Prelude Music Academy Advisory Board
Erik Gregory, PhD – PMA Board President
Dr. Gregory received his PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his Masters degree from Harvard University. He has held appointments with the National Cancer Institute in Hawaii , the Spencer Foundation, and the University of Chicago. He completed his clinical internship at the Tavistock Institute in London where he worked as a consultant to the entertainment industry and a leader in the treatment of refugee children suffering from trauma. Dr. Gregory is a clinical associate at the Harvard Medical School, Department of Psychiatry and a faculty member of the Fielding Institute. He serves as the board director to Prelude Music Academy and Boston Jewish Spirit, and is the Executive Director for the Research Centre for Media Psychology in Boston, Massachusetts.
Michael Dahlstrom
Michael Dahlstrom is a third-year PhD candidate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison studying both science journalism and conservation. Along with academia, Michael also works in broadcast television and has performed in multiple choirs. Michael currently resides with his wife Marcia in Madison, Wisconsin.
Lawrence Leviton
Lawrence Leviton, Artist/Teacher of Cello, also holds the position of Suzuki Specialist at the American Suzuki Talent Education Center. He received his Doctorate in cello performance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He received his Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Minnesota and his Master's degree in performance from Northwestern University. He also holds a degree in psychology from the University of Illinois.
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Mary Beth Plane
Mary Beth Plane is a Senior Scientist and Director of Research for the University of Wisconsin Department of Family Medicine where she has worked for 20 years. She has a PhB from Mount Mary College in Milwaukee, an MSSW and a PhD in Social Welfare from the University Of Wisconsin Madison. She spent 7 years as a county social worker in child welfare and prevention services before her work at the university, accounting for her interest in providing positive experiences for youth who may not otherwise have opportunities to participate in the arts.
Mary Beth has been an active volunteer over many years with the Girl Scouts and Cub Scouts and in the Madison Public Schools, PTO and the Jefferson Middle School Follies. She is currently on the boards of Performing Arts for Children, a Dane County group that provides opportunities for young people to participate in high quality musical theater with professional artists, and Prelude Music Academy.
Dr. Marvin J. Rabin
Dr. Rabin is Emeritus Professor of Music at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, where he directed the String and Orchestral Development Program for the Department of Continuing Education in the Arts. He is the founding conductor of the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras and the Great Boston Youth Orchestras, and he is the founder of the National String Workshop. Internationally known as both a conductor and a pedagogue, he has conducted all-state high school orchestras, festivals and workshops in forty-eight states, Canada, South America, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Europe; and youth orchestras in Canada, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, France, England, Costa Rica and the Soviet Union. A pioneering and eclectic visionary in string pedagogy, he has promoted the concepts of Shinichi Suzuki, George Bornoff, Kato Havas, and Paul Rolland, among others, bringing to the field a mindset of constant inquiry, reflection, and independent thought.
Prior to his retirement, Dr. Rabin received numerous honors and citations, including the 1977 Distinguished Service Award from the Wisconsin Music Educators Association and the 1984 University of Wisconsin Extension Distinguished Service Award. More recent awards have included the Mid-West International Band and Orchestra Clinic Distinguished Medal of Honor, and (in 2000) the prestigious Governor's Award in Support of the Arts. In 2001 The American String Teachers Association honored Dr. Rabin with the creation of the Marvin J. Rabin Award. This award is presented to an individual or organization making significant contributions to their community (local, regional or professional) through string/orchestra teaching and leadership. The Eastman School of Music has established a Marvin Rabin Archive for his professional papers, and the Wisconsin School Music Association has established a library in Rabin's name to promote research and resources in string and orchestra education. Marvin Rabin is truly a "national treasure!"
Carin Rawlins
Carin Ishida-Rawlings is a Usability Analyst currently working as a consultant in the insurance industry. She holds a Masters in Information Systems Management and a Masters in Project Management. Licensed as a cycling coach and cycling official, she is actively involved in the cycling community in Madison where she is co-chairing the Wright Stuff Century ride. She has served as a suicide prevention volunteer, co-facilitated an eating disorder support group, worked with troubled teens, and helped delivering meals on wheels and building homes with habitat for humanity.
Judith Strasser
Judith Strasser’s poems and essays have appeared in Poetry, The Kenyon Review, Nimrod, Prairie Schooner, Witness and many other literary magazines and anthologies. She has been awarded writing residencies at Fundacíon Valparaiso (Spain), Hawthornden Castle (Scotland), The Helene Wurlitzer Foundation (New Mexico), Vermont Studio Center, The Ucross Foundation (Wyoming), and Norcroft (Minnesota). In the summer of 1998, she was Artist-in-Residence at Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. Her chapbook, Sand Island Succession: Poems of the Apostles, was published in 2002 by Parallel Press. Judith’s memoir, Black Eye: Escaping a Marriage, Writing a Life, will be published by Terrace Books/University of Wisconsin Press in 2004.
Judith has been a member of the Wisconsin Humanities Council Speakers Bureau since 2000. She lectures and leads discussions about celebrity, memoir, and poetry for both adult and high school audiences, and also conducts writing workshops for children and adults in Wisconsin and other states. She recently retired as a senior producer and interviewer for TO THE BEST OF OUR KNOWLEDGE, a nationally-distributed public radio program. She has received awards for radio production and for poetry from the Wisconsin Arts Board, and published a chapbook, Poems for the Parks, under a grant from the Dane County Cultural Affairs Commission.
Damien Wilson, MA, MSSW, LCSW
Is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin - Madison with a Masters in both European Social History and Social Work. He has worked in mental health in Scotland, as well as in Arizona and Wisconsin. He has a background in health care regulation in both psychiatric hospital and hospice, and continues to work nationally as a member of the federal mental health panel. He recently retired from the position of manager of medical social work from the University of Wisconsin Hospitals. He still practices clinical social work (part-time) at that facility in supporting the psychological needs of adults with cystic fibrosis. Damien is married to Judith Ann Wilson. They have two grown children, Richard, 34, residing in Madison, and Tamara Jo, 32, living in San Jose, California. Damien and Judi have just celebrated their 39th anniversary.
