Symphony Staff

Lancaster Symphony Orchestra Staff

M. Scott Robinson, President, CEO
scottrobinson@lancastersymphony.org

Barb McConnell, Subscription/Business Manager
barb@lancastersymphony.org

Shelley Cohen Hershey, Development Director
shelley@lancastersymphony.org

Ed Sabato, Marketing and Special Events Director
Edsabato@lancastersymphony.org

Mallory E. Oxberry, Director of Community Engagement and Grants
malloryeoxberry@lancastersymphony.org

Jennifer Decker, Operations Manager and Music Librarian
Jennifer@lancastersymphony.org

Thomas Blanchard, Orchestra Personnel Manager
tomblanchard@lancastersymphony.org

Kelly Donahue, Public Relations & Administrative Manager
Kelly@lancastersymphony.org

M. Scott Robinson, President, CEO
M. Scott Robinson is recognized as one of the country's leading professionals in the arts management field. He has a broad background in program and audience development, strategic planning and successful collaborative ventures. His eighteen-year experience includes management work with national and international touring companies and at the major performance venues in the region including the Academy of Music, Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, Mann Center for the Performing Arts and the Merriam Theater. Robinson is a Founding and Managing Principal of the consulting firm, Strategic Partners.

Since joining the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra in 2001 the organization has doubled in size. Annual ticket revenues have doubled and contributed income has grown by 50%.

Working on staff as a senior executive or consultant in Marketing, Development and Management, Mr. Robinson has excelled in turnaround situations and reinvigorating fiscally stable operations. Most recently, he directed Marketing and Communications for Mikhail Baryshnikov and his White Oak Dance Project's east coast tour. Over a five-year period at Pennsylvania Ballet, Mr. Robinson increased ticket revenues by 50% to over $5 million per year. At the same time, he designed a new broader reaching corporate sponsorship, individual giving and special event programs that generated record results and continue to grow.

Previously with The Philadelphia Orchestra, Robinson led a successful resurgence in ticket sales, attendance, venue revitalization and concession upgrades at the summer venue, the Mann Center for the Performing Arts. In addition, he has worked with many regional performing arts groups including The People's Light & Theatre Company, Philly Pops, Wilma Theater and the national tour of Porgy & Bess.

Robinson was a Founding Board member of the Performing Arts League of Philadelphia (now The Theatre Alliance) and served on the board of Prints in Progress, an educational visual arts organization for young people. Also, he has frequently appeared as a guest lecturer at Drexel University's Graduate program in Arts Management.

Shelley Cohen Hershey, Development Director
Shelley Cohen Hershey brings 20 years experience in marketing and sales and enthusiastically joins the team at Lancaster Symphony Orchestra. She studied Art at Stratford College in Danville,Va and received her BA from Millersville University.

Previously she was the New Business Development Director at The Jay Group where her primary responsibility was prospecting and interacting with decision makers at Fortune 1000 companies.
She also was very active with the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, where she certified new businesses and lectured about the benefits for women business owners.
She lives in Lancaster with her husband, Artist Jerry Hershey.

Ed Sabato, Marketing and Special Events Director
Ed Sabato brings more than thirty years of diverse marketing and communications experience to the Lancaster Symphony. He most recently served as Director of Communications for Vertex Inc. in Berwyn, where he directed programs for public relations, marketing, thought leadership, web, and corporate brand. A graduate of La Salle University with a bachelor’s degree in political science, Ed was a police officer in Bucks County, serving as the department’s composite sketch artist, grant writer, and community relations specialist when his freelance graphic design business led him to a corporate career. After six years of marketing support for the Philadelphia office of Arthur Andersen & Co., he spent eight years managing the in-house creative services agency of an international environmental firm, then developed his marketing skills as a vice president in two Fortune 500 financial services companies.

In addition to his corporate experience, Ed brings a lifelong commitment to the performing arts. He has performed with Philadelphia Actors Theatre, Barley Sheaf Players, and Wilmington Drama League, and has been a reliable understudy for the Arden Theatre Company. An amateur playwright, Ed had one play commissioned and produced by Growden Theatre Company in Philadelphia and one produced by Heartland Theatre Company in Normal, Illinois, after winning a national competition. He has also provided pro bono design and marketing support to many Philadelphia area theater companies.

Ed’s other great passions are great speeches, books, films, and comedy. He enjoys cheering for the Philadelphia Eagles, and now – the Lancaster Symphony. He and his wife Pat, an Actors Equity stage manager with Peoples Light and Theatre Company, have four children in the early stages of their careers in theater, comedy, film, and education.

Barb McConnell, Subscription/Business Manager
Barb McConnell, a native of Lancaster, is a graduate of Thiel College with degrees in math, actuarial science and computer science. She worked in the insurance industry before volunteering for the subscription manager position for the Symphony in 1990. Since then the job has grown to include the business and accounting side of the organization.

Music has always been an integral part of her life, although ‘classical’ is not the direction she took. Barb is a barbershopper and has been for 27 years. She joined Sweet Adelines, International after college, singing with the Presque Isle Chapter in Erie, PA. Upon moving back to Lancaster, she transferred to the Red Rose City Chorus, where she was the assistant director. Always looking for a challenge, she became the director of the Reading Pagoda Chapter for 3 years in the mid 1990’s. For the past 9 years she has sung tenor with the award winning Greater Harrisburg Chorus, where she is the associate director. She has sung in numerous quartets throughout the years, the last 7 with Just By Chance.

When Barb isn't singing or working on Symphony matters, she and husband Doug head for the hills for weekends of camping. Their 2 dogs are very happy campers, while their 2 cats are quite happy to remain at home wreaking havoc with all the throw rugs.

Mallory E. Oxberry, Director of Community Engagement and Grants
Mallory E. Oxberry is from Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania. She studied music at the University of Delaware, graduated with distinction, and received an undergraduate degree in Music Theory and History with a minor in Jazz Studies. Mallory’s studies at the University of Delaware focused on American music, and she wrote a thesis on the evolution of American folk music in the twentieth century.

She studied flute, piccolo, Renaissance, and Baroque flute with Veronica Mascaro, Eileen Grycky, and Todd Groves. In addition to her work in the United States, she also studied music and performed in Austria and Spain. Mallory is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Arts Administration from Drexel University. There she is a member of the Arts Administration Graduate Association and actively attends conferences on advocacy and education in order to help build awareness and appreciation for the arts and arts education in America.

Jennifer Decker, Operations Manager and Music Librarian
Jennifer Decker, a Berks County native, became involved in music as a young child. She has studied piano, violin, flute, and also has vocal experience. Jennifer played the violin in the Reading Symphony Youth Orchestra for four years during which time she traveled to and performed in French-Canada, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic.

A 2009 graduate of Lebanon Valley College, Jennifer holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Business. While at Lebanon Valley, she continued her studies on the flute, piccolo, and violin. She was an active member of the marching band and orchestra. In her junior and senior year, she was band manager for the marching band. Jennifer also acted as head of registration and VP of Finances for Lebanon Valley’s annual Music Industry Conference. She enjoyed all four years at Lebanon Valley and has many memories including her semester abroad in Italy studying the country’s history and culture.

Jennifer lives in Lancaster with her husband. When she isn’t working, she enjoys spending time with her family, friends, and cats, listening to music, and watching movies. She and her husband are enjoying weekends working on turning their house into their own home.

Thomas Blanchard, Orchestra Personnel Manager
Tom Blanchard, Percussionist/Timpanist, was born in Fairfax, Virginia and studied with members of the U.S. Army Band in Washington, D.C. while in high school. He received his Bachelor of Music degree at the University of Michigan with Santa Fe Principal Percussionist Michael Udow. From Temple University Tom received a Master of Music degree and Performance Certificate from Philadelphia Orchestra percussionist Alan Abel, along with lessons from Principal Mickey Bookspan and Timpanist Don Liuzzi. Mr. Blanchard has performed in England, France, Italy, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Holland, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Japan, Korea, and China. In the U.S. he has performed at multiple venues such as Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Walt Disney World, and at the Pan-American Games.

A few music festivals in which he participated include Spoleto (Italy), Berlin, and Salzburg. Tom has recorded on Deutsche Grammophon, Phillips, Decca-London, EMI, New World Records, Equilibrium, Denon, Ondine, and Albany Records, and he has been heard on NPR, CBS, The Today Show, and the Disney Channel.

Performing artists with whom he has played include Natalie Merchant, Ray Charles, Anne Murray, Stevie Wonder, Bernadette Peters, Rosemary Clooney, Johnny Mathis, Toni Tennille, Donny Osmond, and others. Currently, Tom performs with the Delaware, Harrisburg (PA), Reading (PA), Kennett (PA), Lancaster (PA), and Chautauqua (NY) Symphony Orchestras, as well as Opera Delaware. Tom regularly performs, records, and tours with the Philadelphia Orchestra.
Recently Tom performed New Zealand composer Carl Vine’s Percussion Symphony with the Bogota (Colombia) Philharmonic, and he performed with the Temptations and Mary Wilson of the Supremes.

Tom enjoys performing in a percussion quartet in and around Philadelphia and Camden (NJ), educating and entertaining thousands of schoolchildren (over 300 shows thus far). He is also active in the Delaware Symphony providing programs for schools throughout the state of Delaware. Besides the hands-on aspect, he believes that teaching kids the importance of music and the arts in their lives is vital to training the next generation to appreciate and support music as they venture through life.

Tom began playing percussion at age 5 beating on his parent’s pots and pans while his sister sang Andrews Sisters songs. He lives with his wife Karen (coloratura with the Opera Company of Philadelphia and with The Crossing), son Justin (14) who plays percussion, daughter Amelia (11) who plays viola, and a 4 year old cocker/bassett mix Isabel. Tom enjoys exploring books, Civil War battlefields, golf, and traveling.

Kelly Donahue, Public Relations & Administrative Manager
Kelly Donahue, a native of Lancaster County is a graduate of Millersville University, where she received her Bachelor’s in Communications/ Public Relations. Previously, she was employed at two local advertising agencies and the Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit. In her free time, she enjoys going to the beach, running, making jewelry & playing tennis. Kelly is enjoying the challenge of helping to bring the beauty of classical music to South Central Pennsylvania.

Maestro Gunzenhauser
Directions
LSO Board of Directors
History of the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra
Private Teachers
Musicians for Special Occasions