Curtis S. Long

President and CEO

Curt Long has served as President and CEO of the Rochester Philharmonic since September 1, 2017. He came to Rochester from the Alabama Symphony Orchestra where he spent nine years as President. His time in Alabama saw the ASO make its Carnegie Hall debut (at the 2012 Spring for Music Festival); release a limited-pressing recording of ASO commissioned works; engage Carlos Izcaray as its new Music Director; expand education programs both in greater Birmingham and in underserved rural communities throughout Alabama; and successfully present an inaugural Sound Edge Festival in February 2017.

Prior to moving to Birmingham, Curt Long held similar positions with the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra in Ohio for 14 years and with the Delaware Symphony Orchestra for two years. In Dayton, he collaborated with local arts and business leaders in the development of the visually stunning and acoustically superb Schuster Performing Arts Center. Long’s previous professional experience was in a very different field of entertainment--he spent five years working with a firm that managed Indy Car and Formula One automobile races.

A seasoned and respected orchestra manager, Curt Long has served as a grant panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as state and local arts grantmakers in Alabama, Ohio, and Michigan. Long has served as a consultant and mediator for orchestras across North America, and has been an invited speaker at the Annual Conference of the Regional Orchestra Players Association.

Curt Long graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a BA in English from the University of Chicago, holds an MBA in not-for-profit management from the University of California, Berkeley, and is an alumnus of the League of American Orchestras’ Orchestra Management Fellowship program. A native of Los Angeles, Long played Horn as an amateur but chose a career in music management rather than performance.

Curt Long and his wife Elizabeth live in Brighton, New York with the youngest of their three children, Mary.

Tyler Cervini

Manager of Content & Digital Marketing

Barbara Brown

Barbara Brown, Director of Education
The Lisk Morris Foundation Chair for Education

Barbara Brown joined the RPO in 2008 and was named Director of Education in 2012. As Director of Education, she is responsible for the management and implementation of all of the RPO’s educational concerts and activities. Additionally, she oversees and coordinates all aspects of the RPO’s community engagement programs. Barbara earned a BA/BM in Saxophone Performance, as well as a BA in Anthropology from the University of Washington. She came to Rochester to complete an MM in Saxophone Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music, where she was also awarded a Performer’s Certificate. Barbara still performs in the area with the Vertex Saxophone Quartet. She and her husband (RPO Clarinetist Andrew Brown) reside in Irondequoit along with their adorable dog, Birdie.

Robert Dermody

Vice President of Development, [email protected]

Rob Dermody is the Vice President of Development and works closely with the RPO Board and Leadership, to raise the necessary support for identified priorities. He manages a portfolio of approximately 150 relationships, creates fundraising strategies for all prospects, develops relationships with donors, solicits major gifts up to and exceeding one million dollars and coordinates effective donor stewardship. Rob cultivates relationships with VIP donors and external strategic alliances to maximize synergistic opportunities.

Matt Zager

Matt Zager, Director of Corporate Relations
Matt Zager grew up in a musical family and has been living in Rochester since 2000. He attended Roberts Wesleyan College where he received his bachelor's degree in Music Education. Prior to joining the RPO, Matt worked at the MCC Foundation as the Assistant Director of Development. He currently lives in Fairport with his wife, Jennifer, daughter, Charlotte, and golden retriever, Lucy.

Amy Gallaher

Amy Gallaher, Director of Development, Annual Giving & Special Events
[email protected]

Amy Gallaher comes to the RPO with over 15 years of special event and donor engagement experience.  A graduate of the State University of New York College of Technology at Delhi with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Hospitality Management, Amy came to the Rochester area in 1998.  Her past experience includes event support and program management at the Wilmot Cancer Institute at URMC, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, and immediately prior to joining the Development team at the RPO, she was the manager of special events and donor engagement at the Hillside Children’s Foundation where she also oversaw the Hillside Special Santa Program.  Amy lives in the town of Walworth (Wayne County), with her husband and three children.

Bryce Davis

Associate Director of Institutional Projects
[email protected]

Bryce Davis joins the RPO as a recent graduate of the University of Rochester, where he completed a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Music, cum laude. As Assistant Director of Institutional Giving and Stewardship, Bryce manages the RPO's Foundation and Government relationships. He is excited to have this opportunity to bridge business and art to help the RPO thrive in an ever-changing environment. Previous roles include Co-Host and Producer of the Careers Unfiltered podcast at the Gwen M. Greene Center and Event Producer for the Contemporary A Cappella Society of America.

Originally from a small town about an hour and a half south of Rochester called Wellsville, Bryce now lives in the City's 19th Ward. Outside of work, he can often be found cycling, hiking, and singing with his friends. 

Shanna Yerdon-Walker

Irene Narotsky

[email protected]