Our Leadership

LONJ Founders

William Corson (Co-Founder, Vice Chair) served as the company’s most frequent stage director. For 20 years he produced and/or directed over 60 mini-shows ranging from Gypsy to The Barber of Seville. Additionally Bill has directed over a dozen full length productions such as The Pirates of Penzance and Thoroughly Modern Millie. A former member of the New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players (NYGASP), Bill is a G&S enthusiast but with a wide range of musical theater background. He is a graduate of Colgate University and once led their well known men’s a cappella group, The Colgate Thirteen. Although still active as LONJ Trustees Bill is now retired living in Woodstock, VT where he serves as a Village Trustee, Vestry member of St. James Church, Trustee of Pentangle Arts and President of the Woodstock VT Pickleball Club.

Lauran Fulton Corson (Co-Founder) is an accomplished coloratura soprano who has performed a wide variety of well-known roles throughout the USA, including Marie (Daughter of the Regiment), Gilda (Rigoletto), Adele (Die Fledermaus), and Lucia (Lucia di Lammermoor). Lauran is a graduate of the University of Michigan and holds a B.M. and M.M. in Voice performance as well as attending The Juilliard School in Opera training. She has worked alongside her husband Bill for over twenty-five years as Artistic Director of Light Opera of New Jersey. She provides vocal instruction to serious amateurs and professionals and has held many master classes and workshops on the mature voice. While remaining active members of the Board of Trustees, Lauran and Bill are happily retired in the beautiful Village of Woodstock, Vermont.

William Corson (Co-Founder, Vice Chair) served as the company’s most frequent stage director. For 20 years he produced and/or directed over 60 mini-shows ranging from Gypsy to The Barber of Seville. Additionally Bill has directed over a dozen full length productions such as The Pirates of Penzance and Thoroughly Modern Millie. A former member of the New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players (NYGASP), Bill is a G&S enthusiast but with a wide range of musical theater background. He is a graduate of Colgate University and once led their well known men’s a cappella group, The Colgate Thirteen. Although still active as LONJ Trustees Bill is now retired living in Woodstock, VT where he serves as a Village Trustee, Vestry member of St. James Church, Trustee of Pentangle Arts and President of the Woodstock VT Pickleball Club.

Lauran Fulton Corson (Co-Founder) is an accomplished coloratura soprano who has performed a wide variety of well-known roles throughout the USA, including Marie (Daughter of the Regiment), Gilda (Rigoletto), Adele (Die Fledermaus), and Lucia (Lucia di Lammermoor). Lauran is a graduate of the University of Michigan and holds a B.M. and M.M. in Voice performance as well as attending The Juilliard School in Opera training. She has worked alongside her husband Bill for over twenty-five years as Artistic Director of Light Opera of New Jersey. She provides vocal instruction to serious amateurs and professionals and has held many master classes and workshops on the mature voice. While remaining active members of the Board of Trustees, Lauran and Bill are happily retired in the beautiful Village of Woodstock, Vermont.

LONJ Executive Director

Jason C. Tramm is delighted to be named as Executive Director of the Light Opera of New Jersey. He has been hailed as a “conductor to watch” by Symphony Magazine and “filled with Italianate passion” by the Huffington Post. Maestro Tramm’s work in the operatic, symphonic and choral realms have received critical acclaim throughout the United States and abroad. He also currently serves as the Director of Choral Activities at Seton Hall University (where he was named the 2017 University Faculty Teacher of the Year), Director of Music Ministries at the Ocean Grove Great Auditorium, Artistic Director of the MidAtlantic Artistic Productions, and Principal Guest Conductor of the Long Island Concert Orchestra.

As a guest conductor, he has led performances in Italy, Romania, Hungary and the Czech Republic. He is the host of Music Matters with Jason Tramm, a podcast that explores artistic innovation under extreme circumstances, as seen through the eyes of distinguished artists. Music Matters can be seen on YouTube and heard on Spotify, Apple and Google Podcasts and is aired on Saturdays from 11:30- Noon on WMCA Radio in NYC!

Jason C. Tramm is delighted to be named as Executive Director of the Light Opera of New Jersey. He has been hailed as a “conductor to watch” by Symphony Magazine and “filled with Italianate passion” by the Huffington Post. Maestro Tramm’s work in the operatic, symphonic and choral realms have received critical acclaim throughout the United States and abroad. He also currently serves as the Director of Choral Activities at Seton Hall University (where he was named the 2017 University Faculty Teacher of the Year), Director of Music Ministries at the Ocean Grove Great Auditorium, Artistic Director of the MidAtlantic Artistic Productions, and Principal Guest Conductor of the Long Island Concert Orchestra. As a guest conductor, he has led performances in Italy, Romania, Hungary and the Czech Republic. He is the host of Music Matters with Jason Tramm, a podcast that explores artistic innovation under extreme circumstances, as seen through the eyes of distinguished artists. Music Matters can be seen on YouTube and heard on Spotify, Apple and Google Podcasts and is aired on Saturdays from 11:30- Noon on WMCA Radio in NYC!

LONJ Board of Trustees

Michael Baruffi (Treasurer) has been performing with LONJ for several years and is a member of the Board of Trustees. Michael is retired from the Mars/Wrigley company where he served 29 years in Cash Management, Budget and Planning and Sales Forecasting roles. He holds a BA in Political Science from Penn State University and an MBA in Finance from Rutgers University. Michael is also a member of the Summit Chorale, the Hackettstown Community Band and is very involved in Music Ministry at Resurrection Parish in Randolph, N.J. Michael resides in Randolph with his wife Rebecca.

Laura Farmer is delighted to join the Board of LONJ. Ms. Farmer has sung a wide range of soprano roles including Norina (Don Pasquale), Adele (Die Fledermaus), Josephine (HMS Pinafore), Monica (The Medium), Gretel (Hansel & Gretel), Yum Yum (Mikado), Cleopatra (Giulio Cesare), Magnolia (Showboat), Marzelline (Fidelio), Frasquita (Carmen) and Marie (Breaking Bad – premiere) with companies including Des Moines Metro Opera, Natchez Music Festival, Tulsa Opera, Opera Iowa, One World Symphony, Montclair Operetta, and Liederkranz Opera. With the NJ Oratorio Society, Ms. Farmer sang the lead soprano roles from the Creation and the Messiah. Internationally, Ms. Farmer performed Giulietta (I Capuleti e i Montecchi) in a tour of the Czech Republic and Giulia (La Scala di Seta) in Teatro di Pacini (Tuscany). Ms. Farmer was a finalist in the National Opera Association competition. Following graduation from Yale University, she appeared in jazz a cappella concerts with Whim’n Rhythm in a nine-country tour of the Far East and was featured on Korean national television and radio. On the business front, Ms. Farmer is the President of Opus Strategy, LLC, a boutique firm focused on strategic and competitive intelligence consulting to the life sciences industry (www.opusstrategy.com).

Shari Loe, 67, returned to the Board of Light Opera of New Jersey in May 2022 after a break from July 1, 2019-21 to concentrate on her role as President of the Board of Trustees of Morristown Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. Shari is a retired attorney who worked in-house at AT&T for 28 years. She graduated with a BA in Political Science from Yale in 1977 and obtained her law degree from New York University Law School in 1983. An Army brat who has lived in France, California and Virginia but identifies as Texan from her family’s roots there, and having lived in Houston from age 12 through college, she comes from a musical family, sings in her church choir when she can, and has loved story-telling and theater all of her life. Her daughter Sarah Bernadette Matsushima, who was honored to be a member of the LONJ company in her teens, has moved on to become a professional singer-songwriter with degrees from Berklee College of Music and New England Conservatory. Shari is forever grateful that LONJ nurtured Sarah’s talent and held her to the same high standards as adult members of the company. Shari continues to serve as an active volunteer in her congregation, including being co-chair of its Capital Campaign which has raised almost $8M over the past 8 years to support a building project. A mother of three and grandmother of two, she enjoys reading (especially science fiction and fantasy, science, African-American and Womens’ Studies), and lives in Whitehouse, NJ with her husband, David Matsushima and their black Lab, Gigi. She’s working on becoming a patio gardener at their new townhouse.

Mary Lynne Nielsen (Secretary) is the director of business operations at the IEEE Standards Association, helping to create technical standards that establish global interoperability and portability for today’s technology. She directs IEEE’s events, membership, and awards administration programs, offering thought leadership, planning, and execution to manage activities and relationships with a variety of internal departments and external organizations. Mary Lynne graduated from Indiana University—Bloomington with a BS degree, with high honors, in music (voice performance) and journalism. She also completed executive education at Cornell University. Mary Lynne has performed extensively in the NY/NJ/PA area in situations as diverse as concertizing at Lincoln Center to appearing in local television broadcasts in Philadelphia. She also serves on the board of Friends of Music at St. Paul’s, supporting the Steeple Concerts musical performance series in Westfield, NJ.

David D. Simon has performed several roles with LONJ, including the Chairman in The Mystery of Edwin Drood, The Judge in Trial By Jury, and the comic baritone role in the Savoy Faire outreach troupe. David has been performing and directing musical theater and light opera for over 30 years with various groups in New Jersey and New York. David earned his JD from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and his BA from the University of Pennsylvania. By day, David manages attorney professional development at an international law firm. He lives in Berkeley Heights with his wife and his twins, Hunter and Hailey.

Heath Weisberg (Chair) is General Counsel of CAM Capital, a single family office and investment firm, and the Kovner Foundation, where he is responsible for legal, regulatory, and compliance matters. His legal and business experience extends to investment management, private funds, and mergers and acquisitions. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Private Investor Coalition. Heath earned his JD, cum laude, from New York University School of Law and his BA, cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania, with distinctions in Music and Philosophy. He began performing with LONJ in 2016, joined the Board of Trustees the same year, and has been serving as Interim Chair since 2019. Heath lives in Short Hills with his wife and three children (four, counting the dog).

LONJ Production Board

Lois Buesser (Vice President, Principle Pianist) has been with LONJ as pianist and music director since 2004. A graduate of Oklahoma City University, she has performed in NY, NJ, OK, MO, NC, Europe and Asia. Lois was organist at St. Mark’s Basking Ridge for 15 years. She works as a collaborative pianist at William Paterson University, Temple Sinai in Summit, NJ schools, and is music director for area theatre productions. Her solo concerts entertain audiences with a potpourri of Classical, Broadway, Ragtime, and her own Musical Memory Medleys.

Tom Donelan is a long-standing member of LONJ, having appeared in The Gondoliers (Antonio), Trial by Jury (Counsel), The True Story of Cinderella (Third Hermit), Footloose (Rev. Shaw Moore), The Mikado (Pish Tush), The Pirates of Penzance (Samuel), Amahl and the Night Visitors (King Melchoir, King Kaspar), and Lovin’ Cole. He recently appeared in a New Play Reading Festival with The Growing Stage originating the roles of Caruso (a singing dolphin) and Monsieur Cocteau in Letters from Lisette by Claudia Haas. Tom has also been a member of the New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players professional repertory company since 1996, performing nearly the entire G&S canon. Tom served as scenic designer for Thoroughly Modern Millie and also assisted with scenic design for other recent productions (The Barber of Seville, Sweeney Todd, Die Fledermaus). Tom is a proud co-founder of the LONJ outreach ensemble, Savoy Faire, which performs at various venues throughout northern New Jersey. By day, Tom works in IT for New Jersey City University, and resides in Whippany with his wife Donna Lee and daughter Sophia who are also active in LONJ.

Chris Dzerovych is the President of the Production Board. A graduate of Clark University (BA) and Boston College (MBA), Chris now volunteers on a regular basis for arts and environmental organizations. She was a Co-Producer for Die Fledermaus and has assisted with grant applications and props and set design on several productions.

Rider Foster being a life-long lover of music, has performed both as a chorister, conductor, and soloist throughout his life. A former student of Thomas Faracco at Westminster Choir College, he was a member of internationally-recognized Westminster Choir under the direction of Joe Miller, and of the Emmy-Nominated Williamson Voices under the direction of James Jordan. He has also participated in two recordings under the auspices of Westminster Choir College’s ensembles, along with myriad performances, most notably with NYC Opera, and with similarly prominent conductors and orchestras. He is the founding director and conductor of Clarum Sonum, which is an entirely volunteer choir dedicated to the performance of new music and collaboratively enriching local music programs both sacred and secular. He is also chorus master for Light Opera of New Jersey.

Beth Amiano Gleason graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York, where she studied the Stanislavsky acting technique. Beth has directed, choreographed and performed with numerous area theater groups. She was nominated for two Rising Star Awards by The Papermill Playhouse as a director and as a choreographer, and awarded the Fred Scheff Theater Award from Stony Hill Players.

John Lamb has been a member of LONJ since its earliest days, having sung in the first and nearly every subsequent production of September Song, every production of OPERAgious!, many productions of Amahl and the Night Visitors, several Plays in the Park, and many Savoy Faire shows. He performs with a number of local ensembles, including Harmonium Choral Society, The Early Music Players, and The Eclectic Consort. He is a soloist and the bass section leader at Christ Church in Short Hills. John holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Virginia and a Masters of Electrical Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology. A former member of technical staff at Bell Telephone Laboratories and Telcordia Technologies, he is LONJ’s webmaster and technical factotum. John lives in Randolph with his wife Kristine, who has made many appearances in LONJ pit orchestras playing flutes and recorders.

Amy Liu (2nd Vice President) has spent several years as LONJ’s stage manager. She has worn many hats behind the scenes in box office, crew, house management, sound design, and other roles with theater and concert companies. Professionally, Amy is a Client Executive with Marsh USA, working with the firm’s global risk management clients and colleagues. She is an EMT with the Long Hill First Aid Squad and she has a BA in Economics from Cornell University.

Rick Morley is the rector of St Mark’s Church in Basking Ridge, where Light Opera of New Jersey has been in-residence since its inception in 1995. In addition to being an Episcopal priest, Rick has been seen in LONJ productions since 2011 including Amahl and the Night Visitors, The Magic Flute, Orpheus in the Underworld and has made appearances in several September Song musical revues. Rick also creates many of the graphic art illustrations for LONJ performance programs and promotional materials.

Rick Morley is the rector of St Mark’s Church in Basking Ridge, where Light Opera of New Jersey has been in-residence since its inception in 1995. In addition to being an Episcopal priest, Rick has been seen in LONJ productions since 2011 including Amahl and the Night Visitors, The Magic Flute, Orpheus in the Underworld and has made appearances in several “September Song” musical revues. Rick also creates many of the graphic art illustrations for LONJ performance programs and promotional materials.

Jerry Moses has been designing and building sets for many New Jersey theater companies since 1994. For LONJ, Jerry was responsible for set construction of Thoroughly Modern Millie in 2014 , Barber of Seville and The Mystery of Edwin Drood in 2017, Daughter of the Regiment in 2018, Cosi fan Tutte in 2019, and Die Fledermaus in 2020.

C. Paige Porter (Secretary) is an active performer and voice teacher in the greater NYC region. She has been performing with LONJ for years, in both mainstage productions and with Savoy Faire, their outreach troupe. Recent appearances include Die Fledermaus, Cosi fan Tutte, and Orpheus in the Underworld, and concert performances in Handel’s Messiah, and Mozart’s Mass in c Minor. Ms. Porter holds a Master of Music degree from Manhattan School of Music. Outside of performing and teaching, she also is a founding member and Associate Director of Clarum Sonum, a community choir based out of Boonton, NJ.

Joanna Hoty Russell, proudly served as Chair of the Production Board from 2016 – 2019. She has performed a wide range of roles with LONJ, including Thoroughly Modern Millie (Muzzy), The Magic Flute (2nd Lady), Footloose (Vi Moore), Hansel & Gretel (Hansel), as well as Savoy Faire, LONJ’s travelling troupe. More recently, Joanna co-produced DieFledermaus, directed Amahl and the Night Visitors; co-directed Lovin’ Cole, an Original Cole Porter Revue; and was assistant director for The Gondoliers. Joanna also serves on the Show Choice Committee helping to steer LONJ future season selections. Outside of LONJ, Joanna is the music director of The Larks, a volunteer singing group (sponsored by the Junior League of Summit) and is co-director of Shir Libeinu at Temple Sinai, in Summit, NJ. She also produces and directs for the Musical Theatre program at the Academy of Our Lady of Peace School in New Providence. Joanna is the alto soloist/section leader at St. Peter’s Church in Roseland and for over twenty years has sung with The Early Music Players of NJ, a chamber ensemble devoted to the music of the Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque eras.

Denise Szabo (Company Manager) hired in 2019 by LONJ after a 35 year career in local government, most recently having held the position of Municipal Clerk/Assistant Administrator in Bernards Township. Having always been a supporter of the performing arts and LONJ, she is delighted to be part of the team. Denise runs every integral internal part of the LONJ machine with a smile and is an essential part of the company’s success.

In Memoriam

David L. Clark received his undergraduate degree from North Texas University, Denton, TX, and completed his graduate work at Indiana University, Bloomington, IN. Mr. Clark spent the first ten years of his career as a professional opera singer, spending three seasons at the Santa Fe Opera Company, Santa Fe, NM. For over thirty years, he was in the insurance industry eventually serving as a practicing reinsurance intermediary. During Mr. Clark’s business career, he was a Hall of Fame member in the Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT), and a member of the Advanced Association of Life Underwriting (AALU). He earned both Chartered Life Underwriter and Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter designations. This dual certification placed him in the top 1/10 of 1% of insurance professionals in America. Outside of business, Mr. Clark was active in the Metropolitan Opera Society, the Boy Scouts of America, served as Chair of the New Jersey Multiple Sclerosis Society (10 years), and as a board member of the Marilyn Horne Foundation (15 years). He served on our Board of Trustees after being instrumental in the founding of LONJ.

Steven M. Fulda was Managing Director at Fulda Business Planners, where he specialized in creating and developing winning business plans, creating long-term financial plans, and redirecting strategy and operations to enable businesses to succeed. He had fifty-five years of executive management, consulting, and teaching experience spanning all facets of business strategy, planning, business analysis, development, and financing. Mr. Fulda combined management consulting experience as a business planner with earlier senior executive responsibilities in systems engineering and technology development. Utilizing this multidisciplinary background, he had been successful as a change agent, implementing new strategies and tactics that have not only averted problems but increased operational effectiveness and profitability. Over the years Mr. Fulda and his colleagues identified, exploited, and managed growth opportunities for over 200 emerging businesses. Mr. Fulda was an experienced director, serving as a member of three Boards in both the corporate and non-profit sectors. He chaired the audit committee and co-chaired the strategic planning committee of a public biotech company. Mr. Fulda held two Masters’ degrees, one in Systems Engineering and the other in Quantitative Business Analysis. His undergraduate degree was in Engineering Physics and Applied Math.