Maggie Holtzberg:

A violin student at Merrywood, Maggie became a Folklorist with the Massachusetts Cultural
Council and a Fellow of the American Folklore Society. See her website:
www.maggieholtzberg.com.

Heather Kurzbauer:

Heather was a violin student at Merrywood.  When orchestras faced drastic cuts post financial crisis 2007-2008, Heather turned her attention to research the employment vulnerabilities within the orchestral sector, with a particular focus on freelancers.  She defended her PhD thesis on that subject in 2022 and Kluwer Law International published an abridged version in 2023.  Post-PhD, she has been privileged to give seminars at many universities and serve as keynote speaker/panelist at international labor law conferences, sharing her vision on employment challenges in the cultural/freelance sector with fellow experts worldwide.  At present, she is a senior law lecturer at the University of Amsterdam, an active member of the Works Council, a performing violinist with Sinfonia Rotterdam, and an Adviser to the Dutch Culture Council.

Philip Kuttner:

A piano student and teacher at Merrywood, Philip received his Bachelor’s degree in Music Theory and History from Harvard University and his Master’s degree in Music from Peabody Institute, where he studied with Leon Fleisher.  Philip has conducted 26 operas with the North Bay Opera and was the supertitles author for the San Francisco Opera.  He self-published How to Sing in Italian and currently teaches piano.

Mark Maimone:

A cello student and teacher at Merrywood, Mark graduated with his Bachelor’s in Music from Brandeis University in 1974.  He then pursued Environmental Engineering degrees in Delft, Netherlands, receiving his PhD from Groningen University.  He was a member of the National Ballet Orchestra in Amsterdam.  Currently he is the Senior VP of CDM Smith where he has expertise in groundwater and surface water modeling, water resource planning, and climate change adaptation.  He has published innumerable articles on these topics.  Also, for over 30 years, he has been part of and now is Chair of the Board of the Ridotto Arts Organization, a classical concert series in Huntington, NY (www.ridotto.org).

Joel Russell:

A clarinet student and teacher at Merrywood, Joel is now a semi-retired land conservation lawyer after almost 40 years of practice.  He has two grown sons and on grandson.  For over 20 years, he has been married to Mari Gottdiener, whom he met at Merrywood in 1965.  They now happily live in Northamptom, MA.

David Vogel:

Both a violin and viola student and teacher at Merrywood, David currently plays with the Central Wisconsin Symphony Orchestra.  A physician, he is also an adjunct assistant professor at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

Diane Walsh:

A piano student at Merrywood, she taught at the Mannes School of Music.  She has been a concerto soloist, recitalist, and chamber music partner in the United States, Canada, South America, Europe, Russia, China, and New Zealand.  Diane has played with the San Francisco, Indianapolis, Austin, Rochester, Delaware, St. Louis, Portland, and American Symphonies.  She has also played with the Much, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, and Berlin Radio symphonies.  Since her Merrywood summers, she has played a LOT of chamber music and was a member of the La Fenice Quintet, the Walsh-Drucker-Cooper Trio, and the Mannes Trio.  As the on-stage pianist in the Broadway production of 33 Variations, she played 113 performances of Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations (eight shows a week!).  She’s also made nineteen recordings with more to come. (www.dianewalsh.com)

Juan Dandridge: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_England_Ragtime_Ensemble

Lynn Binstock:
https://www.operabase.com/lynn-binstock-a29505/archives/performances/en

Ellen Bender:
www.ellenbender.com