Staff
To read more about CMA staff members, click on the individuals' names below. Contact our staff through the email links next to each name, or by calling (212) 242-2022. As soon as the voicemail message begins, you may enter the extension of the person you are trying to reach.
| Staff Member | Email Address | Extension |
|---|---|---|
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Geysa Castro |
x114 | |
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Susan Dadian |
x102 | |
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Andrew Frank |
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Nichole L. Knight |
x107 | |
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Margaret M. Lioi |
x115 | |
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Orchid McRae |
x108 | |
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Brenden O'Hanlon |
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Gargi Shindé |
x103 | |
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Kathy Wang |
x112 | |
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Michael Welch |
x113 |
Geysa Castro
Membership Manager
Geysa Castro joined CMA as Membership Manager in 2018. Originally from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Castro is a classically trained ballet dancer who has worked professionally with artists and companies in both Brazil and New York City. In 2002, she embarked on a new venture as a partner at Ginga P. Culture Business, a multifaceted Brazilian company that promotes cultural and business exchange through project and event production, business and marketing consulting, and artist development. Castro holds an MBA in Cultural Production and Administration with a focus in Creative Economy. She is the first Brazilian member of the professional networking organization, Women of Color in the Arts (WOCA).
Susan Dadian
Program Director, CMA Classical/Contemporary
Susan Dadian came to CMA in 2002 from the New Jersey Chamber Music Society, where she served as executive director. A classical guitarist, Dadian received a B.F.A. in music history from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and did graduate work at the Komitas Conservatory in Yerevan, Armenia.
Andrew Frank
Editor, Chamber Music
Andrew Frank joined Chamber Music America in 2013 in the position of Digital Media Editor, and was appointed Editor of Chamber Music magazine in 2016. He served as Communications Director from 2016-2017. He holds a BA from Hampshire College, and worked previously with the non-profit arts publications BOMB Magazine and Esopus. He is, additionally, a guitarist and songwriter.
Nichole L. Knight
Director of Operations
Nichole L. Knight is an experienced communications professional and performing arts administrator. Prior to joining Chamber Music America’s communications team in 2016, she’d worked at The New School, home of the Mannes School of Music, and The Juilliard School. She was appointed CMA's Director of Operations in 2018. She holds a B.A. from Smith College and an M.A. from The New School. A lifelong performing arts enthusiast and intermittent participant, she studied the flute and violin as a child, joined a taiko drumming team will living in Japan, and currently sings with the Brooklyn Community Chorus. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Smith College Club of New York City.
Margaret M. Lioi
Chief Executive Officer
Margaret M. Lioi joined Chamber Music America as CEO in June 2000. She began her arts career as a professional pianist and holds a master's degree in piano performance from the New England Conservatory and an M.B.A. in arts administration from Binghamton University/SUNY. Before coming to CMA, she held several administrative posts in the arts, including director of development for Spoleto Festival U.S.A., senior director of external affairs for The Public Theater/New York Shakespeare Festival, and executive director of The Eleanor Naylor Dana Charitable Trust. Lioi serves on the Board of Advisors of The Sphinx Organization, and is an adjunct faculty member in the MA program for Arts Management and Entrepreneurship at The New School's College of Performing Arts.
Orchid McRae
Digital Content Editor
Orchid McRae (they/them) is an electronic musician, composer, and percussionist. They are a graduate of Berklee College of Music, where they earned a BM in Jazz Composition. Prior to joining Chamber Music America as Digital Content Editor in 2018, McRae had interned for the record label Pi Recordings, worked as a publicist for Pusher Music Publicity, and served as the personal assistant to composer and multi-instrumentalist Ned Rothenberg.
Gargi Shindé
Program Director, CMA Jazz
Gargi Shindé has over a decade of experience in program curation, artist development, and arts education. She has served as program director at Galapagos Art Space in New York; developed strategic marketing for a wide range of artists; and lectured on classical Indian performance history and the aesthetics of improvisation at conferences in the United Kingdom, Spain, Canada and the United States. Shindé is a classically trained sitarist and composer whose collaborations bridge Indian classical music and the traditions of jazz. She holds an M.A. in Theater Studies and a B.A. in English Literature from the University at Albany, SUNY.
Kathy Wang
Development Associate
Kathy Wang graduated from Manhattan School of Music with a Master of Music degree in Classical Piano, and earned her undergraduate degree in Canada. Prior to her start as Development Associate at CMA, she worked at New York Youth Symphony and Manhattan School of Music. With over 8 years of teaching experience in Canada and US, she maintains a small but active piano studio, and is passionate about music education.
Michael Welch
Director of Finance
For the past two decades Director of Finance Michael Welch has provided planning, project management, and accounting consulting services to non-profit organizations in the New York area. Clients have included PEN American Center, CEC ArtsLink, the Rubin Museum, Mobilization for Survival Foundation, People with AIDS Health Group, and National Central American Health Rights Group. He was full-time director of planning and finance at PEN American Center from 2003 to 2008. In prior years he served as a conference and event organizer, administrator, and fundraiser for labor, civil rights, and human rights organizations, primarily in the South. He was the least-talented member of his high school chorus in Memphis, Tennessee.
