Cathy Lanigan - Executive Director - Founder
Cathy recently retired from a career in IT, most recently in solution development and sales enablement for a major software vendor, but her passion has always been music and in particular, choral singing. Her first experience singing in a choir was as a 4th grader in public school, when she joined the school choir and was immediately hooked. She holds an undergraduate degree in music education as a voice major from SUNY at Fredonia, and a Master’s degree in Computer Science from New York Institute of Technology. Cathy currently sings with a number of choirs and in addition to founding Viva Bach Peterborough and serving as President and Executive Director, she has served on a number of boards, including Monadnock Chorus, Zenith Ensemble, Music On Norway Pond, Grand Monadnock Youth Choir and Choral Arts New England. She enjoys gardening, spending time with her husband Steven and their family. They have a golden retriever named Bernie and 2 corgis named Duke and Billy.
Jackie Kahle - Vice President
Jackie is a retired tech marketing executive who currently volunteers with the Town of Wilton where she serves on the Economic Development Team, was past Treasurer of the Heritage Commission, and manages the town‘s website and social media programs. She served for 15 years on the N.H. State Council on the Arts, the last 6 years as Vice-Chair. She has served on the boards of Monadnock Music, Andy’s Summer Playhouse, Monadnock Chorus and the American Red Cross. She is a choral singer who has performed with the Monadnock Chorus, Norway Pond Festival Singers, Monadnock Chorus Chamber Singers, Great Waters Music Festival Chorus, Nashua Symphony Chorus, Monadnock Music Festival Chorus, and last year at the first Viva Bach Peterborough Festival. Prior to her retirement, Jackie was a Vice President of Marketing at tech companies such as Hewlett-Packard, Compaq Computer, Digital Equipment, Gartner and CA. She lives in Wilton in a circa 1770 house with husband and actor/director Michael Dell’Orto and rescue dogs Tillie and Gus.
Chester Bowles - Treasurer
Whether it was church choirs, school choirs, or community choruses, Chet can’t remember a time when he hasn’t been singing in a group of some sort. He attended Park College (MO) where he majored in music and education. He later earned his MBA from Missouri State
University. While at Park College, Chet met his wife, an alto, in the college touring group. Chet and Sue moved to NH in 1982 and immediately joined the Monadnock Chorus. Chet has served as Treasurer of the Chorus for a combined total of eleven years. In addition, both he and Sue served three-year terms as President of the Chorus. Chet sang with the Peterborough Chamber Choir from its inception in 1992 and now sings with the Chamber Singers of Keene. He was also appointed to a six-year term on the NH State Council on the Arts. Chet and Sue live in Sharon, NH. They have two sons and two grandchildren.
Henry Patterson - Development Director
Henry Patterson studied adult development and counseled Harvard College students, unusual preparation for a career as a restaurateur. The founder and owner/operator of six Boston area restaurants, Patterson employed over a thousand young adults who won the company nine Best of Boston Awards for various Italian specialties during the fifteen years of his leadership. Patterson is a critic of the American business community’s prioritization of short-term profit, advocating an alternative focus on job quality and slow, controlled growth. After selling Bel Canto, Patterson has remained in foodservice as an advisor to other operators and as a mentor to novice entrepreneurs. His foodservice incubator in Union Square, Somerville houses five restaurants and a cocktail bar. He resides with his wife Claudine Kaplan in Concord MA.
Debby Kaiser
Debby sang major choral works in school and college groups and then moved to Germany with her husband where she sang with the Bonn Philharmonic Chorus before starting a family and working primarily as a translator specializing in international politics. After 40 + exciting years in Europe, she and her husband Karl returned to the family home in Peterborough and its rich musical world, and Debby soon joined the Monadnock Chorus and Chamber Singers where she served as Membership Chair. She has studied voice and sung with Jody Simpson’s Music on Norway Pond, the Viva Bach Peterborough Festival Chorus, and recently joined the Monadnock Madrigalists. One of the greatest joys of this musical community has been the opportunity to host many young performers, a tradition begun by her parents in the 70’s hosting Monadnock Music musicians. Her work on many town committees, on the board of the Mariposa Museum in its formative years and with local conservation organizations has enabled her to develop deep connections in many different local communities.
In Memoriam
Rev. Olivia Holmes - Member of Inaugural Board
Olivia was part of the Inaugural Board for Viva Bach Peterborough, and we miss her terribly since her passing. Her energy and enthusiasm was an inspiration to us. Olivia was a Unitarian Universalist minister who lived in Temple, NH with her cat, Wiley. She sang all of her life. Early in her career, she worked at Kenyon & Eckhart Advertising. When she moved to New York City, she sang in the auditioned New York Choral Society under the baton of Robert DeCormier, also serving on the Board of Directors. Later, she sang with DeCormier again in the auditioned Burlington Symphony Orchestra Chorus. She sang with the Monadnock Chorus and their Chamber Singers since 2016, and has also sung with the Keene Chorale, the Zenith Ensemble, and the Norway Pond Festival Singers. She served the Viva Bach Festival Board faithfully as Secretary and sang with the Festival Choir for the first 2 years of the Viva Bach Peterborough Festival.