friends of Music from poplar hill

LEADERSHIP

JEFFREY CLARK - Co-Founder and Founding Donor; Music from Poplar Hill Committee Co-chair

Jeffrey Clark wrapped up his career in the international development field a few years ago after being invested in humanitarian assistance and democracy and governance efforts around the globe for over four decades.  His start came with an appointment as a special assistant to John J. Gilligan, the former Governor of Ohio who was appointed as Administrator of the US Agency for International Development (USAID).  He later held senior positions with the House Select Committee on Hunger and the Carter Presidential Center.  He carried out numerous consultancies with USAID, the State Department, the World Bank and various non-governmental organizations.  Jeff has visited some 88 countries around the world, many of them multiple times.  Ethiopia is a country of particular interest to him.

 In 2006, Ohio University honored Jeffrey Clark as the Distinguished Alumnus of the Year in recognition of his humanitarian assistance career. He is author of an article in Foreign Affairs and contributed a chapter to a book published by the Council on Foreign Relations.

 Jeff was married for 37 years to the late Jo Ricks.  They established a residence in St. Mary’s County in 1994.  Jo and Jeff traveled far and wide around the world, seeing the sights in Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Ethiopia, South Africa, Kenya, the UK, France, Italy and lots of other places.  They also established a small grant-making foundation that has supported various artistic endeavors in Washington, DC, St. Mary’s County and elsewhere, including the Music from Poplar Hill concert series founded in Jo’s memory.

ELIZA GARTH - Co-founder and Artistic Director; Music from Poplar Hill Committee Co-chair

Eliza Garth is a graduate of the Juilliard School, and a member of the music faculty at St. Mary’s College of Maryland. A longtime resident of St. Mary’s County with her husband, composer David Froom, and their two daughters, she maintains a professional base in New York City. She has achieved international distinction as a performer of contemporary music and the standard repertoire, through her recordings and through her concert appearances in major cities in the US, Europe, and Asia. Widely regarded as an artist with a passionate voice and an adventurous spirit, Ms. Garth has championed some of the most demanding works in the repertoire. Among these are the complete solo piano works of the Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Donald Martino, which she has recorded on two widely acclaimed CDs for the Centaur label. The first of these recordings was listed in a New York Times survey of it’s own critics’ favorite recordings of music written since 1945. Her most recent album, titled Tour de Force, is available on the Albany label and features the Piano Preludes of Sheree Clement, and Of Points Fixed and Fluid by Perry Goldstein. Her other recordings are available on the Centaur, CRI, Opus One, and Arabesque labels. Her performances have been heard on the BBC Radio 3. WQXR and WNYC in New York, Radio de la Suisse Romande in Geneva, and WGUC in Cincinnati. In addition to her teaching responsibilities at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, Ms. Garth was for 15 years the Director of the Piano Festival by the River, an annual retreat for pianists that she co-founded. She has been recognized twice by the Maryland State Arts Council with the Individual Artist Award. She is closely connected to St. George’s, where she served for eight years as the Music Director.

THE REV. GREG SYLER - Co-founder, Music from Poplar Hill Committee Member and Advisor; Rector of St. George’s Episcopal Church, Valley Lee

Greg Syler was called as the rector of St. George’s in 2007, and came to Valley Lee from his time as Curate at Church of Our Saviour, Chicago (Diocese of Chicago). Prior to his ordination in 2005, Greg served for one year as seminarian at Trinity Church, St. Mary’s City, a time of intentional residency while he was at the Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, VA.  That love of St. Mary’s County led him to seek the call several years later.

Greg received his Masters of Divinity from the Divinity School at the University of Chicago, and spent a year of Anglican Formation at the Virginia Seminary. In the Diocese of Washington, he has served on the Standing Committee (2016-18), Bishop’s Search Committee (2010-11), Diocesan Council, Southern Maryland Strategic Planning Leadership Team (co-chair, 2019), and is currently the Clergy Convener for the Southern Maryland Clericus, gathering those who serve in Southern Maryland parishes in the Dioceses of Washington and Maryland. Greg is a Deputy to The Episcopal Church’s General Convention (2015 & 2018). He serves the southern Maryland community as a board member for several organizations, including HOPE, the Pastoral Counseling Center, and Feed St. Mary’s. Greg consults with St. Mary’s County Government, and serves on an advisory team with the Human Resources Department.

In 2017, following years of active discernment with St. George’s and our neighbor church, Ascension, Lexington Park, Greg accepted a call as the Rector of both churches.  A very happy resident of St. Mary’s County, Greg lives in the rectory in Valley Lee with his wife, Iman, their daughter, Carter St. Clair, and and cat, George.

THE MUSIC FROM POPLAR HILL ADVISORY COUNCIL
Eliza Garth and Jeffrey Clark, Co-Chairs
Ianthe Broderson
Nell Elder
Lori Goodbody
Martha Holder
Henrietta Kundert
Timothy Mertz
Mary K Peterson
Jane Rowe
Greg Syler
Iman Syler
Kathy Weigel