Salida Aspen Concerts Board of Directors
Auralea Carroll – Secretary of the board
Auralea moved to Salida with her husband, Rick, in 2015 from Littleton, Colorado. It was a
homecoming for Rick as he was born and raised in Salida, and they now live in his remodeled
family home. Auralea was a scientist by education and profession, but has always loved classical music, so she was happy to discover Salida Aspen Concerts. She has now served on the board for six years. She is anxious to attend the concerts, especially the pianists, as she, too, takes piano lessons. Her audience is small—just her husband and dog.
Lee Coveney
Lelia moved to Salida from Denver in 2013 and has been active in community affairs ever since. She volunteers at HRRMC with the therapy dog program, has served on the Heritage Area Advisory Board, and is a regular volunteer at work sessions for the Central Colorado Conservancy. Family members include partner/journalist Daniel Smith, quarter horse Zerlina, and golden retriever Lalla. Lee is a committed pianist, having started lessons at age 11, continuing through college and into adulthood. Her passion is chamber music, and she meets regularly with violinist and cellist friends to explore and play a range of music from Mozart to very contemporary works.
Richard Derwingson
Bio coming soon.
Beth Gaeddert
Beth joined the Salida Aspen Concerts board in 2023 and enjoys contributing to the continued success of the oldest music festival in the city. When she left Boulder in 2016, Beth joined a number of parents who have followed their children to Salida. Since then, she has successfully acquired four grandchildren, two in Salida and two in Colorado Springs. Beth is retired from the University of Colorado School of Journalism (CUJ) where she taught news reporting and writing as an adjunct instructor, developed the internship and career services programs, administered the Newsgathering Master’s Program, alumni relations, and school communications. She founded and ran a national award for police reporting sponsored by the CUJ School and the Denver Press Club. Beth graduated from Colorado Women’s College and has a master’s degree in Mass Communications from the Syracuse University Newhouse School Of Public Communications. She was a news reporter for Florida Today, the Marin Independent Journal, the Longmont Times-Call, and the Rocky Mountain News.
Dr. Arthur Levene
Dr. Arthur Levene was born and raised in New York City. He attended Bard College, receiving a BA in Literature, but with a focus on Pre-Med. After graduation, he attended NYU Med School, Case Western Reserve Residency and a Fellowship in Cardiology at UC Med Center. He decided to stay in Colorado in private practice, after completing 2 years in the Air Force during the Vietnam war. After the Air Force, Arthur founded South Denver Cardiologists & Associates, the largest Cardiology practice in Colorado. He practiced active cardiology for 55 years, and only just partially retired in December 2024. Dr. Levene currently lives in Salida, at the combo Horse/Alpaca farm, and does Telemedicine for his practice. In between his farm work and medical practice, Arthur is an avid fly-fisherman, with a place on the river down in Coaldale for the past 40 years.
Rynn Miller
Bio coming soon.
Katie Oglesby
With a strong passion for music education, Katie started teaching band and choir in 2019 at Salida Middle School. She graduated from Colorado State University in Fort Collins in May 2019 with a degree in Music Education and a minor in Spanish. During her time at CSU, she was very involved with the CSU Marching Band and the Middle School Outreach Ensembles, serving in teaching and leadership roles. While at CSU, Katie performed with the CSU Clarinet Choir at the International Clarinet Association’s conference in 2016. She was also involved in many other ensembles including CSU’s Wind Symphony and Symphonic Band. Currently, Katie is thrilled to serve on statewide committees that support music and music education, including Colorado Middle School All-State Choir (District 6 Governor), Colorado Music Educators Association Instrumental Council (District 6 representative), as well as on Salida Aspen Concerts’ board. Katie’s is happy to introduce her husband, Dany, to her musical circle. They were married over the Thanksgiving holidays last year. When she is not teaching or practicing music, Katie enjoys spending time in nature--hiking, camping, and swimming with her husband, dog, family, and friends!
Cecil Rhodes, Treasurer
Cecil is a native Texan who earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and history from Texas Tech University as well as an MBA from Georgia State University. He spent most of his career in Dallas, Texas, underwriting insurance programs for oil and gas companies. He moved to Salida in 2018 when his daughter, Dr. Tiffany Rhodes, became the gynecologist at HRRMC. Cecil has fully embraced and involved himself in our community. He is a past president of Salida Sunrise Rotary, a member of the Marijuana Excise Tax Advisory Board, and treasurer of Mountain Valley Transit. Cecil loves almost all types of music, but he especially loves to sing. He began singing at age six. At Brownwood High School, he won several awards in solo and ensemble competitions, as well as being selected to the All-Region Choir and an alternate to the Texas All State Choir. Cecil has continued singing here as a tenor in the Collegiate Peaks Chorale.
Sheryl Wight, President
Sheryl moved to Salida in 2004, having visited Chaffee County on vacations since the 1980s. The beauty of the area, lack of crowds, and friendly locals were strong draws. Also, as a retired college teacher, she found extremely attractive the fact that a rural community with a large population of retired folks actively supported the schools even to the extent of new campuses. She immediately became active on the first board of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Chaffee County. Having moved often with her husband, Bob, and lived in communities large and small, Sheryl was delighted to learn about the entertainment opportunities in Salida,
including the Salida Aspen Concerts. Growing up in a musical family, she sang in choirs and played piano, flute, and percussion instruments in her younger days. She feels most fortunate to live in a community that values music and provides such excellent musical opportunities.
Salida Aspen Concerts Staff
Anna Hendricks, Administrator
Anna is responsible for managing the administrative functions of Salida Aspen Concerts. She brings over 15 years of nonprofit experience, serving in a variety of roles. She holds a B.A. from Metro State University of Denver in Cultural Anthropology. After graduating, she began her nonprofit career serving as an AmeriCorps member collecting fire effects monitoring data. Since that time, she has worked for both large and small nonprofit organizations and believes strongly in the value nonprofits bring to all aspects of the community.
She is a 4th generation Coloradan and has lived in Salida since 2016. She is thrilled that her daughter is learning to play piano on her grandparents' baby grand that she never took to as a youth. She loves all genres of music and is particularly excited about Salida Aspen Concerts' dedication to inviting local youth to experience classical music in their community. When given the opportunity, she can be found spending time with her family, biking, dancing, traveling, and generally meandering about this amazing landscape.