Our Committee Chairs
Marcia Loewinger
Social Events
Marcia was born and raised in Passaic, New Jersey. She graduated SUNY at Burrell in Early Childhood Education and became a 4th grade teacher. She completed the AS program at IRCC for Interior Design. and worked in her husband's medical office as office manager for 16 years. "I loved opera as a young girl watching the opera programs on tv," she says. "My father bought me recordings and the life story of Caruso which I still have." Marcia studied piano and voice during her teens and sang with the SUNY at Buffalo choir for 3 years. "We sang many times with the Buffalo Philharmonic under conductor Lucas Foss," she adds. "We even sang Handel’s Messiah at Lincoln Center when it first opened!" The Schenkel family got us involved with Treasure Coast Opera where she became a board member. She and her husband Bob traveled to Palm Beach Opera for opening night for about 10 years. They became Vero Beach Opera directors in 19--. Her two favorite operas are Aida and Carmen. "I played some of the arias on the piano while in junior high school," she says. "There are so many fabulous memorable arias." Marcia is well-known as the PARTY LADY for Vero Beach Opera as chair of Social Events. "I love planning all the parties!"
Joanne Webster
Membership
Joanne grew up on a farm in western Massachusetts. She graduated from Endicott College (MA) and Parsons School of Design (NYC). "Opera became a part of my life around 2009 here in Vero Beach when my husband, Bob, and I joined the Silvertones, a senior singing group helping to support the Senior Resources organization," she explains. "Tania Ortega-Cowan was our chorus director for several years, and at that time Vero Beach Opera was giving the Silvertones free tickets to its concerts. We went to the first opera and enjoyed it thoroughly." Soon after, they became members. "Once we got involved, we realized this was a special organization from the top down. It’s a “family” of mostly volunteers with many, many talents working together - all for the same goal. We were hooked!" Joanne works hard quietly behind the scenes hand-writing notes to our members, and she assists Marcia Loewinger at our social events by creating our table centerpieces.
Nelson Cover
Development
Nelson Cover graduated from Johns Hopkins with a BA in English and San Francisco State University with a Masters in English with a concentration in Creative Writing. He formerly worked as the Associate, and then Director of Annual Giving at The Johns Hopkins Institutions, Director of Development and Executive Director of the Cancer Research Foundation at the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Medicine, Director of Development at the Washington National Cathedral, and Director of Development at The American Enterprise Institute. He then founded The Sheridan Group, where he served as president for thirty years, a full-service, fundraising consulting firm. He retired in 2013 and is now a full-time author. Outside of his successful career, Nelson is an avid cyclist, car enthusiast, and dog lover. He has written four novels: Danced by the Light of the Moon, From the Midst of Wickedness, A Matter of Circumstance, and a collection of short stories, Truth, Lies and Deceit. All Mortal Greatness is the third in his Sessions University series. He currently resides in Florida with his wife Gretchen, who is a Vero Beach Opera member.
Ed Halsey
Finance
Thank you, Ed!
Sue Gauthier
Homestay
Sue grew up in Warwick, Rhode Island. She received a B.A. in Economics from Rutgers University and A.S. In Accounting from Bryant College. Her favorite operatic experience was hearing Luciano Pavarotti in concert at Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut in 1994. After attending several Vero Beach Opera performances, she and her husband Paul were asked by friends Bob and Joanne Webster to host soprano Ginevra Schiassi who starred in Pagliacci with Marcelo Giordani in 2013. They also hosted a contestant in Marcello’s competition the same year. This led to Sue taking the role of Chair of Homestay in 2014, along with her husband Paul, who was on the Board. Her favorite operas are La bohème for the music, Cavalleria Rusticana for the Overture, Madama Butterfly for the costumes and spectacle of the production, and L’Elisir d’Amour for the story line. Sue assists Paul in Playbill Advertising administration and is a member of the Development Committee.
Toni Lemoine
Opera in the Classroom: A CLASS ACT
Toni does so much for Vero Beach Opera! Her bio is coming soon.
Kendra Haines
Piano Scholarship
Kendra does so much for Vero Beach Opera! Her bio is coming soon.
Paul Gauthier
Playbill Advertising
Paul grew up in Warwick, Rhode Island. He received a B.A. in Sociology from Providence College. He had the opportunity to hear Luciano Pavarotti in concert in 1994. He and his wife Sue began volunteering for Vero Beach Opera in 2013, and Paul became a board member in 2013. He is chair of Playbill Advertising, a member of the Executive Committee and a member of the Development Committee. Cavalleria Rusticana is his favorite opera of all time because "it’s a masterpiece of melodic beauty and spontaneity."
Dr. Joan Ortega-Cowan
Vocal Scholarship
Joan was born in New Jersey, and moved with her family to Cocoa, Florida when she was a young teenager when her father took an engineering position at Cape Canaveral Space Center (now Kennedy Space Center). She earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees from Rollins College, with focus on history, political science and foreign languages. She earned her Doctoral Degree from Florida Atlantic University in Higher Education Management. She first discovered opera in Paris at a performance of Tales of Hoffmann at the Opera Comique. "My husband, Román, actually introduced me to the world of opera since he is an operatic baritone and knows practically every opera written," she says. "We have attended opera performances all over the world." In 1988, Rosemary Gagliardi asked them to become involved in the Vero Beach Opera Guild which they did. Joan has served as a Board Member, President and Executive Director during the past 21 years. She has sung in the choruses of Carmen, Madama Butterfly and La Traviata. "La bohème is my favorite because of the music but also because it takes place in one of my favorite cities – Paris. I speak several foreign languages so attending operas gives me an opportunity to enjoy operas even more."