Denise Ambrusko, MNMP's Director of Development, has a solid background in special events and corporate fundraising. Denise started her development career four years ago with Music is Art. During her time there she coordinated production of the yearly Music is Art Festival with an annual attendance of 100,000 people, featuring over 600 performers and vendors. In that time Denise also researched and assisted in the writing of various grants with nets of $300,000, planned and coordinated special events raising nets between $2,500-$40,000 and wrote corporate sponsorship proposals raising nets of $100,000. Prior to Music is Art, Denise earned her degree in Anthropology from the University at Buffalo. Before finding her talent in fundraising and development Denise was an Adjunct Professor in the Social Science Department at Niagara Community College.

Born in the heart of the Alps in Tyrol, Austria, Franz Hackl, MNMP Board Member learned trumpet playing and the profession of brass instrument making from his father. At age eleven, Franz became a trumpet soloist with several brass bands and started to tour internationally. He is an alumnus of the Conservatory of the City of Vienna, and received a M.S degree from The Manhattan School of Music (studied with Lew Soloff). After frequent collaborations with leading international artists in the jazz field, he focused more and more on composition and leading his own projects. Franz’s stylistic versatility grew to include works for full orchestra, diverse chamber groups, choral works and multi-media events. Among them original music for: “Year of the Mountains” launch event UN New York, U-Held I & II (renderings of Richard Strauss’s Heldenleben), Opening of the Austrian Cultural Forum in New York. Numerous commissions from festivals like: Tiroler Festpiele Erl, Klangspuren Festival, Festival der Regionen, Europäisches Forum Alpbach. In his co-owned postproduction studio in New York, he creates, with partner John Davis, music for film and advertising. Since 1993 he also leads his own festival and academy named “Outreach” in Schwarz in Tirol. B3+ further pushes the envelope for Franz. He is very happy to be part of this trio and to be inspired by the masters John Clark on French horn and Dave Taylor on bass trombone. Discovering what colors, sounds, shapes, musical expressions and level of communication is possible never felt so good

Karen Johnson, MNMP Board Member started her education at Germain School of Photography in New York City. She received her BA Magna Cum Laude from the State University of New York at Purchase with a major in Liberal Arts and her Judicial Doctorate from UCLA School of Law. Her focus in law school was on Property Law - copyright to land use regulation. While attending UCLA School of Law she was the Business Editor for the UCLA Entertainment Law Review. Karen was one of the law students picked to serve a summer legal clerkship with the U.S. Attorney's Office - Las Vegas, Nevada where she received permission form the U.S. Attorney's Office and the Federal Judges of the Las Vegas Federal Courts to try cases. She actively participated on cases concerning Property and Environmental Land Issues affecting Federal Land and prosecution of gang members on drug trafficking. She worked closely with agents in the FBI, DEA, ATF and Las Vegas Metro Police. She received from the U.S. Attorney for Las Vegas a commendation for Dedication and Hard Work.Karen has served as a member of the Board of Directors - State University of New York – Purchase Alumni Association and on the Admissions Committee for UCLA School of Law. She currently sits on the Town of North Castle Housing Board. Karen is a member of the Luxury Marketing Council and Legal Marketing Association. Prior to becoming an attorney Karen worked in corporate design and advertising. Upon graduation from law school she acted as a Supervising Attorney Consultant for Fraudulent Sales Practices, Assistant Vice President for Business Development for Cybersettle, an online mediation company, and is currently Director of Corporate Sponsorship for the Practising Law Institute. Karen is a licensed attorney in the State of New York. She has trained in classical ballet and jazz dance, studied piano, guitar and flute and the equestrian art of Dressage.

Lisa Karrer, Secretary of the Board , is a teaching artist, composer, director and performance artist who uses Homemade Instruments, Indonesian Gamelan, voice and extended vocal techniques to create opera, new music theater, multi-arts performance, soundtracks for dance, installations, and new arrangements of world music pieces. She has received numerous grants, commissions and travel awards to perform her works in New York City, Indonesia, Israel, the Baltics, and throughout Eastern and Western Europe. As an educator, Lisa has been teaching Homemade Instrument, Music and Performance Technique Workshops in the New York City schools, including regular curriculum and Special Education; and in residencies at venues such as the Avampato Discovery Museum in Charleston West Virginia, the Sternberg Museum in Hays Kansas, Delaware County's CROP program, elementary schools  and summer programs in Hawaii, and Polli Talu Arts Center in Estonia. She is also a Board member of Manhattan New Music Project in New York City.

 Luminita Mereuta, MNMP Director of Finance holds a Degree in Economic Studies from University of Bucharest, Romania and worked for ten years in the cost-analysis department of a private company in Romania before joining MNMP. Ms. Mereuta also brings a solid educational background to her work as she is a credentialed teacher with nine years of experience working in New York City special education classrooms.

 Ruth Mueller-Maerki, MNMP Board Member: A high-school and elementary grades teacher for many years, Ruth has since branched out into the study of literary and musical arts, receiving her PhD in Musical Arts and Composition from the Manhattan School of Music, and working at Harvard’s Kress Library for rare books. After her retirement Ruth has taken on several volunteer positions around New York City, working in the lay governing body of the Congregation of St. Saviour, and chief fundraiser for the Crafts Fair for the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine.

 Kristen Nolan, MNMP Director of Education Kristen M. Nolan - MNMP Director of Education - received her Bachelor's of Music Education from The Baldwin-Wallace College Conservatory of Music and her M.A. in Theatre from The University of Akron's School of Theatre. Ms. Nolan spent six years as Director of Music and Drama at St. Mary School (SMS), where she developed and taught an intensive Fine Arts curriculum, and founded the SMS Dramatic Arts Organization. She spent four seasons as Youth Theatre Director of Western Reserve Youth Theatre, a summer performing arts camp and also served as director and/or choreographer of the Western Reserve Playhouse mainstage productions. Ms. Nolan served as Resident Musical Director of St. Richard Theatre Company for four seasons. An actor and an award-winning vocalist, Ms. Nolan has appeared in Gypsy (Mama Rose), Into The Woods (Cinderella), Songs For A New World (Woman 1), Working (Millworker), Street Scene, and Baby, as well as Carousel Dinner Theatre's production of Evita, directed by Joseph Patton. Ms. Nolan is also a vocal and acting coach.

Jennifer Raine, Treasurer, Educational Program Coordinator, has been creating and implementing arts programs as a New York City teaching artist since 1999, working with such organizations as the Metropolitan Opera Guild, Marquis Studios, and Midori and Friends.  Since 2003, she has served as the Head of Curriculum Development for the Manhattan New Music Project.  In addition to her extensive work within the New York City public school system, Jennifer conducts student and staff development workshops throughout North and South America and Europe, both independently and as a staff member of the Metropolitan Opera Guild and the International Schools Theater Association.  Workshops focus on facilitating creation of original student work across all arts disciplines, specifically music, drama, movement, visual arts and creative writing.  Jennifer's formal training is as a trombonist; in 2002 she received her Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Manhattan School of Music.  She enjoys working with children because she misses the element of play in her adult world, and because they seem to be the only ones who think her jokes are funny.

Jane Rigler, Technology Program Coordinator , is a flutist and composer with distinctive national and international solo and ensemble experience in the performance of classical and contemporary music as well as significant experience in a wide variety of educational settings.  She holds a doctorate in Critical Experimental Music Practices from the University of California at San Diego. As a musician she has performed her works in California at venues including the San Francisco Alternative Music Festival the Line Space Line Music Series in Los Angles, the University of California at Riverside and California State University Fullerton. Among the international venues that her music and performance have been featured include Spanish venues such as the Festival of the Association of Electroacoustic Music of Spain, Institute of Feminist Investigations, Contemporary Music Festival. Her extensive teaching experience includes private teaching of flute, classes in improvisation and a special children’s program “Concerts for Children” in Spain which included cinematographic animations along with flute, violin and percussion.

David Taylor, Board Member has played a pioneering role in the development of the bass trombone, commissioning many works for the instrument.  Taylor first played with the American Symphony under Leopold Stokowski in 1967 and, at the same time, began playing in jazz and big bands in New York.  Following the American Symphony came concerts with the New York Philharmonic under Pierre Boulez and membership in the bands of Gil Evans, Chuck Israels, George Gruntz, Thad Jones/Mel Lewis and Bob Mintzer.  His bass trombone began to be heard on dozens of recordings with major jazz and popular artists including Duke Ellington, Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin, the Rolling Stones and Quincy Jones. In 1979, David Taylor embarked on a period of commissioning music for the bass trombone and in the years following gave premieres of significant works including compositions by Charles Wourinen, Alan Hovhaness, Frederic Rzewski, David Liebman and George Perle. In 1982, he was awarded the Most Valuable Player Award on bass trombone given by the New York Chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS)—the first award given to a bass trombonist by the New York Chapter. He was to win that award for five consecutive years, the maximum allowed time. In 1987, he was awarded the New York NARAS’ Most Valuable Player Virtuoso Award, an honor no other bass trombonist has received before or since. His first full solo recital was given, at the age of 40, at Carnegie Hall in 1984. Two more New York recitals followed, each with significant new premieres, as well as his first solo album, David Taylor-Bass Trombone. His best selling recording, the Pugh-Taylor Project, produced in conjunction with tenor trombonist Jim Pugh, continues to garner recognition for its originality, sound, and recording technique.

Multi-instrumentalist Bruce Williamson, Board Member, was active in the San Francisco jazz scene until moving to New York City in the mid-1980s.  In California he performed with Mark Levine, Pete & Sheila Escovedo, Bobby McFerrin, Benny Green and was a member of the experimental jazz group Rubisa Patrol with pianist Art Lande and trumpeter Mark Isham.  Shortly after moving to New York he joined organist Jack McDuff's band, giving him the opportunity to meet and play with Jimmy Smith, Stanley Turrentine and George Benson.  More recently, he has performed with his own groups in various New York City clubs and has been a featured soloist in Japan and Europe.  Over the years, Bruce has also performed with Gary Peacock, Fred Hersch, Dave Douglas, Tom Harrell, Jim Pepper, Paul McCandless, Toshiko Akiyoshi Orchestra and many other jazz notables.  His most recent CD "Big City Magic" on Timeless Records features trumpeter Randy Brecker and Bruce's compositions for jazz septet. In New York's theater world, he has performed in many of Julie Taymor's productions; "Juan Darien" at Lincoln Center (1996), "Lion King" at the New Amsterdam Theater (1998) and "The Green Bird" at the Cort Theater (2000). He also performs regularly with the Broadway production of "Chicago".  In film, Bruce has been a featured soloist in many of Elliot Goldenthal's filmscores; "Butcher Boy", "In Dreams" and "Titus". He was also featured with the American Ballet Theatre Orchestra in Goldenthal's 1997 ballet "Othello" (choreographed by Lar Lubovitch).  In 1991 and 1995 Bruce was awarded Jazz Composition grants from the National Endowment for the Arts. He can be heard as a sideman on more than two-dozen recordings playing saxophones, clarinet, bass clarinet, flute, piccolo, piano and synthesizer.  Bruce teaches at Bennington College, Vermont and Williams College, Massachussetts and has been a jazz clinician in both the U.S. and Europe.