The Team

Rebecca Jackson-Picht, Artistic Director

Violinist Rebecca Jackson-Picht’s performances have been described as “riveting” and characterized by a “fierce spirit.” Rebecca has been a part of commissioning and premiering 12 chamber works. In 2019, she performed the San Jose and San Francisco premieres of Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer’s, Intonations: Songs from the Violins of Hope [made possible by Music at Kohl Mansion and Hewlett 50 Arts Commissions]. During her five seasons as acting member of Santa Fe Opera Orchestra the company won 2019 Grammy for Best Opera Recording for (R)evolution of Steve Jobs. Her foundational belief is that music possesses power to heal and unite. This has propelled her career and professional outreach around the globe, having performed in marginalized communities across the U.S., Ukraine, Romania, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Nepal, Costa Rica and Lebanon. While maintaining a regular performance schedule with groups like the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra, she contemporaneously produces projects that build community through music outside the concert hall. Her largest project to date, she serves as Artistic Director of Music in May, a chamber music festival now in its 16th season with one division dedicated to engaging incarcerated youth. The Santa Cruz Sentinel reported that this outreach “revives the evocative and visceral power of music that can be too often deadened in more formal concert environments.” In 2013, she co-founded Sound Impact and Ensemble San Francisco, organizations with missions tied to many of her personal core values. In 2018, Rebecca received a KSBW Jefferson Award in recognition of her volunteerism and public service. The following year, she and her father coauthored the biography of her mentor David Arben, Holocaust survivor and former associate concertmaster of the Philadelphia Orchestra. The book, ARBEN: David Arben’s Life of Miracles & Successes, by Dr. John Jackson and Rebecca Jackson is available on Amazon and at www.davidarben.com and their story featured on NBC News. Jackson-Picht received her Bachelor of Music from The Juilliard School and a Master of Music from University of California, Santa Cruz.

Jolene Woo, “Mom” to Festival Artists

Since meeting Rebecca and becoming part of the MiM family, I started to see that there was a need for someone to provide the visiting guest artists a space to relax, rehearse, and be themselves as they would be if they were at home. MiM needed a “mom" to provide guidance when needed, or maybe helping to figure out the driving time of getting somewhere, or serving homemade soup after a tough rehearsal. Over time, my grown son has joined me in being the anchors for the MiM music concerts. We love MiM’s dedication to helping our community and we love supporting MiM to allow them to do that.

Juan Jaramillo, Festival Manager & Youth Outreach

I am a violinist from Venezuela that won a scholarship in 1996 to study in Pittsburgh. I learned to play through the "El Sistema" program growing up, and now I am a full time member of the Pittsburgh Opera, Pittsburgh Ballet, Sarasota Opera and also the principal second for the Wheeling Symphony. Besides music, I love cooking, enjoy the outdoors, connecting with people, and watching movies. Rebecca and I connected right away performing together, but also sharing our passion for community outreach through Sound Impact, a non-profit organization that Rebecca co-founded. I feel very passionate about bringing music to all sorts of audiences, particularly those who are not usually exposed to it. New to the MiM team, I closely identify with MiM's mission with music at the center of it all.

Tu Cam Truong, Art Director

A proud mom of two beautiful daughters who are also accomplished in the creative field and passionate about animal rescue, environmental causes, and volunteerism. Tu learned about MiM when she attended a concert in Hidden Valley with Jolene Woo. Meeting with Rebecca Jackson-Picht at that concert ignited a friendship between like minds. Tu’s professional career spans over two decades as a UI Designer for AOL, Art Director for Apple Computer, then Head of Global Brand Design for PayPal. She is currently a Freelance Art Director in the Bay Area and a volunteer of MiM since 2018. To maintain optimal mental health and physical wellbeing, she enjoys ballroom dancing, one of her many hobbies for years. www.tudesigns.net

Matt Carr, Audio/Visual Recording

Classical Recording Engineer and Producer Matt Carr, works with artists from around the world, regularly producing recordings for commercial release. His recordings have garnered acclaim, characterized as having "purity that verges on miraculous" (Fanfare) and a "first rate sound" (Gramophone). Matt has engineered and produced recordings for notable artists including the San Francisco Symphony, Daniel Hope, New Century Chamber Orchestra, Alexander String Quartet, Andy Akiho, Amit Peled, and Sarah Cahill. During the summer, Matt works as the Assistant Recording Engineer for the Music@Menlo Chamber Music Festival alongside 6-time GRAMMY winning classical engineer Da-Hong Seetoo.

Kevin Monahan, Photographer

I fell in love with photography in my early teens, watching photos appear in the developer in a darkroom. May have even started earlier–I have a photo of my mom, in her wedding dress, taking pictures of guests at her wedding! While never a profession, photography has always been an avocation, a passion. After retiring from an engineering career in Silicon Valley I once again dove into photography, this time doing studio portraits and having great fun photographing Santa Cruz Symphony practices and events. Photographing concerts led me to video and a deeper involvement with the Symphony and other local ensembles. The best part of photography and video for me is that I get to be around musicians. Musicians are, after all, magicians. They create joy out of thin air.

Kate Alm, Community Engagement & Harmony Youth Choir Director

Kate is a lifelong musician. She has a special heart for chamber music, which has been a part of her family for generations. She is a pianist (BM in Piano Performance at San Francisco Conservatory), organist (Colleague of the American Guild of Organists), published composer, producer, and performer. Her Musical Soulmates program features a trio of musical projects: Performer’s Collective, Suzuki Piano Studio, and Harmony Youth Choir which showcase a kaleidoscopic range of music. Through Musical Soulmates, Kate cultivates joy, healing, and connection through both process and performance of music.

Maged Salib, Public Relations and Social Media

Born and raised in Egypt, I moved to the U.S. in 2003. I currently work for Valley Water and I believe that clean, safe water is everyone's basic right. Similarly, everyone has the right to enjoy all kinds of music even if behind bars or living in war zones. I remember my first concert, the opera Aida in Cairo, and it was love at first sight. I travel the world to visit opera houses and listen to classical music. I love traveling, cooking, and photography. I am very lucky to be part of MiM this season, helping with outreach and supporting the social media team. I like MiM because this organization imparts hope and changes people's lives through music.

Benjamin Goodwin, Student Intern

Benjamin Goodwin is an 11th grader at Pacific Collegiate School. He is a violinist and composer, with a background in music theory and piano. He performed one of his original chamber pieces with other student staff at the Cabrillo New Music Festival, and is currently writing an original piece for his quartet to play. He has participated in many ensembles, most notably the Santa Cruz County Youth Symphony, CCS Honor Orchestra, and the Papillon string quartet.

Anais Huet, Student Intern

Currently a junior at Pacific Collegiate School, Anaïs has been playing the violin since 1st grade. In that time, she has been concertmaster of several youth orchestras and summer programs. Apart from practicing violin, Anaïs also enjoys volunteering at the animal shelter and going to Korean martial arts classes. She is looking forward to connecting more with the music community in Santa Cruz and is super excited and grateful to be a part of MiM this year!

Scot Goodman, Photographer

Scot, a MiM junkie, is a veteran stage and theater photographer. He has photographed for Smuin Ballet, Aurora Theatre, Musaic, and World Institute on Disability, among others. He teaches photography classes for the REI Outdoor School. Scot’s connection to MiM started in 2008 when a chance meeting with cellist Wendy Law during a photo shoot at the Copacabana Club in New York City led to attending a MiM concert in Santa Cruz a year later, a moment he considers an “intervention.” Scot has two of the greatest nephews in the world, and loves to listen to them laugh and play music.

Kai Christiansen, Musicologist

Kai Christiansen is a musicologist specializing in classical chamber music. Based in San Francisco, Mr. Christiansen writes and lectures throughout the Bay areas, working regularly with such organizations as Music at Kohl Mansion, Monterey Bay Chamber Music, Music in May and the San Francisco Community Music Center, as well as a number of international chamber music presenters. Leveraging a multi-decade career in software engineering and technical training, Mr. Christiansen is also the founder of earsense.org, an extensive online chamber music exploratorium that features one of the world’s most comprehensive databases of chamber music literature, spanning 500 years of history. While living in Santa Cruz for over a decade, Mr. Christiansen hosted a weekly radio show on KAZU in Pacific Grove, an educational exploration of Blues and Jazz. For relaxation, Kai plays cello and guitar for his cat.

Robin Whitehouse, Sound Engineer and Tech Support

I have always been driven to craft the sonic experience of music. Since graduating high school, I’ve spent the past 15 cold hard years engineering audio for both recorded and live music through many genres and mediums, the bulk of it including musical theatre, collegiate a cappella, rock bands, and classical music. My professional work is informed by being a multi-instrumentalist who plays primarily for self-enjoyment. The past 5 years have provided for a somewhat lateral career shift into the world of piano tuning and technology, in which I am now a partner at Santa Cruz Piano - still working towards creating that ideal music experience. My first year recording Music in May was 2014 and happens to be one of the earliest serious classical music concerts I captured, and also when I realized that I was joining a vibrant musical family. It has been a warmly symbiotic relationship ever since, and I am honored to work with these incredible musicians each year.

Board Members & Advisors