2016 staff still standing on Sunday afternoon (left to right): Patch Glennan, Laura Enuco, Katie Ely, Debbie Brewin-Wilson, Kathy DeAngelo (director), Kim Adamson (operations manager), Kerry White and Emma Gormley, go-to office guru. Not pictured: Dennis Gormley & Bob Glennan (all-purpose guys probably packing the vans at that point), Lucy Cummin, Maureen Buscareno (concert manager), David Eisner, sound tech.

Director, Kathy DeAngelo
Kathy took over management of the Somerset Folk Harp Festival in July 2008 with the retirement of founder/director Gerry Serviente. She performed in the first Somerset and had been part of the festival as concert manager since 2002. Kathy has been playing the harp since 1984 and performing traditional Irish music since 1972. She has been actively engaged in the folk music scene in New Jersey since her Douglass College days, starting the Mine Street Coffeehouse in New Brunswick in 1973 and being the music director at the first New Jersey Folk Festival in 1975. In 2006 she rejoined the New Jersey Folk Festival as its music director, retiring from that position in 2014. Kathy teaches harp and runs You Gotta Have Harp Productions. She organized the annual Harpers Escape Weekend for 24 years, which has now morphed into the Harpers Escape Harp Tour of Ireland. She created and taught at the You Gotta Have Harp Summer Camp with Gloria Galante for some years. When she is not teaching harp or performing with her husband Dennis in McDermott's Handy or working on the festival, she's a booking agent and concert producer. She and Dennis were inducted into Mid-Atlantic Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann Hall of Fame in 2014 and the Delaware Valley Irish Hall of Fame in 2015.

Gerry Serviente, Advisor

Gerry Serviente founded the Somerset Folk Harp Festival in 2001 and directed this major harp event until 2008. She has been a tireless promoter of the many facets and styles of the folk harp and she is acting as a talent and business advisor to Kathy DeAngelo. Her experience and input are invaluable assets to the festival.

Operations manager, Kim Adamson

Kim Adamson has been a part of Somerset since its inception. From coordinating the set up of the exhibitor and vendor mall through assisting at the concert stage, Kim is busy making sure that the festival runs smoothly.You'll seldom see her actually sitting down at Somerset.

If you think the festival is tiring for you, just imagine what our staff feels like! They staff the festival registration & merchandise tables from 8am-10pm and try to get in a workshop or two! You'll see plenty of them.

Staff, Lucy Cummin (left): Lucy is also involved in content development for our website. She played in the Delaware Valley Celtic Harp Orchestra when she lived in Philadelphia and now resides in Vermont, where she plays Irish music and teaches harp.

Laura Enuco (right): Laura was also a member of the Delaware Valley Celtic Harp Orchestra, which performed at the 2007 Somerset festival. She is a public school music teacher and resides in Pitman NJ, where she also teaches piano and harp.

Kerry White (left) and Katie Ely are two of Kathy's former harp students who have been on staff since 2015. Kerry is at West Chester University while Katie graduated from Syracuse in 2016. They are both excellent players who play primarily traditional Irish music. They both reside in South Jersey.

Maureen Buscareno, Concert Manager

Maureen will be making sure that the concerts run smoothly and on time. She received her MA in Ethnomusicology from the University of Limerick under the guidance of Micheal O Suilleabhain. She also played in the Delaware Valley Celtic Harp Orchestra and has an MA in Music Education from Columbia University. She now teaches music and directs youth theater in NJ and the Lower Hudson Valley. She has recently started a new harp program in Rockland County, NY and plays in local Irish Traditional Music Sessions.

Pictured from left: Laura Enuco, Kathy DeAngelo & Patch Glennan

Our hard-working staff work long hours at the festival to make it run smoothly and to give our attendees the best experience possible.

  Staff on Stage in the Sunday concert in 2009: Lucy, Kathy and Laura

 
David Eisner

We get rave reviews about the sound quality at our concerts and it's all due to the expertise and professionalism of our tech crew headed by David Eisner. Dave joined the festival in 2008 when it was in Alexandria, VA.

When he's not doing our festival, Dave is behind the House of Musical Traditions and Institute of Musical Traditions in Takoma Park, MD, the center of the folk music world in the metropolitan Washington DC area.