Music That Connects Us All
Kallos Chamber Music Series
Board of Directors
Since the beginning of 2021-22 Season, these dedicated board members have volunteered their professional expertise and valuable time to grow and guide this non-profit organization.
Meet our Board of Directors
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David Soper
David is currently Assistant Vice President of Management and Budget at Columbia University. In this role he manages the budget process and quarterly financial reporting for the University. Prior to coming to Columbia in 2010, David was the Director of Budget and Planning at Yale University. He worked in various capacities in Finance at Yale for over 14 years starting in the Medical School’s Budget Office in 1996 and moving to the University’s Budget Office in 2003. Prior to Yale, David worked in the insurance industry in finance and property insurance underwriting. David was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. He received his undergraduate degree in Finance from George Washington University in 1985 and received his M.B.A. from the University of Cincinnati in 1987. He currently resides in Hamden, CT with his wife and their friendly dog, Sirius Black.
In addition to his professional life, David has been an active member of Trinity Church on the Green in New Haven, CT where he has been a warden, treasurer and vestry member as well as a long-time member of the bass section of Trinity’s Parish Choir. In addition, David is a former member of the Board of Trustees of the Foote School, a previous president of the New Haven Lawn Club and is currently president of the New Haven Lawn Club Preservation Trust.
Dot is owner of and data technician for dot.dat.inc, which provides data processing and management services for geotechnical and environmental consultants using industry-specific software. She supports the Pacific Symphony of Orange County both financially and in service roles. As a member of the Board of Counselors, she serves as Secretary of its Leadership Committee. She is also on the Youth Ensembles Board and is sponsor of the Café Ludwig chamber music concert series. She and her husband provide financial support for and
serve in the Compeer program of the Music Academy of the West Summer Festival in Santa Barbara. It was through the Summer Festival that she met Minyoung Kang, whom she followed through her advanced degrees in collaborative music, her fellowship at Yale, and her current role as Artistic Director of Kallos CMS. Dot is delighted to be part of her chamber music endeavor as a friend, donor, and Board member.
Dot Nelson
Maria Gabriella Landers is an entrepreneur, operatic soprano, and collage artist. She was born in Frankfurt am Main and raised in the United States. She studied Art History at Barnard College of Columbia University, then shifted her focus to opera performance. Ms. Landers is an avid concert soloist and has performed in opera galas and concerts of operatic repertoire in New York and Italy. She was a Gerda Lissner Vocal Competition winner, and fled to Italy to study Italian with her prize, never looking back. With her husband, she founded CIU Travel, a boutique Italian travel service that specializes in custom itineraries to Italy and Switzerland. She resides both in the Umbria region of Italy and New Haven, CT, where she is active in the Gateway Community College Foundation, immigrant relocation services with JCARR and is on the board of a new theater company, New Normal Rep. The Università per Stranieri in Perugia Italy named her an Ambassador of Italian Culture. She is also an Ambassador of the International Friends of Verdi in Parma, Italy.
Maria Gabriella
Landers
John Matthews
John Matthews was born and spent his early years in Leicester, UK, and was lucky enough to pursue an academic career at Oxford University, where he studied Greek and Roman literature and history, and where he was awarded his D.Phil. He has lived in New Haven since he joined the Yale faculty in 1996. and is now John M. Schiff Emeritus Professor in the departments of Classics and History. He is the author of several books and many research articles on the
cultural and social history of the Roman Empire, especially in its later period. He is Fellow of the British Academy, of the London Society of Antiquaries, and of the Royal Historical Society, and is an honorary D.Litt. of Leicester University. His interest in music stems from his early years at Leicester and was pursued in Oxford, where he was an active member of the music scene. High points of his
performance history include a school performance of Milhaud’s Scaramouche for two pianos, and performances at Oxford of Book II of Janacek’s On an Overgrown Path (which he remembers as being announced as On an Undergrown Path), and he was a répétiteur for a production of Britten’s Turn of the Screw. He is still a persistent but dissatisfied amateur pianist, with an annoying habit, to himself at least, of attempting music that he cannot quite handle in the time that he is able to give to it.
Veronika Grimm
Veronika Grimm was born in Budapest, Hungary, where she finished Gymnasium and for one year attended law school before leaving Hungary for the United States, where she was accepted by Wayne State University and graduated (as PhiBeta Kappa) in psychology, following this with a Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology from the University of Iowa. She has taught at Cleveland StateUniversity and, from 1972 to 1992 at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where
she was Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Human Nutrition, and is the author of more than 50 articles in Neuroscience and Behavioral Science journals. In the meantime she surreptitiously took classes in Latin and Greek, pursuing an earlier but still living interest in history and the ancient world, and this led to a radical change of direction when she was accepted to study for a D.Phil. in ancient history at Oxford. Her dissertation was accepted in 1995 and
published in 1996 as From Feasting to Fasting: the Evolution of a Sin. She came to Yale with John Matthews in 1996 (they married in North Carolina in 1995) and pursued research and teaching in her new field, often combining this with her insights and experience as a scientist. She is the author of a number of articles and reviews in the field of Roman Social History, and has taught courses on Religions of the Roman Empire, Greek Intellectuals under Roman rule, Graeco-
Roman Medicine, and Food and Diet in the Ancient World. Her love of music was formed in Budapest, where she more or less haunted the Opera House. Opera, combined with a distaste for so many modern directors of it, is still her main passion, but she has a love of all kinds of Classical music, and is totally overawed by Beethoven. Having lived in Stalinist Budapest, she has some trouble with
Shostakovich, but is making progress.
Jeffrey Alpert
Professional Educator Summary
Educator, administrator involved in “Cutting Edge Education” through participation in the Alternative Education movement, specifically Aquaculture and the Marine Trades: effectively planned, organized, developed and implemented learning programs for high school students. Successfully acquired educational grants for school innovative projects and administered those grants efficiently. Motivated faculty members and students to enhance students educational experience and improve student success. Encouraged the use of scientific equipment and experimentation through “hands-on” instruction as well as video production, the use of computers and software.
Present position
President of the New Haven Scholarship Fund
The New Haven Scholarship Fund is a 62 year old nonprofit that has provided financial assistance to New Haven public school graduates. The purpose of NHSF is lowering the cost of tuition while improving chances for program completion from colleges, universities and technical schools throughout the United States.
Passion for Classical Music
Introduction to classical music was initiated by my Grandmother who loved nature, cooking and had a passion for classical music. She introduced me to the New Haven symphony as a teenager. It inspired me to study clarinet hoping to be a member of an orchestra, but sadly this dream never materialized. Like my Grandmother I too have developed a passion for cooking, gardening, and listening to classical music.
Dr. Stefania Nicoli is a distinguished researcher at Yale University, recognized for her groundbreaking work in molecular biology and cerebrovascular studies. Her research integrates advanced modeling and imaging techniques, contributing valuable insights into vascular biomechanics and genetic influences on brain health.
Beyond her scientific achievements, Dr. Nicoli has a profound appreciation for music, especially the cello. While not actively playing, she finds inspiration in the dedication and discipline required to master such an instrument. This passion highlights her admiration for the beauty of music and the perseverance that parallels her approach to research, where artistry and rigor combine to push the boundaries of knowledge.