The National Music Festival Announces Six New Board Members

The National Music Festival welcomes six members to its Board of Directors. New to the board are Mary Grace Brosius, Thomas Parchman, Alan Rothschild, Michael Singer and Ellsworth Tolliver. Sandra Sears, a former board chair, is returning.

After a two-year hiatus caused by the Covid pandemic, the festival returns June 5 – 18, celebrating its 10th year in Chestertown.

“As the NMF enters its second decade, we do so with a re-energized Board of Directors focused on nurturing the careers of promising young musicians and enhancing Chestertown’s reputation as a thriving destination for arts, entertainment and culture,” said Caitlin Patton, the festival’s executive director.

“Our new directors bring a broad range of talents to the Festival’s Board,” she added. Their brief bios follow:

Mary Grace (“MG”) Brosius attended St. Mary’s College in Maryland, where she earned her B.A. in English. For 20 years before moving to Chestertown, she was parish administrator at the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Baltimore. She sings with the Chester River Chorale, where she leads the tenor section, and with the choir’s smaller ensembles Chester Chamber Singers and River Voices. Brosius served on the CRC Board as secretary from 2008-11. She and her husband, Jack, live in Chestertown, where she works part-time for Christ United Methodist Church. She has one son, who lives in Colorado.

Thomas Parchman is a professor at the University of Southern Maine and principal clarinetist with the Portland Symphony Orchestra. He holds a doctor of musical arts degree from the University of Southern California, a master of music from Northwestern University, and a bachelor’s degree in both music education and performance from Southern Methodist University. Dr. Parchman has been the National Music Festival’s clarinet mentor since its inception in 2011. He’s active in developing music in the Portland area, participating in projects between the Portland Symphony and Portland schools, performing in ensemble concerts, and giving demonstrations, clinics and master classes.

Alan Rothschild earned a bachelor of arts in music from Earlham College and is certified in piano technology by the New England Conservatory, where he studied with long-time Boston Symphony technician Frank Hanson. In addition to his full-time position at Berklee College of Music and the Boston Conservatory at Berklee, he has private clients in Washington, D.C., New York and Boston, and he works for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, New England Conservatory and Wellesley College. For several years, he has served as NMF’s piano maintenance mentor. He resides in Jamaica Plain, Mass.

Sandra (“Sandy”) Sears moved to Chestertown in 2011. She became dedicated to the National Music Festival from its inception in 2012. She served as board chair from 2014 till 2018 and is delighted to be returning to the board. She owned a needlepoint shop for 11 years in Asheville, N.C. While living in Bucks County, Pa., she was chairman of Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve, chair of Historic Preservation for the Bucks County Conservancy, as well as serving as a warden of her church. She has four children and 10 grandchildren. She was recently married to Harry Sears, proving that it’s never too late.

Michael Singer currently serves as Director of Marketing for Fair Issacs Corporation (FICO), one of the world’s leading providers of analytics software, solutions and services. His career has included past marketing leadership positions with Fannie Mae, the Urban Land Institute and the Mortgage Bankers Association of America. He has been an active board member of the Edlavitch DC Jewish Community Center since 2008, chairing its Literary Festival for eight years. He is also an executive committee member of the board of directors of DC’s Mosaic Theatre, where he chairs its nominating committee. He graduated with honors from the University of Chicago.

Ellsworth L. Tolliver is a Chestertown native and a retired music educator with 28 years of experience at schools in Maryland and Delaware, including a stint as Kent County High School’s band director. He served on Chestertown’s Town Council from 2017 to 2021, representing Ward 3. During his tenure, Tolliver helped shepherd adoption of the town’s first Anti-Racism Ordinance. Rev. Tolliver is a fourth-generation pastor in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, serving as pastor at Boardly Chapel AME Church. Tolliver holds a B.S. degree in music education from Delaware State University and a master of divinity from Palmer Theological Seminary. He also has experience as a songwriter, producer and music publisher, and plays piano and percussion.

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~ National Music Festival