THE BJSO Board of directors
President: Larry Arft is the former City Manager of Beloit, having served from 2003 – 2015. He is the recipient of the Ken Hendricks Community Spirit Award presented by the Greater Beloit Chamber of Commerce, and the Beloit Daily News Headliner Award. Larry is an active member of his community, and is a member of long-standing of the Beloit Rotary Club.
Vice-President: Cori Olin is currently the Development director for the YWCA of Rock County in Janesville, WI. Previously, she held the position of Resource Development Director of the Beloit Boys & Girls Club, and prior to that, was the Executive Director of the Milton House Museum.
Secretary: Kara Purviance was born in Janesville, WI and has resided in Rock County for most of her life. She has had a love of music since she was a child. She began performing in Spotlight on Kids at the age of 8 and continued to perform in various musicals through high school. As a senior in high school, she began to study classical voice through a private teacher. As a Beloit College music major, she continued her training in voice and piano. Kara enjoys performing choral music and has done so with numerous academic and professional groups. Some of her favorite pieces she has performed include: Brahm’s Requiem, Faure Requiem, and Russian Liturgical pieces. Ms. Purviance is currently teaching Science at McNeel Intermediate in Beloit, WI. She enjoys serving on the BJSO Board and supporting the Arts in our community.
Treasurer: John Rapp is an emeritus professor of Political Science at Beloit College, having retired in May 2019 after 33 years of teaching comparative politics at Beloit. A son of two professional musicians, he has had a lifelong love for classical music. He designed and constructed the website in honor of his late father’s life in music, at robertmrapp.org, including posts of his father’s choral and vocal recordings (including duets with John’s mother, Dorothy Davies Rapp), compositions, and scholarly works. John has also presented talks on works by Sergei Rachmaninoff for concerts in Beloit, Washington D.C., and Evansville Indiana. He also produced and hosted summer radio programs on WBCR on the music of Rachmaninoff. He has sung with the Beloit Masterworks Chorus in Rachmaninoff’s Vespers and in the BJSO concert presentation of Puccini’s Turandot. He has an extensive classical music collection on vinyl, cassettes, and CD’s and DVD’s and has been privileged to hear concerts of some of the world’s greatest conductors and soloists, including Andre Previn and the LSO, Leonard Bernstein guest conducting the National Symphony Orchestra, Sir George Solti and the CSO, Robert Shaw and the Atlanta Symphony, the Berlin Philharmonic in Berlin, and the second to last recital of Arthur Rubinstein, plus numerous soloists and conductors at concerts at Ravinia and elsewhere.
Musicians' Representative: Joe Kania is the BJSO Principal Clarinetist. Joe has played with the BJSO since 2004. He plays in numerous regional orchestras and music groups. He is a resident of Avalon, WI and is currently employed by Dannon North America.
Vice-President: Cori Olin is currently the Development director for the YWCA of Rock County in Janesville, WI. Previously, she held the position of Resource Development Director of the Beloit Boys & Girls Club, and prior to that, was the Executive Director of the Milton House Museum.
Secretary: Kara Purviance was born in Janesville, WI and has resided in Rock County for most of her life. She has had a love of music since she was a child. She began performing in Spotlight on Kids at the age of 8 and continued to perform in various musicals through high school. As a senior in high school, she began to study classical voice through a private teacher. As a Beloit College music major, she continued her training in voice and piano. Kara enjoys performing choral music and has done so with numerous academic and professional groups. Some of her favorite pieces she has performed include: Brahm’s Requiem, Faure Requiem, and Russian Liturgical pieces. Ms. Purviance is currently teaching Science at McNeel Intermediate in Beloit, WI. She enjoys serving on the BJSO Board and supporting the Arts in our community.
Treasurer: John Rapp is an emeritus professor of Political Science at Beloit College, having retired in May 2019 after 33 years of teaching comparative politics at Beloit. A son of two professional musicians, he has had a lifelong love for classical music. He designed and constructed the website in honor of his late father’s life in music, at robertmrapp.org, including posts of his father’s choral and vocal recordings (including duets with John’s mother, Dorothy Davies Rapp), compositions, and scholarly works. John has also presented talks on works by Sergei Rachmaninoff for concerts in Beloit, Washington D.C., and Evansville Indiana. He also produced and hosted summer radio programs on WBCR on the music of Rachmaninoff. He has sung with the Beloit Masterworks Chorus in Rachmaninoff’s Vespers and in the BJSO concert presentation of Puccini’s Turandot. He has an extensive classical music collection on vinyl, cassettes, and CD’s and DVD’s and has been privileged to hear concerts of some of the world’s greatest conductors and soloists, including Andre Previn and the LSO, Leonard Bernstein guest conducting the National Symphony Orchestra, Sir George Solti and the CSO, Robert Shaw and the Atlanta Symphony, the Berlin Philharmonic in Berlin, and the second to last recital of Arthur Rubinstein, plus numerous soloists and conductors at concerts at Ravinia and elsewhere.
Musicians' Representative: Joe Kania is the BJSO Principal Clarinetist. Joe has played with the BJSO since 2004. He plays in numerous regional orchestras and music groups. He is a resident of Avalon, WI and is currently employed by Dannon North America.
MEMBERS AT LARGE
Carol Fosshage is a Janesville resident and a former elementary school vocal music teacher. She was a music copyist and executive assistant for BJSO’s conductor Dr. Crawford Gates. Her community affiliations include the MacDowell Music Club, the AAUW, and the Sigma Alpha Iota. Carol hold a Lifetime Membership on the Board.