Susan Mark has served as Executive Director of the Skaneateles Festival since 1999, guiding it through a period of strong artistic, financial, and organizational growth. Susan previously held positions with the Landmark Theater, Syracuse Opera, and the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra. She is an active member of Chamber Music America, the Arts and Culture Leadership Alliance of Central New York, and previously sat on the Board of Directors of the Skaneateles Area Chamber of Commerce.

With Susan’s stewardship, the Skaneateles Festival has been 20+ years in the black, a remarkable streak for any non-profit arts organization. She led two successful capital campaigns for our Legacy Funds and the Robinson Pavilion at Anyela’s. In leading this transition from Brook Farm to our new venue, Susan had managed the accompanying need for more paid staff, volunteers, and increase in concert attendance.

Susan says, “This is, by far, the most remarkable job I’ve had, due in no small part to the “Festival Family” I’ve come to know and love.”

“I believe the four decades-long success of the Skaneateles Festival is rooted in the generosity of founders David and Louise Robinson. By opening their home, Brook Farm, to musicians and audiences for nearly 40 years, they made the Skaneateles Festival a true “community” event. The years I spent working with and learning from David and Louise were enriching on every level. It is my honor and privilege to help move their vision for the Festival forward.”

“My most rewarding memory is the harrowing success of our very first concert at the Robinson Pavilion in 2016. Our original opening concert at the venue the previous week was rained out, so we got to “test the waters” with a high-pressure SOLD-OUT concert with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. An army of volunteers, many working from sunup to sundown, along with a picture-perfect evening, and incredible music made it a night many of us will never forget.”

Since her concerto debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at age 17, Julia Bruskin has established herself as one of the premiere cellists of her generation. She performed Samuel Barber’s Cello Concerto with conductor Jahja Ling at Avery Fisher Hall, and has soloed with the Nashville, Utah, Virginia, and Pacific symphony orchestras, among others. She won first prize in the Schadt String Competition and was a prizewinner in the International Johannes Brahms Competition in Austria. As a founding member of the critically acclaimed Claremont Trio, Bruskin won first prize in the 2001 Young Concert Artists International Auditions and was awarded the first ever Kalichestein-Laredo-Robinson International Trio Award. Bruskin also gives frequent solo recitals with her husband, Aaron Wunsch, including tours in China, and is a member of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in New York City.

Ellen began working with the Skaneateles Festival in May 2021 as the Manager of Marketing and Digital Communications. She is a graduate of Le Moyne College and received her degree in Communications with concentrations in Film and Advertising. Despite beginning her position in the midst of a pandemic, Ellen quickly learned how supportive and enthusiastic the Skaneateles Festival community is.

“Being a part of bringing back live music after a year of silence has been such a blessing. What I’ve seen so far is how easy it is for people to get hooked by the community of the Festival. One-time audience members quickly become family and long-time supporters who plan their summer around us. It has warmed my heart just how much people appreciate and love the Skaneateles Festival.”

Ellen is thrilled to be able to combine her skills in Communications with her love for music. She has played the piano for nine years, been an active member in her community theater, and performed with Le Moyne a Capella group, Fermata Nowhere, throughout her college career. Ellen is so excited for the opportunity to learn and grow in her career and feels honored to be a vital part of such a premier music festival in Central New York.

Reese began her journey with the Skaneateles Festival in 2021 as a summer intern. She quickly fell in love with the festival and returned for the 2022 season as an Assistant Project Manager. Reese has now joined the festival full time in 2023 as the Project and Outreach Manager. She graduated from Syracuse University Whitman School of Management where she double majored in Management and Marketing Management.

In her role as Project and Outreach Manager, Reese will expand and coordinate the Festival’s outreach agenda. “My goal is to make the magic of the Skaneateles Festival accessible to everyone in Central New York and beyond.”

“When I first joined the festival I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. Seeing months of hard work cumulate into a successful concert and seeing the smiles and reactions from our audience is priceless. I am blown away every season by the love and support the Skaneateles community shows for the festival. Working at the Skaneateles Festival has become more than a job, I truly feel as though I am a part of the festival “family”.”

 Kim joined the Skaneateles Festival Board of Directors in the fall of 2018. Kim and her husband Charley love attending concerts, especially the outdoor concerts at the Robinson’s Brook Farm and recently at Anyela’s Vineyard.

Kim says, “As our children Zach and Conor grew, the Festival has become a family tradition by hosting musicians, thanks to Jean Graham, volunteering, and attending memorable concerts.”

Steven Scheinman is a retired physician and medical educator.  He earned prominence for his research into the genetics of kidney disease and stones.  He served for 8 years as dean of the College of Medicine at Upstate and subsequently as president and dean of the Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine in Pennsylvania.  He and his wife Kelly live on East Lake Road.  Steve and Kelly enjoy skiing, sailing and bicycling, and are passionate about music and theater, and especially their 12 grandchildren.

Carrie joined the Festival Board in 2021. Since moving to Skaneateles in 1998, my family has
enjoyed the magic of the Skaneateles Festival, which helps make our community so special.
Over the years, we loved picnic dinners at Brook Farm while exposing our young daughter to
exceptional music.

The Christmas Suite gala is always enchanting and the new Anyela’s outdoor
venue is extraordinary. That music of this caliber is so easily accessible in our community is a
remarkable treasure. As a Board Member, I look forward to helping to sustain this wonderful
resource and its traditions.

 I have served on the Festival’s Summer Suite committee since 2015 and was honored to join the SkanFest board in 2020. I have loved attending festival concerts since moving to Skaneateles from the Boston area in 1999. I grew up going to the BSO with my mother to watch the open rehearsals on Wednesday nights when Seiji Ozawa was conducting. We would rush in for the open seating with our brown-bag suppers to get our favorite seats in the first balcony overlooking the violins. With my binoculars I could follow along on their scores. Sometimes they played straight through the program, but sometimes we would hear the tap-tap-tap of Seiji’s baton when he would stop the orchestra to give them a note and send them back to measure 84 to play it again. It was so exciting to feel like we were there, in the inner circle, witnessing the transformation of each performance.

Don joined the Medicine faculty of Upstate fifty years ago, centered in the Infectious Diseases Division. Perhaps he is most proud of having established the Designated AIDS Center at Upstate, and of leading it for twenty-five years.  Music has always been a part of Don’s life, though youth piano lessons did not lead to a musical career! 

He and his wife Nancy have periodically attended SkanFest, but as retirement neared, they were in the audience with increasing frequency.  For the last few years, they have been at virtually every concert.  It is the variety of the art and artists that grips them, intrigues them—an incredible variety of superb music.

The most stunning experience to date was being seated on the stage behind the East Coast Chamber Orchestra as they performed Mozart.  Unbelievable! It is indeed an honor to serve on the SkanFest Board.