Executive Director
Cori Somers was appointed Executive Director of the Bach Festival of Kalamazoo in August of 2015. Ms. Somers is dedicated and passionate about managing programming and the implementation of an annual Festival Week and BachFest Concert Series. She is a creative community organizer and engages and enjoys in planning and program development for education and outreach initiatives. With more than 15 years of experience in arts administration, she is a seasoned administrator with broad experience in marketing, development, finance, operations, and educational programming.
Prior to joining the Bach Festival, among her many accomplishments, she has served with distinction within the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra as Director of Educational Partnerships. In addition, she is the Artistic Manger and violinist for the Red Sea Pedestrians and has served at other arts organizations in Michigan including Fontana Chamber Arts, The Gilmore Keyboard Festival, and the Crescendo Academy of Music. Cori has been a very active member within the performing arts community of Kalamazoo since the late 90's. She is an established violinist and a member of the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Somers obtained both her BA in 1999 and her MM from WMU in Violin Performance in 2002.
Cori Somers
Meet our Staff
Grace Gheen
Director of Choral Operations and Donor Relations
Grace Gheen has been part of the Bach Festival Society during the summers since 2016 as an Advertising Sales Director. She was hired in February 2019 in her current position, working as the Chorus manager, oversees publicity and marketing, donor relationships and gifts, and helps coordinate the Festival's many educational outreach events. She also assists with grant writing and season development. She has been a member of the Bach Festival Chorus as a proud Alto since 2015. Grace also works for Kalamazoo Public Schools as an Adult Education Teacher.
Grace received her BA in Anthropology and Psychology from the University of Michigan; her M.Ed. from The Ohio State University; and her M.B.A. in Nonprofit Management from Cleary University.
Linda Van Dis
Director of Patron Services
Linda Van Dis has been affiliated with the Bach Festival since 1997. She sang alto in the Festival Chorus before leaving the risers for the Festival office in 1999 . Linda manages the box office and ticket sales, .
Linda received her bachelor's degree from Kalamazoo College and earned a master's degree in art history from Michigan State University.
