Staff

Mary Steffek Blaske, Executive Director

mary@a2so.com

Mary Steffek Blaske is the A2SOs Executive Director. Her responsibilities include fundraising, marketing, concert public relations, concert-related educational programs, and concert production as well as overseeing A2SO staff in the execution of these activities. Ms. Steffek Blaske is a highly skilled director with over twenty years of managerial experience as well as an extensive musical background as a performer and through work with the University Musical Society and other community musical events.

Lori Zupan, Business Manager

lori@a2so.com

Lori Zupan is responsible for tracking and managing the Symphonys finances, as well as coordinating ticket sales and concert production. She has been on staff the longest, having joined A2SO administration in 1988. Ms. Zupan has been an active board member of various arts organizations since 1980, and is herself an accomplished musician. Her organizational talents, enviable aptitude for figures, and deep involvement and experience in the arts make her an invaluable part of the A2SO.

Glenn Bugala , Marketing Director

glenn@a2so.com

Glenn Bugala  is responsible for the A2SOs marketing, communications and public relations. He manages The Dead Composers Society , a cool group for Symphony fans 21-39. Mr. Bugala has over ten years experience in graphic design, web design and business management. He comes to the Ann Arbor Symphony from Omnex, Inc., a multinational business quality consulting firm in Ann Arbor , where he served as Communications Director. Glenn Bugala has also been heavily involved with the Ann Arbor Civic Theatre as a Board member, director, performer and designer for the past decade. He has an MFA from Purdue University and a BA from the University of Michigan .

Laura Dunbar, Education and Outreach Director

laura@a2so.com

Laura oversees the A²SO's activities for the younger members of our audience. She has served as instructor, recruiter and marketing associate for The Cathedral Choir of Metropolitan Detroit; she was a Youth Choir director for St. Paul's Episcopal in Rochester, New York; and she has been involved in choruses from New York to Michigan. She has a BA in Music (Voice) from the University of Rochester, and she is working toward an MBA from Eastern Michigan University.

Guy Barast, Development Director 

guy@a2so.com

Guy Barast oversees the A²SOs corporate and individual giving programs, produces special events, develops grant proposals, and serves as the liaison to Board members who assist with these efforts. Guy comes to the A²SO from Shore Mortgage where he spent six years as an Executive Loan Officer. Guy has a tremendous music background from his 11 years as Assistant General Manager of SKR Classical and plays French horn and piano.

Gregg Emerson Powell, Personnel Manager 

greggshay@aol.com

Gregg Emerson Powell oversees Personnel Management for the A2SO. He has a BA in Psychology and Economics from U-M. After graduating, Gregg convinced world-famous double bass teacher Lawrence Hurst to take him on as a student after only a year of lessons, and the rest is history. Gregg plays Principal Bass in the A2SO and is a member of the Flint Symphony Orchestra, Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra, Michigan Chamber Symphony Orchestra, and Michigan Sinfonietta.

Tom "Kit" Weber, Librarian

kit@a2so.com

As librarian, Kit is responsible for acquiring, organizing, editing, and distributing all of the sheet music the Symphony plays. Kit Weber has a Bachelor's of Music from Illinois State University and a Master in Music Performance from the University of Michigan. In addition to playing French Horn with the A²SO and several other regional orchestras, he served as Library Assistant for the UM Ensembles Library, Orchestra Manager for UM's University Symphony Orchestra and Library Assistant for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.