08/31/2026
What did you do this summer? ☀️
Turns out, we did quite a lot. Since our last concert at Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, our staff continued working hard to prepare for Season 65. We did manage to squeeze in some fun.
✍Executive Director Erica Bondarev Rapach worked on her first book, "An Arts Management Manifesto", coming soon.
🎼Our Artistic Director and Conductor, José-Luis Novo spent part of his summer working with young musicians of Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra USA NYO USA / NYO2 in New York, as they prepared for their summer European tour.
💫 Librarian Olivia Ren spent June as Principal Librarian for the National Orchestral Institute + Festival at the University of Maryland School of Music, including a Carnegie Hall performance under the baton of Marin Alsop.
🎶 Director of Artistic Operations Miriam Fogel returned to Maine as General Manager of Salt Bay Chamberfest, whose 2026 season, "Music Unearthed", brought chamber music, new works, and free community events to several communities.
💃 Director of Finance Sarah Johansen traded spreadsheets for the stage, directing an all new production for The Talent Machine Company — her 11th time directing for the organization.
🎵ASA Artistic Director Heather Haughn played at Wolf Trap for Opera and Broadway in the Park, then headed to Peabody Conservatory to teach Allegro Strings and Chamber Week — conducting international orchestras and coaching chamber music along the way. She also taught the teachers and students of Antigua and Barbuda Youth Symphony Orchestra at a special workshop this month.
👨✈️Our concertmaster, and ASA Founder/Director, Netanel Draiblate married the love of his life, Deb, and continued to travel violin in hand and airline pilot at the controls. In fact, his job as a pilot for United and Concertmaster for the A*O were highlighted in a CNN piece in July. This summer, Deb and Julie Nolan joined Nati in Denver for the full United Airlines flight-simulator experience.
🏃♀️Director of Marketing and Communications Diana Love drove Highway 101 in Oregon with her daughter, sharpened her skills in making traditional Salish birch bark baskets with her cousins, who are expert basket makers, and rediscovered her love for running trails and endurance swimming in mountain lakes. In between runs she continued to discover new ways to write for AI search, while also using technology to segment and target key audiences.
⚽ ASA Discovery Coordinator Jake Fewx somehow fit in tuba practice, Annapolis Symphony Academy work, an A*O Brass Quintet outdoor concert for the City of Annapolis Annapolis250 celebration, river adventures, his first-ever Buc-ee’s visit, and the Uruguay vs. Cabo Verde World Cup match in Miami (he just slipped that one in like it was 😎).
🌻 Development Manager Kelly Burdick worked alongside her partner on their regenerative farm and retreat, Ryder Farm, in Brewster, New York.
🇧🇬Administrative Coordinator Maya McAtee headed home to Bulgaria to visit family, travel her country, and eat well.
🌅Julie Nolan wears many hats as our Director of Community Engagement and Grants and Assistant Director of the Academy. She took well deserved time off to split her summer between securing essential grants and chasing sunsets, traveling through Europe with her husband and children.
🏢Sales and Marketing Manager Caitlin Wright dove deeper into PatronManager after attending its annual conference in Chicago, building her knowledge of the ticketing and data systems that keep so much of our work moving behind the scenes. She also got to spend time with her family in Virginia.
As we prepare for the ultimate end of summer soundtrack, Pops in the Park at Quiet Waters Park and Pops in the Park at Down Park, we want to know: how was your summer?
