BOARD OF DIRECTORS
David Patton Barone, President
David moved to Fort Collins in 2012. He grew up in Ohio and is a lifelong amateur pianist and supporter of classical music. He received a B.A. from the University of Chicago and a M.A. and Ph.D. in psychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He pursued an academic career, ending as Professor and Chair of Psychology at Illinois State University. While teaching at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, he sang with the chorus of the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra. He is past president of the Fort Collins Newcomers Club . He teaches classes in psychology for the CSU Osher Lifelong Learning Institute and in music for the Front Range Forum. He and his wife Deborah have three children, one of whom is local, and four grandchildren. They share their home in southeast Fort Collins with three standard poodles and a very musical African gray parrot. 
John Charles Tippet, Treasurer John holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Colorado. He retired from the aerospace industry and moved from southern California to Fort Collins in the fall of 2013. He has always been interested in classical music but shares an equal passion for traditional jazz. John has been a volunteer for the South Bay Chamber Music Society for the last two years. In that capacity he has prepared program notes and announcement flyers for 7 to 8 concerts per year. He is also the treasurer for a Connecticut Home Owners’ Coop called Dark Entry Forest. This organization is responsible for maintaining forest land in western Connecticut in pristine condition for future generations. John enjoys music, 78 rpm record collecting, genealogy, reading, learning French, travel, fly fishing and golf. 
Margaret Miller, Board Member
Margaret has been Assistant Professor of Viola and Coordinator of the Graduate Quartet Program at CSU since 2004. Prior to coming to CSU, she was violist of the Colorado-based Da Vinci Quartet, which toured nationally and recorded for Naxos American Classics. She is an active performer and guest clinician, and has given recitals at the University of Iowa, Montana State University, Kansas State University and the University of Missouri. She is also active in state organizations, giving presentations for the Colorado Music Educators Association, the Colorado American String Teachers Association, and the Wyoming Music Educators Association. A native of Detroit, Margaret received her degrees from Indiana University and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where she studied with the Fine Arts Quartet. |
Robert Molison, Vice President
Bob received degrees from Oberlin College and Conservatory and the M.M. Degree in Performance from Yale University School of Music. He taught high school and played clarinet in the Honolulu Symphony, then studied choral conducting in Philadelphia and completed the doctoral degree in Choral Music in 1970 at the University of Illinois. Bob has been Director of Choral Activities at Brown University, Colorado State University, and retired in 2000 after 21 years as Professor of Music at Iowa State University (Ames). He founded the Providence Singers and served as director of the Des Moines Choral Society and the Greeley Chorale. Since retiring, Bob has conducted chamber choirs and been a lecturer for Road Scholar programs at the Central City Opera and the Boulder and Aspen festivals. He has directed summer choral Road Scholar programs at Pingree Park for six years. 
Dennise Cherkauer,
Board Member Originally from Western New York, Dennise holds a Diploma in viola performance from the Curtis Institute of Music, where she was a student of Joseph de Pasquale. She also has a Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, in geological sciences from the University of Rochester. Prior to moving to Colorado in 2006, Dennise lived in San Jose, CA, where she served on the board of the Suzuki Association of Northern California and the Mission Chamber Orchestra of San Jose. She is currently on the board of the Suzuki Association of Colorado. Ms. Cherkauer teaches Suzuki Method violin and viola, freelances, and performs with Bells of the Rockies. She spends her free time reading, knitting, hanging out with her family and dogs, and learning to play the bagpipes. 
Katherine Runnels, Board Member
Katherine's first career was as a symphony violinist. She attended the Interlochen Arts Academy and received a performance degree from the University of Michigan. She was a member of several orchestras, including the Utah and San Antonio Symphonies, Denver/Colorado Symphony, and Central City Opera. After graduating from the University of Denver law school, Katherine practiced law in the Washington, DC area for 10 years, where she also freelanced and played numerous chamber music performances. She is now happily retired from the law, after working for 16 years as the employment attorney for The Nature Conservancy, but continues to play chamber music and perform with area orchestras. She previously served as a member of the board of the Youth Orchestra of the Rockies. Katherine, her husband Bruce, and their Greyhounds live in Fort Collins. |
Linda Messersmith, Secretary
Linda retired to Fort Collins from Atlanta in 2006. Linda grew up in Ohio and received a degree in English Literature at the University of Illinois at Chicago Circle. For over 25 years, Linda worked at various publishing companies, both large and small. Linda and her husband have four children, nine grandchildren and one great-grandchild in various places around the country. Besides keeping in touch with them, she enjoys reading, music, drama, gardening and the Front Range Forum. She also regularly volunteers at Rocky Mountain National Park. 
Roberta (Bobbie) Mielke, Board Member Bobbie is a member of the accompanying staff in the C.S.U. Department of Music. She retired recently as Principal Keyboard of the Fort Collins Symphony, and remains an active and enthusiastic chamber music player. She worked her way through the University of Minnesota as a jazz pianist, receiving Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Mathematics. She taught there, at Macalester College and C.S.U. When the Mielke children were young, Bobbie decided to get serious about classical music and became an adult piano student of Wendel Diebel during the last 20 years of his life. That prompted a change of field that she has never regretted. 
Debra Throgmorton,
Board Member Debra currently serves as Program Director for Music & Recording Arts Technology at Front Range Community College. In addition to her work at FRCC, she maintains a freelance concert schedule as a harpsichordist. She has appeared as a soloist with regional orchestras and ensembles including Greeley Philharmonic, Ethos West Chamber Orchestra, Front Range Chamber Players, Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra, Fort Collins Symphony, Greeley Chamber Orchestra, and UNC Chamber Choir & Orchestra. |
