ABOUT US » Board of Directors

New Directors

Al Edwards retired from London Life as EVP and Actuary and is a graduate of the University of Waterloo.  Al and wife Susan are longtime residents of London and are active supporters of the London community.  Al sits as chair of the Fund Development Committee of Orchestra London.

Sherry Milne is a graduate of Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo with an Honours Business Degree Chartered Accountant, obtained designation in 1989. Professional experience includes being a Controller for various companies in the London area since 1986. Presently, Sherry is consulting with Padgett Business Services in London performing accounting services for numerous small businesses in London and the surrounding area. Sherry has always been a resident of London, (except while attending university in Waterloo). Sherry is a member of the Finance & Human Resources Committee of Orchestra London.

Jeff Pratt is a professional Accountant, currently employed with London Life Insurance Company in the capacity of Associate Manager, Corporate Internal Audit Services. Jeff is an active member of Orchestra London's Fund Development Committee. Jeff is a native of London, residing with his wife Natalie and two sons, Cameron and Charles.

Ailene Wittstein is the Executive Director of Merrymount Children’s Centre, 1994-present. Merrymount is a not for profit family support and crisis centre offering a range of family services and programs designed to strengthen and support family life and the well being of children. Merrymount gives immediate response to families in an emergency or crisis situation. Merrymount is an accredited Children’s Mental Health Centre.

Ailene is involved with a number of boards and committees in the community.  Her hobbies include sewing, weaving and spinning.  She is grandmother of four grandsons and one granddaughter.  Ailene is Past President of Orchestra London.

Janis Wallace is the media relations officer with the Don Wright Faculty of Music at the University of Western Ontario.  She received her Bachelor of Music (Honours) and Bachelor of Education from the University of Western Ontario.

Mary Douglas is a recently retired Principal with the Lambton Kent District School Board. She has been associated with the Chatham Kent branch of Orchestra London for the past 20 years, serving as president for the past 10 years.

David R. Canton is a business lawyer and trade-mark agent with Harrison Pensa LLP, which is a member of the Meritas international organization of law firms.  David's practice focuses on the business needs of technology companies and traditional businesses including technology and intellectual property matters such as licensing, technology transfer, privacy, e-business, software, the internet, and trade-marks.  David is co-author of Legal Land Mines in E-Commerce published by McGraw-Hill, writes a weekly column on Today’s Business Law in the London Free Press, and blogs on legal, business and technology developments at canton.elegal.ca and slaw.ca.  David is on the Internetwork London organizing committee, the Fanshawe College School of Information Technology College Advisory Committee, and is a member of the Canadian IT Law Association.

Returning Directors

Brent Kelman is a retired Canada Trust Executive.  In addition to his work with Orchestra London, Brent has served as a member of a number of boards in the Health Care field.

Joe Gilbert is a retired Physician and Hospital Research Administrator.  He is a lifelong fan of classical music. Joe’s special interest is in opera.  A particular area of study revolves about the music that is returning to the repertoire that was banned or buried during the reign of the Nazis and the Second World War.  Joe is pleased to be a member of the Orchestra London Board as the Orchestra is an essential element of the life of this city.

Richard Bain's landscape photographs have been widely published throughout North America and Europe. His previous photo collections include, Images of London with foreword by Peter Desbarats, Images of Waterloo County with foreword by Peter Gzowski; Niagara with foreword by Donald Ziraldo; the best seller “Stratford”, with text by Christopher Plummer; London with foreword by Bill Brady; The Thames, with foreword by Lloyd Robertson, Western with foreword by Kevin Newman; The University of Guelph with foreword by Roberta Bondar; McMaster University with foreword by Martin Short; London – People Parks and Places with foreword by Victor Garber;  Stratford - Dramatically Different with foreword by Colm Feore and Niagara with foreword by Trisha Romance. Richard, a graduate from the University of Western Ontario, attributes his time as a photographer at the student newspaper The Gazette as the reason he pursued photography as a career. He lives in London with his wife Joan, and together they have four children.

Krystyna Wojakowski is a physician, specializing in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Her love of classical music is lifelong. Krystyna is particularly interested in promoting classical music in the community, especially music education and appreciation for children.

David Luckock is a retired CIBC manager who has been a long-time supporter and patron of the Orchestra.  David sits as chair of the Finance & Human Resources Committee.

Lorne MacDonnell is Owner and Operator of a local windows and doors company, Lormac.

Joyce Thomas works as an employment and labour law lawyer at Polishuk Camman & Steele. She joined the Board of Directors in 2009 and is serving her second year with the Board. This year Joyce aims to attract new members of the community to the Orchestra to experience what it has to offer.

Lezlie Wolfe is a Self Employed Human Resources Management Consultant.  Lezlie is providing services for Bratton Consulting Inc; DBM Canada; and Netexpat Inc, in the areas of Strategic HR, Career, Expat Social Integration and Retirment Counseling, Performance Management, Policy and Program development, Compensation, Payroll and Benefits solutions for Individuals and Corporate Clients in both the For Profit and Not-for-Profit sectors throughout Southwestern Ontario.

Retiring Directors

Remo Di Cesare
Dr. Gary Ferguson
Anita Gilvesy
Chris Nath - Volunteer Committee
Fred Phillips – Musician Rep
Margaret Voorhaar – Musician Rep

Volunteer Committee Representative

Helen Gawley (co-chair) is currently Co-President of the Volunteer Committee for Orchestra London.  She is a retired London high school teacher.

Perry Clouston (co-chair). Currently, Co-President of the Volunteer Committee of Orchestra London, Perry became a member in 2002 and has served as secretary for several years.  She taught English as a Second Language at Fanshawe College for seven years before taking early retirement in 1995, having completed 30 years of teaching English at the post-secondary level both in Canada and the U.S.

Musician Representatives

Jeff Garrett is a section Cello player with Orchestra London.  Jeff has been with the Orchestra for 27 years.

Shawn Spicer is principal Trumpet player with Orchestra London.  Shawn has been with the Orchestra for 12 years.

Orchestra London Oversight Committee

Douglas Alexander
Geno Francolini
Janet Stewart

The following are proposed as officers of Orchestra London for the 2010-2011 fiscal year:

President and Chair of the Board Ailene Wittstein

Vice President and Chair of the Programming Committee Joe Gilbert

Vice President Finance and Chair of Finance Committee David Luckock

Chair, Fund Development Committee Al Edwards

Chair, Sales and Marketing Committee Richard Bain

Past President Brent Kelman

Annual Reports

To view the 2009-2010 Orchestra London Annual Report, please click here.

To view the 2008-2009 Orchestra London Annual Report, please click here.

To view the 2008-2009 Orchestra London Audited Financial Statements, please click here.

To view Orchestra London's 2008-2009 Finances in Pie Chart Format, please click here.