EPSILON SPIRES BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Dr. Nick Brooke, Co-Chair President is a professor at Bennington College since 2004, Nick’s instrumental works have been performed by Talujon, Bang-on-a-Can All Stars, the Paul Dresher Ensemble, the Nash Ensemble of London, Orchestra 2001, Dan Druckman, Speculum Musicae, Sekar Anu, and New York’s Gamelan Son of Lion. His work has been performed across the United States and in Europe and featured at the Lincoln Center Festival, the Ecstatic Music Festival, the Spoleto Festival, and the MATA Series. Brooke has received awards and residencies from the Guggenheim Foundation, ASCAP, the Rockefeller Foundation, Djerassi, and the MacDowell Colony.During a two-year fellowship to Central Java, he studied gamelan and collaborated on musical projects with Javanese composers, dancers, and visual artists. He holds degrees in music composition and philosophy from Oberlin College and a PhD from Princeton University.
John Lightfoot, Co-Chair President is a resident of Brattleboro, John is active in the local nonprofit community. He has been involved with technology, lighting and sound since his youth, and is passionate about music. For the past four years he has been the President and Chief Engineer of WVEW, Brattleboro Community Radio, where he hosts a weekly radio show. During his time with WVEW he has focused on technology, fundraising, underwriting and governance, and helped the station secure over $35,000 in grants. He is currently the Chief Technology Officer for a healthcare IT company and is a Certified Broadcast Technologist by The Society of Broadcast Engineers.
Dr. Alexander Meszler, Vice President is an organist dedicated to interdisciplinary performance and research. He currently serves as Assistant Professor of Organ and College Organist at Luther College in Decorah, IA. With Kimberly Marshall, he is the General editor for a forthcoming online Encyclopedia of the Organ that will contain 4,000 articles about the organ. He has performed or presented at conferences of the European Association for the Study of Religions, The Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, the American Guild of Organists, and the Westfield Center for Historical Keyboard Studies. As a Fulbright recipient, he studied in Versailles, France and he holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Arizona State University.George Schmalz is a film industry veteran of nearly 25 years,
George Schmalz has worked in production (Kovarova, Wormwood Films); exhibition (Landmark Theatres); VOD (Sundance Now, Shudder); theatrical on demand (Gathr); crowdfunding (Kickstarter); and distribution (Oscilloscope Laboratories, Metrograph Pictures, and now through both his own company, Dekanalog, and at Kino Lorber, where he serves as Vice President of Repertory and International Distribution).
Jo Dery is an artist, filmmaker, and educator. She earned a BFA from RISD and an MFA from Goddard College, and has lived in Brattleboro for the past decade. Her creative practice is exploratory, but is rooted in drawing and writing. Her projects take myriad and hybrid forms. Each project takes the form that is most appropriate for its concept and content: a film, a book, an installation, a performance, or something new. In May 2026, she earned the title of Professor Emerita of Film Studies from Keene State College.
Marcia Bassett is an NYC-based musician and artist known for her innovative, unconventional approach to music. Her work explores sound collage, improvisation, and audiovisual environments. Working with electronics, guitar, and synthesizers, Bassett constantly pushes the boundaries of sound and image to create a heady interplay of otherworldly narratives that are equal parts trance and critique. She is currently the Head Archivist at the John Lennon and Yoko Ono Archive in New York City. From 2007 to 2012, she served as Head Archivist at Barnard College in NYC. With over thirty years of professional archiving experience, she has successfully managed large, complex archival projects across educational institutions, museums, galleries, and local government. Bassett studied at Tyler School of Art, Drexel University, and Rutgers University.