Directors
Dedicated mentors, teachers, and supporters play a crucial role in making our Artists' dreams a reality. With their guidance and encouragement, our ARTISTS are nurtured and empowered to reach their full potential. Through their dedication and unwavering support, the dreams of our Artists are not just mere fantasies, but rather tangible aspirations that are WELL within their grasp.
RACHEL SEGAL, Founder and Executive Director
Rachel Segal, AKA “Music Mom”, is a violinist, arranger, educator, advocate, and pet Mom. She has commissioned, premiered, and performed many works of contemporary composers and is particularly interested in performing works by women and composers from other traditionally underrepresented communities. She has performed and recorded with some of the world’s leading pop, hip-hop, and rock artists, including Tony Bennett, Peter Gabriel, Steve Martin, and Devotchka. She has arranged music for string quartet, voice and piano, and solo violin, and has recorded the music of women composers, as well as an album of pop covers with the Fairmount String Quartet on Spring Garden Records.
Ms. Segal received her Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Michigan and her Master of Music degree from Yale School of Music. She spent twelve years as a tenured member of the Colorado Symphony and Concertmaster of the Central City Opera Orchestra and has served as Concertmaster of the Orchesta Sinfonica Portugesa in Lisbon, Portugal, and the South Bend Symphony, Principal Second violin of the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, and Fourth Chair of the Tampere Filharmonia in Tampere, Finland. She has also performed at the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, with Orchestra 2001, and Anchorage Opera.
Ms. Segal is the first violinist of the Fairmount String Quartet, and Principal Violinist of the Inscape Chamber Orchestra, and performs frequently with PostClassical Ensemble, the Baltimore Symphony, Philly Pops, Opera Philadelphia, and Philadelphia Ballet. She is the Associate Director of the Young Musicians Debut Orchestra. She is a proud member of Locals 77, 40-543, and 161-710, and Equity Arc. She lives in the Brewerytown area of Philadelphia with her dogs Abby and Sam and cats Gilbert and Sullivan.
KENNY BEAN, Associate Director and Program Director
Kenny Bean began seriously studying music as a high school student when he attended the Baltimore School for the Arts. He matriculated to Oberlin Conservatory where he earned a Bachelor of Music in Trumpet Performance, following which he completed a Master of Music Education from Jackson State University.
As a trumpeter, Kenny has enjoyed a thriving freelance career, playing with such ensembles as Mannheim Steamroller, Sphinx Symphony Orchestra, Soulful Symphony Orchestra, Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra and Pennsylvania Sinfonia Orchestra. He can be heard on recordings with Symphony in C, the Monocacy Chamber Orchestra, and hip-hop artist Thee Phantom & the Illharmonic Orchestra.
Following a desire to pass on the gift of music, Kenny has worked with a number of music education organizations, including Play on, Philly! and Settlement Music School, both of which serve Philadelphia youth. He has also taught at summer festivals, such as Kinhaven Music School and Luzerne Music Center.
In recent years, Kenny has been most fortunate to engage his passion for conducting. He has held the position of Music Director/Conductor of the Junior String Philharmonic of the Lehigh Valley since 2011. He also serves as the Associate Conductor of the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra and Conductor for the Symphony in C Youth Orchestra. Kenny currently lives in West Philadelphia with his wife, Molly Bidlack Bean.
MOLLY BIDLACK BEAN, Development Director
Molly Bidlack Bean joined the Primavera Fund team in 2018, bringing another perspective to the organization with professional experience that has been rooted equally in academics and project management. Her work in the nonprofit sector began in January of 2013, when she joined the Board of Directors of the Young People’s Philharmonic of the Lehigh Valley to help steward that organization through transitions in leadership, program offerings and infrastructure expansion. Though her primary focus for Primavera is development, her job is multifaceted, reaching into areas of marketing, finance, and strategic planning.
Molly has a BA in Anthropology from the Gallatin School of Individualized Study at NYU, an MA in Linguistic Anthropology from Hunter College, CUNY, and an MA in Human Development from Lehigh University. Her interdisciplinary background enables her to address complex issues by taking into account a variety of perspectives and develop unique, comprehensive solutions. To better prepare herself for work in the nonprofit sector, Molly comleted certificates in marketing and development from the Nonprofit Center and The Lasalle School of Business.
The daughter of two professional classical musicians, Molly studied cello seriously in her formative years. Although she chose not to pursue music professionally, she sees her music education as invaluable to her personal, social and intellectual development. Molly feels at home working in the arts and education field and is thrilled to be involved with The Primavera Fund, which she sees as a truly innovative way to address culture change.
Molly lives in West Philadelphia with her husband, Kenny Bean and her cats, Ashley, Sasha and Wolfie. She still plays her cello for fun from time to time.
Staff
CHRIS JUSSEL, Administrative Assistant
Hailed by the Denver Westword for his “acrobatic” and “robust” playing, Chris Jusell is a Philadelphia-based violinist. He is Concertmaster of the Greeley Philharmonic, Principal Second Violin of the Philadelphia Ballet orchestra, and a member of the Colorado Ballet, Opera Colorado, and Central City Opera orchestras. He began his studies on the violin at the age of 11, and holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Colorado State Uni versity, where he studied with Dr. Ron Francois; he also attended the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, studying with Dr. John Fadial. He plays and has toured with Nathaniel Rateliff, and recently formed an ambient jazz band with three friends called Fuubutsushi, recording and releasing five albums during the pandemic. Chris also teaches kids and adults how to play the violin, and conducted a youth orchestra in the mountains of Colorado for five years.
SUSANNA LOEWY, Learning Arc Coordinator
Flutist Susanna Loewy received her BM and MM from the Cleveland Institute of Music and a DMA from Rutgers University. Susanna is Flute Faculty at Rowan University and Haverford College, teaches for the Philadelphia Orchestra, and maintains a private flute studio in Philadelphia. Susanna is Executive Director and flutist for Network for New Music and is a Pedagogy Coach and Mentor for the New World Symphony in Miami. From 2014-2023, Susanna was the Program Director and Lead Teaching Artist for Project 440, creating curriculum and implementing programs. In 2012, Susanna founded the Pikes Falls Chamber Music Festival in Jamaica, VT, a 2-week summer festival emphasizing music and visual art; the festival just celebrated its 10th season. Susanna is the Principal Flutist for Inscape, a chamber music group based in the DC area that was nominated for a Grammy for its debut CD, "Sprung Rhythm." This summer, Susanna started Flutes on Locust Walk, a week-long summer camp for high school, college, and adult flutists. Susanna is a Verne Q. Powell Artist and plays Powell instruments.
Susanna is excited to work with the Primavera students to help guide them to realizing their goals -- musical, artistic, and otherwise!
MALINDA LISETTE, Chamber Music and Social Media Coordinator
Malinda Lisette is a recent graduate from The Boyer School of Music. She has studied with Susanna Loewy, Erica Peel, Mimi Stillman, and Prema Kesselman in the past, and in high school, she was involved in many programs such as All-City Orchestra and Band, The Philadelphia Youth Orchestra, The Primavera Fund, The Philadelphia Orchestra Fellowship, The PMAY Initiative, and Project 440s Youth Advisory Council. She was also a finalist in the PHLLive classical competition, a Sphinx Fellowship recipient, and received the Marian Anderson Grant in 2017. During her undergraduate degree, spoke at Project 440’s College Fair’s, Primavera’s Jazz Soiree, and PMAY’s Student Inaugurations. She wishes to find a career that includes a variety of performance opportunities in chamber, solo, and orchestral,
and involvement in teaching and administration. Malinda is currently an active freelance musician and teacher in the Philadelphia area, and is interested in exploring her interests in different musical genres and leadership roles in music making.
Board of Trustees
To inquire about Board membership or volunteer opportunities, please email rachel@primaverafund.org