Board of Directors

2022-23 Board of Directors

Joseph Sorge, Artistic Director
He/His
Joe first joined VLOC in February 1996, when he went on stage as Count Raoul de St. Brioche in The Merry Widow. He is responsible for starting the September concert series, bringing rarely performed works to the Fitzgerald stage, such as Mlle. Modiste, The Desert Song, Naughty Marietta, The Grand Duke, and John Philip Sousa’s operettas Desirée, El Capitan, The American Maid, and The Charlatan . He has also broadened the repertoire of VLOC in its fully staged productions outside the standard Gilbert & Sullivan canon by introducing works by Offenbach (La Belle Helene, La Vie Parisienne), Strauss (The Gypsy Baron), and Donizetti (The Elixir of Love). In 2011, Maestro Sorge was awarded “Best Conductor” for The Mikado at The Gettysburg International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival. On December 23, 2012, Maestro Sorge took the podium as a guest conductor at the annual Messiah Sing-Along at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Joe has now conducted all 13 existing Gilbert & Sullivan operettas ... many more than once.

Bill Rogers, President
He/Him
Bill spent 24 years as a commissioned officer in the Coast Guard and has extensive experience at sea performing law enforcement, search and rescue, and military operations. When not underway, he had leadership roles in strategic planning, human resources management and organizational process assessment. Since retiring in 2008, he has worked as a defense contractor. He has appeared in every VLOC production since The Yeomen of the Guard in 2014 and has led set construction, load, and strike since 2015. Previously, he spent 7 years volunteering with the Musical Theater Center as a set builder and production run crew and has sung in 10 different church choirs since 1978 (the Coast Guard kept moving him).

Helen Aberger, Vice President
She/Her
Helen first engaged with VLOC in Summer 2013 and has since been an assistant director, choreographer, chorus member, and most recently stage directed Princess Ida. She graduated from University of Miami's Frost School of Music with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music and a minor in English, her principal instrument being oboe. She has been a fundraiser for non-profit arts organizations including Florida Grand Opera, Studio Theatre, Washington Performing Arts, and currently works as Development Operations Manager for Round House Theatre. See her work at www.helenabergerdirector.com.

Stephen Brown, Treasurer
He/Him
Stephen has been singing in choirs for many decades - both in the UK where he lived until 1994, and the USA (most recently with American University chorus.) However, he has been involved in operetta only since the fall of 2019 when he joined the VLOC chorus as Pirate of Penzance. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant and tax practitioner in the UK before moving to the USA to complete a PhD at Northwestern University. He subsequently researched and taught accounting professor at Emory University (in Atlanta) and the University of Maryland - from where he is now retired. He is also happy to (at last) put his undergraduate degree in Engineering Science to some use while assisting with the construction of VLOC sets.

Ross Capon, Secretary
He/Him
Ross is a native of Newton, Massachusetts. Music composition major at University of Illinois (Urbana/Champaign) but after a semester switched to international affairs (history major; economics, music minors). Led Rail Passengers Association from 1975-2014, now president emeritus. Since 2014, he was a Washington Representative for American Association of Private Railroad Car Owners, VLOC pianist / string bassist. Completed orchestrations of overture, opening number, finales in Sousa's Chris and the Wonderful Lamp. From research at Library of Congress, recreated first ending in Bohemian Girl Act II finale, enabling VLOC to replicate intense beauty of Bonynge's recording. Created piano part for the "Godfrey" ending to Gondoliers overture. Did surtitles for Gypsy Baron.

Bonnie Barrows
Bonnie has played violin since the fifth grade, sung in choirs and served as a cantor in area churches for over 30 years, and played as a member of concert and pit orchestras (including Damascus Theatre Company, Potomac Theatre Company, Rockville Music Theatre, and Har Shalom Players) for almost as long. She has had the pleasure of playing as part of VLOC's orchestra since around 1986. Over the past several years, she has provided support as a musical director (including composing and arranging music) and assistant director for several local community theater productions. She and her husband, Tom Jameson, are avid Halloween fans, build props from scratch, and set up a memorable yard display to entertain the ToTs (trick or treaters) every year.

Michael Beder
Michael Beder grew up in Montgomery County, graduating from Winston Churchill High School (where he got his first significant exposure to the theater). He returned to the D.C. area after college and soon entered Georgetown Law. More importantly, he joined the Georgetown Gilbert & Sullivan Society, where he stage managed four shows, has worked as an ASM and/or on the lights crew for many more, and even performed a few times, in addition to serving a year as the group's Tech Director and two years as an alumni representative on the GG&SS board. With the encouragement of GG&SS members with VLOC experience, he tried out for VLOC's 2015 production of Ruddigore, was fortunate enough to be cast as one of the Sirs Despard, and has been delighted to continue performing with the company - and serving on the Board - since then. He remains a bit miffed that no one told him about VLOC in all the years he grew up in the area and has tried to spread the word, including through some of the videos available on VLOC's YouTube channel offering a peek behind the scenes of some of the company's recent productions. By day, he is a communications lawyer.

Blair Eig
He/His
Blair has been performing with VLOC for over 20 years and has been the company’s president for the past 10 years. Blair has led VLOC in the development of its strategic plan under which the company has significantly expanded its repertoire and community outreach. Other VLOC accomplishments during this time have been the merger with The Forgotten Opera Company and development of a firmer financial base. It’s been an incredible group effort and he’s been honored to be on the ride. Outside of performing, building sets and his VLOC board work, Blair does have a family - a wonderful 40-year marriage, three great children and five grandchildren- and a job - formerly the Chief Medical Officer for Holy Cross Health and currently President & CEO of Maryland Patient Safety Center. He has a medical degree from Harvard Medical School and a Masters of Business Administration from American University.

Erica Ferguson
She/Hers
Erica Ferguson is a soprano, voice teacher, and emerging opera director. As a VLOC member, she directed the virtual production of A Gilbert & Sullivan Drawing Room, and has performed in the title roles of Iolanthe and Princess Ida. In her 2021-2022 season, Erica directed Carmen at Loudoun Lyric Opera and assistant directed for Amanda Consol's production of Sunder, a world premiere at the Maryland Opera Studio and Annapolis Opera. She received her Masters in Opera Performance from the Maryland Opera Studio at the University of Maryland. During her time at UMD, Erica directed productions of Signor Deluso and Down in the Valley for the student-run opera company, OperaTerps.

Bob Gudauskas
He/Him
Bob has been a resident of Rockville for over 10 years after moving from his hometown of Glastonbury, CT. Starting out as an auto salesperson just out of high school, Bob then focused on a career as an IT manager before finding the perfect fit as a sales executive for a tech company in Gaithersburg. Bob joined VLOC in 2017 with his first exposure to Gilbert and Sullivan in The Mikado, and has since performed in many more productions with the company.

Catherine Huntress-Reeve
He/Her
Kate came to VLOC in 1997, directing a double bill of Trial by Jury and The Sorcerer. Since then, she has served as stage director or music director for numerous VLOC productions, including HMS Pinafore, Haddon Hall, Orpheus in the Underworld, Magic Flute, Die Fledermaus, The Gondoliers, and Ruddigore. She has conducted VLOC "run-outs" including holiday and civic performances. She serves as Assistant Minister of Music at All Saints Church in Chevy Chase. Kate holds a Bachelor's of Music in Vocal Performance, and a Master's in Vocal Performance and Conducting, both from the University of Michigan. By day, Kate is often found in a middle-school classroom, where she subs long-term in math, science, and (of course) music. She is married to David Reeve, a crackerjack stage manager when his day job permits. They have two daughters, who were raised in the way of G&S.

Amanda Jones
Amanda has been involved with VLOC since 2013 when she joined the ensemble of Iolanthe. Since then she has been in 10 stage productions and has served on the board of directors for 5 years. She lives with her husband and daughter in North Bethesda, MD. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Vocal Performance from The College of William and Mary. She holds Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Nursing from Johns Hopkins University. When not on stage, she works full time as a Nurse Practitioner at The National Institutes of Health, studying rare lung diseases.

Sarah Robinson
She/Her
Sarah first performed with VLOC in 2019 as an ensemble member in Princess Ida. Since then she has appeared in four additional productions, including the first all-virtual A Gilbert & Sullivan Drawing Room film, where she proudly made a cameo as Queen Victoria. Always willing to sew a tear or hem a costume backstage, she also recently assisted with costume construction for Iolanthe. A native of Maryland, she spent 10 years out of state collecting engineering degrees, including a B.S. in Applied & Engineering Physics from Cornell University, and a M.S. and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where she sang frequently with the Baroque Artists of Champaign Urbana (BACH) and Cappella Orpheus. She is deeply grateful for the warm community and fulfilling musical experiences that VLOC provides.

Sterling Washington
He/Him
Sterling holds a B.A. in Political Science from The George Washington University and a B.Mus. in Music History and with a Voice minor from Howard University, where his teachers were Charlotte Holloman and Dr. James Moore. Currently, he studies voice with soprano Margaret Stricklett. Sterling is the Tenor Section Leader/Soloist at National City Christian Church and is a member of K4, a local bluegrass band. Recently, he performed in two productions for Try It Out Theatre: Faye McCray’s “Just Pretend” and “Silence Night” by Christopher Kess. Sterling made his VLOC debut in January 2021 as Samuel in “A Gilbert and Sullivan Drawing Room.” Outside of music and acting, Sterling is Head of Client Success for IOREX Global Company, a startup company.

Denise Young
She/Her
Denise Young is a Washington, DC native; attended the University of Maryland studying voice before stumbling into banking as a career. At present she is a branch office administrator for a branch of a national investment company. She has always spent her spare time performing and designing costumes for a variety of groups around the DC area but her theater home is VLOC. Denise’s introduction to VLOC was as a costumer and replacement Grisette in the 1996 production of The Merry Widow and has been involved in every show but two since – as costumer, producer, performer, even stage manager once.

Tom Zebovitz
He/Him

Past & Present Board Members

Helen Aberger
Erika White Abrams
Bob Ashby
Rishabh Bajekal
Bonnie Barrows
Kathy Barry
Michael Beder
Ed Blau
Gail Bock
Tim Briceland-Betts
Jenny Craley Bland
Keely Bosworth Borland
Gordon Brigham
Stephanie Brigham
Bill Brown
Felicity Ann Brown
Audrey Chang
Lynne Clafin
Laura Cline
Jacy D'Aiutolo
David Dubov
Helen DuPont
Tony Dwyer
David Ehrhart
Blair Eig
Les Elkins
Frances Fleming

Lisa Fisher
Diana Fortuna
Susan Frampton
Gaye Freese
Lisa Freese
Sheryl Friedlander
Shirley Friedman
Thomas Fuchs
Michael Galizia
Larry Garvin
Tom Goode
Greg Grenier
Barry Grinnell
Ira Haber
Rebecca Henry
Leta M. Hall
Jim Hummel
Donna Jaffe
Lyle Jaffe
Ralph Johnson
Amanda Jones
Courtney Kalbacker
Linda Kirk
Peter Kline
Michael Kostrzewa
Alexa Kuhn

Helene Kram
Kate Kawniczak
Carol Leahy
Syril Lessans
Harvey Levine
Robert Levey
Edith Livingstone
Malinda Lloyd
Ron Lloyd
Todd Allen Long
Jane Maryott
Mary Sue Merritt
Stevie Miller
Josh Milton
Constance A. Morella
Gina Nowacki
Barabara J. Omohundro
Deborah Peetz
Gary Pricer
Amy Rauch
Catherine Huntress-Reeve
Jon Riley
Bill Rogers
Maureen Roult
Carla Rountree
Sandy Rovner

Rosalie Santilhano
Shirley Santilhano
Marion Scodari
Andrew Sheets
Roberta Smit
Madeleine Smith
Melanie Smith
Dawn Snyder
Joseph Sorge
Wendy A.F.G. Stengel
Julie Stevens
Gary Sullivan
Rusty Suter
Mollie Toms
Guillaume Tourniare
C. Ed Vilade
Edward Walker
Sterling Washington
Stephen D. Welsh
Kiersten Whitehead
Meghan Williams
Ed Wiot
Kent Woods
Denise Young