About

Susan Pardue is a member of the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra in Jacksonville, Florida. Prior to moving to Jacksonville, she played with the New World Symphony in Miami. A native of North Carolina, she earned a high school diploma and bachelor of music degree from the North Carolina School of the Arts and a master of music degree from the Juilliard School. Her viola teachers have included Sally Peck in North Carolina, William Lincer at Juilliard and Piero Farulli, with whom she studied in Italy on a Fulbright scholarship.

Ken Hecht graduated from the University of Hartford with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA.  Early in his career he worked in business planning for Hamilton Standard, a fortune 500 company, specializing in alternate energy sources.  In 1983, he joined United Speaker Systems (USS) and in 1990 became its President. After the company’s sale to MSE Audio in 2006, Ken continued as the President of USS, in addition to V. P. of Research and Development for all MSE companies.

Ken has served on the board of the Consumer Electronic Association’s (CEA) Audio Division and chaired the CEA’s International Committee. He was a member of the Audio Engineering Society’s (AES) Loudspeaker Technical Council and served on the Professional Audio/Video Retailers Association’s (PARA) Manufacturer’s Advisory Board. He served on the UNF College of Education’s Deans Education Advisory Council as a member, Vice Chair and Chair. He now serves on the Florida Chamber Music Projects board as Vice President.

During his career, Ken has designed hundreds of products in the consumer, automotive, commercial and professional sound markets.  He has developed audio electronics and speakers, networked audio, wireless transmission of sound and theater audio/video; both for MSE brands and major electronics companies around the world.

Jacksonville Symphony violinist Patrice Evans is originally from Cleveland Ohio. She began her violin studies in the fourth grade as part of a public school music program. Upon entering high school, she became a scholarship student of Cleveland Orchestra members Richard Roberts and Steven Majeske. She won a full tuition scholarship to Florida State University where she studied with Eliot Chapo. She joined the Jacksonville Symphony in 1989. Always eager to give back in honor of the people that taught her, Patrice is very dedicated to music education, teaching in the Jump Start Strings program at S.A. Hull and Pickett Elementary Schools.

Judy Kouri was raised in Gainesville and Jacksonville. She earned a Bachelor of Music degree from Jacksonville University and a Master of Arts in music performance from the University of Iowa. Judy played professionally for 25 years, including 14 years as a full-time member of the Jacksonville Symphony, where she and Susan Pardue were colleagues in the viola section. Her second career was with Bank of America, where she retired after 25 years of service. Judy has 3 grown children and 6 grandchildren and lives in Jacksonville Beach. She is active in her church at St. Paul's by the Sea and enjoys practicing yoga, tai chi and swimming laps at the Y. Judy's happy place is NYC where she can attend concerts, operas, and plays and visit museums while visiting family nearby.

Caroline Pittari is a retired Music Therapist and Music Educator. As the former Director of Project Crescendo at the Academy of Community Music in Philadelphia, Ms. Pittari supervised the school's music therapy and music education programs for students aged 2-21 years old. Caroline holds certifications in the Suzuki Method of piano instruction, Kindermusik, and Early Childhood Music + Movement.  She has worked extensively as a direct service provider in special education and Head Start classrooms with children of varying developmental levels and needs, devoted to her belief in the power of music to heal, instruct, inspire, and communicate.

A skillful pianist and accompanist, she holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Florida State University, with graduate degree studies at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, CA. Early on in her career, Ms. Pittari resided overseas in Italy, serving as piano accompanist for a multinational choir based in Florence.

Caroline grew up in a large musical family of Italian-Irish descent and has been enlivened by folk and classical music for almost as long as she can remember! An invitation to join the board of FCMP in 2018 was welcomed, and Ms. Pittari soon found her board niche focusing on student audiences and community outreach. She and her husband Kurt Marasco have been residing on Amelia Island, Florida since 2015.

Charlene Vincent has served as President of the Board since January 2022, and as Vice President for three years prior to that. Other volunteer experiences include serving Habitat for Humanity International as a Global Village Team Leader. After relocating to St. Augustine from Boston, Charlene held a position as Family Services Manager for Habitat of St. Johns County, and served as a member of the homeowner selection committee for three years.

Musical experiences include singing with the auditioned Harvard Summer Chorus, Sanders Theatre, Cambridge and the Chatham Chorale on Cape Cod, as well as private study at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston.

Charlene holds dual Master’s degrees in theology and conflict resolution from Boston University and has authored two books under the pen name, Marie Laure. For the past decade, Charlene has been a group facilitator of writing groups through the Osher Institute for Lifelong Learning at the University of Florida and University of Southern Maine.

Jim Stuck joined the Board of Florida Chamber Music Project in 2016 because he recognized its potential to become a serious force in providing quality classical chamber music in his community.

He’s volunteered and/or been a Board Member at Beaches Community Kitchen, Beaches Emergency Assistance Ministry, Beaches Council on Aging, Meals on Wheels, Pablo Towers and Pablo Hamlet Senior Living Communities, First Coast Foundation for Seniors, Jax Hope Inc., Florida Chamber Music Project, and St. Paul’s by-the-Sea Episcopal Church.

He lives in Jacksonville Beach with his wife, Beverly.

Jim is a retired Chemical and Environmental Engineering Research and Development Director.  Prior to his retirement he worked at various times with Olin Corp., Union Carbide, Rhone-Poulenc and The University of Florida.

Ann Marie Grymes, formerly from Princeton, New Jersey,  has had a passion for music since childhood, and throughout her life has performed as a soloist, as well as performing with sacred and secular choral groups. A graduate from Jacksonville University with a degree in music education, she began her career as an elementary music teacher in Duval county providing programing for over 4500 students. Along with her music skills, additional expertise includes business liaison management, process management, project management, and vendor management as a former AT&T and Merrill Lynch executive.

Most recently she held the position of Music Administrator for Christ Episcopal Church in Ponte Vedra Beach. This included all aspects associated with the execution and preparation of music offerings and special events. Ann Marie’s professional associations and activities include past President of Jacksonville University Fine Arts association, Leadership in the Justice Ministry network (ICARE), past President of Duval County Music Teachers, and Phi Kappa Alpha Honorary Educational Fraternity.

Sloane Wood Long is excited to be joining the board! Originally from North Carolina, she received degrees in Vocal Performance and in Music Education. Sloane has both choral and solo singing experience in church, as a waitress, in the recording studio, and in musical theatre. She has most recently joined the Jacksonville Symphony Chorus.

While in North Carolina, Sloane taught K-5 music for over two decades. Sloane enjoyed producing student performances with singing, drama, riser choreography, and various instruments. Her Orff and World Music Drumming certifications helped her include all students in creating music together. Sloane enjoys mentoring and collaborating with educators. Years before the pandemic, Sloane was on the web, maintaining an online learning management system with music resources she created. She also maintained a classroom website that was later selected by Blackboard to be used for marketing and training purposes. Sloane created a Holiday Sing Along curriculum that reflected her students' multiple languages and cultures, and later was a presenter of this curriculum at the Cabarrus County Schools Global Education Summit.

Sloane's non-profit marketing experience includes creating social media content, conducting audience surveys, and ad sales for student productions. She is currently a Senior Tax Analyst with H&R Block.

Sloane is happy to be working with her childhood friend Susan for the Florida Chamber Music Project!