Martha Frommelt

Communications Volunteer, Retired

Martha Frommelt has volunteered for FABG since 2001 as a grant chair, in ad sales, as president and finally in communications.  Martha believes the arts are an important part of every child's education.  Opportunities can be lost without that school connection to arts education.  Often creativity is not valued in our society.  School is a great place where creativity can be explored and celebrated.

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Julie Hughes

Co-President 

Living in a community that values the arts makes me happy, and I feel fortunate that my kids have benefitted from arts education in the Ithaca City School District. I am involved with the Fine Arts Booster Group because I am passionate about ALL students having the opportunity to learn and grow in the arts which builds the foundation for a lifetime of rich experiences. FABG is a source of information for families, provides instruments for students, funds teachers’ projects, and advocates for the importance of arts education in the schools.

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Jasmine Wagner

Concert Program Coordinator

Born and raised in Michigan, music played a big part in my childhood.  I played flute and piccolo throughout my education and was a member of the Michigan Marching Band in college.  I worked for many years as an electrical engineer, but my main focus these days is raising my wonderful kids.

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Arts education provides an amazing depth of experience.  Students develop a huge range of skills —  memorizing lines, creating artwork, or playing an instrument, of course, but also understanding and expressing the range of human emotions, working as a team, and managing the anxieties of performance.  It is a pleasure to support the excellent teachers who teach our kids these skills.

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Alice S. Wu

Co-President 

Parent, volunteer, teaches international students at Cornell University. 

 

My children both enjoyed a variety of arts activities both in and out of school, while they were students in the ICSD, including band, choir, musical theater and dance.

 

I feel it is very important for kids to have a variety of creative activities with which to express themselves, and studies have also shown that participating in the arts is good for children's general education and well-being.  I am happy to live in a community with so many great arts opportunities for all ages!

Christine Henseler

Vice-President and Web Designer

When I was a kid, I used to draw, paint, and make almost every day. Then I grew up and thought I couldn't get a job in the arts. That's when I became a professor at Union College. Twenty years later, I advocate and work to make sure the next generation follows their talents and passions.

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I am volunteering at FABG because I don't want any child to think they can't pursue a successful career through the fine arts. In fact, I would claim (and I'm stickin' to it!), that the arts are absolutely essential to the future of humankind. And I believe that they are especially important for our future scientists, engineers and technologists.  The fine arts serve as a balance. They remind us of our humanity. They give expression to our experiences, our feelings, our traumas, and our values. The arts connect us to one another, and they drive our future in ways that remind us of our plurality and humanity.

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Charlotte Ghiorse

Minutes Taker, Cheerleader, Fundraiser

I grew up in Ithaca NY. & after 23 yrs in NYC moved back in 2014 to raise my kids here. I am a full-time multi-media artist: I make paintings, installations, ballgowns, rapsongs and short films. State Museum of NY, De Kooning Collection.

 

As a non-academic and artistically talented kid, the arts literally saved my life. My best year at IHS had a Marching Band. We had Band Camp and travelled all over the southern tier.  Then I went to (L)ACS, and Met my first Mentor who told me

I could write about whatever I wanted to. This was Life Changing. I am 100% behind the FABG, & the services offered to our community.

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