ADVISORS

Check back for the latest developments about our Advisors. 

JASON K. BERGER

Cowan, Debaets, Abrahams & Sheppard LLP, Partner 

and Co-Chair of CDAS’s Corporate Practice Group

New York, NY

Mr. Berger has over two decades of experience representing clients on complex corporate legal matters and transactions, including, mergers, acquisitions and dispositions, equity and debt financings, partnerships, joint ventures and licensing deals. Mr. Berger represents companies, private equity funds, venture capital funds, family offices and high net worth individuals across a broad range of industries.  He has particularly deep experience in the branded consumer products and entertainment industries, including celebrity influencer and endorsement arrangements, and regularly represents some of the most well-regarded investment funds in the consumer brands space.  Mr. Berger also represents foreign investors in U.S. investments and the establishment of special purpose vehicles.  On the company side, Mr. Berger represents businesses in the full life-cycle of corporate and commercial transactions and advises founders on choice of entity, executive compensation, and early-stage financing.  Mr. Berger serves as outside general counsel to many of his clients, who rely upon him for strategic business guidance in addition to legal advice.

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DAVID BOXENBAUM

Senior Advisor 

New York, NY

David Boxenbaum was an executive at Price Waterhouse when he got a call from his college buddy James Diener then a senior vice president of marketing for Columbia Records/Sony Music, where Diener worked with such artists as Aerosmith, Bob Dylan, and Pink Floyd. Diener’s proposition to Boxenbaum: Let’s start an independent new music label that will take the industry by storm.

Their ambitious quest was realized in A&M/Octone Records, the hot music label that produced artists such as multi-platinum Maroon 5, modern-rock Flyleaf, rap-rockers Hollywood Undead, and pop hip-hop artist K’Naan. A&M/Octone was small, and the company takes on only a handful of acts, which Diener and Boxenbaum say allows them to give artists the personal attention needed to vault them out of obscurity and into commercial success. The company received about 100 demos each week and they all get a listen, says Boxenbaum.

Boxenbaum, consulted for Universal Music and Disney during his years at Price Waterhouse. “I want to believe that at the bottom of that stack is that great band that no one knew about and that didn’t have the connections to get directly to me. I want to believe, ‘Wow. This is going to be great.’ I love the discovery.” He offers up the Grammy Award-winning Maroon 5 as an example. “Every single major label passed on them,” he says of the group. “It’s about seeing what people don’t see. The connection they have with an audience. What we saw was a diamond in the rough.” Diener and Boxenbaum signed the group in 2002, and in the years since, Maroon 5 has seen several albums go platinum.

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ERICA BUURMAN

San Jose, CA

Erica Buurman is Director of the Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies and Associate Professor in the School of Music and Dance at San Jose State University. She joined SJSU in the spring of 2019, having previously held a faculty position at Canterbury Christ Church University in the UK. She completed her doctorate at the University of Manchester, UK, with a dissertation on Beethoven's compositional approach to the overarching forms of his instrumental works, focusing particularly on preliminary outline plans in the composer's sketchbooks.

Erica's research interests center on Beethoven and include sketch study, Viennese musical culture, and social dance. She held a Leverhulme Trust Research Fellowship in 2017–2018 with a project on social dancing in Beethoven's Vienna, which resulted in a monograph (currently in press). Other recent publications include chapters in The Cambridge Companion to the Eroica Symphony (Cambridge, 2020) and The New Beethoven (University of Rochester Press, 2020). She has contributed to radio broadcasts about Beethoven on BBC Radio 3 and Radio 4, including several episodes of the 125-part series Beethoven Unleashed, which was broadcast on BBC radio throughout 2020. Erica is editor of The Beethoven Journal and The Beethoven Newsletter.

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SIMON CARRINGTON

Bradford-on-Avon, England and Lamothe-Cassel, France

Simon Carrington, Yale University professor emeritus, has enjoyed a long and distinguished career in music, performing as singer, double bass player and conductor, first in the UK, and latterly in the USA and round the world. From 2003 to 2009 he was professor of choral conducting at Yale University and director of the Yale Schola Cantorum, a 24-voice chamber choir which he brought to national and now international prominence. During his Yale tenure, Carrington led the introduction of a new graduate voice degree for singers specializing in oratorio, early music, and chamber ensemble, and, with his faculty colleagues, guided two Yale graduate students to their first prize wins in consecutive conducting competitions at American Choral Directors Association National Conventions. From 2001 until his Yale appointment, he was director of choral activities at the New England Conservatory, Boston, where he was selected by the students for the Krasner Teaching Excellence Award and from where he received an Honorary Doctorate in 2014. From 1994 to 2001, he held a similar position at the University of Kansas.

Prior to coming to the United States, Simon was a creative force for twenty-five years with the internationally acclaimed British vocal ensemble The King’s Singers, which he co-founded at Cambridge University, and which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2018.

Simon now keeps an active schedule as a freelance conductor and choral clinician, leading workshops and master classes round the world.

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GÜNTER HÄNSSLER 

Stuttgart, Germany   

Known in the press as “The man who tracks down great musical moments,” Günter Hänssler is the CEO of Hänssler Classic, Profil Media GmbH, and Edition Günter Hänssler. A native of Stuttgart, he began working for his parents’ Hänssler-Verlag, initially a publisher of church music, which eventually expanded to books and records. As head and managing director of the recording department at Hänssler-Verlag, Günter oversaw the transition from analog to digital recordings, and he is internationally renowned for the catalog he has curated, including Edition Bachakademie, a 172-CD compendium of all the sacred works of Johann Sebastian Bach, led by Artistic Director Helmuth Rilling. Other notable conductors on the label include Herbert Blomstedt, Colin Davis, Bernard Haitink, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Christian Thielemann, and Günter Wand.

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JAMES JORDAN

Lawrenceville, NJ

James Jordan is one of the world’s leading choral conductors, music pedagogy authors, and recording artists. His more than 60 books explore both the philosophical and spiritual basis of musicianship, as well as aspects of choral rehearsal teaching and learning, and they are essential references in the conducting profession.

Dr. Jordan is Professor and Director of Choral Studies at Westminster Choir College, where he serves as the seventh conductor of the 103-year old Westminster Choir and the world renowned Westminster Symphonic Choir. Prior to these conducting responsibilities, he conducted both the Chapel Choir and the Schola Cantorum. His twelve years as conductor of the Westminster Williamson Voices established that choir as one of the most admired and reviewed choral ensembles in the world, with 10 CDs to its credit, including a Grammy nomination for their recording of James Whitbourn’s Annelies (Naxos). Jordan is co-director of the Choral Institute at Oxford, and artistic director of the professional choral ensemble, The Same Stream.

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DENNIS KEENE

Artistic Advisor

New York, NY

Dennis Keene is the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Voices of Ascension. Known internationally through his many concerts and recordings with Voices of Ascension as well as his regular guest appearances as conductor and teacher, he is one of leading choral conductors in the world today.

Recognized early as an exceptional organist, Dennis Keene studied at The Juilliard School, where he earned the BM, MM, and DMA degrees and the coveted Gaston Dethier Organ Prize as a student of Vernon de Tar. Dr. Keene also studied privately in Paris with Marie-Madeleine Duruflé, André Marchal, and André Isoir. Dennis Keene was active as a recitalist until his interest in conducting led him to concentrate on that discipline. He subsequently studied conducting at the Pierre Monteux School for Orchestral Conductors, with Charles Bruck in Paris, and with John Nelson at The Juilliard School. His passion for the finest in professional choral music can be traced to his early work as organist with Gregg Smith, Roger Wagner, and Margaret Hillis.

In addition to his work with Voices of Ascension and The Dennis Keene Choral Festival, Dr. Keene continues as Organist and Choirmaster of Church of the Ascension in New York City. He served for many years on the Board of Directors of Chorus America, the national service organization for the choral field, which honored him with the first Louis Botto Award for “innovative action and entrepreneurial zeal in developing a professional ensemble of exceptional artistic quality.” He has also served on the Choral Panel of the National Endowment for the Arts and on the Music Panel of the .New York State Council on the Arts

From 1998 to 2003 Maestro Keene presented a major summer institute for the training of conductors and singers: The Dennis Keene Choral Festival, in Kent, Connecticut. In 1993 he began his recording association with Delos International, with which he has recorded such best-selling CD’s as Beyond Chant, the Duruflé Album, and the Berlioz Te Deum. This series of highly acclaimed recordings with Voices of Ascension has secured international recognition for both conductor and chorus and become the standard for first-ranked ensembles worldwide.

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CHRISTOPHER KOREY 

New York, NY

Christopher Korey Collective presents style for the modern gentleman with custom made tailored menswear that goes beyond a suit and tie. The notion of craftsmanship that has been handed down through generations, is rare in our world. The attention to detail, the care and the ability to bring out the best version of yourself is the experience offered at CKC.  

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DIANE LESSER

New York, NY

Diane Lesser is one of the top studio recording oboists in the country performing with a host of respected orchestras and active in the realms of pop music, television and radio commercials and film soundtracks. She has played at diverse venues such as the Grammy Awards, Sesame Street, the 1992 Olympics in Albertville, France, Z100’s Jingle Ball and at the White House. Director of orchestral personnel at Nexus Arts & Culture, New York, NY.

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JAMES LISTER

Executive Vice President, Boost Payment Solutions, Inc. 

Miami, FL

Jim Lister is widely recognized by the electronic payments industry as the preeminent expert in business-to-business payments, and specifically, the migration of paper-based payments between businesses to electronic alternatives. 

Prior to joining Boost, Lister managed all domestic and international B2B initiatives for First Data Corporation, the largest payment processor in the world. Over the course of his distinguished 13 year career at FDC, Jim supervised the company’s product and solution efforts in all B2B vertical markets. 

Previously, Lister held various management positions in the banking and payment processing industries, including Director of Payment Processing at Bank of Delaware (now PNC), Vice President of Chase USA’s card issuing division, and Vice President of Card Operations at Wachovia Bank, where he managed the development and implementation of the bank’s procurement card programs.

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LEE MUSIKER

New York, NY 

Lee Musiker is a Grammy and Emmy award-winning pianist, conductor, music director, arranger/orchestrator, and composer. He has established a distinguished and multifaceted career as both soloist and collaborator with the premier artists in the Classical, Operatic, Broadway, Jazz and Pop music genres, including; Joshua Bell, Tony Bennett, Andrea Bocelli, Chris Botti, Michael Bublé, Kristin Chenoweth, Natalie Cole, Judy Collins, Barbara Cook, Eddie Daniels, Michael Feinstein, Renée Fleming, Aretha Franklin, Lady Gaga, Denyce Graves, Joel Grey, Josh Groban, Marvin Hamlisch, Marilyn Horne, Billy Joel, Elton John, Norah Jones, Diana Krall, Jerry Lewis, Seth MacFarlane, Wynton Marsalis, John Mayer, Paul McCartney, Audra McDonald, Maureen McGovern, Kelli O'Hara, Bernadette Peters, Buddy Rich, Sting, Barbra Streisand, James Taylor, Mel Tormé, and Dawn Upshaw.

A Steinway Artist, Lee Musiker has performed with the New York Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera, Mostly Mozart, New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theater, Orpheus, Atlanta, Cleveland, Hollywood Bowl, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and London Symphony Orchestras; and the New York, Boston, Cincinnati, and Philly Pops.

Mr. Musiker has guest conducted the New York Philharmonic and the Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, National, and St. Louis Symphony Orchestras.

Lee Musiker has served on the faculties of the Mannes School of Music, The New School, and New York University. He has given Masterclasses at The Metropolitan Opera Lindemann Young Artists Program and Indiana University, and was a visiting Artist-in-Residence at the Tanglewood Music Center and Ravinia Steans Music Institute.

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GEORGE PAPAIOANNOU

CFA, MBA – Principal Consultant, Cayenne Consulting, LLC

Los Angeles, CA & Princeton, NJ

George Papaioannou has three decades of experience in developing, analyzing, evaluating and executing upon business models, from an investment as well as an operational perspective. He is one of Cayenne's resident experts on startup and business valuations. 

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EUGENE ROGERS

Ann Arbor, MI

A Michigan Emmy Award winner, a Sphinx Medal of Excellence recipient, and GRAMMY Award nominee, Eugene Rogers is recognized as a leading conductor and pedagogue throughout the United States and abroad. In addition to serving as the founding director of EXIGENCE, Dr. Rogers is the director of choirs and an associate professor of conducting at the University of Michigan. Recently, he was named as the fifth Artistic Director of the two-time GRAMMY Award-Winning Ensemble, The Washington Chorus (Washington, D.C.).

At the University of Michigan, Rogers leads the graduate choral conducting program, conducts the chamber choir, and administers the program of eight choral ensembles. His choirs have toured throughout China, South Africa, the United States, and have appeared at national and regional conferences. Musical America has named Rogers one of the top 30 “Movers and Shapers.” Previous appointments include the University of Michigan Men’s Glee Club, Macalester College (St. Paul, Minnesota), the Boys Choir of Harlem, Waubonsie Valley High School (Aurora, Illinois), and Anima Young Singers (Chicago, Illinois). Rogers’ passion for issues of social justice and music was featured in the award-winning documentary Love, Life and Loss which highlights Joel Thompson’s powerful Seven Last Words of the Unarmed.

Rogers holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in choral music education from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign and the Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in choral conducting from the University of Michigan. He currently serves on the board of Chorus America and is the former national chair of the Diversity Initiatives Committee for the American Choral Directors Association.

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TIM SHARP

Artistic Advisor

Nashville, TN

Tim Sharp served from 2008-2020 as Executive Director of the American Choral Directors Association, the world’s largest organization of choral conductors, teachers, students, scholars, composers, and choral industry representatives. Under his leadership, ACDA pursued an aggressive agenda of strategic planning and progressive and innovative initiatives to keep the Association energized and relevant in the 21st century. Dr. Sharp represents choral activity in the United States as a Board Member of the International Federation for Choral Music, and he serves as Vice-President of Musica International. Sharp appears regularly as conductor and clinician around the world, with recent performances in Austria, China, England, Greece, Ireland, and Thailand, and in major concert halls throughout the United States.

As a composer, Tim’s Come Away to the Skies: A High Lonesome Bluegrass Mass has elicited critical acclaim, with reviewers observing that the work is “…unfailingly true to itself, lacking in pretense, simple, direct, and heartfelt,” and a “dynamic, crowd-pleasing performance.”

Before joining ACDA, Sharp was Dean of Fine Arts at Rhodes College, Memphis, TN, where he conducted the Rhodes Singers and MasterSingers Chorale. Prior to Memphis, Tim conducted the Belmont University Chorale and Oratorio Chorus, Nashville, TN, where he received choral credits on the Grammy Nominated and Dove Award winning recording, A Glen Campbell Christmas.

A prolific author, Dr. Sharp’s publications include Mentoring in the Ensemble Arts, Precision Conducting, Up Front! Becoming the Complete Choral Conductor, Achieving Choral Blend and Balance, Memphis Music Before the Blues, Nashville Music Before Country, Jubilate! Amen!, The German Songbook in the 19th Century, A Short History of the American Choral Directors Association, Collaborative Creativity, and a wide variety of published articles, essays, and CD liner notes for recordings by Helmuth Rilling, Iona Brown, Neville Marriner, and The King’s Singers. His most recent book publications include the historical-critical edition Johannes Herbst: Hymns to be Sung at the Pianoforte (published by Steglein) and Collaborating in the Ensemble Arts: Working and Playing Well with Others (published by GIA). GIA has also released Tim’s third book in his ensemble series, Innovation in the Ensemble Arts: Sustaining Creativity.

Sharp holds the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in conducting from the School of Church Music of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky. He is a Clare Hall Life Fellow at Cambridge University, Cambridge, UK, and has studied at the Aspen School of Music and the Harvard NEH Medieval Sacred Music Studies program.

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SCOTT J. SHOLDER

Cowan, Debaets, Abrahams & Sheppard LLP, Partner 

and Co-Chair of CDAS’s Litigation Group

New York, NY

Scott J. Sholder focuses his practice on litigation, counseling, and dispute resolution in connection with entertainment, media, and intellectual property matters. His clients range from major media and entertainment companies and A-list talent to closely held startup businesses and individuals in need of advice on intellectual property or guidance.   

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EMMA SMYTH 

Senior Associate Director, Leadership Giving at Dartmouth College 

Hanover, NH

Emma Smyth is the Senior Associate Director of Leadership Giving at Dartmouth College. Over more than a decade as a development officer, she has served in similar capacities at Vanderbilt University and with the Oklahoma City Symphony Chorus (Canterbury Voices). A seasoned arts administrator, she served as Manager of Artistic Administration for the Nashville Symphony and has produced dozens of concerts at Carnegie Hall. Also an accomplished flautist, Emma holds degrees from New York University and the University of Arkansas, and she continues to play professionally with the Fort Smith Symphony.

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MARTHA WADE

Wade Artist Management

New York, NY

Ms. Wade’s musical background uniquely suits her to artist management. Raised in a musical environment, she attended the Cleveland Institute of Music as a young girl, studying viola, piano, and music theory. Martha graduated cum laude from Ohio University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in piano performance. She began her professional career as an accompanist at the Cleveland Orchestra Blossom Festival, working closely with conductors Robert Page and Joseph Flummerfelt. At the Cleveland Music School Settlement, she was part of the studio of the eminent teacher 

Pauline Thesmacher and played for master classes with such artists as Ned Rorem, Sir Michael Tippett, and Judith Blegen.

After moving to New York City, Ms. Wade became known as an outstanding vocal accompanist, appearing in recital at venues such as the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC; the Bruno Walter Auditorium at Lincoln Center; Weill and CAMI Halls in New York; and the Cleveland Museum of Art. She has held faculty positions at the Cleveland Institute of Music, the Cleveland Music School Settlement, and the Actor's Studio of the New School for Social Research in New York, where she taught voice. 

Ms. Wade is committed to educating emerging singers on career development and music business issues and has taught master classes on these topics at institutions across the country including Baylor University, New Jersey City University, New World School of the Arts, Opera Noire of New York, the University of Akron, the University of Alabama, the University of Texas (Austin), and Utah Festival Opera.

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JEAN-CLAUDE WILKENS

Lyon, France

Born to a family where music was an important part of life, Jean-Claude Wilkens studied both music and mathematics in Belgium's Liège Royal Conservatory, and later choir conducting at the Luxembourg Conservatory under Pierre Cao. He has also attended workshops led by Lucien Jean-Baptiste, Philippe Caillard, Fernando Eldoro and Eric Ericson.

His teaching career in secondary schools was diverted to that of cultural management, first in Jeunesses Musicales where he was director, and then in the International Federation for Choral Music where he was Secretary General for twenty years. In addition, Jean-Claude was manager of the French National Choral Organization and its publishing house, À Cœur Joie.

Wilkens' professional activities are closely linked with choir music and choir musicians, making him well known on the international choral scene. Jean-Claude led Hodie vocal ensemble for twenty years, a group that has received awards and recognition all over the world, and the female vocal jazz ensemble Jazz’elles in Lyon, France.