Dear Friends,
As Kneisel Hall’s new Executive Director, I am thrilled and deeply honored to be entrusted with the health of this cherished cultural asset. I have a deep respect for the profound impact Kneisel Hall has had on generations of some of the world’s most influential musicians.
My ties to Kneisel Hall go back four generations. My husband’s grandmother, Lillian Fuchs, honed her musical talents right here on Pleasant Street before becoming a lifelong faculty member. After her, my mother-in-law, Carol Stein Amado, and her twin sister, Barbara Stein Mallow, both did the same. Continuing the tradition, our youngest daughter, a violinist, looks forward to participating each summer in the Kneisel Hall Program for Maine Students.
My first exposure to Kneisel Hall was hearing all about the wonderful summers spent there by my Juilliard classmates. As a violinist, I had the privilege of coaching with many Kneisel Hall faculty members while in school in New York.
I first came to Blue Hill shortly after my time at Juilliard when my husband and I would spend a week or two each summer visiting family. We’d rent a big house, and our extended families would descend. Those weeks eventually grew into months. When our twins entered the sixth grade, we moved to Blue Hill and spent three wonderful years as full-time residents. During those years, I served on the boards of Bagaduce Music and the Friends of the Blue Hill Library. I also developed a deep love and respect for this hard-working and supportive community.
Though we moved away after those three years, we have continued to spend our summers in Blue Hill. Perhaps it was the perspective those summers provided that allowed me to see a new path for my own growth. After a varied and rewarding career as a violinist, I felt the need to embark on a new adventure. The pandemic was the impetus for me to define and act on that new adventure: I earned my MBA with a concentration in nonprofit leadership. Most recently, I worked as the Program Manager for Bagaduce Music. I am absolutely delighted to be able to connect my passion for music with my love of Blue Hill—held tightly together by my commitment to keeping Kneisel Hall the wonderful bastion of chamber music that it has been for over a century.
I look forward to seeing you this summer and sharing a love for great chamber music on Pleasant Street!
Last, click here to read the letter, from Jeff Kehl, President of Kneisel Hall’s Board of Trustees.
-Meredith