Community Music School – Lehigh Valley & Berks (CMS) is pleased to announce that Vicki Ferrence Ray of Allentown was elected to the CMS Board of Directors by unanimous vote on January 22, 2024. Ferrence Ray will serve a three-year term with the 42-year-old Allentown nonprofit that provides access and inspiration for anyone in our diverse community to achieve excellence in music education and appreciate the transformative power of music.
Vicki Ferrence Ray is a nonprofit executive and consultant with twenty years of nonprofit experience at the senior and executive levels. Most recently, she served as the Executive Director and Compliance Officer and Equality and Inclusion Chair (DEI) of Cadets Arts and Entertainment, Inc., the oldest and most honored continuously operating drum and bugle corps in North America. As a consultant, she has advised nonprofits in the areas of executive function, risk management, corporate compliance, human resources, program development and management, youth safety, policy development and implementation, board development and management, training and policy enforcement, and mandatory reporting. In addition to her extensive nonprofit, government, and business experience, she and her husband, Dr. Adam Ray, an emergency physician, are the proud parents of two long-time CMS students. Liam (trombone) and C.J. (tuba) are former students of Nick Conti and current students of Matt Blanchard at CMS. Both boys are very active in the Parkland High School music program and were recently selected for PMEA Region V Band. Vicki holds a B.A. in Political Science and Sociology from The Pennsylvania State University, a Master of Governmental Administration from The University of Pennsylvania, and is currently a candidate for a Ph.D. in Administration and Leadership Studies at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
The CMS Board’s Officers for the 2023-2024 fiscal year are President: Michael Yeager, Retired CEO, Community Insurance Company; Vice President: James Warfel, Ed.D., Retired Educator; Treasurer: Tom Fenstermacher, Retired CFO, Hospital Central Services, Inc.; Secretary: Mark Stein, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Muhlenberg College. Directors: Laura Attieh, Attorney, McAndrews Law Offices; Andrene Brown Nowell, Founder & Executive Director, Fine Feather Foundation, Inc. & President, Allentown School Board; Carmen Flosdorf, Vice President, Commercial Banking, Peoples Security Bank & Trust Company; Michael Horvath, Attorney, Gross McGinley LLP; Gregory Kuhn, President & CEO, Omega Protective Services, LLC; Mary Hahn, Vice President of Health & Wellness, Bell & Evans; David Livert, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Penn State Lehigh Valley; Kathleen Matthews, Retired Sr. Director of Business Ethics & Compliance, PPL; Bill Moyer, President, West Region & Allentown Campus, St. Luke’s University Health Network; Elyse Pillitteri, Shareholder, Fitzpatrick Lentz & Bubba, P.C; Vance Powers, Chief Financial Officer, Long Ridge Energy Terminal; Ellen Roberts, Retired Volunteer & Community Activist; Vicki Ferrence Ray, Non-Profit Executive & Consultant; Dail Richie, Retired Executive Director, Berks Youth Chorus & CMS faculty member; David Yeager, Retired Assistant Vice President, Guardian Life Insurance. Faculty Representative: Joe Wagner, CMS teacher of guitar, composition, & recording.
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About CMS: Community Music School (CMS) – Lehigh Valley & Berks is a nonprofit charitable organization that provides the inspiration and opportunity for anyone in our diverse community to achieve excellence in music education and appreciate the transformative power of music. CMS employs 25 professional teachers who provide private lessons and group classes to over 300 students of all ages, from toddlers to seniors, in piano, strings, brass, woodwinds, percussion, voice, and recording technology; both in-person and online. CMS offers introductory group classes, such as Kindermusik, Kids Choir, Modern Band, Intro to Piano, and Intro to Recording that provide music fundamentals, while Jazz Band and House Band ensembles offer collaborative free performance opportunities for intermediate and advanced students.
Thanks to support from our philanthropic community for over 40 years, CMS has provided students in the Lehigh Valley with the life-long benefits of a quality music education and free performance opportunities. In 2023-24, CMS expects to fund over $85,000 in need-based financial aid to 55% of our students under age 18.
Our main office and studios are located in the former Lehigh Valley Social Club at historic 1544 Hamilton Street in Allentown, PA where we offer 12 lesson rooms of varying sizes, a unique parent lounge, early childhood room, music library, administrative offices, state-of-the-art recording studio, and a 150-seat recital hall. Our CMS Berks satellite studio is located in Reading, PA at GoggleWorks.
Learn more at https://cmslv.org/.