the Colorado Philharmonic, and the Heidelberg Castle Festival in Germany. He was also a finalist in the 1985 Gillet Competition of the International Double Reed Society. His principal teacher was K. David Van Hoesen and he also studied with Bernard Garfield and Christopher Weait. In 1992 Doug was one of the first musicians to serve on the Columbus Symphony Orchestra Board of Trustees and since 1996 has served as President of the Central Ohio Federation of Musicians, Local 103, AFM.

Musician, administrator, and cultural entrepreneur Drew McManus has been involved with every aspect of the nonprofit performing arts world. He has become one of the most unique individuals in this business who is equally respected by administrators, academics, board members, music directors, musicians, and union officials.

Mr. McManus is the author of the highly successful daily column Adaptistration ; the first and only weblog dedicated to issues impacting the business of orchestras. His articles have been quietly addressing taboo issues which have been slowly strangling the business while simultaneously providing answers that are moving the industry toward positive change. Mr. McManus is a conservatory trained musician from the Peabody Institute in Baltimore, MD. He holds degrees in tuba performance as well as performing on piano and conducting; in addition to a regular performance schedule, Mr. McManus is an avid arranger.

Mr. McManus is regularly quoted as an industry expert in international publications such as the New York Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, La Scena Musicale, and the Melbourne Age. Mr. McManus has also been a featured guest on national radio programs such as NPR’s All Things Consideredand WNYC’s Soundcheck.

As the founder and president of the Gynecologic Cancer Fund, he has a singular understanding of nonprofit governance and retains six-figure development experience as an executive board officer. During its tenure, his charity returned over 85% of gross proceeds to its beneficiaries; the highest return of any 501(c) in the state of Maryland.

Currently, Mr. McManus works as a private consultant with a wide range of clients throughout the orchestra business. Recent appearances include being a featured presenter at the 2005 International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians (ICSOM) conference in San Diego, California and as a featured panelist at the 2006 Chamber Music America conference in New York, NY.

When he isn’t working 14 hour days, Mr. McManus spends time with his wife, avoids cutting off his fingers while pursing his love for woodworking, drinking way too much Starbucks coffee, and playing with his three cats; Carmen, Tosca, and Cody.

Curt Long has served as Executive Director of the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra since 1994. His tenure with the orchestra has seen the organization grow to unprecedented heights of artistic and business success and the 2003 opening of the magnificent Schuster Performing Arts Center.

Mr. Long holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Chicago and Master of Business Administration degree from the University of California, Berkeley. He played French Horn for eight years before electing to retire from performance, to the relief of audiences everywhere.

Before coming to Dayton, he served as Executive Director of the Delaware Symphony Orchestra in Wilmington. During 1991-92, he participated in the Orchestra Management Fellowship Program of the American Symphony Orchestra League, including residencies with the Los Angeles, Houston, and Grand Rapids orchestras.

Mr. Long’s initial foray into arts administration came as an intern in the Challenge and Advancement Programs of the National Endowment for the Arts. Prior to that he was Director of Finance for Shafer Event Management, a California company specializing in the development and operation of Formula One and Indy Car automobile racing events.

He lives with his wife and two children in Beavercreek.

Robert Levine has been the Principal Violist of the Milwaukee Symphony since September 1987. Before coming to Milwaukee Mr. Levine had been a member of the Orford String Quartet, Quartet-in-Residence at the University of Toronto, with whom he toured extensively throughout Canada, the United States, and South America. Prior to joining the Orford Quartet, Mr. Levine had served as Principal Violist of The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra for six years. He has also performed with the San Francisco Symphony, the London Symphony of Canada, and the Oklahoma City Symphony, as well as serving as guest principal with the orchestras of Indianapolis and Hong Kong.

He has performed as soloist with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Oklahoma City Symphony, the London Symphony of Canada, the Midsummer Mozart Festival (San Francisco), and numerous community orchestras in Northern California and Minnesota. He has also been featured on American Public Radio's nationally broadcast show "St. Paul Sunday Morning" on several occasions.

Mr. Levine has been an active chamber musician, having performed at the Festival Rolandseck in Germany, the Grand Teton Music Festival, the Palm Beach Festival, the "Strings in the Mountains" Festival in Colorado, and numerous concerts in the Twin Cities and Milwaukee. He has also been active in the field of new music, having commissioned and premiered works for viola and orchestra from Minnesota composers Janika Vandervelde and Libby Larsen.

Mr. Levine was chairman of the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians from 1996 to 2002 and currently serves as President of the Milwaukee Musicians Association, Local 8 of the American Federation of Musicians, and as a member of the Board of Directors of the League of American Orchestras. He has written extensively about issues concerning orchestra musicians for publications of ICSOM, the AFM, the Symphony Orchestra Institute, and the League of American Orchestras.

Mr. Levine attended Stanford University and the Institute for Advanced Musical Studies in Switzerland. His primary teachers were Aaron Sten and Pamela Goldsmith. He also studied with Paul Doctor, Walter Trampler, Bruno Giuranna, and David Abel.

He lives with his wife Emily and his son Sam in Glendale.

Nathan Kahn is a Negotiator for the Symphonic Services Division of the American Federation of Musicians. He has been with the AFM since 1988. In that position, he negotiates, advises and assists in the administration and negotiation of symphony orchestra contracts in the United States, and occasionally in foreign countries. He has negotiated hundreds of collective bargaining agreements on behalf of Locals of the AFM, including 6 comprehensive first-time collective bargaining agreements, and provided varying levels of assistance in the administrations of collective bargaining agreements to over 250 different bargaining units, nationwide and abroad. Nathan gives lectures to students at colleges and conservatories across the US on the subjects of symphony orchestra career preparation, and the role of the American Federations in those future careers. He also administrates the American Federation of Musicians Symphony Audition Complaint Hotline, assisting musicians internationally with difficulties they encounter in symphony orchestra auditions.

Nathan has been a member of the string bass section of the Colorado Springs Philharmonic (formerly the Colorado Springs Symphony) since 1991. Previously he was the Principal Bassist of the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, and an active recording musician in Nashville, recording for such artists as Charlie Daniels, Roger Whittaker, Roy Clark, Sandi Patti, Dan Fogelberg, and many other recording, television and film productions. He was a faculty member of Tennessee Technological University and for 15 years at the Sewanee Summer Music Center. Prior to coming to Nashville, he was Principal Bassist with the Tulsa Philharmonic Orchestra, and also served on the faculties of the University of Arkansas, the University of Tulsa, and Oral Roberts University. He has, among others also performed with the Memphis Symphony, Alabama Symphony Orchestra, Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, Chattanooga Symphony and Opera Orchestra, Colorado Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Aspen Festival Orchestra.

Prior to coming to the American Federation of Musicians, he was Founder and is President Emeritus of Regional Orchestra Players’ Association (ROPA).

He has written numerous articles for the International Musician and other national publications on musician and symphony orchestra related issues, and participated in national panels addressing a variety of problems related to these areas.

Nathan is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, with a degree in Music Education.

In his limited spare time Nathan enjoys hiking, cross-country skiing, bicycling, cooking and collecting pop music from foreign countries.

Carla Johnson was appointed President and Executive Director of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra in March, 2004. She spearheaded the strategic planning process, which resulted in the adoption of a five-year Strategic Plan in March 2005, and balanced the operating budget for the third consecutive year. Ms. Johnson oversaw the construction of the 2005-2006 season, which added three new series in the new Ferguson Center for the Arts at Christopher Newport University in Newport News; the new series helped push sales to an institutional record of over a million dollars in subscription sales. Having worked for over nine years with the Saint Louis Symphony Community Partnership Program, it is her particular goal to bring community engagement to Hampton Roads, and to that end she has begun a number of initiatives in schools, churches, and other community centers in the area.

Ms. Johnson is currently serving on the Collaborative Data Project Task Force and is an alumna of the Mellon Orchestra Forum.

Ms. Johnson received a B.A. in Honors Political Science and French Language, with an equivalent of a dance minor, from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Her Masters in Arts Administration is from Brooklyn College.

With husband John Hickox and daughter Zoë, Ms. Johnson resides in Norfolk, Virginia; son Ian is off at the University of Virginia. While Carla Johnson is completely devoted to music and organizations which make the music, her passion is gardening because plants either live or die, but they don’t negotiate.