Kathleen Otterson, Artistic Director
Kathleen Otterson’s interest in Johann Sebastian Bach took root in high school when her flute teacher set her the task of learning the B minor Flute Sonata, and continued through her undergraduate years as a flute major at UW-Madison. In graduate school, it flourished under the baton of UW choral director Robert Fountain and the tutelage of voice professor Ilona Kombrink, to name a few. Singing as alto soloist in Bach’s choral works has been a great joy of Kathleen’s professional singing life, and as Music Director at Christ Presbyterian Church, Kathleen has conducted Bach cantatas, including Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott for the 500th anniversary celebration of the German Reformation in 2017.
Previous organizational experience includes state and regional leadership in the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS); the Board of Directors of the Madison Youth Choirs, and she is currently president of the Isthmus Vocal Ensemble Board.
For more details about Kathleen’s background and experience, click here.
Kathleen adds: “Being chosen to succeed the late Marika Fischer Hoyt – a friend and musical collaborator – as Artistic Director of Bach Around The Clock is a great honor. I look forward to working with the BATC Board on this wonderful festival.
Board of Directors
Betty Cohen, President is an amateur recorder player with The Neighborly Consort, Regent Recorders, and Winds of Southern Wisconsin. Now retired, her career included management positions in public health and academic librarianship.
Ken Stancer, Vice President is the Music Director and Organist at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Madison. He teaches piano at the Monroe Street Arts Center and also teaches private organ and recorder. Ken recently retired from elementary classroom music teaching after 33 years.
Martha Florey, Secretary is an amateur musician playing saxophone in the Madison Municipal Band, UW Summer Band, MaTC Jazz Ensemble, Jazz Ahead Big Band, and the Third Lake Saxophone Quartet. Now retired, Martha trained as a lawyer, and was employed as a WisDOT budget analyst and traffic safety data specialist.
Janet Murphy, Treasurer has worked in music education, arts administration, and concert promotion. She enjoys playing half a dozen diverse instruments. She recently retired from a career in nursing.
Theresa Kelley is Professor Emerita of English at UW-Madison. She sings classical music, focusing on early music, in particular the baroque. She also plays Renaissance music on the lute.
Steve Kurr is a music instructor at Middleton High School, teaching the three school orchestras, music history courses, and serving as the Instructional Leader for the Fine Arts Department. He is Founding Conductor Emeritus for the Middleton Community Orchestra and conducts the Opus One ensemble at the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras.
Rich Samuels is a host of classical music programming on Madison’s radio station,WORT, and does audio recording of many musical ensemble performances in Madison. Now retired, Renaissance and Reformation were his academic interests, and television journalism was his profession.
Jaret Schroeder is employed in the sciences and is a large supporter of music in Madison. He serves as the organist at St. Paul’s Catholic Student Center. Jaret enjoys getting students involved and engaged in the rich traditions of sacred liturgical music in the Church. Jaret is also a member of the Association of Church Musicians.
Sean Kleve is a percussionist, composer, conductor, and harpsichordist. He is the founder of Madison Wisconsin’s premiere experimental percussion ensemble, Clocks in Motion. As a long-time performer of Bach on modern and non-traditional instruments, Sean recently dove into the wide world of harpsichord and historical performance. Sean’s particular interests center upon an understanding of figured bass improvisation, historical tuning, the music of J.S. Bach, and early Italian Baroque music from the 17th century. For more information, visit seanklevemusic.com