Philip L. Burke
Chorus Member, Bass // First Term ending 2023
Philip L. Burke is a Partner and Chair of Woods Oviatt Gilman’s Family Wealth and Estate Planning Department. He concentrates his practice in estate planning, charitable giving, estate administration, probate, estate tax law and long term care planning. He works closely with clients and their advisors to develop appropriate estate plans for them and their families, including drafting of Last Wills and Testaments, Revocable and Irrevocable Trusts, Family Limited Partnerships and Limited Liability Companies, Business Succession Documents, Powers of Attorney, Living Wills and Health Care Proxies and other related documents. Mr. Burke is also a firm liaison to Meritas, an international association of law firms, and a former member of its Board of Directors. Mr. Burke received his J.D. degree from Albany Law School and his B.A. degree with Distinction from Boston University. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and also a Fellow of the New York State Bar Foundation. Phil has been a member of ROS since 2011.
Luanne Crosby
Chorus Member, Soprano // First Term Ending 2026
UANNE CROSBY Luanne Crosby is Professor of Music, Emeritus at Alfred University. She retired in 2021 after 29 years of teaching Voice and building the Choral Program. She received her DMA in Vocal Performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music and Case Western Reserve University and holds a BM and MM in Music Education from SUNY Fredonia. Prior to pursuing graduate school, Dr. Crosby taught Music 7-12 at Westfield Academy and Central School, and Music K-6 in the Marcus Whitman School system. Luanne was soprano soloist for the 2021 ROS “Schubert Project” and a soloist with Finger Lakes Choral Festival in 2021-22. She’s been singing with ROS ever since. Luanne lives in Alfred, NY with her husband Steve and husky, Kavi.
Kara Dwyer
Community Member // First term ending 2026
Kara Dwyer comes to ROS with over 18 years of arts non-profit administrative experience, a Graduate Certificate in Non-Profit Management from the University of Tampa, and a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Maine. Kara and her family have recently relocated to Webster from Tampa, Florida where she spent 18 years working primarily with the Master Chorale of Tampa Bay (a similar symphony chorus to ROS), the last seven of those years she served as their Managing Director.
Peter Gaess
Chorus Member, Tenor/Bass // First Term ending 2026
Peter has spent a career working in the finance sector. He worked as an investment advisor on Wall Street for 7 years before moving to Rochester. He started and managed his own firm, Greentree Capital Management, for many years, eventually selling it to Canandaigua National Bank. He continued to work for CNB for several years, and retired at the end of 2012. Peter joined ROS in 1981 as a tenor, and now sings baritone. He lives in Fairport with his wife Nancy Abrams.
Jennifer Horn
Chorus Member, Alto // Second Term ending 2024
Jenny Horn has been singing in choirs since the age of six and joined ROS in 2007. Volunteer activities for ROS include singing in Resonanz and acting as its manager, and serving on the Development Committee. In addition to ROS, Jenny sings with the Finger Lakes Choral Festival and is a member of the board for that ensemble. Other non-profit board experience includes the San Francisco Choral Society (three years) and the Unitarian Universalist Church of Canandaigua (four years). In the Rochester area since 1998, Jenny worked for 22 years as a school librarian for Marcus Whitman CSD and she loved the job and the people there. Jenny has also worked as a kindergarten and preschool teacher and as a press operator. Her husband Andy is the founder and (now retired) director of the Finger Lakes Choral Festival and they enjoy visits from their three adult sons. In her spare time Jenny likes to garden, hike, cook, and get friends together for a little singing. She loves ROS and is happy to serve on the board again.
Daniel Mcinerney
Chorus Member, Tenor // Second Term ending 2024
This year Dan celebrates his 25th year singing in the Rochester Oratorio Society! He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Music Education and Clarinet Performance from Hartwick College in Oneonta, N.Y. Dan also sings and is an occasional soloist with Rochester-area choruses Madrigalia, and Voices. Solo appearances have also included concerts with the Irondequoit Chorale, as well as with several area church choirs. Since 1996, he has served as Madrigalia’s Business and Concert Administrator and also works part-time for UPS. Dan joined ROS in 1994 and has served 4 terms on the Board of Directors. He has held the offices of Vice Chairperson and Director of Marketing and Communications, as well as being involved with ticket sales, fundraising and patron management. Dan also serves on the boards of directors for the Finger Lakes Choral Festival and the Greater Rochester Choral Consortium. He enjoys cooking and gardening and lives with his wife Pam and four children in Irondequoit.
Jeff Moran
Chorus Member, Tenor // First Term ending 2024
Jeff joined the ROS in the fall of 2018. An avid listener from early childhood, Jeff’s first musical loves were in the world of jazz as well as the interpreters of the “great American songbook” – Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald et.al. Jeff finally became a musical participant in 1996 when he joined the choir of the First Unitarian Church of Rochester. Through the church’s First Light Players, Jeff also gained some experience in musical theatre. Jeff has also been singing in Resonanz since 2018 and worked on the RIVC program advertising committee in 2019. Jeff graduated from the University of Buffalo with a degree in political science but spent his career in computer hardware and IT at Datatrol, Kodak, GE and finally Xerox from where he retired after 26 years of service. Jeff is a Rochester area native, currently living the dream in Webster with his wife Barbara, a retired teacher, and their two Siamese cats. When they are not working on their home and gardens, they enjoy travel and kayaking. In the post-COVID world, they look forward to more time with their four adult children – Heather, Bethany, Alexandra and Jonathan – who are scattered between northern California, Colorado and western NY.
Nicole Prahler
Community Member // First Term ending 2026
Nicole is the Associate Director of Government and Community Relations at RIT. In this role, she cultivates and enhances RIT’s reputation among university constituents and community relations by providing direction and overall planning of designated conferences and special events at the college such as Brick City Weekend, Imagine RIT, Ovation! and RITs Performing Arts Showcase, Nicole was part of auditioned ensembles towards the end of high school. She is very excited to have the opportunity to serve on the ROS Board, and to have music in her life again.
Katherine Walter
Chorus Member, Soprano // First Term ending 2023
Katherine Clark Walter has been an ROS member (Soprano 2) since 2007. She has previously served for two terms on the ROS board, during which she was Board Vice-President for one year and President for three. She also sings with ROS’ small choir, Resonanz. When she is not singing, Katherine teaches medieval and ancient history at SUNY Brockport. A Rochester native, Katherine has lived in various places around the US and abroad but has called Rochester home once again since 2004. She lives in the Neighborhood of the Arts with her husband (and ROS tenor) Patrick Walter and their son (and future ROS singer) Carl.
Ben Willmott
Chorus Member, Bass // First Term ending 2023
Ben Willmott serves as Director of Operations for the School of Performing Arts at RIT, a position he’s held since January 2017 after spending over a decade in the entertainment industry. Following his graduation from Ithaca College, where he earned a degree in music and business, Ben returned to his home state of Massachusetts and was promoted to Lead Contract Administrator at Ted Kurland Associates; a booking agency specializing in world and jazz music, representing artists including Wynton Marsalis, Chick Corea, Bela Fleck, and Pat Metheny. In 2009, Ben joined Wilkins Management, a firm that oversees the careers of musicians Joshua Redman, Branford Marsalis and Harry Connick, Jr. There, Ben planned and negotiated the worldwide performances of Redman and Marsalis, as well as ticketing for Connick’s concerts. Since relocating to Rochester, Ben has become involved in many local organizations including Lollypop Farm, Friends of Eastman Opera, Rochester Oratorio Society, as well as the Fort Hill Performing Arts Center in Canandaigua. Ben joined the ROS bass section in 2018.
