ADVISERS
Dr. Ervin Laszlo
We are honored to have Dr. Ervin Laszlo on the Board of Advisers, who provide guidance to the Choral Tales Project in matters relating to Culture, History, and Artistic Production..
Twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, the author of 70 books, and a tireless promoter of a new global consciousness, Dr. Laszlo is one of the great renaissance thinkers of our times.
He is generally recognized as the founder of systems philosophy and general evolution theory. Dr. Laszlo is an adviser to the UNESCO Director General, an ambassador of the International Delphic Council, and a member of the International Academy of Science, the World Academy of Art and Science, and the International Academy of Philosophy. He holds the highest degree in philosophy and human sciences from the Sorbonne, the University of Paris.
Dr. Laszlo is also the founder and head of the Club of Budapest, an international platform dedicated to facilitating and providing direction to a global shift toward a more just, peaceful and sustainable world. His regard for the Choral Tales Project arises not only from a shared perspective of humanity as one family, but also from his belief in the potency of the arts and his background as a classical musician. Dr. Laszlo has been an acclaimed international pianist, with six volumes of recordings to his name. We are grateful for the wisdom he brings to our project.
Dr. Paul McDowell
Cultural Anthropology. Santa Barbara, California
Paul McDowell, Ph.D., is the author of six college textbooks on anthropology, including Cultural Anthropology: A Concise Introduction, an ethnographic reader titled Cultures Around the World, and a topical reader titled Cultural Anthropology: A Targeted Reader.
Dr. McDowell has conducted fieldwork in Guatemala and published his findings in a number of conference papers. At Santa Barbara City College and several other community colleges across Southern California, he taught anthropology‘s various subfields – cultural, archaeological, linguistic, and biological – for more than 25 years.
Dr. KuanFen Liu
Choral Performance. California State University, Channel Islands (Camarillo, CA)
In spring 2004, KuanFen was part of the launch of Channel Islands Choral Association (CICA) and Channel Islands Chamber Orchestra (CHICO), both of which she directs. CICA is affiliated with California State University Channel Islands, and has singers from across Ventura County as well as faculty, staff members, and students from CSU Channel Islands. Channel Islands Chamber Orchestra features profes-sional musicians residing and performing in Ventura County. Under KuanFen’s leadership, CHICO provides four concerts and an annual Messiah performance.
KuanFen has been on the faculty of the Performing Arts program at California State University, Channel Islands since spring 2004, where she teaches music theory, music appreciation, and other performing arts related courses.
Originally from Taiwan, KuanFen began her piano and music theory studies at the age of five and pursued piano, violin and singing throughout her childhood. KuanFen holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Vocal Performance from Tunghai University in Taiwan, a Master of Music degree in Conducting from Eastman School, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Choral Conducting from Thornton School of Music, University of Southern California.
Dr. May Hofman
Choral Music. Geneva
Dr. May Hofman received her degrees in music from the Royal College of Music, London, and the University of Oxford. She was a professional singer with John Eliot Gardiner's Monteverdi Choir, later with the Lausanne Opera and with a number of professional chamber choirs, including Cantatio. She has also served as a choral director for the Foundation Choir of the International School of Geneva, and more recently for the Diamond Jubilee Gala Concert of H.M. Queen Elizabeth II. May is also the Director of George Ronald, Publisher Ltd, in Oxford, UK.
Dr. Linda DiMartino Wetherill
World Music. Adelphi University, New York - and Lucca, Tuscany, Italy
Linda Wetherill is founder/director of Counterpoint-Italy, an international competition and festival for chamber music based in New York. She also founded and directs the Lucca International Festival, located in the heart of Lucca in Tuscany, Italy, featuring workshops and performances of composers and chamber music from around the world. Counterpoint-Italy has had annual premiere performances to excellent reviews in New York City and Italy.
Dr. Wetherill is professor of Intercultural Music courses and Flute Studies at Adelphi University as well as a coach of the Flute Ensemble at SUNY Stony Brook, NY. She joined the faculty of Adelphi University in 1994, coming from Istanbul's celebrated Bosphorus University, where she was lecturer in World Music and Contemporary Music. During five years residence in Turkey, she also formulated courses in the History of Western Music for the Universities of Izmir, Istanbul and Ankara. Previously holding posts at the French National Conservatory, Philadelphia University of the Arts, Turkish Universities in Izmir, Ankara, and Istanbul, she has traveled worldwide as a cultural ambassador, and given artist master classes in major conservatories of Arabia, Austria, Argentina, Britain, China, Dubai, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Kuwait, Pakistan, Spain, The Netherlands, and Wales.
Dr. Siyamak Zabihi-Moghaddam
Historian. Western Washington University
Dr. Zabihi-Moghaddam holds a PhD in Middle Eastern history from the University of Haifa, Israel, and MA and BA degrees in history from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. He served for several years as a researcher at the Centre for the Study of the Texts in Haifa, Israel.
Dr. Zabihi-Moghaddam is currently visiting assistant professor at Western Washington University in Bellingham, USA, where he teaches courses on Islamic civilization, the modern Middle East, and women and gender in the Middle East. He is the author of a book and several articles published in peer-reviewed academic journals.
Dr. Randie Gottlieb
Multicultural Education. Heritage University, Washington
Dr. Randie Gottlieb is the founder of the UnityWorks Foundation – an international diversity training firm; co-founder of the Mona Foundation supporting grassroots educational development worldwide; and adjunct professor of Multicultural Education at Heritage University on the Yakama Nation Reservation.
A dynamic presenter, Randie Gottlieb has a unique background including work and travel in more than 30 countries, advanced academic credentials and over 20 years of practical experience. She earned a master’s degree in educational administration from Harvard and a doctorate from Boston University in instructional design. Her dissertation won the prestigious Ansin Intercultural Research Award.
Dr. Gottlieb served for almost a decade as Executive Director of the Heritage University EMPIRE Consortium, providing diversity training and assistance with multicultural program planning, implementation and assessment for K-12 schools in Central Washington. Under her leadership, EMPIRE was highlighted as a model program by the President’s National Initiative on Race; received the “Golden Apple Award” for excellence in education in Washington State; and was honored with the “Year 2000 Best Program Award” by the National Association for Multicultural Education.
Deborah Conow
Folklore & Mythology. Santa Cruz, California
Deborah Conow has taught mythology and film studies at Claremont High School, as well as drama, acting and video production at Harvey Mudd College and California State University, Fullerton.
She holds a B.A. in Drama from the University of North Carolina, Ashville, an M.A. in Educational Media from Appalachian State University, and an additional M.A. from California State University, Fullerton, in Professional Actor Training.
As a writer, Deborah has written a full-length play, a television screenplay, and two one-woman shows. As an actress, she has had over 50 performance roles in contemporary and classical theatre, including lead roles in The Lark (Joan of Arc) and The Diary of Anne Frank. She has also taken two one-woman shows on international tours. She currently serves as the Program Coordinator for the Bosch School, in Santa Cruz, California.
© Ludwig Tuman 2017