The Encore Effect

Kathryn Harsha brings extensive experience and passion to her work as Artistic Director and conductor. She earned a Master of Music in Conducting from the Cleveland Institute of Music and a Bachelor of Arts in Piano Performance from Bluffton University. While studying at the Sorbonne in Paris, she served as Assistant Conductor of the Chorale des Étudiants Etrangères and studied conducting at the M...

Dr. Sandra C. Quinn is a distinguished scholar whose mixed methods research has transformed understanding of vaccine acceptance, health communication, and racial disparities in public health outcomes. During her 13 years at UMD's School of Public Health, she served as Professor, Senior Associate Director of the Maryland Center for Health Equity (MCHE), Chair of the Department of Family Science, an...

DeDe Pruett was born and raised in Minnesota and attended Catholic schools throughout her education, including grade school, an all-girls high school, and St. Catherine University (formerly the College of St. Catherine), which is now home to the largest women's undergraduate program in the United States. She later attended graduate school at the University of Hawaii. A lifelong learner, DeDe gradu...

Wendy Miller, Ph. D. ATR-BC, LCPAT, REAT, LPC, BCPC is a writer, sculptor, educator, and expressive arts therapist. She taught for over fifteen years in various universities throughout the country, including John F Kennedy University, San Francisco State University, Southwestern College, Lesley College, California Institute of Integral Studies, and The George Washington University. She is a practi...

Mary Ann East has been with Encore Creativity for Older Adults since August 2018 when she began conducting the Encore Chorale at Goodwin House Bailey’s Crossroads. In September of 2019 Mary Ann became the Program Director of Sentimental Journey Singers, Encore’s choral program for singers with early to mid-stage cognitive change and their care partners. On June 1, 2022 Mary Ann became the Director...

Terry Fulmer, PhD, RN, FAAN, is President Emerita of The John A. Hartford Foundation in New York City, a foundation dedicated to improving the care of older adults. She serves as the chief strategist for the Foundation and her vision for better care of older adults is catalyzing the Age-Friendly Health Systems social movement. She is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and served...

Dan Cohen, MSW, founder and CEO of Right to Music , is a passionate advocate for integrating best practice music-based interventions into healthcare, especially long-term care and for all persons with dementia.  In 2010 he founded Music & Memory, a nonprofit organization that promotes the use of personalized music to enhance the well-being of the elderly and infirm. The therapeutic and joyful...

You can find Jamie's Donor Interview in the July 2025 issue of Encore Extra ! https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ca_Q1UsqveLR8oF1FR6hzWjvuv0FqG-b/view   Jamie Wooten is a tenor with both DC Chorale and DC Rocks, and resides in Chevy Chase.  Professionally, he enjoyed a 20 plus year career in Hollywood, writing and producing 400 episodes of television, including many seasons of the classic sitcom "Th...

Anthony (Tony) Tambasco enjoyed a life in academia, highlighted by thirty-five years as a professor of biblical studies and social ethics in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at Georgetown University. He also taught in the University’s evening Graduate Liberal Studies Program for most of those years. His academic duties included two three-year terms as chair of his department and fi...

David Simmons, who is no stranger to Encore, was raised in Fleetwood, Pennsylvania. Upon graduating from Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA in 1988, David moved to Washington, DC, where he attended The American University, Washington College of Law, and where he lived for 33 years. After a short career as a litigation and real estate attorney, David returned to his true passion, music, where his...

Debra A. Brown-DeLone has over 45 years of management experience, managing programs and personnel requiring extensive public relations, office management, contract management and employee development.  She has a strong record of accomplishments, including, effective interfacing with the private sector, federal and local governments. Mrs. Brown-DeLone has extensive experience in planning and implem...

I was first introduced to choral singing in high school. It was life-changing. I had finally found a community who shared my passion for music and made the work of learning music challenging and fun! Music and the community it offers, has always been a source of joy for me, but also an uplifting way of processing difficult emotions and events in my life. I feel fortunate to have stumbled onto this...

Joey Clark is a musical theater and cabaret performer,  choral conductor, stage director and teaching artist. His work has been seen on the stages of  McCarter Theatre (NJ), Syracuse Stage (NY), and many stages throughout Minnesota’s Twin Cities. Joey’s cabaret work began at NYC’s Duplex Cabaret Bar, and he has since gone on to direct, musical direct and perform in over 100 cabarets. He is a leade...

Jeff Dokken, Encore ROCKS conductor, has been with Encore since 2013. During that time he has conducted numerous chorales in the Washington DC region, and currently conducts Alexandria Chorale and ROCKS, Annapolis ROCKS, Glen Echo ROCKS, and DC Rocks. In addition to his responsibilities at Encore, Maestro Dokken is the Music Director and Conductor of the Symphony Orchestra of Northern Virginia and...

Catherine Dehoney’s 40-year career has centered in arts management and fundraising, particularly in the choral field. In 2024, she concluded nearly ten years as president of Chorus America, the service association for choruses in the U.S. and Canada. Dehoney also served as the chief development officer at Chorus America for more than 10 years. Her work led to ground-breaking research and essential...

Ann has been singing and dancing for as long as she can remember.  Growing up in Oklahoma, she never considered the performing arts as a way to make a living, but she sang and danced throughout her life, enjoying every moment.  She won a dance scholarship to study with her mentor, a jazz choreographer just outside of Chicago.  And at the age of 21, she had her first professional job and joined Act...

Learn more about Encore: https://encorecreativity.org/   Suzanne LaFollette-Black has been a gerontologist for the past 40+ years. Suzanne’s career has been in the aging network as a non-profit nursing home administrator, Area Agency on Aging Director, Executive Director of Moore County Department of Aging, AARP Georgia State Director, AARP NC Associate State Director of Advocacy and Community Out...

Learn more about Encore: https://encorecreativity.org/ Jeanne Kelly is the founder of Encore Creativity for Older Adults, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing an excellent, accessible, and sustainable artistic environment for older adults over 55 years of age, either beginning, intermediate or advanced levels, who seek arts education and performance opportunities under a professional a...

Join Encore Creativity CEO Joshua Vickery as he introduces our new podcast, celebrating the power of music and its influence on life after retirement. Discover inspiring stories, expert insights, and the joy of creativity at every age!