The Music Academy of the West has announced its 2026 Board officers and the appointment of six new Board Directors.
Board officers began their terms on Jan. 1, 2026, while new directors began service on Sept. 16, 2025.
Returning for a second year as Board officers are Chair Danner Schefler, Vice Chair Susan Lichtenstein, and Secretary Daniel Dokos.
“This is a defining moment for the Music Academy of the West,” said Schefler, Music Academy Board Chair, per an official press release. “With fresh perspectives, we are advancing bold ideas, expanding access to music education, and building for the future—especially as we expand into downtown Santa Barbara with the Academy’s Music Education Center—ensuring the Music Academy remains a vital cultural force in Santa Barbara and beyond.”
Additionally, the Academy also welcomes six directors to its Board. They include Robert Boghosian, PhD, Janet Garufis, Cheryl Golberg, Charles Read, Peter R. Taffae, and Joost Thesseling.
Boghosian, PhD, is a retired pharmaceutical and diagnostics executive who previously held senior leadership roles at Johnson & Johnson, Dade-Behring Diagnostics, Elan Pharmaceutical, and Beckman Instruments. Meanwhile, Garufis is President and CEO and Chairman of Montecito Bank & Trust and returns to the Board after previously serving from 2016 to 2019. Goldberg is a technology executive and philanthropist and the Founding Contributor to the Music Academy’s future Music Education Center through a $20 million gift honoring her late husband, Michael Goldberg. Read is an attorney specializing in energy and public utilities who has previously served on the boards of the Music Center and the Colburn School in Los Angeles. Taffae is a retired insurance executive and founder of ExecutivePerils, Inc., and Thesseling is the Founder and CEO of SevenUnited Group and a former board member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source operawire.com ’
