1.     Writers

a)      Dr. Benjamin Barber

Well known political scientist at Rutgers, Princeton at University of Maryland. He is the author of many personal books (Marriage Voices) and political science works. His masterwork, Jihad vs. McWorld, became a handbook in the Clinton Administration. Other books include A Passion for Democracy, and Fear’s Empire.

b)      Beatrice Berle

Widow of F.D.R.’s brain truster and New Deal adviser, Adolf A. Berle, Jr., Secretary of State and Ambassador to Brazil in 1940’s, Beatrice was the only daughter of Courtland Bishop, the great collector during the gilded age and owner of the large Berkshire cottage, Amanda Hall. She wrote Navigating the Rapids, A Life in Two Worlds, and other books. A medical doctor, she was a major social figure and a matriarch in the Berkshires.

(See link: Berle@cserv.net Contact(s): Beatrice Berle )

c)      Patricia Bosworth

American journalist and biographer.  A former faculty member of the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University, she has also been an editor, actress and model. She is the author of biographies on Montgomery Clift (1978), Diane Arbus (1984) and Marlon Brandon (2000).  As of 2007, Bosworth was writing a biography of Jane Fonda.

     (Seelink:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PatriciaBosworth )        

d)      Bartle Bull

Established author of adventure books with an espionage twist; they include: A Café on the Nile, the Devil’s Oasis, Shanghai Station, and Safari: A Chronicle of Adventure.

(See link: www.canongate.net/BartleBull )

e)      Laura Chester

Modern writer of novels with a distinctively equestrian bent.  Wrote Eros and Equus, Free Rein, The Stone Baby, etc.

(See link: www.laurachester.com)

f)       Barbaralee Diamonstein

Distinguished author of books on fashion and design, she served for over 15 years as the Commissioner of Cultural Affairs for the city of New York during the Beame and Koch administrations.  She is also the wife of Carl Spielvogel who served as U.S. Ambassador to the Slovak Republic in 2000 – 20003.

(See link: http://eng.archinform.net/arch/11197.htm?scrwdt=1280 ).

g)      Brooke Hayward Duchin

Daughter of Lee Hayward, the director, and Margaret Sullavan, the actress, she wrote Haywire, an autobiography. She is married to Peter Duchin, the musician.

(See link: www.movies.aol.com/celebrity/brooke-hayward  )

h)      Peter Duchin

Well known pianist and band-leader. Wrote autobiography A Ghost of a Chance.

(See link: www.movies.aol.com/celebrity/peter-duchin  )

i)        Heidi Fiske

Editor in chief of The Institutional Investor for many years and writer for the national and international financial press.  (See link: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0022-1090(197303)8%3A2%3C167%3ATEODMO%3E2.0.CO%3B2-6 )

j)        George Gilder

A speechwriter for Nelson Rockfeller  and Richard Nixon, he publishes a subscription newsletter called The Gilder Technology Report. Also author of Sexual Suicide, Men and Marriage, Wealth and Poverty, The Meaning of the Microcosm and others.  Established a hedge fund for high technology in investments.

(See link: www.gildertech.com )

k)     Carol Gilligan

Psychologist and author of In a Different Voice, The War against Boys, The Atlantic Online.

(See link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_Gilligan )

l)        Francine Gray

Liberman), Lovers and Tyrants, At Home with the Marquis De Sade, and others. Also widow of Cleve Gray, the sculptor.

(See link: www.amazon.com/Them-Francine-du-Plessix-Gray )

m)    Gael Greene

Major food writer and contributor for 40 years years to the New York Magazine, under the moniker “The Insatiable Critic”, wrote books such as Blue Skies, No Candy, Doctor Love, and her recently published autobiography, Insatiable.

(See link: www.superchefblog.com/2006/08/insatiable-gael-greene.html )

n)      A.R. Gurney

Well known American playwright from Buffalo, N.Y., who wrote Love Letters, Ancestral Voices, The Cocktail Hour, The Dining Room, Big Bill, Mrs. Farnsworth, A  Cheever Evening and many other plays regarding the decline of the traditional American elite.

(See link: www.stage-door.org/authors/gurney )

o)      Kitty Carlisle Hart (1910-2007)

Well known actress and singer. Also chair of the  New York State Council of the Arts, she wrote the autobiography Kitty. A major icon in the cultural world of the United States.  A national treasure.  Star of T.V. show “To Tell the Truth”, movie star, and nightclub singer.  Also appeared as star in Whitehorse Inn (1936), and Die Fledermaus (Metropolitan Opera)(1966).

 (See link: www.kittycarlisle.com )

p)      Carole Hyatt

Activist in women’s affairs, she was a founder of the Women’s Forum and author of When Smart People Fail, Lifetime Employability, Shifting Gears, and other books.

(See link: www.womensbiz.us/archives/yourturn1003.asp )

q)      Verlyn Klinkenborg

A major writer who is a member of the editorial board of the New York Times, he has written several books including Making Hay and The Last Fine Time.

(See link: http://www.twbookmark.com/authors/41/2615 )

r)       Stefan Laurent

Hungarian writer of the interwar period.

s)      Alexander Liberman

Artistic director of the Conde Nast Publications (Vogue, Glamour etc.). He wrote also books about fashion and art.

(See link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Liberman )

t)       Norman Mailer

An American novelist, journalist, playwright, screenwriter and film director.  Along with Truman Capote, Joan Didion and Tom Wolfe, Mailer is considered an innovator of creative nonfiction, a genre sometimes called New Journalism, but which covers the essay to the nonfiction novel.                 

(See Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Mailer)

u)      Alain Malraux

Nephew and adopted son of the French literary giant, André Malraux. He has written two plays and a major biography of his cousins, Les Marronniers de Boulogne. Involved in the establishment of a French repertory theatre in New York.

(See link: www.andremalraux.com )

v)      Annie McGovern

Writer of  non-fiction, including biographies, history books, marine matters and other adventures.

(See link: www.annmcgovernpoet.com )

w)     Keith Morgan

Distinguished professor of Architecture History at Boston University, he is the unquestioned world expert on the work of Charles A. Platt, a major architect of the 1880-1920 period, and architect of the main house of Aston Magna. His books and monographs include Shaping an American Landscape. (See link: http://web.bu.edu/ah/morgan  )

x)      Nancy Newhouse

American journalist and biographer.  A former faculty member of the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University, she has also been an editor, actress and model. She is the author of biographies on Montgomery Clift (1978), Diane Arbus (1984) and Marlon Brandon (2000).  As of 2007, Bosworth was writing a biography of Jane Fonda.

y)      Col. James Reid

 A pre-eminent authority of Pre-Colombian textiles, has written  extensively regarding textiles from Peru and Bolivia, including Magic Feathers.

(See link: http://www.sv.typepad.com/magic_feathers )

z)       William Shirer (1904-1994)

The totemic writer of Hitler’s Germany who wrote Berlin Diary and The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich . (See link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_L._Shirer )

aa)  Jill Spalding

Glamorous and elegant editor of Vogue magazine in London and New York, author of Only the Best and Blythe Spirits: The History of the Cocktail. Presently working on a major work regarding the history of luxury. Contributor to many publications and hostess of a radio program on the arts in Miami, Florida.

(See link: http://www.asiasociety.org/pressroom/rel-aomm04.html )

bb)  Edith & Loet Velmans

Distinguished autobiographers. She survived Nazism in Holland and wrote Edith’s Book.  He wrote about his experiences in a Japanese prisoner war camp in Burma, A Long Way Back from the River Kwai. 

(See link: www.thesusijnacency.com/authors/velmans )

cc)   Janet W. Wallach

President of Seeds of Peace, an organization devoted to conflict resolution in summer camps for both Arabi and Israeli children. Also author of The Desert Queen (a biography of Gertrude Bell, English intelligence agent in the Middle East during and after the First World War) and biographer of Coco Chanel and Arafat.

(See link: www.seedsofpeace.org )

dd)  Simon Winchester

 Recently knighted by the Queen Elizabeth II, he has written Krakatoa, The Map that Changed the World, The Professor and the Madman and others.

2.      Actors

a)      Jane Alexander

A well known actress in many Broadway plays, films and TV programs, Ms. Alexander was the chair of the National Endowment for the Arts in Washington DC during the Clinton Administration. Her films include: Kramer vs. Kramer, The Testament and her famous theatrical performance in The Great White Hope.

(See link: www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Alexander  )

b)      Allyn Burrows

Well known off Broadway actor who has specialized for many years in Shakespearian roles.  (See link:  www.shakespeare.org )

c)      Kate Burton

Daughter of the actor Richard Burton and of the actress Sybil Williams Christopher, she performed substantially in theatre festivals and appeared in An American Daughter and The Beauty Queen of Leenane. She appeared also in a number of films. She has her most prolific work on television (Law&Order, The Practice, The West wing, Judging Amy  etc.)

(See link: www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_Burton_(actress) )

d)      Peter Gallagher

Has performed both on and off Broadway for many years.  His signature performance was in Tom Stoppard’s The Real Thing with Glen Close on Broadway. He first achieved fame for his role in Steven Soderbergh’s Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989).  He also starred as Sky Masterson in the 1992 Broadway Revival of “Guys and Dolls”.  (See link:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PeterGallagher )

e)      Rita Gam

Well known film and TV actress and documentary film maker .  She was married to the director Sidney Lumet

(See link: www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rita_Gam )

f)       Dan Gerroll

Well known Off-Broadway actor who appeared in such shows as Enchanted April, High Sky, and The Dear Boy at Second Stage.  He received an OBIE for his body of work.

g)      Dennis Krausnick

Krausnick teaches in theatre programs across the country as well as designing and leading the actor-training programs for Shakespeare & Company. He also serves as a senior facilitator for Corporate Scenes, providing theatre-based consulting work for the corporate community. (See link: www.shakespeare.org/sandco.php).

h)                  Kristen Linklater                                                                                                             Is a prominent vocal coach, dialect coach, acting teacher, actor, and director. She is currently Head of Acting in the Theatre Arts Division of Columbia University. Linklater has trained many well-known actors, including Patrick Stewart, Donald Sutherland, Alfre Woodard, Mary Tyler Moore, Bill Murray, Angela Bassett, Courtney Vance, Sigourney Weaver, Sam Rockwell and Bernadette Peters. Her writings on voice include Freeing the Natural Voice (1976) and Freeing Shakespeare's Voice. (See Link: http://www.kristinlinklater.com/teachers.htm )                            

i)                    Tina Packer 

Trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where she won the Ronson Award for Most Outstanding Performer. Founder and Artistic Director of Shakespeare Company in Lenox, MA. (See link: www.web.mit.edu/newsoffice/1997/packer )

j)                    Roger Rees                                                                                                                Presently artistic director of the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Williamstown, Massachussets, he is a distinguished actor and he is best known for the 9 hours film The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby. He won an OBIE award for his off-Broadway performance in The End of the Day. Also played in A Man of No Importance and Indiscretions.  (See link: www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Reese )

k)     Maureen Stapleton

Winner of  a Tony Award for The Rose Tattoo and for The Gingerbread Lady and winner of Academy Award for Reds.  (See link: www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maureen_Stapleton )

l)        Beatrice Straight

Well known actress in stage, films, and TV. She won an Oscar for Network.

(See link: www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatrice_Straight )

m)    Irene Worth

American born, she performed in England over 50 years before returning to the US in 1996. She performed in Hamlet, The Cherry Orchard, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Happy days and many other plays. Also played in a number of films, including Onegin.

(See link: www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irene_Worth )

3.     Painters

a.                  Eric Fischl

Contemporary painter, well known for a five-part series of paintings called The Travel of Romance

(See Link: www.broadartfoundation.org/fischl )

2. April Gornik

Top contemporary painter. Exhibits in major museums and art galleries around the country.

(See link: www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/gornik)

3. Cleve Gray

Major abstract expressionist painter, famous for Threnody (a 14 mural exhibition at the Newburger Museum in Purchase, New York).

     (See link: www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/gray)

4. Wesley Duke Lee

An important Brazilian painter, educated in part in the United States, he has exhibited in major European, South American and American galleries. Considered one of the top Brazilian painters alive today.

(See link: http://www.escritoriodearte.com/listarQuadros.asp?artista=53 )

5. Scott Pyle

Famous portrait painter of the 20’s, lover of many of his subjects, also brother of Mary Pyle Spalding, the mistress of Aston Magna for 41 years.

6. Norman Rockwell

One of America’s most beloved and famous 20^th century artists, Rockwell is probably best known for the cover illustrations he did for The Saturday Evening Post magazine for over four decades.                                                                             (See: http://www.normanrockwell.com/ or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Rockwell)

7. David Sally

Contemporary painter, exhibits all over the world.

8. Jose Zaragoza

Catalan painter who is the artistic director of  DPZ, foremost advertising firm in Brazil. He has published major books including Eroticos Desinhos, and exhibits extensively in Europe and the Americas..

4.      Sculptors

a. Peter Chinni

Excellent sculptor of medium sized forms. Close childhood friend of Lee M. Elman (owner of Aston Magna), has exhibited in major museums in US, in NY. Presently lives and works in Taos, New Mexico. (See link: www.rogallery.com/chinni)

b. Michele Oka Doner

Extraordinary installation artist whose seminal work includes Concourse B at  Miami Airport. (See link: www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/doner)

c. Alexander Liberman

Artistic director of Conde Nast, he is famous for his large iron sculptures painted in red, exhibited outside of major buildings.

(See link: www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/liberman)

d. George Rickey

Well known modern sculptor who has exhibited in France, Germany and US.

(See link: www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/rickey)

5.     Photographers

1. Lucien Aigner

Hungarian photographer, who became famous for taking and disseminating the photo of Einstein at Princeton University. Other well-known photographs include Benito Mussolini about to sneeze as the picture was taken.

(See link: www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucien_Aigner )

2. Tom Palumbo

Photographer for many years at Harper’s Bazaar and off Broadway shows. Tom Palumbo experiments with photo collages, and he spends a lot of his time now directing plays off-Broadway and on the road.  He directed a workshop at the Actors Studio of Joyce Carol Oates play about Marilyn Monroe.

3. Galen Rowell

Perhaps the most famous mountain photographer in the world. He published many books of mountain photos. (He was a major climber himself). His books include:

In the Throne Room of the Mountain Gods and, Mountain Light.

(See link: www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galen_Rowell )

6.     Dancers

1. Marge Champion

Born Marger Belcher in LA, she became a famous dancer with her partner and husband, Gower Champion. She appeared in many successful films, including: Showboat and Lovely to Look at.

(See link: www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marge_Champion )

2. David Parsons

Originally with the Paul Taylor Dance Company, Parsons created his own company dedicated to modern and inventive choreography. He created a famous photocreation ballet with strobe lighting, called Caught.

(See link: www.abt.org/education/archive/choreographers/parsons )

7.      Singers and Musicians

1. Leon Botstein

Is the extraordinary President of Bard College and the director of the Bard       Festival.  Also, founder and conductor of the American Symphony Orchestra since 1992.  In 2003, he was appointed music director of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra.  He is a prominent scholar of music history.  (See Link: http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Botstein             

2. James Conlon

One of the pre-eminent conductors of his generation, Mr. Conlon has conducted in virtually every musical capital in the United States, Europe, and Japan. In 1976, Conlon made his debut with the Metropolitan Opera, and it marked the start of a long association with the house. He has conducted more than two hundred performances there, leading a wide range of works from the Italian, German, French, Russian and Czech operatic repertoire.

(See Link: http://www.sonyclassical.com/artists/conlon/bio.html)

3. Phyllis Curtin

Esteemed American soprano and teacher, she made her first operatic debut in The Queen of Spades in Boston, then in New York City Opera in Von Einem’s The Trial.

She became well known for her roles in Mozart’s operas and for Cathy in Floyd’s Wuthering Heights. Floyd’s opera, Susannah, was writted for her.

(See link: www.bach-cantatas.com/Bio/Curtin-Phyllis)

4. Peter Duchin

Preeminent dance-band leader. Since his debut in 1962, Peter Duchin and his orchestra have provided the music for many of the nation’s most notable public and private events. He had also a highly successful recording career (he’s made 26 albums).

(See link: www.barberusa.com/orchestra/duchin_peter)

5. Max Feffer

Chairman of the Board of Companhia Suzano, the largest paper and pulp company in Latin America, also very active in philanthropic activities throughout Brazil.  Also had a triple portfolio (Culture, Public Affairs, and Health) from the city of Sao Paulo in the 1990’s

6. Steven Fox

American conductor Steven Fox is the Artistic Director of New York's Clarion Music Society and Music Director and Principal Conductor of Musica Antiqua St. Petersburg. 

7. Malcolm Frager (1935-1991)

A child prodigy, Frager made his debut in St. Louis at the age of 10. He was winner of the Leventritt Prize in 1959, the Queen Elizabeth of Belgium International Competition, and second prize at the Geneva Competition. Frager majored in Russian at Columbia University and was fluent in seven languages.  Frager recorded for RCA, EMI, Telarc and other labels and toured extensively both in America and Abroad.

8. Albert Fuller

Born in Washington, was co-founder of  The Aston Magna Foundation for Music and the Humanities in 1972 (with Lee Elman) and created The Helicon Foundation in 1985. Esteemed Harpsicordist and professor at the Julliard School.

(See link: www.juilliard.edu/update/journal/portraits_story_f)

9. Arlo Guthrie

His career exploded in 1967 with the release of Alice’s Restaurant and he played in the 1969 Hollywood film version of  this song. He toured throughout North America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia winning a wide, popular following. He recently created a program of symphonic arrangements of his own songs and other American classics, called An American Scrapbook.

(See link: www.arlo.net/bio)

10. Yehuda Hanani

World –class cellist, he is the founder of Close Encounters with Music in the Berkshires.

11. Kitty Carlisle Hart

Well known American actress, her soundtrack filmography include: Hollywood Canteen, Larceny with Music, A Night at the Opera, She Loves Me Not and Murder at the Vanities.  (See link: www.imdb.com/name/nm)

12. Barbara Hendricks

Very admired black American soprano, had her operatic debut in 1974 in San Francisco and went on to appear at all major opera houses throughout the world. She performed Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro. She has more than 20 roles in her active opera repertoire. She received numerous awards for her artistic achievements and humanitarian work. Sang at the Aston Magna music festival in the seventies.

(See link: www.bach-cantatas.com/Bio/Hendricks-Barbara)

13. Newell Jenkins

Founder and conductor of the Clarion Society, Jenkins created the quintessential chamber orchestra, specializing in 19^th and 20^th century music.  Succeeded by Steven Fox (see above under Musicians).  (See link: http://www.clarionmusic.org )

14. Bernard Krainis

One of the greatest recorder players in the world, he was on the Aston Magna Foundation’s Board of Directors until his death. He was the co-founder with the choral director, Noah Greenberg, of New York Pro Musica .

(See link: www.medieval.org/emfaq/performers/nyom)

15. Bejin Mehta

He started his career as a boy soprano and made his operatic debut at The NYCO in 1998 singing Armindo, Partenope. His most famous title roles are in the plays: Orlando, Tamerlano, Mitridate, Three Sisters, Giulio Cesare, L’Incoronazione di Popp, Rodelinda etc.  (See link: www.glyndebourne.com/artistprofile.cfm)

16. Eugene Ormandy

Originally the conductor of The Budapest Orchestra, he became famous as the       long-term conductor of the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra starting in 1931 (44 years).  He was a frequent guest of Albert Spalding at Aston Magna during the forties and fifties.  (See Link:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_Ormandy

17. Charles Wadsworth

Founded the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in 1969 and served as its Artistic Director and pianist for twenty years.  He has toured extensively through out the United States. (See link:  http://www.imgartists.com/?page=artist&id=443&c=2 )

18. Richard Westenberg

Well Known conductor and founder of a sacred music ensemble, he was active in the music world in New York during the 1980’s and 90’s.

19. Robert White

Considered one of the top singer of Irish ballads, this tenor is known throughtout the United States for his recitals of classical songs as well as ethnic pieces, especially Irish.  Performed at the Aston Magna musical festival in the seventies and eighties.

(See link: http://www.ignatius.com/ViewProduct.aspx?SID=1&Product_ID=1004&Category_ID=147&)

8.     Poets

1. John Ashbery