Staff

Jack Allen
President & CEO
jack@allclassical.org

Radio was a second career for Jack and the perfect fit as it turns out. After 17 years serving at various stations around the country - WMRA in Harrisonburg, Va., Minnesota Public Radio in St. Paul, and KMFA in Austin, Texas - he now realizes the old adage is true: find a job that you love and you'll never work another day in your life. With a year under his belt as the “new” head honcho of All Classical, he has grown to love Portland and savor the incredible support this rare music station enjoys. Jack shares, “I’ve never seen a more loyal and jubilant group of members and supporters!” When not 'making radio' Jack can be found listening to the radio (All Classical, KMHD and OPB – he is a member of all 3), writing essays, traveling (He leads a group of All Classical donors to Africa in the fall!) reading historical novels, playing chess, biking slowly with fragile knees, cooking up a favorite dish with a friend, or tromping around the Mt. Tabor neighborhood with his 5 year-old boxer Max.

Andrea Rennie
Executive Assistant
andrearennie@allclassical.org

Now in her second role at All Classical, Andrea is excited to continue her rewarding work as an employee, advocate, and musician in Portland. A native of Olympia, WA, Andrea graduated from Washington State University with a degree in Music Business and plans to continue her career in Arts Administration. When she’s not at the station, Andrea spends her time playing viola with the Portland Columbia Symphony, trying as many PDX restaurants as she can, and learning to garden.

Susan Jeannet
Chief Financial Officer
susan@allclassical.org

Susan is a Portland native who grew up on San Juan Island and has recently come home to her Oregon roots. She graduated from the University of Washington with a master’s degree in non-profit administration and has many years of experience in financial management with several arts organizations throughout the Northwest. At All Classical, Susan particularly enjoys the rhythm of accounting in concert with the ever-present sounds of music in the air. She also likes Irish rock, bike riding with her puppy, reading travel stories and making quilted rugs.

Jennifer J. Woodward
Office Coordinator
jennw@allclassical.org

Growing up in Texas, Jennifer discovered the many joys of classical music via the world of dance. As an adult, she enjoys listening to classical music while in her art studio. A graduate of the combined degree program of Tufts University/The School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Jennifer obtained her MFA with a focus on drawing, video and installation art. She received her undergraduate degree from Sarah Lawrence College and enjoyed living on the East Coast for many years.

A relative newbie to Portland, Jennifer loves Oregon’s natural beauty and Portland’s unique and evolving arts culture. She enjoys working with non-profits and helping them get organized and think outside the box. Jenn is excited to provide support for the All Classical team and to work with others who care passionately about the arts. When not at the station, she can be found making & exhibiting art, volunteering for the non-profit organization Art on Alberta in the role of webmaster on their board, watching movies, learning to cook with Oregon’s amazing local produce, camping and reading.

Sharon Johnson
Vice President of Marketing & Development
sharon@allclassical.org

An ideal day for Sharon starts with coffee, The New York Times and the music of All Classical. A member and long-time listener, Sharon joined the All Classical staff September 1, with nearly 20 years of fundraising experience with organizations in Portland, including the Oregon Historical Society, Friends of the Zoo and the Portland Art Museum. Sharon considers art and culture essential to a rich and enjoyable life and, while completing her degree in biology, she nurtured the right side of her brain with art and music classes. Sharon and her husband support a number of local arts/cultural organizations and regularly attend classical music performances. Travel is a top priority for Sharon, along with hiking, reading, film, and good food and conversation.

Mary Evjen
Director of Communications
evjen@allclassical.org

What began as a part-time job to have more time with her young daughter turned into a radio career at All Classical for Mary. Although her official job title is Director of Communications, she also wears the hats of writer and editor, staff photographer, event coordinator and volunteer coordinator. Making friends with the wonderfully diverse family of volunteers is closest to her heart.

Instilled in love for music at an early age by her parents, they would be delighted to know her piano gets dusted off from time to time, and she still has fond memories of singing the benediction at school assemblies.

Being a part of All Classical has enriched Mary's life, not only as an employee, but also as a supporter and listener. Oh, by the way, that daughter is now 26!

Deborah Rochford
Director of Member Services
deborah@allclassical.org

Deborah has over six years experience in the non profit arena. She specializes in managing Raisers Edge database systems and is trained in many aspects of non profit fundraising.

Originally from Oklahoma, Deborah has been in Portland for almost ten years. Her grandfather was a composer and professor of music and is the main reason she has taken up the call to help preserve classical music for her community. Deborah feels everyone should have the opportunity to experience the wonder and beauty of music that her grandfather and family gave her. She feels him close every time she turns on the radio. When not working to keep the music alive, Deborah can be found hiking up a mountain, gardening, and using her creativity in many artistic projects. Being an avid photographer and nature lover keeps her exploring the wonders of the great Pacific Northwest.

Katherine Lefever
Development Associate
katherine@allclassical.org

Katherine is a recent graduate of Reed College where she obtained a BA in Music with a focus on history and vocal performance. After interning at Friends of Chamber Music, the Portland International Piano Festival, and the Work for Art Program at RACC, Katherine is excited to be settling in at All Classical! She is a soprano in the Portland Symphonic Choir. When not working or practicing, she enjoys reading, gardening and hearing live music around town.

John Burk
Program Manager
johnb@allclassical.org

John is host of our weekday dinner hour program, Tafelmusic (7–9 p.m.), and our Thursday evening program featuring upcoming local performances, Northwest Previews (6 p.m.)

He began announcing classical music at Northern Michigan University as a student at the end of the 1960s and has served as an announcer, development director, music director and program director at stations in Michigan, Illinois and Arizona.

When he's not at work John enjoys reading (“everything from poetry to murder mysteries,”) cooking, eating out, attending concerts and recitals, and when the neighbors are willing, torturing medieval and Renaissance music with his soprano recorder.

John Pitman
Music Director and On-Air Host
john@allclassical.org

A Portland native and graduate of Benson Polytechnic, John Pitman is Music Director and on-air host at All Classical FM (89.9). As Music Director, he is responsible for making sure that the enormous body of work the station presents is heard with the right balance of all the styles, musical periods and moods that classical music offers. John also hosts First Impressions (Saturdays, 3pm), the weekly new releases program.

When not at work, John enjoys attending concerts, traveling, reading, bicycling around town with his wife and growing vegetables in summer.

Robert McBride
On-Air Host
robert@allclassical.org

Robert regularly hosts from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. weekdays. He also hosts and produces Club Mod, a program about modernism in music. Club Mod airs from 8:00 to 10:00 on Saturday nights, and explores the ways composers of the past have "pushed the envelope" musically and presents works by the composers of today.

Robert grew up in Idaho, and started his radio career at KWAX in Eugene. He was the music director at OPB Radio in Portland for nine years and has also worked at classical radio stations in Seattle, Buffalo and elsewhere, and free-lanced for National Public Radio in Washington, DC. He says his career highlights include recording concerts at the Oregon Bach Festival, occasionally hosting Performance Today, and co-producing two live, nation-wide broadcasts of Handel's Messiah, performed by the Portland Baroque Orchestra and Chorus. He's also a percussionist and a composer. As a percussionist he's performed with guitarist Scott Kritzer and with the Reed College Chamber Orchestra. His compositions have been performed by the Portland Columbia Symphony Orchestra, the Portland Symphonic Girlchoir, the Pacific Youth Choir, members of Fear No Music and the Third Angle New Music Ensemble, and pianist Thomas Lauderdale.

Christa Wessel
On-Air Host
Christa@AllClassical.org

Classical music has long been a part of Christa Wessel's life. She began playing French horn when she was 12 years old; her talent led her to Northwestern University, where she studied with members of the Chicago Symphony. She initially intended to major in performance but instead obtained her degree in Arts Administration. Christa worked for various arts organizations in the Chicago area (including the Lyric Opera and Ravinia) before she tired of the bitter cold . . . she then moved to North Carolina to thaw out. After several years with the American Dance Festival in Durham she briefly worked for a small web-design company. On a whim Christa applied for a shift at Duke University's community radio station, WXDU, where she created the popular program "Divaville," highlighting 1950s-era jazz vocalists. (Christa brought "Divaville" with her to Portland -- you can hear it on KMHD-FM Wednesdays at 6 p.m.) Christa's radio experience then led her to classical station WCPE-FM, rekindling her love of classical music. She was an on-air host and webmaster for WCPE from 1998 till 2007, at which time she moved to Portland to work at All Classical. Christa has fallen in love with Oregon... the people, the landscape, and the weather!

Pat McElroy
On-Air Host
pat@allclassical.org

Pat McElroy was formerly heard in Detroit at WQRS, Classical 105.1 He is our Saturday morning host on 89.9 and our opera impresario.

An accomplished actor, Pat has performed in numerous plays and films, including the role of Jesus in the award-winning film "Divine Mercy No Escape" with Helen Hayes.

Pat has also taught music appreciation for Dearborn Adult Education and regularly gives pre-concert talks for the Oregon Symphony's guest conductors.

Edmund Stone
On-Air Host
edmund@allclassical.org

Edmund Stone is heard each Saturday and Sunday afternoons on 89.9.

He grew up on an English farm, toured in Romeo & Juliet before moving to Scotland where he reviewed films for BBC Radio and Thompson Publications.

Moving to Los Angeles in 1980, he covered the Academy Awards and narrated more than 1,000 educational audio cassettes.

A Beaverton resident since 1990, Edmund continues to voice commercials and emcee events. When not indulging his passion for classical music, animals (two dogs and three cats) and gardening (he’s a vegetarian who grows his own food), Edmund is liaison officer and development director for a chimpanzee rescue center in Cameroon, West Africa.

Ed Goldberg
On-Air Host
ed@allclassical.org

Ed Goldberg was born in The Bronx, New York in 1943. After dropping out of college in 1962, he attempted to do stand-up comedy, unsuccessfully. He wrote for a few of the underground papers in New York. He moved to Washington, DC, in 1973, became a technical writer, and wrote features and reviews for a monthly arts and entertainment paper, including covering the punk-rock scene.
In 1991, Ed moved to Portland and finished his novel Served Cold, winner of the 1995 Shamus Award for best original paperback fiction. His third novel, True Crime, (as “Alan Gold”) was published in February 2005 and True Faith in January 2007. He is currently working on a new book.

Ed has always been a jazz fan, and started listening to classical music seriously in the late Sixties. In addition to his work on All Classical 89.9 (Sunday Morning with Ed Goldberg, Sundays, 8 a.m.-2 p.m.) he reviews films and does author interviews and political commentary on another Portland radio station.

Andrea Murray
On-Air Host, Community Relations Coordinator & NW Previews Producer
andreamurray@allclassical.org

Andrea’s been producing and hosting public radio programming for over 15 years. She began working in radio as host of a community radio public affairs program, then began announcing classical music in St. Louis. She also worked in the newsroom, where she specialized in cultural reporting. Prior to joining the All Classical staff, she spent 6 years as the arts reporter for WETA in Washington, where she produced and hosted a cultural magazine called “The Program” , and substituted for regular classical music hosts. She’s also done freelance work for several NPR magazine programs, including Morning Edition, All Things Considered and Studio 360.

Brandi Parisi
On-Air Host
brandi@allclassical.org

Brandi is a New Orleans native who was most recently the afternoon drive host at K-Mozart in Los Angeles. She has been a reporter, producer and host at stations in Atlanta and Orlando, was nationally syndicated on Minnesota Public Radio’s Classical 24 for 6 years. She has produced and hosted many programs for Public Radio International, and the MPR broadcasts of the Minnesota Opera.

Brandi is a trained flutist and silversmith, and she teaches yoga at several places around Portland. She has degrees from Ohio University and Purdue, and is an adjunct instructor of philosophy at Portland Community College.

Larry Holtz
Vice President of Engineering
larry@allclassical.org

Larry, now in his 7th year with All Classical, strives to fine tune and improve our equipment to deliver classical music with the best quality possible. Larry is involved with our advanced signal expansion and digitization projects, most recently upgrading All Classical to HD digital radio with improved reach. With 35 years as engineering director for commercial groups in the Northwest, he consolidated Entercom's seven radio stations into one studio building in Portland. During the 90s he built Portland’s West Hills multi-station KGON super tower and orchestrated new studios and transmission facilities around the country.

Jordan Lewis
Operations Administrator
jordan@allclassical.org

An Oregon native and graduate of Grant High School, Jordan Lewis studied computer engineering at OIT and radio broadcasting at MHCC to bring multiple job skills to the Operations Administrator position. In charge of preparing all of the satellite feeds for re-broadcast, scheduling the on-air host's shifts and scheduling/reconciling the traffic logs, Jordan keeps busy by wearing many hats. From weekly show production to the in-house IT duties to assisting the Chief Engineer in repairs and installing upgrades the job is a great blend of radio and computers.

Jordan previously worked for KEX and KFXX in Portland, followed by a stint as a remote engineer for KATU-TV News. Jordan's five years running his own business as a computer repairman gave him the kind of skills necessary to keep the many computers that run a modern radio station working smoothly.

For recreation Jordan is an avid disc golfer, traveling the Northwest to compete in amateur competitions. Most weekends he can be found on one or another of the area’s great disc golf courses. When not throwing plastic through the air he is a collector of comic books, a reader of sci fi/fantasy and a rabid NFL football fan — Go Redskins!

Eric Behny
Director of Underwriting
eric@allclassical.org

Eric grew up in a small farm town in Illinois listening to classical music. He remembers hearing Gilbert & Sullivan’s “The Mikado” played so often he thinks he may have it memorized. Eric graduated from California State University at Northridge with a degree in Business Administration/Marketing. After college, he worked as an advertising consultant at the NBC television affiliates in Bend, Oregon, Salinas, California, and for FOX-12 KPTV in Portland. Eric lives in Northeast Portland with his wife, 3 children, dog and cat. He enjoys exercise, music, reading, travel and low-budget horror movies.

Regina Veillet
Corporate Sales Executive
regina@allclassical.org

Regina has spent her life in the worlds of sales and music. When she was five she sold her pastor on the idea of letting her sing a solo for the church. Whether the congregation enjoyed it or not, she knew she had found her passion in music. This eventually led to a music scholarship to Lee University in Tennessee where she graduated with a degree in business. After college she worked in sales at American Airlines and AT&T Wireless before beginning her family. She credits Denyce Graves’ appearances on Sesame Street with sparking her interest in Opera. Some years later Regina returned to school to study music and opera at Portland State University. She has performed at the Astoria Music Festival and the Portland Rose Festival opening ceremonies to name a few, and continues to perform wherever a willing audience can be found. Her two worlds of music and sales are now wonderfully united at All Classical. Regina lives with her husband and two children.