President

Following his graduation from the Settlement School in 1964, he joined the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. Leonard Hindell then became a member of the New York Philharmonic from 1972 until 2005.

Mr. Hindell has given solo recitals at Carnegie Recital Hall and at Merkin Concert Hall. His program often included new music for the bassoon composed for him by contemporary composers such as Alvin Brehm, Howard Rovics, Ludmila Ulehla, Charles Wuorinen, Ronald Roseman and Katherine Hoover.

Also active in chamber music, he appeared with outstanding chamber music ensembles in the metropolitan area; at Newport, Rhode Island; Marblehead Festival in Massachusetts and The Waterloo Music Festival in Stanhope, New Jersey. For ten years he was a member of the ‘Lark Woodwind Quintet.’

Mr. Hindell has taught at The Manhattan School of Music , Purchase Suny, and The Brooklyn College Conservatory of Music, as well as given Master Classes at NYU, Mannes, Peabody Concervetory, U. of Florida, Gainsville, U. of California, Fresno, Ithaca College Conservatory, Ball State U. and UMKC Conservatory. Currently, Mr. Hindell is on the faculties of the Mannes School of Music and the Steinhardt School of Music at NYU.

Vice President

Lisa Alexander is a freelance bassoonist and chamber musician in the NY, NJ and CT tri state area.  She holds positions with the Little Orchestra Society and has performed with the New York City Ballet Orchestra, the American Symphony, Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, and many others.  She has recordings with the New York Chamber Symphony and The Glickman Ensemble (bassoon ensemble). Lisa is Adjunct Professor of Bassoon at Hofstra University and maintains a private studio the in Englewood, NJ. Lisa is a great proponent of bassoon ensemble chamber music and in the summer of 2009 was invited to perform with the Glickman Ensemble at The International Double Reed Society Conference in Birmingham England. She received a Bachelor of Performance and Music Education from the prestigious Peabody Conservatory and a Master of Musical Arts from Queens College.

Secretary

Jill Dispenza is a freelance bassoonist in the Chicago Metro area. She holds a Master Degree from The Juilliard School where she studied with Loren Glickman and a Bachelors from the North Carolina School of the Arts where she studied with Mark Popkin.

Currently, Jill is principal bassoon with the South Bend Symphony in Indiana and with the Central City Opera Festival in Colorado. Previously, Jill has performed with the Memphis Symphony, Key West Symphony, Texas Opera Theater, Virginia Symphony and Opera, the National Symphony in Washington DC, and Wolftrap at the Barns Opera Orchestra. She has worked with conductors Leonard Bernstein, Jorge Mester, Sixten Ehrling and David Zinman.

Noted performances include the American Premiere of Benjamin Britten’s Glorianna and the World Premiere of the opera Gabriel’s Daughter by Mollicone, Jill has recorded for Newport Classics and several recordings with the Glickman Ensemble (bassoon chamber music) and has often been heard on National Public Radio broadcasts of the Central City Opera. 

Jill is also the Director of HIV & STD HUB/Hotline Resources at Center on Halsted, the most comprehensive LGBTQ community center in the Midwest.