Board

Russell W. Baker

Sally Cashion (Advisory)  grew up in West Virginia, singing in choirs from age three and attempting to play violin.

After receiving her B.A. in English and religion, she worked as a grant writer for the state, securing over two million dollars in federal matching funds for education, roads, and the arts. She earned a Master’s in English from the University of Louisville and an M.A. in Systematic Theology from Boston University.

She taught writing at Johnson County Community College for four years, while rearing two children and being a free-lance editor of books, doctoral dissertations, and medical journal articles. Her most significant assignments were with author Madeleine L’Engle, winner of the Newbery Award. During this time she was enrolled in classes to become a Certified Financial Planner, passing all the required exams.

Sally wants Johann Sebastian Bach to be her patron saint. At age five, she heard a piece and asked who the composer was. She had found her man! Nothing in the past sixty years has disabused her of the conviction that no one will ever surpass him. Unfortunately she was unaware of the Bach Aria Soloists until reading a newspaper article about BAS’s bringing Christoph Wolff for his debut appearance in Kansas City, a real coup, accomplished solely because the Director of the Leipzig Bach Archive has such a high opinion of Elizabeth Suh Lane.

Since her introduction to Elizabeth at that community concert, Sally has proofread and edited programs for BAS.

It is a joy to work with this truly world-class group, which has commissioned two works, and has done many collaborative programs with other genres in the arts.

J. Kirk Davis (Advisory) With over 30 years’ branding experience in creative design, J. Kirk Davis has created makeovers and new identities for a “Who’s Who” client list of industry leaders and their brands, including: Kraft; Playtex; Mattel; Intel; Hallmark Cards; Disney; Nestlé; and Gallo.

Formerly of New York City and Los Angeles, Kirk has called Kansas City ‘home’ since 2001 when Hallmark recruited him to join its creative management team. Passionately committed to the urban core and its preservation, Mr. Davis is equally devoted to supporting local arts and cultural affairs including most recently the Kansas City Ballet Guild. He is a past Board Member of Friends of The Conservatory of Music, UMKC, and has been a Marketing Advisor to the Kansas City Chorale continuing in this capacity on behalf of the Bach Aria Soloists as well as the Education Department of the Lyric Opera Kansas City.

Mr. Davis received the BFA degree from the University of Notre Dame and the Master of Science degree from Pratt Institute. His artistic talents have been cited by: The Graphis Press; Women’s Wear Daily; Art Direction Magazine; Graphic Design USA; and nominated for a Clio. He was a charter member of the Steuben Design Forum in New York City and has been a frequent speaker on a variety of creative marketing issues.

High on Kirk’s ‘bucket list’ is the story of his parents that begins with their survival as newlyweds of the bombing of Pearl Harbor and climaxes with his father’s Medal of Honor heroism on Guadalcanal in 1943.
He is married to the former Ruth Ledbetter of Palestine, Texas, a lyric soprano. They have two sons, Charles Kirk and Christopher Broderick.

Regan Ervin (Treasurer)

Virginia Guzman

Nancy Kaiser-Caplan (President) is passionate about the importance of art to the Kansas City community and the contribution of Bach Aria Soloists. “Imagine our city without the arts…what sense of place would we feel?” she asks.

After completing her graduate degree in theatre at the University of Kansas, Nancy’s devotion to the arts took her to Vail, Colorado, to serve as executive administrator for the Vail Institute for the Performing Arts and then to Napa, California to work with the Napa Valley Opera House. Eventually, she returned to the Midwest with her family and was director of development at the Lied Center of Kansas in Lawrence. She says serving on the building committee for the Lied Center was one of the greatest experiences of her professional life. Here in Kansas City, her career has been linked to arts organizations such as the Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey, Störling Dance Theater, the Rep, and Wylliams Henry Contemporary Dance Company.

She began her relationship with the Bach Aria Soloists as a fan, and eventually formed a close friendship with Elizabeth Suh-Lane. “She is such a gifted musician who can bring artists together in a very collaborative way. As board president, I love having a latte with Elizabeth at Aixois, listening to her talk and watching a concert evolve from an idea to an event.”

As board president, Kaiser-Caplan plans to continue to build the board, strengthen financial stability for the Bach Aria Soloists, and encourage Elizabeth’s creative vision. She looks forward to more of what Bach Aria does so well: Bringing artists to Kansas City from around the world to work with local artists and “wow” audiences. “Being at the tango concert last February was like being at a rock concert,” she shares. “How often do folks leap to their feet and explode with shouts of sheer delight at the end of a classical music concert? “

Elizabeth Lane (Executive Artistic Director and Founder) has performed concerts world wide as a chamber, solo, and orchestral musician. She was a member of the London Symphony Orchestra, and performed regularly with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, and the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields.  Since her return to the US, she has performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and is in demand as a chamber musician across the US. She performs regular chamber music concerts with violinists, Andy Simionescu and Anna Lim; cellist, Paula Kosower, and recently with Matt Haimovitz and Nokuthula Ngwenyama, violist. She performed with the Maia Quartet in 2010.

Mar 28 2010 - Bach Sonata No 1 in g minor ‘Presto’, Elizabeth Suh Lane (violin)

Henry Lane

Christina Lenon Christina Lenon has a bachelor’s degree in music education from Evangel University and a master’s degree in counseling and guidance from UMKC. She has been Director of Enrichment Programs at St. Paul’s Episcopal Day School in Kansas City since 2006. She is also a Licensed Professional Counselor and maintains a private practice in Kansas City. Previous professional experience includes working as Assistant Marketing Director for the Kansas City Renaissance Festival and Community Relations Director for The Friends of Chamber Music.

Christina is married to Kelly Lenon and enjoys living and working in midtown Kansas City. When she is not at work, you might catch her singing or playing bluegrass, kayaking, or watching The Colbert Report.

Leslie Lerner (Advisory)

Heidi Nast (Vice President) is a chief fund-raising officer with expertise in capital and annual diversification, strategic planning and organizational skills. Her past experience includes serving as the Director of Development for Kansas City Young Audiences; Director of Corporate Outreach for Rockhurst University and Regional Marketing Manager for Estee Lauder that encompassed all states west of the Mississippi including Alaska and Hawaii.  She consulted for the Arts Incubator Kansas City and currently is the Associate Publisher for KC Studio magazine, Townsend Communications, Inc.

Heidi grew up in the Chicagoland area and graduated from Ray-Vogue School of Design with a degree in Fashion Merchandising.  During her 14 years at Estee Lauder she attended 2 summer programs specific to Business and Leadership skills at Vassar College.  While Heidi and her husband Nelson raised their daughter in Kansas City, Heidi decided to take a break from extended travel obligations with Estee Lauder and return to college part-time. Nine years later she graduated from Rockhurst University with a degree in Organizational Leadership.  She also attended a class offered through UMKC on building a strategic board in the nonprofit arena.

Heidi co-chaired Marillac’s Festival of Trees for 2 consecutive years; she was a sponsor for an AIDS patient through the Good Samaritan Project for eight years and continues her family’s involvement as volunteers for the Salvation Army Holiday Food delivery.  Heidi was President-elect for the Greater Kansas City Collegiate Consortium and a member of the Advisory Committee for Donor Edge at the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation.   Currently she is a member of Kansas City Young Audiences Advisory Committee and Vice-President of the board for the Bach Aria Soloists.

Marie Bertholet Smith joined the Bach Aria Soloists board in 2011. She was born in Kansas City, Missouri where she has lived since. From early childhood she studied piano and organ at the Conservatory of Music and visual art at the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art. She played flute in her High School Orchestra and Band.

Marie worked as a model for Hallmark Cards during high school and college and at various stores in Kansas City, and she taught ice skating.

She studied graphic design in college and interior design while working at Hallmark where she worked from 1965 to 1982, eventually becoming Senior Designer (Art Director) in the Hallmark Marketing Division.

From 1972 until her divorce in 1992, Marie was CEO, president, co-owner, and lead designer for The Smith Company which she formed while still working as a designer for Hallmark Cards. The Smith Company specialized in interior design and eventually employed five full-time designers and maintained a huge inventory of antiques, crystal, china, silver, jewelry, home furnishings, accessories, rugs, etc.

In 1992, she founded MLB Designs & Boutique, LLC, an interior design consulting firm with a wonderful retail furniture and accessories store currently located in the Crossroads Arts District in Kansas City.

Marie has been very involved in Kansas City’s cultural scene and has been a great resource of decorations and design for the Kansas City Art Institute’s Masquerade Ball, Truman Medical Center’s annual ball, Saddle and Sirloin fundraisers, Medical Missions, Kansas City Jazz Fest, and many others.. She co-chaired the Toy and Miniature Museum’s 21st Birthday party, was ambiance chair for the Starlight Theater Gala, and is a member of the Lyric Opera Circle.

Suzie Swyden (Administrative Manager) has always had a passion for marketing. A Kansas City native, she graduated from Missouri State University with a degree in Marketing. Her past experience includes corporate marketing positions in Kansas City at H & R Block’s Headquarters, Lee Apparel Company and Yellow Freight Worldwide. During the corporate years, she travelled the U.S. extensively while fulfilling various positions in Market Planning and Business Development. At that time, Suzie was highly involved as President-Elect of the American Marketing Association. Her husband, Louie’s, position with Lee Apparel transferred them to the Connecticut/New York City area where their two daughters were born.

Suzie and family returned to Leawood, KS just in time for the young girls to begin elementary school. As a stay-at-home mom and intrigued with the “new” internet, Suzie began one of the first internet-based jewelry companies in Kansas City. Participating in area trade shows and promoting the jewelry was very rewarding. Suzie calls this her “second education in marketing”—especially with the developing internet. Jewelry kept her busy during her daughter’s elementary school years then her passion for music re-surfaced.

As competition in KC’s costume jewelry market became fierce, Suzie decided to sell the business and focus her skills on volunteerism and music. Over three years, she picked up her flute which had not been touched since college and studied with a flute professor weekly and focused numerous hours a week with practice. At the same time, Suzie had joined the Jr. Women’s Symphony Alliance and became highly involved with the Designer’s Showhouse annual project benefitting the KC Symphony. She started as a volunteer and worked into the Executive Board as chairperson for special events – which gained her numerous contacts . In addition, she volunteered as the high school’s silent auction chairperson where many new skills in fundraising and leadership were developed.

Suzie joined the Church of the Resurrection Orchestra where she has been a member for eight years. The full-time 60-piece orchestra performs weekly at services and a spectacular Christmas Musical each year. As a member of a newly-formed flute quartet, Suzie was invited to perform at the Overland Park Arboretum three years ago for Overland Park’s fundraising party. Coincidentally, a new position was in development with Friends of the Arboretum, which Suzie applied. At the same time, Bach Aria Soloists had posted a position which she also applied. Both positions were offered and while she is very busy, she is pleased to be working with music, nature, the internet and a variety of other projects.

Beth Wayne

 

CONTACT BOARD OF DIRECTORS: