NEW BEGINNINGS

Carol Ciulla Retires

After 17 years of dedication and hard work, Ticketing Operations Manager Carol Ciulla has retired. Our longest standing staff member, Carol began her career as a seasonal staff person for the Rockport Chamber Music Festival. As Rockport Music grew, so did Carol’s role which involved switching to a new, complex ticketing/development software. Carol played an integral role in adopting creative ways to improve our ticketing system. With all of this, she has always been recognized for the exceptional customer service she provided to our patrons. Please join us in sharing our deep gratitude for Carol’s expertise, kindness and dedication. We wish her well in her next endeavors.

New Director of Education

This summer we welcomed Elizabeth Stefan, Rockport Music’s new Director or Education & Partnerships. Elizabeth’s vast music education and administrative background includes positions at New England Conservatory, Boston City Singers, musiConnects and the BSO’s Tanglewood Music Center. A violist, Elizabeth is the founding member of the award-winning chamber orchestra, Phoenix Orchestra (phoenixorch.org), where she also serves on the Education Planning Team. Elizabeth attended the Eastman School of Music and received her masters at New England Conservatory.

Renewed Volunteerism

Summer 2022 in Rockport was once again a bustling destination in which our summer docents welcomed 1,159 visitors into the hall for tours. In May we hosted a successful volunteer event that helped in the recruitment of 33 new actively-engaged volunteers. The event sparked revitalized energy and interest in our volunteer program. Keep spreading the word!

Diversity, Equity, Inclusivity, Accessibility & Belonging Initiative Update

Rockport Music staff and board have been working with a consultant over the past year on the organization’s DEIAB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusivity, Accessibility & Belonging) initiative to broaden our reach and representation. This is an important, strategic and necessary step for the organization and one that will undoubtedly boost our ability to fulfill our mission to inspire “a love and understanding of music through exceptional live performances and creative learning opportunities.” As we embark on this exciting initiative and take pride in our strategic growth, we acknowledge that there will be several stages in implementing the many elements of a DEIAB plan. It is a work-inprogress and will continue to evolve as we (as an organization) evolve.

As part of this initiative, we will host singersongwriter Crys Matthews on February 5 for her Black History Month program on being a LGBTQIA+ woman of color.

We now have a DEI statement on our website about our current progress and will continue to keep it, and you, updated. Look for more updates as we continue on our journey.

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