Karmen Peng, Treasurer

Karmen Peng joined the Palo Alto Philharmonic in 2016. Prior to her relocation, she was the principal cellist with Columbus Symphony Orchestra in Indiana, member of Columbus Indiana Philharmonic, and assistant principal cellist with National Taiwan University Symphony Orchestra. Originally from Taipei, Taiwan, Karmen was admitted to the prestigious pre-college division of National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU), majoring in piano and minoring in cello under rigorous music training for many years. Her trio ensemble won the 2nd prize of the National College Chamber Music Competition in Taiwan.

A certified accountant, Karmen received her business degree from National Taiwan University and an MBA from University of Maryland , and is now the Finance Director in a tech company. Classical music is still her passion and habit, and she feels extremely grateful that she can continue performing music with various ensembles outside of work. Karmen is committed to support and give back to the arts community and has been serving on multiple Boards in the past. 

Kyle Adler, Secretary

Kyle Adler began playing the trombone in the fifth grade. While an undergraduate at Harvard College, he performed with numerous ensembles including as principal trombone with the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra and the Harvard Bach Society Orchestra, with which he appeared as soloist in the Wagenseil Trombone Concerto. He studied trombone with Lawrence Isaacson of the Empire Brass Quintet and Per Brevig of the Juilliard School and the New York Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. After college, Kyle continued to play and perform actively as a trombonist in the Boston area and later in Philadelphia while a graduate student at the Wharton School. Relocating to the San Francisco Bay Area after finishing graduate school, he held a variety of management positions over a 26-year career with Hewlett-Packard. In 2016, Kyle switched careers to pursue his lifelong passion for travel photography. A recent winner of the prestigious international competition Travel Photographer of the Year and a finalist in National Geographic’s Travel Photography Awards, Kyle has had his work published in a variety of major outlets internationally and exhibited in the US and the UK. He leads photography tours and workshops in locations around the world. Married with two daughters, Kyle continues to play the trombone in Bay Area community orchestras and chamber ensembles. He is principal trombonist with the Palo Alto Philharmonic and the Foothill Symphonic Winds, having performed the Rimsky-Korsakov Trombone Concerto as soloist with the latter group. In addition to professional and musical pursuits, Kyle also enjoys hiking and worldwide travel with his family.

Geri Actor, Personnel Manager, Strings

Violist Geri Actor is a frequent contributor to several bay area musical groups, also as a pianist, keyboard player and percussionist. She has been principal violist of the Palo Alto Philharmonic for almost 24 years. To support her musical habits, Geri has worked in high-tech industries for over 30 years, principally in engineering, product development and program management; she has degrees in Physics and Materials Science, and is co-author of several patents and papers. Geri recently retired from the high-tech world, to concentrate on her musical activities, which also include teaching and gig management.

Lee Actor, Assistant Conductor and Composer-in-Residence; Music Committee Chair

Link to Lee's bio.

Annette Grot, Concert Coordinator; Marketing-Communications Committee Chair

Annette Grot joined the Palo Alto Philharmonic in 1994 after moving to the area to work at HP Labs. Having played the violin since elementary school, she enjoys the unique atmosphere of the orchestra's focus on classical music in a community setting. Annette is originally from Philadelphia, PA where she studied electrical engineering at the University of Delaware and the University of Pennsylvania. She then earned her PhD in electrical engineering from the California Institute of Technology. Music has always been an important part of her life, which she now shares with her husband, Geoff, and two school-age daughters, Emily and Allison. Annette joined the Philharmonic's Board of Directors to help with the operations and direction of the group.

Natalie Haworth-Liu, Fundraising Committee Chair

Natalie has been involved with the Palo Alto Philharmonic for over 12 years, holding both piccolo and principal flute positions, and appearing frequently as a soloist for chamber and Baroque music concerts. She is the Music Director at Monticello Academy in Santa Clara, CA, and her flute studio attracts some of the most talented and dedicated students in Silicon Valley.

Natalie received her Bachelor of Music Degree in Flute Performance from the University of Oregon's School of Music as a Ruth Close and Phi-Beta scholarship recipient, and has performed with numerous orchestras throughout Oregon and the Bay Area.

A passionate advocate for arts education, Natalie has worked extensively in Arts Administration and Educational Outreach with several Bay Area arts organizations, including, Ballet San Jose, Ballet San Jose School, sjDanceco, and the Ives String Quartet.

Natalie resides in San Jose with her husband, two sons, and two rescued Shih-Tzus.
 

William Chu, Marketing Committee Chair

Will Chu’s bio and photo will appear here soon.

Don Gunaratne, Board Member

Don Gunaratne joined the Palo Alto Philharmonic as a Board Member in 2019. Born and raised in Sri Lanka, he always had a passion for music. He completed his undergraduate studies with a major in Chemistry and minor in Business Management at the State University of New York in Plattsburgh. His PhD work at Penn State focused on the boundary of Physical Chemistry and Chemical Physics. After a stint as a postdoctoral researcher at the US Dept of Energy lab (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory), Don joined the semiconductor industry and is currently a senior process technology development engineer at Intel Corporation. He enjoys playing guitar, drumming and supporting the Philharmonic with event organization and marketing.

David Allen, Board Member

David Allen’s bio and photo will appear here soon.

Lily Tian, Board Member

Lily Tian’s bio and photo will appear here soon.

Alex Eremia, Board Member

Alexandra Eremia joined Palo Alto Philharmonic to be a bigger part of the Palo Alto community. She enjoys theatrical events at Lucie Stern and Mountain View Performing Arts Center and found ways to contribute her time to arts and culture in the Bay Area. Alexandra is Director of Product Management. Alexandra has a Master of Arts in Economics from University of California, Los Angeles and Masters in Business Administration from Quantic School of Business and Technology. She is an avid learner, constantly pushing herself to be better than she can be. Alexandra is passionate about artificial intelligence literacy, believing that artificial intelligence can be as approachable as taking the slope of a line.

Yvonne Kiat, Board Member

Yvonne Kiat’s bio and photo will appear here soon.