Board of Directors
Karen Nelson, Board President, played with the Riverside Symphony and Redlands Bowl Orchestra during her undergraduate years at UC Riverside. After moving to Ventura, she played with the Ventura County Symphony and Santa Barbara Civic Light Opera. She played with CHICO for many years, and feels fortunate to have this wonderful group in our community. Karen earned a Master’s degree in Education from UCSB in 1990. She taught for forty years in elementary and middle schools, serving bilingual students and students with learning challenges.
Patricia Lathrop-McPherson, Treasurer, has lived in Ventura for 36 years and studied voice at Brigham Young University where she was a founding member of BYU Singers. She sang her first solo at age 6 and has appeared throughout the West in operas, operettas, musicals, oratorios, and concerts; Mozart and Handel's works are favorites and don’t get her started on Gilbert and Sullivan. Music has given her kindred spirits, amazing experiences, and a passion for the arts. Volunteering has been a constant avocation and she has served as PTA President, Band Booster President, and managed numerous soccer and field hockey club teams and a ‘few’ committees over the years. She holds a Master’s Degree in Counseling and has been married for 34 years to Don McPherson, retired Fire Chief of Ventura City. Their two children successfully navigated their college experiences and are settling in as adults. They couldn’t be more proud of them. She serves on the Board of Directors for Ventura Music Festival, teaches voice, and continues to perform locally. She is happy to be involved officially with CHICO and excited to support its mission and enable its promise in the community.
Ted Lucas, Secretary, is a composer and retired university administrator who is serving as Secretary for CHICO’s Board of Directors. He received a BA and an MA in music from San Diego State University and a Doctorate of Music from the University of Illinois. He studied composition with Nadia Boulanger in Paris and with Luciano Berio, Morton Subotnick and David Ward-Steinman in the U.S. As a violinist and violist, he has performed with CHICO on numerous occasions.
Miriam Arichea has been privileged to appear as a soloist with CHICO since the orchestra’s inception in 2004. Even during the “pandemic pause,” CHICO provided Miriam a performance outlet, producing a professionally directed and recorded solo piano recital that was released in November 2020. A lawyer by training, Miriam received her undergraduate and law degrees at Duke University. She presently works as a Deputy District Attorney for Ventura County. Miriam is also a credentialed teacher at Ventura High School, where she teaches mock trial. Miriam and her husband Jeff Brackett reside in Ventura.
Alexa Constantine is a Los-Angeles based musician. She currently serves as a staff pianist at UCLA and works at Exactuals, a FinTech company that helps music and entertainment clients calculate and pay out royalties. In addition to working full-time, Alexa is obtaining her master’s in Music Industry Administration from the University of California, Northridge. When Alexa isn’t playing piano, she is hiking, running, playing card games, and writing songs.
Nancy Sieh, joined the CHICO board of directors in 2014, after retiring from the practice of law. She served as Deputy District Attorney in Ventura, then in Santa Barbara County as Assistant District Attorney. She specialized in crimes against vulnerable victims, including spousal abuse, sexual assault, and child abuse. Upon retiring, Nancy chose to return to her roots. From a musical Italian family, she was introduced to opera and classical music in the home early in life and saw the joy it can bring. Tales from the great operas were her bedtime stories. Nancy heartily recommends that others join the CHICO family and enjoy a role in producing more concerts of all kinds. Nancy is grateful to her husband and family for their unflagging support.
Steve Perren’s involvement with CHICO was first as a member of the audience, then as singer and performer, and now as board member. He appreiciates CHICO because it has offered Ventura artists and musicians a home in which to perform the classics with and for our community. Steve has served on a variety of boards including United Way, Casa Pacifica, Temple Beth Torah, Ventura County Bar, Ventura Music Festival and The Boys and Girls Club. While attending law school he became a member of the UCLA Musical Comedy Workshop, and the two passions have ever since been intertwined. Since 1995 Steve has performed with many musical theater companies, including Cabrillo Music Theater, Simi Valley ARTS, Conejo Players, the Gilbert and Sullivan Repertoire Company, Opera Santa Barbara and the Los Angeles Lawyers Philharmonic and Chorus. Steve was a tenor but ultimately embraced his age, and now is a bass/bartitone. Steve’s other passion is the law, which he first practiced as a lawyer in 1967 and, since 1983, as a Judge of the Superior Court and Justice of the California Court of Appeal. Steve retired in 2022.
Henning Ottsen, Emeritus, has guided CHICO from its earliest days to its present status as preeminent orchestra of Ventura County. His focus has been to support the orchestra in its excellence of music making for present audiences and in its outreach to future audiences. This focus reflects the mission of the orchestra as well as his commitment to supporting music in our community.