Board & Staff
Founder and Artistic Director
Wilhelmina Smith
Cellist Wilhelmina Smith made her solo debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra while a student at the Curtis Institute of Music. She has since forged a versatile musical career based on the strength of her beautiful sound, commitment to a vast repertoire and impassioned performances. This past fall, she was soloist in Esa-Pekka Salonen's cello concerto "Mania" with the SinfoniettaNYC, with the composer present. She has been soloist with numerous orchestras including the Millenium Orchestra of Guatemala and the Ural Philharmonic in Russia and has performed recitals across the US and Japan. As a chamber musician she has performed with musicians such as Paul Tortelier, Yo-Yo Ma, Joshua Bell, Pamela Frank, Dawn Upshaw, Benita Valente, and members of the Guarneri, Juilliard, Brentano, Miami, Borromeo and Galimir String Quartets in major venues across the US and Europe. In 1997 she was a prizewinner in the Leonard Rose International Cello Competition. She has been a guest artist with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and the Boston Chamber Music Society, and is currently cellist with the Mannes Trio, Music from Copland House, and Artistic Director of Salt Bay Chamberfest, on the coast of Maine, and Pensacola, Florida’s Classicfest. In 2005 she formed the Variation String Trio with violinist Jennifer Koh and violist Hsin-Yun Huang. Her cd of sonatas by Britten and Schnittke with pianist Thomas Sauer was released on the Arabesque label in December of 2006. She currently lives in the Bronx with husband Mark Mandarano and her children, August and Giovanna.
Managing Director
Kit Pfeiffer
Kit Pfeiffer comes to Salt Bay Chamberfest with a long career in non-profit management in the arts. Most recently she was a senior staffer for 8 years at Bay Chamber Concerts in Camden, first as Director of Education and then as Director of Development. Previously she served as the statewide Executive Director of the Maine Alliance for Arts Education. You may also know Kit as one of the classical music hosts on Maine Public Radio, where she worked in the 1990s. For a few years, she took a hiatus from Maine to serve as Program Director and Producer/Host at Interlochen Public Radio in Michigan. She holds a BA in Mathematics from Wheaton College, Massachusetts in 1968, the University of New Hampshire (M.ED. in Counseling) in 1973 and Colby College (BA in Music) in 1989. Kit is the mother of two grown daughters, Sarah and Kate, and the proud grandmother of Maria, Felix and Maisie. She lives on the outskirts of Camden near her favorite hiking hills, kayaking launches and cross-country skiing trails. When not outdoors, she enjoys playing the piano, reading, and choral singing.
President of the Board
Peter Felsenthal
As a life long aficionado of classical music Peter Felsenthal is happy to join the board. He has 30 years experience as a business owner. Previously he served as an engineer, engineering consultant and research physicist. Since his retirement to Maine in 1995, he has participated in a number of non-profit boards including two concerned with global climate change and energy usage. He first came to coastal Maine in 1954 and had the opportunity of observing Hurricane Carol from the cockpit of a Mt. Desert A boat. Peter and his wife Jennifer live on Barters Island.
Board of Directors
Michael Acton
Michael J. Acton, CFA, is a Managing Director at AEW and Director of AEW Research, with responsibility for directing the activities of AEW Research, the firm’s highly regarded in-house research group. Mike joined the firm in 1990 and has 24 years of experience as an economic analyst and forecaster. He chairs AEW’s Investment Policy Group and is a member of AEW’s Management Committee and Investment Committee. The resources of AEW Research are an integral part of AEW’s investment process and Mike works closely with senior professionals in all areas of the firm to develop investment strategies that match clients’ risk/reward objectives with market opportunities. Prior to joining AEW, he was with DRI/McGraw-Hill where he managed the Metropolitan Area Forecasting Service. He is a graduate of Bates College (B.A.) and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.
Becky Brown
Originally from Maine, Becky grew up in Worcester and attended Wellesley College. She first taught school in Kenya and then moved to Washington, DC where she taught music and drama in public and private schools and also performed as a soprano soloist and a folk musician. Back in Maine, Becky taught music in the South Bristol School and started the children’s choir in the 2nd Congregational Church in Newcastle. She was a co-founder of the Round Top Center for the Arts and served on their board for many years. She is also a founding member and long-time board member of the Damariscotta River Association and is currently active with the new Damariscotta Teen Center. In addition to her devotion to many local non-profit organizations, Becky Brown has worked as a real estate agent with Newcastle Square Realty since 1984. Becky has two daughters, one son-in-law and three grandchildren.
Judith Falk
Judy, a retired psychotherapist, splits her time between Nobleboro and Washington, DC. She has had a lifelong interest and love of classical music and has enjoyed attending Chamberfest concerts since its formation. She received the 1984 Washingtonian of the Year award by the Washingtonian magazine, for co-founding the Center for Youth Services, which was established in 1979. Judy received her BA in History from Wellesley College and her masters in Mental Health from Johns Hopkins. She is a volunteer monitor of rare and endangered plants for the New England Wildflower Society and also spends time enjoying the great outdoors – canoeing, hiking, swimming and gardening. Judy and her husband, David, have three married children and four grandchildren.
Amy Gerson
Dr. Amy Gerson of New Harbor, ME and Lexington, MA, was elected to the Board in September 2009. Amy has held a private practice of psychology in the Boston area for many years, and served a long tenure as Director of Psychological Services at the New England College of Optometry. She is a founding board member of WSHE, the Women’s Supported Housing and Empowerment in Cambridge, MA, for women victims of domestic violence. She and her husband, Dr. Stephen Gerson, have attended Salt Bay Chamberfest concerts for several years, since they took up summer residence in New Harbor. In addition to her love of music, she is an avid outdoorswoman, enjoying running, fly fishing and kayaking. Amy has a grown daughter, Meredith.
Peter McNaughton, Treasurer
Peter McNaughton, hails from South Africa. He is the hands-on owner of Uni-sim Corporation, a business that makes personal awards and flag display cases. His experience in keeping his business going since 1984 will certainly be used in the current economic conditions. Peter came to Maine because of his sailing experience. He was a South African naval officer and an avid racer, both local, offshore and trans-Atlantic. Then he gradually moved into the captaining, chartering and delivery business. This took him to Maine where he settled in 1988. Peter lives in Newcastle with his wife Amy.
Alison Lahnston
A cum laude graduate of Radcliffe College, Alison Lahnston holds an MBA in Finance and Investments from George Washington University and a Master’s degree from Simmons School of Library Science. She began her fundraising career in 1983 after extensive experience in business, trust and financial planning and educational administration. In her second year as Director of Planned Giving at Wheaton College, the program was awarded a silver medal for most improvement by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). She then was appointed Director of Planned Giving and Stewardship in Boston University’s $200 million campaign. From 1988 to 1996 Ms. Lahnston served as a Major Gifts Officer and Director of Major Gifts at Harvard University’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences where she participated in the planning and implementation of Harvard’s $2.1 billion campaign. After a move to New Jersey, she served as the Director of Planned Giving for the Peddie School (1997 -2007). Alison served as an elected director of the Harvard Alumni Association, for two terms as a Trustee of Radcliffe College and as President of the Radcliffe College Alumnae Association. She has served on the boards of the Cambridge (Massachusetts) Historical Society, the Planned Giving Group of New England, and the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. She has also served on the Board of the Princeton Public Library Foundation, as Vice President of the Historical Society of Princeton, and President of the New Jersey Gift Planning Council. She is currently a Trustee of the Princeton Public Library, Co-Chair of the Public Library Endowment Campaign, a Trustee of the Historical Society of Princeton and the first woman President of the Nassau Club.
Phoebe Nichols
A long-time resident of the area, Phoebe Nichols is an experienced educator, photographer and designer. She is currently employed as Librarian and Coordinator of the Gifted & Talented Program at the South Bristol Elementary School. Recently, she served as Director of Development and Alumni Relations at Kieve Affective Education in Nobleboro. For many years, she was in business for herself with Riverine Designs, a graphic design and public relations service for numerous nonprofit organizations. And with her husband, John Nichols, she co-founded and operated Home Port Computers in Waterville and Bangor, one of the first Apple Computer sales companies in the state, focusing on education and small business clients. Phoebe received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Cornell University. She also volunteers at Skidompha Public Library. Phoebe and John are inveterate travelers, with California now a regular destination because their son Sam, a composer, lives near Davis with his wife and two daughters. They are also on a quest to visit as many of the country’s national parks as they can.
Hester Stuhlman, Secretary
Hester Stuhlman has been an educator. She taught French language and literature in Connecticut, Malawi (Africa) and North Carolina. She was an art museum docent for 20 years, starting out at the Athenaeum in Hartford, CT and moving onto Utica, NY to the Munson-Williams-Proctor Museum. She designed a docent-training course and worked in creating museum/school programs. She lives with her husband Byron in Round Pond. Hester is a member of the Tapestry Singers and the St. Andrews Choir./p>
Bernard van der Hoeven, Vice President
Bernie van der Hoeven, a summer resident of Walpole, Maine, and winter resident of Santa Fe, New Mexico, is retired from a career in research and research management. He spent most of his career in technical staff and management positions at IBM Research, including manager of the IBM Yorktown silicon facility, director of laboratory operations and director of quality. Following IBM he spent 5 years as director of facilities, security and safeguards at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. His undergraduate degree is from Princeton University and graduate degree from Purdue University, both in physics. Bernie is now teaching, doing some consulting work and enjoying his interests in music, travel, outdoor activities and masters rowing.
