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Our Staff

Our Staff

Dr. Libor Ondras, Music Director

Dr. Libor Ondras is a conductor, violist, and educator. He began his studies as a recipient of the Slovak Ministry of Culture Fellowship to study viola at the prestigious Moscow Conservatory with Fjodor Druzhinin and Yuri Bashmet. Ondras continued his studies at the Academy of Music Arts in Prague, and completed his DMA at the University of Houston.
Ondras has worked with leading artists and conductors and performed with orchestras in the US, Europe, and Japan including Houston Symphony, Utah Symphony, Carnegie Hall Project with Sir George Solti, Vienna Philharmonic, Bernstein’s Pacific Festival Orchestra. He has given lectures and played recitals for the American Viola Society and International Viola D’Amore Society. His research and scholarly writings were published in the Journal of American Viola Society.
Passionate recitalist and chamber musician, Ondras serves as an artist-in-residence and string faculty at the Bay View Chautauqua Music Festival. He is a founder and violist of the Hummel Trio, a frequent chamber music coach of the winning ensembles at the Michigan Chapter of the American String Teachers Association and guest clinician at the University of Nortre Dame, Grand Valley State University, Central Michigan University, and University of Costa Rica. Prior to coming to MI, Dr. Ondras served as a Director of Orchestras at the University of Tampa, FL where he also founded and lead Quartet-de-Minaret. Among their frequent chamber music
appearances and residencies were Sarasota International Chamber Music Festival and Haydn Festspiele International Festival (Austria).
His recent engagements include a visiting artist at the Royal Conservatory of Scotland, solo appearance with the Northwest Sinfonietta of Washington, featured artist for the National Conference of League of American Orchestras leading Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra, a research project at the Belle Violinmaking School in Bilbao, Spain, and resident faculty at the InterHarmony International Festival in Italy. His upcoming engagements include his solo appearance and conducting debut at the Carnegie Hall in June 2026.
Dr. Ondras is a Music Director of the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra and Kent Philharmonic Orchestra (MI), guest conductor for the Slovak State Opera and a Director of Orchestras and professor at the Grand Rapids Community College.
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Andrea Ondras, Executive Director

For more than a decade, Andrea has been a passionate advocate for the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra’s mission, helping guide many meaningful milestones—from organizing GLCO’s first European tour to leading major fundraising and strategic initiatives. She joined the GLCO team as Development Consultant in 2023 and played a key role in achieving the orchestra’s financial stability, expanding philanthropic support, building community partnerships, and helping shape the organization’s long-term vision. In January 2026, she was appointed Executive Director.
Andrea brings more than 25 years of experience in arts nonprofit leadership and development, including work with the Slovak State Opera, Kent Philharmonic Orchestra, and Crooked Tree Arts Center. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Strategic Financial Management from Davenport University’s Maine College of Business and is a graduate of the Management of Arts Organizations program through the DeVos Institute of Arts and Nonprofit Management at the University of Maryland, as well as the Fundraising and Philanthropy program at the University of California, Davis.
Andrea’s work is guided by the belief that music is not a luxury, but an essential part of a healthy, vibrant, and connected community.
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Deedee Pichard, Events & Communications

Deedee Pichard is a life-long music enthusiast and a member of the GLCO team since 2021.
Originally from the Flint area, Deedee lived in California for over 40 years while enjoying summer visits to the family at a cottage in Petoskey.  She moved here permanently during Covid to take care of her 94-year-old mother and decided to stay year-round.
Deedee’s work experience includes 12 years as a sales representative with IBM and related computer companies, and then with a jewelry company.  Devoted to strengthening communities through service, she was active in Assistance League and founder of a program to train youth for volunteering at Children’s Hospital of Orange County.  She was on the Bay View Association education committee for many years and is currently a member of the Petoskey Sunrise Rotary Club.  She enjoys singing in community choirs, bicycling, pickleball and all the rich cultural offerings of our area.
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Helen Hanchin, Operations Coordinator

Helen is a flautist and pianist from Charlevoix and joined the GLCO team as Operations Coordinator in January 2026. She graduated with her Bachelor of Music Education from Michigan State University in Fall of 2024 and enjoys working behind-the-scenes of an orchestra in addition to taking the stage.
She presently performs as a soloist and plays in several ensembles across northern Michigan. Helen also composes modern classical music and scores for digital media. When she is not making music or working at the GLCO office, she enjoys socializing at Crooked Tree Art Club, hanging out with her friends and family, and exploring all the area has to offer.
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André Strydom, Chorus Master

Born in South Africa, André Strydom began organ, composition, and vocal studies in high school. In 1982, he founded the Johannesburg Chamber Choir and Orchestra which he conducted for ten years. Strydom was on the medical staff of Johannesburg General Hospital’s Department of Cardiology from 1985 to 1991, but left medicine to pursue a career in music. He received his Licentiate Diploma (LTCL) in Piano Teaching from Trinity College of Music (UK), then came to the US in 1992, where he obtained a Master of Music degree from the University of Central Arkansas.

In 2018, Strydom became Organist and Director of Music Ministries at Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Petoskey. He has performed at the Bay View Music Festival. Strydom became Chorusmaster of the GLCO in 2020 and he joined the Little Traverse Choral Society as Director in 2022.

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Tim Mocny, Orchestra Manager

Tim Mocny is a performer, educator, and arranger based in Mount Pleasant, MI. He began playing with the GLCO during the 2009-10 season, and has since enjoyed participating in many aspects of the organization and community, notably as the head of our Little Waves library outreach and most recently as our orchestra manager. His hobbies include watching birds, reading, rooting for the Red Wings and Tigers, and spending time with his wife and four children.

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Maureen Delaney-Lehman, Music Librarian

Maureen is a retired university librarian who joined the GLCO staff in 2015 as music librarian. She sings in area choruses including the Noteable Chamber Choir and the GLCO Chorus. Instrumentally, she is the harpsichordist for the orchestra and an organist at the First Presbyterian Church in Harbor Springs.

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Dr. Libor Ondras is a conductor, violist, and educator. He began his studies as a recipient of the Slovak Ministry of Culture Fellowship to study viola at the prestigious Moscow Conservatory with Fjodor Druzhinin and Yuri Bashmet. Ondras continued his studies at the Academy of Music Arts in Prague, and completed his DMA at the University of Houston.
Ondras has worked with leading artists and conductors and performed with orchestras in the US, Europe, and Japan including Houston Symphony, Utah Symphony, Carnegie Hall Project with Sir George Solti, Vienna Philharmonic, Bernstein’s Pacific Festival Orchestra. He has given lectures and played recitals for the American Viola Society and International Viola D’Amore Society. His research and scholarly writings were published in the Journal of American Viola Society.
Passionate recitalist and chamber musician, Ondras serves as an artist-in-residence and string faculty at the Bay View Chautauqua Music Festival. He is a founder and violist of the Hummel Trio, a frequent chamber music coach of the winning ensembles at the Michigan Chapter of the American String Teachers Association and guest clinician at the University of Notre Dame, Grand Valley State University, and Central Michigan University, University of Costa Rica. Prior to coming to MI, Dr. Ondras served as a Director of Orchestras at the University of Tampa, FL where he also founded and lead Quartet-de-Minaret. Among their frequent chamber music appearances and residencies were Sarasota International Chamber Music Festival and Haydn Festspiele International Festival (Austria).
His recent engagements include a visiting artist at the Royal Conservatory of Scotland, solo appearance with the Northwest Sinfonietta of Washington, featured artist for the National Conference of League of American Orchestras leading Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra, a research project at the Belle Violinmaking School in Bilbao, Spain, and resident faculty at the InterHarmony International Festival in Italy. His upcoming engagements include his solo appearance and conducting debut at the Carnegie Hall in June 2026.
Dr. Ondras is a Music Director of the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra and Kent Philharmonic Orchestra (MI), guest conductor for the Slovak State Opera and a Director of Orchestras and professor at the Grand Rapids Community College.

For more than a decade, Andrea has been a passionate advocate for the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra’s mission, helping guide many meaningful milestones—from organizing GLCO’s first European tour to leading major fundraising and strategic initiatives. She joined the GLCO team as Development Consultant in 2023 and played a key role in achieving the orchestra’s financial stability, expanding philanthropic support, building community partnerships, and helping shape the organization’s long-term vision. In January 2026, she was appointed Executive Director.

Andrea brings more than 25 years of experience in arts nonprofit leadership and development, including work with the Slovak State Opera, Kent Philharmonic Orchestra, and Crooked Tree Arts Center. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Strategic Financial Management from Davenport University’s Maine College of Business and is a graduate of the Management of Arts Organizations program through the DeVos Institute of Arts and Nonprofit Management at the University of Maryland, as well as the Fundraising and Philanthropy program at the University of California, Davis.

Andrea’s work is guided by the belief that music is not a luxury, but an essential part of a healthy, vibrant, and connected community.

Born in South Africa, André Strydom began organ, composition, and vocal studies in high school. In 1982, he founded the Johannesburg Chamber Choir and Orchestra which he conducted for ten years. Strydom was on the medical staff of Johannesburg General Hospital’s Department of Cardiology from 1985 to 1991, but left medicine to pursue a career in music. He received his Licentiate Diploma (LTCL) in Piano Teaching from Trinity College of Music (UK), then came to the US in 1992, where he obtained a Master of Music degree from the University of Central Arkansas.

In 2018, Strydom became Organist and Director of Music Ministries at Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Petoskey. He has performed at the Bay View Music Festival. Strydom became Chorusmaster of the GLCO in 2020 and he joined the Little Traverse Choral Society as Director in 2022.

Deedee Pichard is a life-long music enthusiast and a member of the GLCO team since 2021.

Originally from the Flint area, Deedee lived in California for over 40 years while enjoying summer visits to the family at a cottage in Petoskey.  She moved here permanently during Covid to take care of her 94 yr. old mother and decided to stay year-round.

Deedee’s work experience includes 12 years as a sales representative with IBM and related computer companies, and then with a jewelry company.  Devoted to strengthening communities through service, she was on the Bay View Association education committee for many years and is currently a member of the Petoskey Sunrise Rotary Club.  She enjoys singing in community choirs, bicycling, pickleball and all the rich cultural offerings of our area.

Tim Mocny is a performer, educator, and arranger based in Mount Pleasant, MI. He began playing with the GLCO during the 2009-10 season, and has since enjoyed participating in many aspects of the organization and community, notably as the head of our Little Waves library outreach and most recently as our orchestra manager. His hobbies include watching birds, reading, rooting for the Red Wings and Tigers, and spending time with his wife and four children.

Maureen is a retired university librarian who joined the GLCO staff in 2015 as music librarian. She sings in area choruses including the Noteable Chamber Choir and the GLCO Chorus. Instrumentally, she is the harpsichordist for the orchestra and an organist at the First Presbyterian Church in Harbor Springs.

VERN CAMPBELL

Co-Principal Trumpet

Vern is Co-Principal Trumpet in the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra (GLCO).  Vern studied trumpet with Dr. Dennis Horton, trumpet professor at Central Michigan University while in high school and later as a university student.  Before obtaining his doctorate degree at Michigan State University and completing a medical residency in ophthalmology, Vern performed two years with the Blue Water International Symphony.  Vern relocated to Petoskey in 2000 and continued his trumpet studies with Scott Thornburg, professor of trumpet at Western Michigan University. He joined the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra in 2012 and eagerly anticipates each performance. He especially enjoys playing with the orchestra’s brass quintet. Vern enjoys visiting his wife’s family and friends in Shanghai and traveling throughout China. He is an avid cyclist and skier.

Eric Lawson

Assistant Concertmaster

Violinist, violist, conductor and professor Dr. Eric Lawson has had a varied career in performance and education. Past performances as a conductor, soloist and lecturer have taken him to Austria, Brazil, China, Germany, Romania and Scandinavia. Before returning to his home state of Michigan, he was based in North Dakota where, in addition to serving as a violin instructor at Bismarck State College, Jamestown College, and the University of Mary, he was also concertmaster of the Bismarck-Mandan Symphony Orchestra and established the Bismarck-Mandan Youth Symphony. Other former academic appointments have included Michigan Technological University in Houghton, Central College in Pella, Iowa and the University of North Dakota where he founded the string program and the UND Chamber Orchestra.

Here in Michigan, Dr. Lawson as been very active with the Alpena Symphony Orchestra as its concertmaster, conductor and president of the board. He also performs with many other orchestras in Northern Michigan and participates in the Traverse Symphony as a first violinist, in the Gaylord Symphony as concertmaster and as assistant concertmaster in the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra.

And finally, in what has been one of the most important experiences of his life outside of music, he also served almost four years as an Alpena County Commissioner, representing Ossineke and Sanborn Townships. In addition to serving as chair of the Salary and Personnel Committee, he also served on the Airport, Ambulance, District Court, Circuit Court Management and Jail Committees. He also represented Alpena County in Gaylord with the Northern Michigan Regional Entity Substance Use Disorder Board and continues to serve on the Northeast Michigan Community Mental Health Board. Dr. Lawson resides in Ossineke with his wife and two children.