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About the NCS
North Carolina Symphony
Our Story

Founded in 1932, the North Carolina Symphony (NCS) is a vital and honored component of North Carolina’s cultural life. Each year, its 300 concerts, education programs, and community engagement events are enjoyed by adults and schoolchildren in more than 90 North Carolina counties—in communities large and small, and in concert halls, auditoriums, gymnasiums, restaurants, clubs, and outdoor settings.

NCS’s state headquarters venue is the spectacular Meymandi Concert Hall at the Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Raleigh. The Symphony’s service across the state includes series in Chapel Hill, Fayetteville, New Bern, Southern Pines, and Wilmington, as well as the Summerfest series at its summer home, the outdoor Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary. NCS brings some of the world’s greatest talents to North Carolina and embraces home-state artists from classical musicians to bluegrass bands, creating live music experiences distinctive to North Carolina.

Committed to engaging students of all ages across North Carolina, NCS leads the most extensive education program of any symphony orchestra—serving nearly 70,000 students each year. In alignment with the curriculum set by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, the Symphony provides training and resources for teachers, sends small ensembles into classrooms, and presents full-orchestra Education Concerts that bring the fundamentals of music to life. Music Discovery for preschoolers combines music with storytelling, and at the middle and high school levels, students have opportunities to work directly with NCS artists and perform for NCS audiences.

NCS is dedicated to giving voice to new art, and has presented more than 50 U.S. or world premieres in its history. In 2017, NCS appeared at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., as one of four orchestras chosen for the inaugural year of SHIFT: A Festival of American Orchestras—an honor that recognized the Symphony’s creative programming and innovative community partnerships.

The first state-supported symphony in the country, NCS performs under the auspices of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.


The North Carolina Symphony gratefully acknowledges financial support from Wake County, the Town of Cary, and the State of North Carolina.

 

 


 

Administrative Staff

President’s Office

Sandi M.A. Macdonald – President & CEO
Email: smacdonald@ncsymphony.org
Phone: 919.733.2750

Sue Guenther – Executive Assistant to the President & CEO
Email: sguenther@ncsymphony.org
Phone: 919.789.5455

 

Artistic Operations

Donald Tippett – Vice President of Orchestra Operations
Email: dtippett@ncsymphony.org
Phone: 919.789.5464

Samantha Gallup – Interim Personnel Manager
Email: sgallup@ncsymphony.org
Phone: 919.789.5462

Hsing-I Ho – Director of Orchestra Personnel
Email: hho@ncsymphony.org
Phone: 919.789.5462

Chris Moore – Stage Manager
Email: cmoore@ncsymphony.org
Phone: 336.561.6324

José Muñiz – Artistic Coordinator
Email: jmuniz@ncsymphony.org
Phone: 919.789.5465

Bo Osborne – Production Manager
Email: hosborne@ncsymphony.org
Phone: 919.215.5738

Martin Sher – Artistic Advisor (Consultant)
Email: msher@ncsymphony.org

Kerry Smith – Assistant Vice President of Artistic Planning
Email: ksmith@ncsymphony.org
Phone: 919.789.5497

Jason Spencer – Director of Education
Email: jspencer@ncsymphony.org
Phone: 919.789.5461

Taylor Troyer – Assistant Orchestra Librarian
Email: ttroyer@ncsymphony.org
Phone: 919.789.5470

Stephanie Wilson – Principal Orchestra Librarian (The Mary Colvert and Banks C. Talley Chair)
Email: swilson@ncsymphony.org
Phone: 919.789.5468

 

Finance & Administration

Robert Schiller – Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration & CFO
Email: rschiller@ncsymphony.org
Phone: 919.789.5490

Carol Brown – Accounting & Payroll Manager
Email: cbrown@ncsymphony.org
Phone: 919.789.5493

Tiffany Debnam – Database & Fulfillment Manager
Email: tdebnam@ncsymphony.org
Phone: 919.789.5496

Tiffany Haddock – Human Resources & Office Systems Manager
Email: thaddock@ncsymphony.org
Phone: 919.789.5491

Glenda Hughes – Controller
Email: ghughes@ncsymphony.org
Phone: 919.789.5494

Stan Williams – Public Affairs Contractor
Email: swilliams@ncsymphony.org
Phone: 919.789.5456

 

Marketing & Audience Engagement

Linda Charlton – Vice President for Marketing & Audience Engagement
Email: lcharlton@ncsymphony.org
Phone: 919.789.5474

Jennifer Blackman – Graphic Designer
Email: jblackman@ncsymphony.org
Phone: 919.789.5481

Ashley Blankenship – Director of Marketing & Sales
Email: ablankenship@ncsymphony.org
Phone: 919.789.5505

Maria H. Ewing – Director of Advertising & Corporate Partnerships
Email: mewing@ncsymphony.org
Phone: 919.789.5480

Arianna Gulisano – Box Office Associate
Email: tickets@ncsymphony.org
Phone: 919.733.2750

Richard Hess – Communications Project Manager
Email: rhess@ncsymphony.org
Phone: 919.789.5478

Melissa Holmes – Box Office Associate
Email: tickets@ncsymphony.org
Phone: 919.733.2750

Jonathan Naylor – Box Office Manager
Email: jnaylor@ncsymphony.org
Phone: 919.733.2750

Alex Riggs – Box Office Associate
Email: tickets@ncsymphony.org
Phone: 919.733.2750

Sarah Town – Director of Communications
Email: stown@ncsymphony.org
Phone: 919.789.5456

Jim Vestal – Box Office Associate
Email: tickets@ncsymphony.org
Phone: 919.733.2750

Peter Wallace – Assistant Vice President of Sales & Patron Experience
Email: pwallace@ncsymphony.org
Phone: 919.789.5507

 

Philanthropy

Lisa Ransom – Vice President of Philanthropy
Email: eransom@ncsymphony.org
Phone: 919.789.5487

Rebecca Gunn – Assistant Vice President of Philanthropy
Email: rgunn@ncsymphony.org
Phone: 919.789.5489

Courtney Hamm – Director of Corporate & Foundation Giving
Email: chamm@ncsymphony.org
Phone: 919.789.5483

Matthew Holt – Corporate & Foundation Giving Coordinator
Email: maholt@ncsymphony.org
Phone: 919.789.5479

Becca Meier – Annual Giving Coordinator
Email: rmeier@ncsymphony.org
Phone: 919.789.5492

Emily Wilbourne – Leadership Giving Manager
Email: ewilbourne@ncsymphony.org
Phone: 919.789.5506