WHO WE ARE
ALEXANDER LAING
President & Artistic Director
Alex Laing is President & Artistic Director of Gateways Music Festival, succeeding Lee Koonce as President & Artistic Director on January 1, 2024. Shaped by the belief that “music is more than just sounds; music is sounds, words, and people.” His practice is committed to exploring the push and pull between a legacy art form and its unfixed future.
Anthony parnther
Conductor
American conductor, Anthony Parnther, is the Music Director and Conductor of the San Bernardino Symphony Orchestra and the Southeast Symphony & Chorus, both in Los Angeles. He has also led the Hollywood Studio Symphony in hundreds of featured films and television series.
Founder & President Emerita
Acclaimed award-winning concert pianist, educator, and community activist Armenta (Hummings) Dumisani is the visionary founder of the Gateways Music Festival. She is a former Associate Professor of Music at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY and served as the school’s Distinguished Community Mentor from 1994 until 2009.
Armenta (Hummings) Dumisani
IN MEMORIAM
MICHAEL MORGAN
MUSIC DIRECTOR & CONDUCTOR
1957-2021
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OFFICERS
Chair
Kearstin Piper Brown, Soprano, (Rochester, NY)
Vice Chair
Toni-Marie Montgomery, Dean, Bienen School of Music (retired), Northwestern University (Evanston, IL)
Treasurer
Gregory Ewing, Senior Vice President, Trillium Health
(Rochester, NY)
Secretary
Kate Washington, Partner, Enterprise Solutions International (Rochester, NY)
President & Artistic Director
Alexander Laing, Gateways Music Festival (Phoenix, AZ)
DIRECTORS
Amadi Azikiwe, Violist and Conductor (New York, NY)
Susan Feder, Program Officer (retired), The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation (Irvington, NY)
Tia Graham, JD, Vice President of Individual Giving, PBS Foundation (Jersey City, NJ)
Sharon Hatchett, Global Leader, Information Technology Legal Matters (retired), General Motors Corporation (Chicago, IL)
Sonia James-Wilson, Principal, Catalyst Research & Development (Rochester, NY)
Lee Koonce, Senior Advisor, Gateways Music Festival (New York, NY)
James H. Norman, President & CEO (retired), Action for a Better Community (Rochester, NY)
Douglas Phillips, Senior Vice President and Chief Investment Officer, University of Rochester (Rochester, NY)
Jesse Rosen, President and CEO (retired), League of American Orchestras (Durham, NC)
Kate Sheeran, Joan & Martin Messinger Dean, Eastman School of Music (Rochester, NY)
Robert Werth, Co-pastor St. Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church (Rochester, NY)
administration
EXECUTIVE & FUNDRAISING
Alexander Laing, President & Artistic Director
alaing@gatewaysmusicfestival.org
LaTanya Afolayan, Director of Development
lafolyan@gatewaysmusicfestival.org
Marni Carfley, Office Manager
mcarfley@esm.rochester.edu
(585) 274-1127
PROGRAMS
Armand Hall, DMA, Director of Programs
ahall@gatewaysmusicfestival.org
CONSULTANTS
251 Consulting | Fundraising, Operations, Strategy
Rachel Pryzgoda-Bravo, rachel@twofiveoneconsulting.com
Phil Bravo, phil@twofiveoneconsulting.com
21C Media Group | Public Relations
Jessica Lustig, jlustig@21cmediagroup.com
Glenn Petry, gpetry@21cmediagroup.com
The Bonadio Group | Accountant
Andrew Kelly
Red Herring Design | Graphic Design
Carol Bobolts, Andrea Duarte, Jen Quinn
Musicians
Click on this link to view musicians who have participated in Gateways Music Festival over the years.