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Page Category: About
Board & Administration
Board of Directors
Heather Garner
President
Ann Sproule
Executive Vice President
Rich McMunn
Treasurer
Linda Brown
Secretary
John Garner
Disha Patel
Jeff Ramm
Administration
Luis Biava
Music Director
Heather Garner
Executive Director
Leslie McBride
Marketing Director
Linda Brill
Ad Sales
Joel Kohler
Graphic Designer
Robert Pfeifer
Personnel Director
Elise Skaggs
Librarian
Ann Sproule
Operations Director
Karen Pfeifer
Production Director
Leigh Ziegler
Website Administrator
NASO History
The New Albany Symphony Orchestra (NASO) is a community orchestra comprised of over 120 community, student, and professional musicians from all over the Columbus metro area who come together for a 5-concert subscription series and a 3-concert sensory friendly series in the beautiful Jeanne B. McCoy Community Center for the Arts and outdoor Hinson Amphitheater in the heart of New Albany.
NASO was designed by its founders to be a true community orchestra, in which students are mentored by professional musicians, talented community musicians have a stage on which to perform, and professional musicians have an additional outlet for their craft.
Founded in 2007 by New Albany resident and violist Heather Garner, the New Albany Symphony Orchestra is proud to serve the community as its resident symphony orchestra.
A strong component of the New Albany Symphony Orchestra’s mission is music education, and our commitment to even the youngest student musician in the orchestra is that he or she will perform on at least one piece per concert. The orchestra offers free master classes, a sensory-friendly series for our friends in the autism and dementia/Alzheimer’s communities, and a student concerto competition, in which talented young people from all over the state compete to win the opportunity to perform a concerto on stage in front of a live audience. Additionally, the orchestra collaborates with many area arts organizations and schools. Ticket prices are kept low – even offering free tickets to our underserved partners – to ensure that the art of classical music remains accessible to the people of New Albany and our surrounding areas.
Benefits Of A Community Orchestra
Audience Connection: Seeing familiar faces on stage breaks the “high brow” barrier associated with going to the symphony.
Programming designed for the community: Through competitions, NASO will give local composers the opportunity to compose for the Symphony and student musicians the opportunity to appear as soloists. We can program music to supplement the curriculum in the New Albany schools and consider requests from the community. We often feature guest artists with ties to Columbus.
Valuable experiences for young musicians: Sitting next to seasoned players in a formal orchestra setting is a prestigious and invaluable learning experience.
Semi-professional level of performance: A community orchestra provides adults who enjoy music as a hobby the opportunity to perform.
The New Albany Symphony Orchestra has a modest annual budget, funded by government grants, corporate sponsorships, private donations, and ticket sales. Thank you for your continued support of our efforts!
Founder and Executive Director
Heather Garner received full performance scholarships from Ohio University and The Ohio State University, where she earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Viola Performance, studying under Howard Beebe and Edward Adelson. While studying at The Ohio State University, Heather was also the Administrator for the Ohio State Pre-College Strings Program. Winner of the Ohio Arts Council Solo Competition, the Katherine B. Geis Performance Award and an Encore School for Strings scholarship student of Principal Violist Robert Vernon of the Cleveland Orchestra, Heather has performed as soloist, recitalist, chamber musician, and strolling strings advocate throughout the United States and Europe.
Ms. Garner performed 21 seasons as an associate violist with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra and has played as a section violist in Dayton Philharmonic, ProMusica, Jacksonville Symphony, Springfield Symphony, and West Virginia Symphony. She has performed on stage with multiple celebrity entertainers including; James Taylor, Aretha Franklin, Harry Connick Jr., Andrea Bocelli, Amy Grant, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Blues Traveler, and Bobby McFerrin, as well as classical music royalty; Isacc Stern, Joshua Bell, Hilary Hahn, YoYo Ma, Luciano Pavarotti, Kathleen Battle and Emanual Ax. She is a frequent guest in the local schools as a chamber music clinician, sectional coach, and presenter. Heather founded the New Albany Symphony Orchestra in 2007. She serves as the Executive and Artistic Director, performs Principal Viola in the orchestra and currently holds the Assistant Principal position with the Lancaster Festival Orchestra. Ms. Garner resides in New Albany, Ohio, with her husband John, and has two sons, Jack and Evan.
