Join us every Tuesday for Salastina’s Happy Hour: bringing you free, live musical performance, spirited conversation, and interaction with musicians and fellow music lovers.

Musicians, composers… how does music really get made in our world? It's all thanks to the tireless efforts of arts leaders like Simon Woods and Karin Brookes.

Orchestras have been part of Simon Woods' life for more than 40 years. From playing clarinet, to conducting, composing, producing over 200 CDs, and running four orchestras, he has never strayed far from this art form he loves. And although a Brit running an American association might seem odd, he’s a naturalized U.S. citizen, and is proud to be able to support the amazing orchestras of this country. When off duty, he’s most likely to be found cooking or playing Bach Preludes and Fugues on the piano.

Simon also has the distinction of being Mr. Karin Brookes, the newly-appointed administrative director of the Historical Performance program at Juilliard. Karin served as Executive Director of the national advocacy group Early Music America for 4 years. Before coming to the United States, she was assistant to Christopher Hogwood and manager of the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge. Karin has degrees in French and music from the Universities of Edinburgh and Cambridge, and a master of journalism degree from Temple University.