Meet the Kerrytown Concert House Team!
MONICA
SWARTOUT-BEBOW
Artistic & Executive Director
Prior to taking the reins as Artistic & Executive Director in 2019, Monica was an active member of the Kerrytown Concert House community for over 20 years as a performer, producer, studio teacher, and volunteer. Most recently, she has served as the newest creator and director of KCH’s popular cabaret concert series, Wine, Women, and Song! As a regional artist, Monica’s versatile singing and engaging performances have spanned a broad scope of genres from opera roles at the Lincoln Center Institute in New York City, to orchestral solo appearances with symphonies in Adrian, Toledo, Ann Arbor, and Graz, Austria, to jazz gigs at the Detroit Institute of Arts, and to cabaret clubs like Davenport’s in Chicago. Also a seasoned voice teacher, she held a long-term appointment on the voice faculty of Eastern Michigan University, and maintained a private voice studio in the Ann Arbor area for over two decades. Additionally, she is the Founder and Director of Front and Center Cabaret Works, LLC, a performing arts organization whose mission is to develop communication skills and self-confidence in young performers through the act of cabaret performance. A Michigan native, Monica lives in Ann Arbor with her husband, John, and daughter, Delaney, and holds a Master’s Degree with Highest Honors in voice performance from The University of Michigan where she continues to build artistic connections with students and faculty. Monica believes passionately that Kerrytown Concert House brings live performance to music lovers in an up close and personal way that is like no other in Ann Arbor! She enjoys building upon the concert house’s rich artistic history while also helping it expand and grow in meaningful, impactful and delightful ways. KENJI LEE
Development Coordinator
ABBY DOTZ
Administrative Liaison
& Events Manager
ELIJAH MEISSE
Livestream Techinician
& Operations Assistant
KELLY KING
Grant Writer and Development Assistant
DEANNA RELYEA
Artistic Director of Edgefest
and KCH Founder
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Paul Glendon, President
Stephanie Hale, Vice President
Dennis Huibregtse, Treasurer
Martha Gove, Secretary
Ron Bogdasarian
Greg Bolino
Charles Borgsdorf (Emeritus)
Marcus Darden
Dallas Dort (Emeritus)
Val Jaskiewicz
Barbara Kramer
Ryan MacKenzie Lewis
Shelley MacMillan (Emeritus)
Bev Seiford
Edward Surovell (Emeritus)
House Managers
TODD NICHOLS
House Manager
Todd Nichols has been House Manager for the Kerrytown Concert House since April, 2018. He holds his BM in Euphonium performance from The Johns Hopkins Peabody Conservatory and an MM from Eastern Michigan University. Before the Kerrytown Concert House Todd has been involved with arts organizations such as the Baltimore Symphony, the Boston Symphony and the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestras as part of their operations and development staff. Also being a seasoned musician and teacher, Todd currently arranges Orchestral music for the Concert Band medium.
Originally from Lexington, Massachusetts, when Todd is away from the Concert House, you’ll to find him playing Golf, Tennis, walking his dog Buna, gardening, going to the Movies or growing his digital classical music library.
COURTNEY MARSHALL
House Manager
Courtney Marshall is excited to join the Kerrytown Concert House team as a House Manager! Courtney holds a BS in Public and Nonprofit Administration with a Minor in General Music from Eastern Michigan University. Currently, Courtney is a graduate student at EMU studying Arts Administration. At EMU she is also a Graduate Assistant for the Student Center’s Conference and Event Services/Operations. Courtney has held internships with the Ann Arbor Summer Festival and the EMU Foundation where she has developed her interest and passion for nonprofit work. Courtney began her work in Arts Administration at the Ann Arbor Summer Festival for the 2019 season as the development intern.
Courtney originally hails from Alpena, MI, a small town in northern Michigan where she enjoys being on the water and wandering through nature. Outside of work and school, Courtney enjoys playing her saxophone, singing, and spending time with her friends and family, exploring museums and attending theatrical shows.
OTHER STAFF & VOLUNTEERS
DEANNA RELYEA
Artistic Director of Edgefest, Founder of Kerrytown Concert House
Mezzo-soprano Deanna Relyea is the founder of KCH, recently retiring as its Artistic Director after 32 years. She continues to perform regularly at KCH and serves as Artistic Director of the internationally-acclaimed Edgefest music festival. Deanna has appeared on concert series and with symphony orchestras in the region and throughout Canada. She frequently tours with her brother, the
celebrated Canadian bass baritone Gary Relyea, and his wife Anna, as the “Voices-Relyea,” performing in festivals and concert series throughout Canada. Many composers have written for her and her forays into improvisation have taken her to NYC where she has appeared at John Zorn’s Stone and at Brooklyn’s Roulette in performances with prominent improvisers and composers. She is a featured singer on Jason Hwang’s CD VOICE.
BONNIE GABOWITZ
Volunteer - Concerts, House Managing, Marketing
Bonnie Gabowitz grew up in Boston, where she studied music education with a minor in violin at the New England Conservatory of Music. She has over 30 years of experience as a NY public school teacher. She received her BA degree in Elementary Education at Johnson State College in Vermont. Always the innovator, she became known throughout the country for her curriculum development in teaching reading/writing skills through the use of cartoon art; she even taught a graduate course in this. The New York Times and Editor and Publisher featured her success teaching with cartoons. Bonnie also became a drug/alcoholism counselor in order to be of more service to those she helped as a volunteer at a local homeless shelter. This led to a job as weekend manager at a halfway house. As a retiree, Bonnie became a coordinator for over 100 volunteers in a West Palm Beach cultural organization. Her experience as a “Jane of all trades,” doing office work, marketing, driving performers, shopping, party planning and decorating, training and assigning volunteers, and everything in between, makes her a perfect fit for KCH.
Bonnie has also developed, hosted, and produced local cable TV shows; she even won an award from the Public Relations Society for the Public Interest. She presently hosts Ward Talk on CTN’s channel 19 and interviews an Ann Arbor council member each month. Bonnie has been volunteering at KCH for ten years! She lives in Ann Arbor with Roger, her precious Shih-tzu, and enjoys spending time with her friends, nieces and nephews. She is happiest when helping, learning, and creating.
