Staff Bios
Staff Bios
- Executive Director
Denise Kinney
(Full Time)Denise Kinney has been in this position since 2005. Prior to assuming this role, she had a long history with the organization as a Board Member. She joined the Board of Directors in 1990 and for the first seven years held a variety of leadership roles, including Board President from 1998-2005. Denise is an accomplished amateur violinist. Prior to her decision to change careers and assume formal leadership of Musicopia, Denise held a series of senior health care administration positions with Sunrise Senior Living. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing from Widener University and a Master’s in Nursing Administration from Villanova University. Denise’s personal interest in working for Musicopia rests on her passionate belief that every child deserves to be given the opportunity to play an instrument and to experience the joy of making music. She also sees how sustained engagement with music helps children build the skills they need to be successful in life.
- Managing Director
Dierdre Woody Konar
(Full Time)Dierdre Konar has been in this position since 2006. She was promoted to this role from the position of Program Manager which she had held since 2001. Dierdre received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, with a concentration in Marketing and Management, from Babson College, and a Master’s degree in Arts Administration from Drexel University. Dierdre has also been published in the New England Journal of Public Policy. She has the distinction of being Musicopia’s first paid employee. Dierdre’s passion for music stems from when she was very young – participating in the school choir, band and local theater productions, attending numerous concerts with her family, and even hearing Musicopia’s first string quartet when they visited her elementary school in second grade. While Dierdre is not a skilled musician herself, she has witnessed how a life-long involvement with music can both lead to both personal fulfillment and stronger family ties.
- Program Director
Danielle Gallagher
(Full Time)Danielle Gallagher has been with Musicopia since 2004. She started out as Assistant Program Manager, was promoted to Program Manager after less than a year until assuming her current role in September of 2006. Her prior work experience includes public relations, as well as program and office management with the Philadelphia Department of Recreation and the Variety Club of Philadelphia. Danielle earned a Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations from Temple University and a Master of Science in Nonprofit Management from Eastern University. She was also a Supervisor for the Philadelphia Folk Festival Camping Committee (an all-volunteer organization) for 6 years. Throughout her childhood, her parents supported her participation in music, dance and community theater; these experiences were formative and in turn have inspired her as an adult to make it possible for others to enjoy the same privileges.
- Program Director
Jenny Snyder
(Full Time)Jenny Snyder has been in this position since 2006. Her prior work experience includes fundraising and development roles with the Rock School for Dance Education, the Academy of Community Music and the Monongalia County Arts Council in West Virginia. Jenny holds a Master’s degree in Arts Administration from Drexel University and a Bachelor of Arts in Vocal and Performing Arts with a minor in Business from West Virginia University. Jenny attributes much of her personal success and happiness to her involvement in music at all ages. She is truly committed to Musicopia’s mission and vision, believing that every child deserves to have the same musical opportunities she was afforded.
- Development Director
Jessica Lawrence Rorke
(Full Time)Jessica joined Musicopia in 2008. Jessica has held non-profit administrative and fundraising positions at The Academy of Natural Sciences, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, the Pennsylvania Humanities Council, and the Chester County SPCA. She holds a Master’s Degree in Arts Administration from Drexel University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Theatre Arts from Pennsylvania State University. Jessica believes that arts education is a vital part of the life-long learning process, and every child should have the opportunity to experience the benefits of music throughout their lives.
- Grants & Research Coordinator
Tamzen Flanders
(Part Time)Tamzen Flanders has worked with Musicopia since 2004. Her prior work experience includes positions in music, education, or some combination of the two. Tamzen holds a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard College in Government, with a concentration in Political Philosophy, and a Master of Science in Education in Infant and Parent Development and Early Intervention from the Bank Street College of Education. After early training on violin and piano, she spent her post-college years working as a professional classical singer in New York City. As a public school parent in New York, she worked in a volunteer capacity to bring arts programs to severely underserved schools, collaborating closely with the Center for Arts Education, NYC’s Annenberg-funded initiative. This was her introduction to the world of nonprofit arts education; after moving to the Philadelphia area, she decided to pursue this work professionally. Tamzen was raised in a family of musicians whose love of music-making has held them together across continents and generations. Through her work with Musicopia she hopes to fill many other young lives with music, as this has been the greatest source of meaning in her own life.
- Orchestra Manager
Debbie Singer
(Part Time)Debbie Singer started with Musicopia in 2008. Debbie’s former career was as a paralegal in a Philadelphia law firm for seventeen years before she left the profession to start a family. She has been a stay-at-home mom for the last ten years. Her love of the arts and belief in the importance of music education led her to volunteer as Chair of the Cultural Arts Committee at Radnor Elementary School, a position she has held for the past five years. In addition, she is an active member of “DELTA” (District Educating and Learning Through the Arts) which is an association of Cultural Arts Committee Representatives from several suburban public and parochial schools and school districts. DELTA serves as an information exchange among the districts for the purpose of bringing art and music enrichment programs and residencies to elementary and middle schools. As a result of her dedicated volunteer work, Debbie brings a strong background in all program-related areas, as well as a flair for special events. Her legal training has made her attentive to administrative details.
- Gift of Music & Bridge to Music Project Manager
Debbie Stern
(Part Time)Debbie Stern started with Musicopia in 2008. Since her arrival, she has worked to strengthen both the Bridge to Music and Gift of Music Programs . Working with five schools in North Philadelphia, her goal is to make sure every child who would like to participate in an instrumental program has the opportunity. Already she has spearheaded Gift of Music Campaigns that have procured over 100 instruments for students in the Greater Philadelphia area With a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from Western Maryland College, she lived in London, England working as a project manager for a corporate design and graphic firm. While raising her three children, she was the Vice President of Cultural Arts for Hillside Elementary school as well as Secretary for DELTA (District Educating and Learning Through the Arts), which is an association of Cultural Arts Committee Representatives from several public and parochial schools. With her strong organizational skills and love for the arts, she is destined to achieve her goal.