Mr. Larsen is in his nineteenth season as Music Director
of the Rockford Symphony. His tenure has brought both
local and national recognition to the orchestra. In
1999 he was named Illinois Conductor of the Year and
received a Mayor's Arts Award for Individual Achievement.
Maestro Larsen has worked with dozens of orchestras
in the United States and Europe, including the Opera
Theater of San Antonio, the Chicago Opera Theater, Lyric
Opera Cleveland, the Minnesota Opera, Michigan Opera
Theater, Light Opera of Chicago and the Netherlands
Radio Chamber Orchestra.
Jim Gingrich - Board President
Jim Gingrich retired from Hamilton Sundstrand, a division of United Technologies Corporation, in 2004. Although most of his career was in the finance and accounting field, he was President of Flight Systems business unit when he retired after 31 years of service in the aerospace industry. Today Jim serves on the Swedish American Hospital Board, the Winnebago Soil and Water Conservation District Board, and four for-profit company boards.
Jim and Carol celebrated their 42 wedding anniversary this year and have five adult children. Jim spent four years in the Army and graduated from Coe College, located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in 1974.
Julie Schaper - Executive Director
Ms. Schaper joined the RSO staff as Marketing and Development Director in December 2004 and assumed the position of Executive Director in November 2009. Before joining the RSO, she held marketing and promotion positions with Famous-Barr, a division of the May Department Stores Company, for the past nine years. Ms. Schaper received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications/Journalism from Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri, and a minor in Applied Music. Ms. Schaper is currently on the board of the Rockford Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.
