Staff

Ashlee allaire - youth orchestra and education projects manager

Ashlee Allaire joined the RPO team in September of 2023, and now serves as the Youth Orchestra and Education Projects Manager, where she oversee all RPYO activities and assists in the execution of the RPO’s extracurricular educational programs. Prior to this role, she was the Assistant Patron Services Manager, where her passion for elevating the patron experience successfully helped her manage the Patron Services Center and play a vital role in ticket sales during the RPO Centennial Season.

Ms. Allaire has an extensive background in music education and percussion performance. For ten years, she’s taught various ensembles - such as the Tallahassee Youth Orchestra, the FSU Summer Music Camps, and as an assistant Percussion Director in multiple Florida Public Schools. Ashlee continues to pursue teaching, as she currently serves as a percussion instructor for The Hochstein School & The Roberts Wesleyan University Community Music School.

In pursuit of intermittently performing, she is a founding member of the Call Street Percussion Quartet, who is dedicated to the advancement of percussion chamber music, through collaborative commissions and innovative performances. Ms. Allaire holds a Masters of Music from Northwestern University, as well as a Bachelors in Percussion Performance with a minor in education from Florida State University. She’s originally from the Tampa Bay area and loves hiking, rock climbing, and spending time with her cat, Molly.

Dr. Chisato eda marling - Interim Vice President of Education/Director of Education and Community Partnerships

Dr. Chisato Eda Marling joined the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra in February 2022 and currently serves as Interim Vice President of Education and Director of Education & Community Partnerships.

In her role, she leads the management and implementation of all RPO educational concerts and initiatives, overseeing a comprehensive portfolio of community engagement programs, including the Care & Wellness Initiative, Around the Town Concerts, summer park performances, and strategic partnerships throughout the Greater Rochester community. She also spearheads the continued development and expansion of OPUS (Orchestra Program for Urban Students), ensuring its long-term sustainability and impact.

Dr. Marling began studying piano at age three and saxophone at age eight. She holds a Bachelor of Music in Saxophone Performance from Musashino Academia Musicae in Tokyo, Japan; a Master of Music in Saxophone Performance from the University of Minnesota; and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music, where she also completed a minor in Musician’s Wellness and earned an Arts Leadership Certificate.

An active performer, she is a founding member of the Vertex Saxophone Quartet and is a Vandoren Performing Artist.

NATHAN CLARKE - 25/26 EASTMAN INTERN

Nathan Clarke is a 20 year old Jamaican-American oboist, woodwind Specialist Educator, jazz/classical saxophonist, and pilot . He started his craft of woodwind doubling in Orlando Florida when he attended Dr. Phillips High school for Performing arts in 2020. Alongside his music studies, He was Dual-enrolled at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University where he earned his Unmanned Aircraft Certificate and his Private Pilot certificate at the Air Force Flight Academy.

He is currently a third year student studying Oboe Performance at the Eastman school of Music where he studies with Richard Killmer. Here, he is an oboist and english hornist in the internationally acclaimed Eastman Wind Ensemble and Eastman Harmonie under the direction of Mark Davis Scatterday. He is an extra with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, and The Florida Orchestra.

Aside from the oboe, Nathan is a jazz reed player and has played in the pit orchestra for many shows in Orlando and Rochester Area as well as jazz ensembles at Eastman the Jazz Studio Orchestra.